The Start Of Something Great

First Drop

I woke up to the sound of Red and Heavy chanting, their voices echoing through the barracks. I rubbed my eyes and rolled out of bed, curious about the commotion. As I made my way toward the center of the room, I saw Ray arm wrestling with Buck, and she wasn't doing too well.

"Come on, Ray!" Red cheered, pumping his fist.
"You got this!" Heavy yelled, encouraging her.
I joined in, "You got this, Ray!"

Ray shot me a smirk, locking eyes with me as if she was preparing for something big. With a burst of determination, she shifted her weight and began to put more force into pushing Buck's arm down. It was clear she had tired him out—Buck was straining, his face flushed with effort. Slowly but surely, Ray gained the upper hand, and with one final push, she slammed his hand into the table. Buck shook his head, clearly defeated.

"Hell yeah, way to go, Ray!" Heavy cheered.
"Good job!" Red added, clapping.
"I knew you could do it," I said, giving her a thumbs-up.
"Good job, Ray," Buck said, grinning despite himself.
Ray smiled, breathing heavily. "Thanks, everyone, and good job to you too, Buck."

Buck stretched and clapped his hands together. "Anyone want to go grab breakfast?"

"Fuck yeah, let's go!" I said, eager to eat.

I shot out the door, heading toward the mess hall, and by the time I reached the food line, the rest of the group caught up with me.

Buck laughed as I grabbed my tray. "Carver, you're the only person I've ever seen this excited to get food."

"What? I love food!" I said, throwing my hands up in mock defensiveness.

Everyone laughed, and we grabbed our food, settling at a table.

"I can't wait for shore leave," Heavy said, grinning.
"You really think we'll get any anytime soon?" Red asked, skeptical.
"One can hope," Heavy replied with a shrug.

As we dug into our meals, Jean came over and sat down with us.

"Hey, peeps. What's shaking?" she asked casually.

"Peep?" Red muttered with a confused laugh.
"Hi, Jean!" Ray said, excitedly waving.
"Not much, just talking about shore leave," Buck replied.

Jean sighed. "I feel like we won't get shore leave for a while." She looked at Ray. "Hi, Ray."

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?" Heavy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jean shrugged. "Just a gut feeling. When you've been in the service long enough, you get a sense that things are about to go sideways."
"I feel it too," Buck added, nodding.
Just then, Arthur's voice crackled over the intercom.

"ODST Squad Inferno, report to the briefing room ASAP."

Heavy groaned. "Well, fuck."

"I hope we get more action," I muttered, rising from the table.
"See you guys later," Jean said, getting up and heading out.
"Later," everyone chimed.

After Jean left, we cleared our trays and headed toward the briefing room. Inside, Kaleb and Arthur were standing over a holo-table, showing a map of the planet Holly. I could already tell something serious was about to go down.

Arthur spoke first. "You guys might be wondering why you're here."

Kaleb took over. "The data you gathered during Operation Dawnbreak included the location of an IMC testing facility on the planet Holly."

Arthur nodded. "All we know is that they're developing a new type of warp drive. We don't know exactly what it does, but we need to find out. The best way to do that? Break into the facility."

Kaleb clicked a button, and the holo-table projection shifted, showing an IMC ship. It had four large turbines mounted on it.

Arthur pointed to the ship. "This is the IMS Forerunner, one of their prototype ships. The four turbines help it hover in a planet's atmosphere."

Kaleb continued, "We need you to break into the ship and steal the data on the IMC's testing facility on Holly."

Buck raised his hand. "Sir, are we going to have a pilot with us?"

"Yes," Kaleb replied. "We're assigning Pilot Jean to your mission. She'll have her Titan on standby in case things get messy. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" everyone replied in unison.

"Good. Dismissed!" Arthur ordered, and we all filed out of the room, heading back to the dorms. Since we'd be on the move in a few hours, we started getting ready.

As I walked through the Titan bay, I spotted Jean working on her XO-16. It was odd, though—she never removed her helmet when she ate earlier, only opening the mouthpiece to eat. Maybe she was just used to it.

I kept walking to the dorms, catching up with the group. We all headed for our lockers. I opened mine and grabbed my undersuit and armor. Getting into the bathroom first, I changed into my undersuit and slipped on my boots before starting to suit up in my combat gear. When I stepped out, Ray was heading into the bathroom, so I quickly walked over to my bed and grabbed my datapad. I stashed it in my locker, closed it, and then headed for the armory to collect my weapons.

The armorer handed me my helmet, now fully black but still my old IMC helmet. He then gave me the key to my weapons locker, where I grabbed my R-201, EVA-8, and RE-45, along with plenty of ammo. I picked up three frag grenades and headed toward the hangar. There, I found our drop pods. Each pod could fit only one soldier, so I chose mine and lay back against it, settling in for a quick nap before the mission.

Timeskip

I was jolted awake by Ray smacking me in the leg with her rifle.

"Wake up, buttercup," she said, grinning.

"Fuck off," I muttered, rubbing my eyes. "Get in your pod."

Ray laughed and climbed into the pod next to mine. I followed suit, getting into my own and strapping in. As the pod sealed, I saw Buck's face on one screen and Jean's on the other.

Jean's voice crackled through the comms. "Latest intel says the IMC is sending reinforcements to protect the IMS Forerunner."

Buck frowned. "What? How do they know we're here already?"

Jean sighed. "We're not going to find out from up here."

Buck's voice took on a determined tone. "Alright, troopers, we're green and very, very mean."

The countdown began, and I felt the pod's thrusters engage, sending us hurtling toward the IMS Forerunner. In about two minutes, we slammed into the ship's hull, ready for the mission ahead.