Matt-038 (Halo Fanfiction)

Chapter 30: Station Gamma

Author's Note: If you have any tips writing tips, please feel free to comment.

Again, I gratefully accept constructive criticism as a means to help me develop my skills further as a writer.

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Chapter 30: Station Gamma

Location: Epsilon Eridani system, UNSC Pelican dropship, near Reach Station Gamma

August 30, 2552

0616 hours

"Brace for maneuvering!" Matt barked.

The Spartans dove for safety harnesses and strapped in. "All secure!" Linda shouted.

Matt killed the Pelican's forward thrusters and triggered a short, sudden reverse burn. The Spartans were brutally slammed forward into their harnesses as the Pelican's acceleration bled away.

Matt quickly shut down the engines.

The tiny Pelican faced the Covenant frigate. At a kilometer's distance, the alien ship's launch bay and pulse laser turrets looked close enough to touch on the view screen; enough firepower to vaporize the Spartans in the blink of an eye.

Matt's first instinct was to fire their HE Anvil-II missiles and autocannons—but he checked his hand as he reached for the triggers.

That would only attract their attention... which was the last thing he wanted. For the moment, the alien vessel ignored them—probably because Matt had shut down the Pelican's engines. But the ship also seemed dead in space: no lights, no single ships launched, and no plasma weapons charging.

The dropship continued toward the docking station, their momentum putting distance between them and the frigate.

Space around the Covenant ship boiled and pulled apart—and two more alien ships appeared.

They, too, ignored the dropship. Was it too small to bother with? Matt didn't care. His luck, it seemed, was holding.

He checked the radar—thirty kilometers to the docking ring. He ignited the engines to slow them down. He had to or they would crash into the station.

Twenty kilometers.

Rumbling shook the dropship. They slowed—but it wasn't going to be enough.

Ten kilometers.

"Hang on," he told the trio.

The sudden impact whiplashed Matt back and forth in his seat. The straps holding him snapped.

He blinked... saw only blackness. His vision cleared and he noted that his shield bar was dead. It slowly began to fill again. Every display and monitor in the cockpit had shattered.

Matt shook off the disorientation and pulled himself aft.

The interior of the dropship was a mess. Everything tied down had come loose. Ammunition boxes had broken open in the crash landing and loose carriages filled the air. Coolant leaked, spraying blobs of black fluid. In zero gravity, everything looked like the inside of a shaken snowglobe.

James, Linda, and John floated off the deck of the Pelican. They slowly moved.

"Any injuries?" Matt asked.

"No," Linda replied.

"No," John answered.

"I think so," James said. "I mean, no. I'm good, sir. Was that a landing or did those Covenant ships take a shot at us?"