Hell Jumpers (Halo Fan-Fic)

Nergora

Forward Operating Base Nergora had been bustleing with exitement for the last two hours. Pelican Dropships kept arriving at the landing pads of the base carrying dead and wounded military and civilian personel that were in the city.

From the window next to my bed, I could get a clear view of the city skyline crumbleing down. The fires that raged within gave it an eerie glow against the night sky. I still could not believe that the Covenant had found Earth. For a good amount of time, I believed, all of the UNSC believed, that Earth was humanities best kept secret.

Hell, the Cole Protocol was created just to keep the Covenant from finding any other human colonized worlds. Prevent any further glassings. Now they were here, and for all I know thay could have already started glassing the rest of the planet.

Nergora had lost raidio contact to any UNSC outposts outside a 50 kilometer radius of the city. The best the UNSC could think was that we were all dead. So no additional forces arrived to provide support. We were all stuck with any volunteer civilians and a bunch of wounded or exhausted soldiers that just wanted to get a nice, long vacation from the war.

"Private Millan," said the voice of the doctor as he entered the room, bringing me away from the thoughts that I was currently pondering.

"Yes sir," I responded as my gaze fell back on his solid featured face and incredibly built body. "How are the diagnostics?"

"Everything checks out fine. Surprisingly all other bones in your body are not damaged. The only area of concern is the leg, but its nothing too severe. As long as you stay off battle and maintain to the guidlines that I have given you, everything will be alright."

I looked at him with a stern expression in my face. "It is our job as soldiers to keep humanity safe, no matter what the cost." I looked to the right, spotting all my gear sitting at a nearby table. "You know how crazy it sounds to ask a soldier to stop fighting for humanity?"

"You say it like humanity and soldiers are two different things. Soldiers are not machines, they are people. I understand that it is difficult to ask, but in order for the leg to heal properly you must avoid any strenous activity."

"So will I be able to take a Pelican back away from this God forsaken city?" I cocked my head slightly sideways as my eye connected with those of the doctor.

"You are staying here. Unfortunately, Pelican transports have been busy in skimerishes and rescue missions. Believe it or not, there are many UNSC soldiers and civilians still trapped inside the city. The Covenant are not making it easy on us, but we are making progress."

His words immediately dropped into me like a heavy stone. I looked at the doctor with a 'what the fuck' look as he turned and walked out of the infermary. Two minutes later, a nurse came in with a pair of crotches and told me that I was free to move about Nergora as long as I promised to stay out of combat for the next few weeks.

Of course, I did the promise. I knew Nergora was wan going to last more than three days. The base was torn to shit, a sorrowful reminecant of what once was an incredible military barracks. As I walked out of the medical areas, I noticed that many buildings were toppled to the ground, fires and smoke still emerging from the wrekege. Emergency crews ran across the tarmac like bees, zigzaging around landed Pelican Dropships either on foot or in Troop Transport Warthogs that helped carry large fire hoses or other electrical equipment.

The state of condition of Forward Operating Base Nergora was bad. All it needed was one strong Covenant attack, just a couple of Banshees or two fully loaded Phantom Dropships in order to take the base and kill all it's occupants.

I stopped as I reached a statue, or what was left of the statue in reality. In it's glory days it would have been an incredible work of art, showcasing five UNSC Marines with MA5B Assault Rifles aiming endlessly at unseen threats that were surrounding them. Now all that was left was a pair of feet and a half destroyed solid rock Assault Rifle that lay a couple of meters away from the base of the statue along with a plaque that rested at the base.