Hell Jumpers (Halo Fan-Fic)

Holding the Lines

Millan's POV:

I managed to limp over to a detachment of Marines that had gotten behind the cover of a portable barricade as the first two of the eight Phantoms dropped their load of troops onto the inside of Forward Operating Base Nergora. Explosions immediatly followed up as the Marines began to fire at the Covenant troops with everything they had, a hail of bullets and plasma running above the tarmac of Nergora at seemingly random angles.

As I got behind the relative safety of the cover and checked my ammo, I heard a Marine run up to me. He clasped my shoulder slightly as he ducked lower, narrowly missing getting hit by a shot from a Beam Rifle.

"Trooper," he began as I began to lay down fire, taking down two Grunts that stood out in the open while downing the shields of an Elite Minor, who was taken down by the combined fire of two Marines that had been shooting at the same targets. "I need you to lay down suppresing fire while my guys try and move forward."

The Marine then turned and motioned at two other ones, fresh cadets straight from the meat grinder. "JONES, FREDRICK. GET YOUR SORRY BEHINDS HERE ON THE DOUBLE!"

The two Marines, who I could obviously tell had never faced the Covenant, much less been in a battle of this scale, ran over to us as two more Phantoms dropped their troops and flew off. "Trooper, these two Marines will be under your command."

"Thank you sir!" I screamed over the sounds of battle as I let loose a spray of bullets in the general direction of the Covenant forces. "Jones, Fredrick. Start laying down fire to provide cover for our guys!"

They must have been in shock, because neither did I hear them moving nor fireing. I turned to them and raised my voice. "DO IT, OR THE COVENANT WILL TEAR YOU A NEW ONE!"

That seemed to snap them out, because they immediately got on either side of me behind the cover and began to lay down suppressing fire on the Covenant as a group of Marines began to move forward from barricade to burned Warthog, slowly but steadely moving from cover to cover without loosing too many men.

"Contact, to the left!" I screamed as Jones turned and fires his Assualt Rifle full auto, downing three Grunts and two Jackals. I got my back to the cover as the last of the eight Phantoms dropped their troops on the ground, one of them sticking for a while to provide support fire.

I looked around, watching as some Marines stood out in the open, shooting their rifles without fear as they slowly got picked off one by one by the barrage of plasma that boiled their blood and made them have a slow and painful death. My teeth gritted as I raised once more and fired my last clip at the now approaching Covenant forces.

"God damn!" screamed Fredrick as he got back into cover and placed a new clip into his Battle Rifle. "Charley Company has been decimated! They are all dead!"

I looked up in time to see what was left of Charley Company, the ones who had moved up from cover to cover in an attempt to flank the Covenant forces. There was one man standing in the middle of the dead Marines, each hand holding an Assault Rifle as he fired at the Covenant forces that approached him.

It happened within seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. He was the Marine that had gave me Fredrick and Jones. An Elite General with an Energy Sword came up from behind, knocking the soldier to the ground. It stood over the young Marine as he tried to scurry back and pull out his pistol. The Elite merely seemed to laugh, it's four mandibles parting open as it lifted one foot and brought it down on the poor guy's head, crushing it with such force that it spit open.

"SPLIT LIP BASTARDS!" I screamed as I dropped the Assault Rifle and forced the Battle Rifle from Fredrick. I aimed up and fired every single bullet into it's head, watching the shileds go down and the Elite fall dead as a three round burst hit it at it's unprotected head. I kept on fireing at the body, only stopping when the ammo had run out and Jones had forced me down. It was overkill, but the thing deserved it.