Halo: THE FIGHT WORTH FIGHTING -prologue
6 hours 40 minutes (approx.), March 4, 2537
Planet Beckon, Epsilon Omicron system_
“Sergeant, what are our orders?” Corporal Gibson yelled into his helmet’s microphone.
“Give ‘em hell, Private.” Sergeant Lucas Newman, called Sergeant Luke by his men, yelled back from his Hawk. The fighter jet sliced through the air as it neared the scene of carnage. As the battle came into view, he continued, “Aim at that squad of Ghosts approaching your position!”
As dawn broke and the sun shimmered into view, he watched from his cockpit as a couple of Scorpion tanks sent some tattered Ghosts flying, the luster of their purple shells reflecting the sun as they went spinning. “No way I’m gonna miss out on all the fun.” But before he neared the Ghosts, a group of Banshee fliers came to intercept him and his squad of Hawks.
“Damn, got to take care of a few covenant ships first. Save some Ghosts for me, okay?” His Hawk and the squad of four others swerved to face the Banshees. “Fire rockets, men!”
He watched as one Banshee was hit…and the remaining three boosted to the left, a purple mist left behind, slashing through the atmosphere. Before the Banshees recovered, another was damaged by a round of machine gun bullets. But the fighter didn’t swerve off, though it had a failing engine. Instead, it curled into a full-force assault on the squad leader. Which happened to be Lucas.
“Oh, shit!” he cursed as he tried to avoid the oncoming elite’s Banshee. He fired all his torpedos. Surely, the elite must be dead by now. But the banshee kept coming, its plasma cannons on automatic. It followed him perfectly, gaining speed rapidly. He had about 10 seconds before it smashed into his Hawk, downing him and probably, in turn, killing the entire squad.
Probably five seconds now, and he’d be no more. He prayed for a miracle…and it came in the form of a selfless teammate colliding with the Banshee from the side. The Banshee missed by inches. He gave a short, grim smile as he saw the corpse of the Elite drowning in his own purple-gray blood, wearing tattered armor and giving one final yelp.
And then he noticed something he hadn’t noticed previously. The small figure of a UNSC Marine floating gently downward towards the battle zone. Luke let out a sigh of relief. That’s one less casualty for man. His smile returned, but just as quickly turned into an angry stare.
“Men,” he said ,”show ‘em no mercy!” He brutally finished off the. Or rather, his team of four shot down the enemy. No, five. He led his team to the ground effort, and later that day, the fight was won by them, the UNSC Marines. And he got plenty of Ghosts to blow to bits.
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He had been a Sergeant Major Grade Three, teetering on becoming a Gunnery Sergeant. Now he was Gunnery Sergeant Lucas Newman. Another medal for the formal uniform. But this wasn’t as great a pride for him as leading such trustworthy and honorable men into battle.
However, his joy was met with great responsibility, maybe even fear at the task at hand. After all, the UNSC forces were spread so thin, his group was the only thing between the Covenant and Beckon. He’d better keep it that way, for the sake of all the citizens trapped on the planet.
This was only the first battle in what would be a long line of fights and skirmishes. Time to get to work.
Zoltan Says:I didn't make up the Hawks they're introed in Halo Wars. In fact, I won't make up any technology in this book. So expect the Wolverine to pop up eventually.
However, one thing: Lucas mentions the people living on the planet as being 'commoners.' In a soldier's book, that would be incorrect; soldiers call them 'civilians.'
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