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The sun rose slowly from the other side of the jungle planet Sunrise. Illuminating the dark space above it, and the ground on the surface. On the other side of the planet, orbiting not 700 miles above the atmosphere, was the covenant fleet. It was a large fleet prepared just for the defence of Sunrise, made up of some of the greatest Covenant navy admirals and tactitions, not to mention some of the greatest generals to lead the planets ground defence. The fleet itself was made of around 30 covenant capital ships, each with its own small army and hundreds of smaller ships and fighters beneath them. The capital ship closest to the planet, flying not 30 miles above the planets atmosphere was the ship Apollo, and as the sun rose higher into the sky, Atu, who was staring at the sunrise from the bridge of Apollo, had to cover his eyes to avoid the sudden bright light.

Atu Tsan'ade placed his hand against a floating holographic panel, and as he did the brightness filters lowered, allowing the other elites in the room to continue there work without fear of being blinded. There were two doesen others in the room, most of them flying Apollo, doing maintenance checks or listening to the local battle net, waiting for orders. He sighed as he sat in his chair, warriors came in and out playing with the ships many buttons and controlls. Atu was the commander chosen for the ground defence of Sunrise, and was the one directly in charge of the planets surface troops and the smaller ships orbitting the planet.

He stretched his neck and waited, news had reached them the Human fleet was approaching fast, and although they were not yet in vision of the radars they would most likely be within threat range within the next 2 days. So alot of preparing had to be done in that time. He sat waiting for the battle net to brief him of the new situation, as the higher officers of the fleet had still not decided on a plan or formation of defence. Nor had there been much news from small scout ships as only 3 of them came back, 2 of which were damaged badly. He was itching to be given orders, as he was directly responsible for the planets defence, however he had to know the fleets plans for keeping the Humans at bay, and he had to prepare be-... Atu's thoughts were cut short as a holographic projection of the fleets tactitions sat at a table appeared infront of him. "Commander." One of them said abrubtly, "We have posotive identification of a large human fleet approaching, they will be here within the next 48 hours."

Another one quickly spoke "They outnumber us Commander, and the battle looks dim for our forces, i doubt we will only be able to hold them above orbit for a few standard hours before the-"

Atu interrupted him "So they outnumber us? What has that got to do with anything, our warriors are naturally stronger and our ships both faster and have better technology; and i doubt they would have bought the demon with them."

The tactition spoke again "They have brought MAC guns commander, and as i was sayinng, we will only hold them for a few standard hours before they send troops to the surface"

Atu clenched his fists and closed his eyes for a short while; he had heard of the MAC guns, capable of cutting through a covenant capital ship. However he then spoke "Then offline all unneccisary power usage and make the shields stronger, and then send boarders to take the MAC guns offline". He spoke with a slight annoyance that they hadn't thought of it sooner, and he had heard them to be some of the greatest tactitions in the war.

"The boarder tactic has failed us once, we do not plan to use it again"

Atu spoke again: "But it failed because of the demon, and as i said he will not be here if our sources are correct"

The tactitions thought for a moment and discussed silently, and then one the fleet commander himself spoke "We will concider it, but you have orders. Stay close to the planet and defend it to the best of your ability. In the possibility they break through our fleet; get to the surface and defend the mineral jungles as best you can"

At that the holographic projection ended and Atu sat in silence, thinking.


-

James Mitchell stood on the deck of his flag ship "Orbit", watching the endless stars and systems pass them as they got closer to they're destination. Only a day or so to go before battle would start, and he was both nervous and excited at the chance of proving himself in what was to be his greatest battle yet.

He had already consulted his tactitions, and by his order a plan would be executed, the main fleet would have the MAC guns they brought and engage the covenant fleet, while 3 battle ships and 100 transporters would get to the planet hopefully without engagement. On that they would send ODST units to the surface so they could secure a landing zone, set up a base and clear the way for the rest of the army to be dropped on the planet.

James yawned loudly and scratched his forhead, he was starting to get tired and was wanting to retire for a few hours before the battle in a day's time. However he didn't dare to incase he missed something. The battle ships had already destroyed several covenant scout ships, however a few made it back as he heard. And he was worried at the risk of an early attack on there formation as they flew. If that happened he would have to give the order ASAP to halt the advance and aim the MAC guns at the enemy. And if someone had to wake him up they could all be destroyed before he even got to the bridge. No he could not risk sleeping now, he would have to endure. Sctratching his head he turned and left the bridge, following the endless corridoors until he got to his private quaters, and at the touch of a button the door opened. Revealing a bed, wardrobe, a Battle rifle leaning against the wall with a case of ammo, and a table, chair and cooked meal, still piping hot.

He stepped through and sat down to eat his meal as the door closed behind him. And started eating, checking every few seconds thinking he heard someone calling him on the battle net.

Jik'ara smacked a grunt in the back, sending it sprawling forward along the cold purple surface of Lightguard's main hangar, where two Phantoms and a Troop Carrier Mk.1 were docking through the first of the four energy screens. 'Move this equipment faster you pathetic maggots! The Commanders want these munitions and weapons stowed and battery packs dispersed around the ship! Minor systems go down in two hours!' The Grunts nearby squealed and shreeked their pleas for another chance to work faster and Jik'ara lowered his plasma pistol. 'You!' he yelled at a pair of startled Jackals. 'Go to the bridge, find Has'lena, I must speak with her. The Jackals shreaked their obedience and sprinted off, one of them crashing their shoudler into the right-hand side of the auto-door to the inner ship in their blind rush to please their new instructor. 'I could get used to this...' Jik'ara thought to himself, as his personal communicator flashed to life and let out a flow of shrill beeps. Jik'ara pressed the 'Initiate Call' holobutton and the one-foot-high hologram representation of Lightguard's AI, Ysega, appeared on the holopad. Ysega's hologram figure, his avatar and cyber figure, was currently in the form of a Prophet, a purple sillhouette with minor details such as eyes, mouth, ears and clothing, with bright microscopic lines of code running a hudnred rivers across his skin. 'Major, you have been performing extremely well. I want you to gather your forces and bring them to Docking Bay Six, where we need supplies and the like. You should also be prepared to make an emergency insersion onto Sunrise, as should the Humans be able to land their forces onto the planet's surface, we want to be able to crush them immediately.'
'Of course, Ysega.' Jik'ara replied with the utmost respect, even though Ysega was merely an AI, he was one of the best-designed in the entire fleet. 'Thank you, Major.' The Ai's form flickered for a moment, then faded with the lights of the communications device. 'And so, I may be able to face an enemy after all.' Jik'ara said, before relaying the orders to the swarm of grunts, jackals and the handful of Combat-Rank Elites.

Luke took in a deep breath. The air smelled of lubricant, hot metal, and slightly of smoke from the guns. He was dressed in his 'space suit' as he and the other ODST's called it. The suit was simply a shirt, pants, and boots that they had to wear when onboard a vessel that wasn't in a state of combat. He stood in a small booth with walls on either side. His favorite room.

Luke set the bipedal legs of the sniper rifle down on the shelf and looked through the scope. He slowly exhaled his breath, then slowly inhaled again. Then a voice from above him called through the intercom from the shooting range control room. "Are you ready down there, Lieutenant? Scenario starting in three, two, one, now."

A piece of metal with a grunt painted on it shot up from the floor. Less than a second later a bullet hole ruined the paint job of the head. The same was followed by two more grunts, a jackal, two elites, and a brute. Although Luke's combat experience with brutes was very very limites, only having seen a few during a raid on a convenant base almost a year ago, he put a bullet through its head all the same.

"Outstanding performance, son. I have to say you are one of the best sharpshooters on this hunk of junk." Luke almost grinned to himself. "That's putting it lightly," said a female voice.

From the holo emmiter on the shelf came the image of a blue-purple woman. Her body was made of a number matrix that created a dead on replica of a female body. This was the ships AI, Aiyla. "Lieutenant Caldera, you have orders to report to your battle station. The fleet will be moving out of slipspace within the hour."

Luke didn't hesitate to leave the shooting range. He made his way down the metal corridors to the ODST Ready-Room. Yellow warning lights flashed, warning of the impending battle. It was odd how everybody became more calm and steady before a battle, yet when it actually started everything turned to chaos. The yellow lights would turn red, which would be joined by a blaring alarm, in times of a crisis. This would only happen if the ship was going belly up or crashing down on a planet.

He arrived outside the Ready-Room and typed his clearance code into the security terminal. The blast door slid up from the floor and Luke stepped in. He walked in to the armory, found his locker, and began to equip his armor. He checked to make sure everything was in order: Pistol at his side, two grenades, assault rifle was in its place on his back, and his helmet was in his hands. Although Luke was a sniper, while onboard a sniper rifle would be pretty useless. He would find his rifle ready for him in his HEV when the time to drop to the planets surface came.

Hteik was calm when he received the orders.As soon as the jackal left the room he started screaming."PATHETIC SCUM!"His troops were more then startled they were terrorified.One of the grunts started crying in the corner.You could tell that one was going to die first.The brute seemed to be the only one not trembling in fear.He walked towards Hteik and asked."What's wrong?Are we going to attack?".

Hteik took a deep breathe and calmed down then he replied."The inferior life forms have brought MAC guns...The Commander wants us to put all unneeded power into the sheilds.Then board their ships and take out the MACs.".The Brute smiled at the last sentence."Then what are we waiting for?!LET'S GET MOVING!".Now the troops stared at him but the brute simply glared at them and they all started running around moving plasma cores and any other things to the sheilds.Hteik smiled and said,"You're going to get real useful.".The brute grunted and smiled back then went over and started working.

A grunt started to slowly crawl out of the run but Hteik got him."Not so fast.'Your incharge of making sure they work and not slack off.If they don't listen to you just get Kilam,(the brute),He'll make em move.".He dropped the grunt and watched as it repeatedly agreed and ran off.Hteik then took out his sword and sliced the nearest object in half.He wanted to go in and board there ships.He wanted to kill the cowards.

He walked over to the hangars.He through a teleporter and poof he was there.He was happy to see that everyone was obeying orders and even more to see the new phantoms.They were in different colors ranging from blue to a light yellowish green.They shone a little bit but the crewman were dirting em up a little so they would'nt give off there position when they went on the attack.Hteik grinned and said,"It does not matter if you have MACs...We have faith.".He then went to help out in getting the rest of the not essentail energy to the Sheilds.

Armbruster ( Or Doc, as people called him) was already in the ready room
He fastened his ODST Medic armor on.
He was always antsy before a fight.

"Another glorious day in the Corps! A day in the Corps is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet! Every paycheck a fortune! Every formation a parade! I LOVE the Corps! " He laughed and a few other ODST did too.

"Lets see, lets see, lets see. Who will be my drop buddy?"

He looked onto a holo-chart near the wall.

"Luke?"

He laughed and turned to him, putting his hand out for this Sector's handshake, kind of like grabing the other's hand and you both hit your arms into eachother.

"Congratz, you get the Doc. I just hope you dont need me."

He smiled.

Hteik sqaud was finished doing there oart.They went over to one of the Phantoms.Beofre they got in they gave the troops Assault armor.The crew's jackals rushed over to Hteik to make sure his armor's sheilds and invisiblity was up to date.They gave him the green lights and his troops went into a the phantom.In the there was there equipment.

Hteik made sure the grunts grabbed there plasma pistols and plasma grenades.The grenades were essentail.They stuck to any hostile surface and denoted quickly.They would be effective for taking out squads who are to close together.The jackals grabbed there sheilds and needlers.The Needlers would also be needed if they're mission was to be a success.The needles had homing capabilities and once they had plent off needles on a target they would blow up.

The brute Kalem then immedaitely grabbed a brute shot and a spiker.The brute shot would help out alot even though it did'nt have alot of ammo.It sent out grenades like the humans rifle attached grenade launcher but it was much bigger and not attached to anything.It was a faded black with a huge bayonet attached for close quarters combat.The spiker was like an SMG but it shoot out spikes.It was a very small gun and it was easy to carry,reload,and fire.It had 2 bayonets attached under it also for face to face fighting.

Hteik noticed how there was some grunts missing."Where are the rest of the sqauds?".He asked to Kalem.The brute grunted and said."They stayed behind to help out...They were ordered to by a higher officail...Feel bad for em they aint gonna get to see any action today.".Hteik nodded as he attached his energy sword to his leg armor peice and grabbed a plasma rifle.They were expecting to wait a while.They waited for Atu to give them the okay.He could hear the rest of the squads getting checked by the technicain crew.He could imagine the enemy getting ready as well.If they dropped on Sunrise they would have to chase after them for sure and the ODST's dont go 'feet first into hell because they feel like it.'."Kalem...have you ever killed an ODST?".Kalem said no and asked why he asked."Well we might get to fight some today.".

Oris tossed his covenant equivalent of a ciggarete aside and went to inspect his spec op commandos in the hanger bay. The grunts were all dancing around fiddling with each other's methane tanks. The elites were just standing there doing nothing. When he appeared, they snapped to attention. All he said was, " Well, we've been taked to destroy on the the human's MACS. Suit up and let's go. Blah blah blah."

Hteik walked towards the officer and said."With all do respect.We aint going anywhere without Atu's orders.".Kalem walked right behind Hteik.He was much more stronger then any of the Elites on the ship except probably Atu.Kalem looked at the officer and replied."Yeah so i suggest you shut your mouth and wait for orders cuase your not boss here.Atu is.".Kalem glared at The officer and some of the Elites there got ready just in case things got wild.

(I gtg be back tommorrow.)

Oris turned to the other elite Hetik and the brute he belived to be called Kalem. He pulled out his energy sword and held it out to the pair. " I belive you know what this sword signifies? if not, I'm and a prophet *cough* errand boy*cough* blessed. Sort of." Turning to his commandos he said, " well it appears we have a slight ermmm, problem. We must wait. Go have to your crazy food nipples grunts. Elites, go play that human poker game for all I care. Just come back."

(Comrade, you really need to improve the quality of your posts. Your grammar, spelling and construction is terrible no offense...)

Jik'ara stepped onto his Phantom. The Humans would be within radar range within hours and he wanted his squads ready. The communicator built into his helmet was connected to the fleet-wide battle net, and learned that almost every other squad on the ship was preparing to advance onto either the enemy ships or onto the planet's surface. 'Are the weapons stowed?' he asked a passing Jackal. The Jackal snarled his reply and continued his patrol of the line of Grunts, inspecting their weapons, armour and the capacity of their methane tanks. 'Then now, we wait.'

Atu slowly rubbed his eyes and got up out of the chair, it was hard to believe a day had passed already but with the preperations it had gone quicker than expected. He moved his neck around in a circular motion; accompanied by a crack. He sighed loudly and then walked to the main command console of the bridge. A holographic projection of the Fleet Commander appeared before him, and without hesitation the commander asked "How are the preparations Captain?"

Atu sighed again and replied: "We are ready, we are about to transfer all uneeded energy to the shields so the MAC guns won't be as affective. But other than that we are prepared for combat sir"

The fleet commander nodded and spoke again "The rest of the fleet has finished getting into a defensive formation and the orbit of the planet where the human fleet will attack will not falll easily. And one more thing; your ship's defence is primary for this battle to be won. You are ordered to keep all your men on board Apollo until the battle hits the surface".

Atu closed his eyes and then opened them again "Yes sir." At that the projection ended and the room went silent. His men would be dissapointed, he had heard how many of them had been looking forward to destroying the Human MAC guns, and now they had been ordered to not leave the ship. Forget it; he thought. It didn't matter and he did not wish to leave his ship open to attack. Less than an hour away, he could honestly not wait for it to start. Swallowing his downed spirit he opened up the battle com to the entire ship, plus the smaller ones which would accompany it. "The ship's crew and military forces are to act on red alert. The blade defence plan. You all know your stations; get to them. And one more thing, all boarding units are to stand down, i repeat stand down. We need all available units we can get on board."

He sighed under his breath, he good tell they would be dissapointed. Battle was like a fine wine for the covenant, and if they did not get it they got grouchy. He spent the next two minutes thinking, and then without hesitation he opened the battle comm again "Change of plans, I want special op's Hteik and five combat squads on the phantoms ASAP. I do not trust the warriors who are not under my command, and the bastards have no chance in hell of winning against the Human military without some support from the greatest Ship in this fleet, even if it is no bigger than a scouting party!" He then closed the battle com satisfied. He had disobeyed his orders yes, but he didn't really trust the other commanders and they're soldiers. Not only that but he wanted some of his soldiers to get a taste of the enemy. Then return victorious and raise the rest of the crews morale with stories on how weak the enemy is. And beside, they wouldn't miss five squads. He fell back into his chair, waiting for it to finally start.

--

The human fleet was flying at full speed, and its commander; James Mitchell was standing on the bridge of his flag ship. He could see the planet Sunrise in the distance now, but it was still far away, it looked no bigger than a ball from where he was. "Aiyla" James said patiently, and then as the holographic woman appeared on a petistool beside him, he spoke again "How is preparation? Are the ODST ready, and the MAC guns ok to fire?", Aiyla stood with her hand on her hip, and with a confident voice replied

"Yes sir, the ODST are ready, and the MAC guns can't be prepared to fire until we stop moving. However I will take it you meant in good condition so yes; they are."

"Good" James replied "Get the fleet on battle alert. In less an hour we will be all over those ugly sons-of-bitches"

Aiyla nodded and dissapeared, and then a siren errupted on all ships. And a mechanical voice said "All ships and crews to battle positions. This is not a drill, i repeat: this is NOT a drill"

James turned around facing away from the window. Confident they could win this. He drew a magnum from its holster by his side and loaded it with 30 bullets, before replacing it by his side for personal protection. The men around him were pressing buttons like crazy, doing checks and scans every few minutes to make sure that nothing had gone wrong and everything was in order. They had around 60 ships all with pelicans and life boats in there hangers ready to deploy. Not to mention the ODST drop ships, ready to drop them through the atmosphere. The fleet flew in an arrow head formation with Jame's ship at the head. However when they got close enough the ship would slow down and get behind the safety of other battle cruisers.

Then, without warning the radars showed the planet and the covenant fleet. They were around 20,000 miles away but it didn't stop James issuing the replace order, his ship falling back into the arrow head and another ship taking its place at the head.

--

Atu grinned as the radar showed the human fleet slowly approaching, and with almost a smile he opened the battle com and said "We've found them, pray to the gods and holy rings, in an hour..We go to battle"

Kalem was furious at what Atu just said,"Why stand down?I want to rip those humans to itsy bitsy peices!!!".Kalem yelled as he went to punch a jackal.Hteik grabbed his fist when the next orders came in.Hteik grinned at Kalem and said,"That's us Kalem.You ready to rip them into 'itsy bitsy peices' ?".Kalem roared back and hauled some jackals into the phantom.The grunts stood still trembling but then they moved forward as they saw Hteik go into the ship.Grunts were always fearful in battle but they would fight aslong as they had a leader and Hteik was that leader.

Hteik closed his eyes and prayed in his mind.Some other prayed as well out loud and silent as well.Kalem did'nt pray and that annoyed Hteik a little.Kalem looked at him and said."I prayed for combat and now I'm going to get it my prayers were already answered.".He said in reply to the look Hteik was giving.Hteik shrugged and went to the cockpit.They were'nt going to lift off yet since they had an hour.The tech crew used this time to make sure all systems were operational and that the sheilds would hold up.All phantoms were built with temperary cloaking capabilities but they best saved when they were close to the target.Hteik looked over and saw some elites mounting banshees,The convenat fighter/bomber.He saluted them and they saluted back.Those fighters were going to draw all fire away from the phantoms.Hteik prayed for his brothren.They would need all help they could get.

Myonde was still sleeping.A some jackals came into his room and started jumping on him.Screeching and hissing as they jumped up and down.There was 4 of em in all and they were all armed and ready for combat.Myonde woke up and pushed them off.They started snarling at him."We're going to board the UNSC ships?!".He yelled.The jackals nodded in agreement.Myonde rushed over to the hangar.His squad was already geared up and ready to fight.They all looked at him judgementally.Myonde glared back and got his gear.He left his Carbine for an energy sword and brought his plasma rifle.

One of his squad memebers went up to him."Sir,We're going to board the enemy ship and disable they're MAC guns but we're going to share a phantom with 1st Leutenant Hteik and his squad.".Myonde frowned when he heard that.Hteik had a pretty big squad.It might as well be 3 squads put together.He sighed and said."Well we better got on the ship before all the seats are taken.".The elite nodded and then everyone is his group walked into the ship.The battle net was silent except for some battle eager brutes counting down the time they had remaining till they attacked.It was going to be difficult fight if brutes were brought along.They were almost like elites but they were ape like,and stronger.They always had a thrist for blood and normally short tempered.Myonde grasped his plasma rifle as he closed his eyesand prayed.

Jak'ara stood back up as the second wave of commands came in after the dreaded news from Atu on the other side of the fleet formation. (remember, i'm on Lightguard ) He approached the Jackal Major who had been inspecting the equipment of his squad. 'Is everything ready for a boarding operation?' The Jackal screeched 'affirmative' and clopped off on his talon-lined feet to where three other Jackals were waiting in their small Phantom. Jak'ara gazed over his men for a while. Five Elites including himself, ten Grunts and four Jackals. Perfect for a close-quarters boarding op.

'Attention Sunrise orbit, hostile fleet inbound. Repeat: hostile fleet inbound.'
Then, over his private com: 'It's good to see you up and ready, Major. Wait for the signal.'
'Yes, Commander.' he replied, and cut his com. A smile opened up upon his face. 'This will be the battle that earns me my ship' he wooed to himself.

((Just to avoid confusion: Atu is not the man in charge of the entire covenant fleet stationed at Sunrise, he is instead a Ship master who captains but one of the Capital ships that make up the fleet, he is also in charge of the surface defence of sunrise, which is why Atu's ship is closest to the planet))

(Oh and this is a short post because i can't be bothered to write more at the moment)

Atu sat down in his chair, the enemy fleet was now clearly visible and he couldn't wait. Opening the battle com he barked his order "Boarders get to your phantoms. Do not move out until the rest of the fleet opens fire. That should be enough to give you a clear enough shot at the enemy." They would be transported over in Phantoms but they would not be able to enter the ships without spending 10 minutes cutting a hole in the hulls for the siege tunnel to go through, then all they would have to do is run down the tunnel and they would find themselves amongst the enemy. While this would happen the covenant ships would open fire on the enemy battle ships, to distract them while the boarders got a clear run at the MAC gun stations.

Dodging the Marines darting in and out of the cooridors of the ship, Grayeson was sprinting towards the ODST Ready-Room. Rounding a corner, he came to a walk as he stepped through the blast doors of the room. He noticing everyone was still getting dressed and prepped for the battle. While everyone else onboard the ship wore their "Space Suits," Grayeson prefered to wear his Battle Suit around. He made his way to his footlocker, which contained his helmet, weapons, and ammo. Unlocking it, he retrieved his helmet and set it on the bench before him then took his Battle Rifle in hand. Looking it over, he pulled out the magazine to ensure it had the maximum rounds. Satisfied, he placed the rifle next to his helmet just as he grabbed his newly acquired SMG. This was a improved SMG, fitted with a silencer, even though it took his range down a bit, it was still a vital accessory. Checking its clip, which was full of ammo, he set it down by his Battle Rifle. Listening to Doc tell Luke he was jumping with him made everyone laugh, because everyone knew Doc was a joker in these things. As the alarms went off annoucing they have spotted the Covenant fleet, he took his Battle Rifle and placed it on his back. He then hurried and grabbed both his helmet and SMG. Before every battle, Grayeson muttered a prayer to himself.

"Our Father, Lord in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen."

Finishing his prayer, he slid his helmet over his face. The power came on, uploading his HUD into his visor screen. Running a diagonistics test, he found nothing wrong with his suit. Ready to go, Grayeson grabbed his SMG and pulled the hammer back, which loaded a round into the chamber. Looking around the room, he noticed veryone else was almost ready for their drops. Being the only 105th ODST in the room, having split with the rest of his squad, he liked to call the drops, "Helljumps," due to his divison's motto which was, "Jump Feet First into Hell!" This motto earned his squad, the nickname of "Helljumpers," because they tend to recite their motto on a drop. Kicking his footlocker closed, he took a seat on the bench and awaited further orders from the captain. As he waited, his thoughts raced back to Earth, which he wondered if his father was okay. His father, who was a chief-speaker for the SPARTAN-III program, was involved in a skirmish with a scouting Covenant ship. They were heavily damaged and were forced to do the Cole Protocol, which inadvertly hurled then back to Earth luckily. He was immediately hostpitalized and told the doctors to inform his son of the situation. Three weeks later, Grayeson got the message as they were just leaving for Sunrise.

Doc prepped his pod and locked it, ready for jump.

When another ODST walked in he knew him right away.

"Hey! Grayeson! Hows it going today?"

Doc walked over to Grayeson.

"We got a Helljump today, its gunna be a snap, mark my words. In, kick a few grunts, smack a few elites, out. Boom, we have Sunrise."

He paused, then spoke in a more serious tone.

"Im sure that if we take Sunrise, it'll be a turning point in this war..."

Then, snapping back to his normal funny tone he spoke again.

"Hey, you ever hear about a food nipple?"

He laughed.

"I guess its not the time.. I'll tell you if we live, deal?"

He laughed again and cracked his neck.

"Alright men!! What are you?!"

The marines answered back. "MARINES!"

"WHAT ARE YOU?!!!!!!"

"HELLJUMPERS!!!!"

"WHATS IN YOUR BLOOD?!!!!"

"ATMOSPHERE SIR!!!"

"HOOAH?!"

"HOOOOAAAAAH!!!!!!"

It was His job to raise moral too, if you couldnt tell.

Shook his head in disbelief of Doc, he knew all too well that he was a bit on the "Cu-Cu" side. As the rest of the ODST all cheered and shouted out, he raised a clentched fist into the air to cheer with them. Morale is what won battles, not the equipment. His father told him that long ago when he was a boy, he also learned back then the phrase his family went by.

"The only way to achieve true honor in life, is to have died in service to your country and world."

He recited the saying in his head numerous times during basic training back on Earth. Thats what kept him from giving up and led him to being the top graduate of his class. It stayed with him even when he transfered from the USMC to the UNSCMC. Its the one thing that he taught to his squadmates, which most of them acknowledged to be true. Some laughed at him, but he didn't care. He knew his duty and his mission, which was to die either in service to the UNSC or to Earth and its people. As they started coming closer to the Covenant Fleet, he stood from his seat and made his way to the door leading to their HEVs. He always wanted the first ship, the first to jump, the first to land, the first to kill. With everyone ready to go, all he needed was the go ahead to board their HEVs. So, he turned to face the rest of the men, awaiting the order to load up and get ready for the jump.

"Hey Doc, how much you wanna bet I kill more of 'em than you?"

Grayeson always liked to pump his team up with bets.

"I think I'll kill about twenty before you even get a round off."

He laughed.

"Halucinated kills dont count when im patching your sorry bleeding out ass up!"

He laughed.

A few others did too.

"I'll bet you that I patch up more of these guys sorry asses then you kill."

The Marines Booed at Doc's allegation.

"Oh come on guys, you know im just joking. You're Marines! Devil dogs! Helljumpers! That makes you..... Marineing Devil dogs from hell! Yeah! You think some 3 foot tall alien can kill you? Some cooks who pray to giant rings? No way in hell! We have this planet already!"

The marines cheered again.

"Thats what I like to hear!"

The room was quiet, with most of the marines in the ready room, Dickinson had gone back to retrieve one memento, just in-case the ship went down, a picture of his wife, which he stuffed into his BDU's left breast pocket. Hurrying back out of the room and heading down towards the Ready-Room, he could hear the Doc and Grayeson cheering, he didn't have time for that now, he had lost too much time getting the picture, but then, the picture could save his life, a good luck charm, of sorts. The Ready-Room was still filled with Marines, and Dickinson hurried to his locker, quickly, and somewhat unwisely, donning his black ODST Armor. When he had finished, he slipped the helmet onto his head, and let the interface hook up with his retina, and then checked his armor, making sure it was sealed. The Armor fitting snugly to his body, he hurried over to the Arms table, finding his M247, on which he had painted the words Auf Wiedersehen Bumst Mutha! on the side, in his ancestor's tongue, loaded it, and hooked it into his armor, and slid it to where it rested on his back. He then selected an M6D from the table, loaded it, picked up a few magazines, and slid it into its holster, and after getting about three drums of ammunition for the LMG, he double timed it to where the pods were. After prepping the Pod, he relaxed, and started to triple check his armor again, while still listening to the Doc, joining in at the appropriate times with HOOAH!s. He then thought to himself...

All you need to do is to survive, survive this battle, the next battle, and the one after that. No heroics, just do your job. Kill a few xenos, maybe earn a medal, but survive, you want to see Jessica again, don't you? Just survive.

He then finished checking over his armor, and looked about the room. The Marines were really getting pumped, and he overheard Grayeson boasting,

"I think I'll kill about twenty before you even get a round off."

Charles chuckled to himself, and started over to where Doc and Grayeson were standing.