Fire on the Ridge.

Fire on the Ridge

ProLouge: Destiny

I Climbed the ridge, it seemed to be on fire. My squad slowly trudged over the wreckage of what had once been peoples homes, we all wondered who had lived here, because we knew that each person had, had their own life. Stunned, dazed, Confused, shocked could all be words used to describe my actions as I raised my MA5C and pointed it towards the empty sky above this ruined world. I could see battle going on in orbit. The blinding flashes of plasma, and the dull glows of MAC rounds burning through the atmosphere. I looked back down, we had almost reached the top of the ridge, and i saw movement. I fired a few bursts at a jackal on top of the ridge and it toppled over, as if laying back to go to sleep. I wish i had been able to take the sleep, i remembered how i had watched Jason burn alive, Merdok ripped to shred in the hands of a hunter. I started to come back to my own body when i realised we were close to the top. Carefully, we approached the rise and looked over the top of the ridge, and what we saw i will never forget...






Chapter 1:Fire over New Mombasa

The warthog bounced over the gravel, the constant thud of the suspension system, and the incadescent noise of the battle drowned out all chance of vocal communication. I glanced to my left and right and saw men and women dying under Covenant flames, there was nothing i could do, even if my limbs weren't paralyzed with fear. The Dusky smell of war, the blood, cordite, burn of plasma, sweat, and stink of earth was overwhelming. On the skyline you could see the wreckage of the Orbital elevator that was once what made New Mombasa thrive.

I was proud of my squad, we were hardened veterans, we had seen battle on Harvest, Draco IV, and Paris XIV. Nothing could shake us, only motivate us to do our duty. Deliberately we checked our gear, and the Tac screen sprouting out of my helmet started beeping. I hit the receive button and text flashed a command

"Move north, rally at the command center to receive instructions..."

"Rodger that sir" My Company commander's text rolled across the screen, we trusted Major Betane with our lives, he had saved all of ours more than a few times. For instance, Kevin had been firing a machine gun when the order to withdraw went over the Coms. system, He didnt hear. The major personally went back and hauled him from the turret as the rest of platoon laid cover over.

As we went into this most horrific battle in human history, we were still full in spirit, singing our war hymns as if it were just a jog through camp Hathcock on old Reach.

The warthog ground to a halt outside of a large building, Plasma burns and brute spikes scarred the building. It was obvious this had been on the front line of battle for several hours. The terrain around the command center was a burned out urban sprawl, with a desolate ridge about half a kilometer away, On the top you could see fire spouting over and from the trenches of the ridge. The distant cries of pain, and the howling of enemy forces was deafening from even a kilometer away.

On that day i had been assigned to first platoon with Sgt. Kurk was in charge of us, we had few officers left on our platoon as most had been assigned to other freshly drafted company's of troops. The new guy Yuma was only 16, conscripted right out of the slums of New mombasa, we had been more than willing to fight the covenant. Suddenly a voice came over the Com. We could hear it now since we had passed the artillery posts, i remember seeing the piles of shells, it shocked me, we had only been fighting for a day and a half yet they had somehow run through atleast a few thousand shells. I checked my ammunition status, 600 rounds, Would it be enough to hold me over if the artillery was burning through the limited supply of ammo that had already been consumed. I realised that a voice had been spouting orders out over the com for the last minute while i had been deep in thought, the voice was a steady beat to this orchestra of war.

"We need reinforcements in the valley, A company is holding, but we have taken heavy casulties, need ammuntition and reinforcements, repeat need ammunition and *static*"

The communication suddenly stopped, as if a nozzle had been turned. Over the ridge a giant beam of light appeared, Covenant artillery was in play now. That meant that we were no longer safe in the command center. The Major's voice crackled over the Com again.

"1st platoon move up, take the trenches just south of the ridge, you need to hold that depression. All other platoons move up the ridge and hold. Reports are telling us that A company has been obliterated by heavy covie assault. There charging the ridge right now! Move it move it"

I stopped listening, A replacement named Takashi gunned the engine of the warthog and we trundled off in the direction the other 6 hogs of our platoon had gone, Sgt Kurk started briefing us over the Com.

"Ok guys, we've been through this before. Take out the brutes first, and any hunters you see. Leave the mass grunt charges to the turrets on your hogs! Were going to move into a trench the engineers just finished. Take up a position on the firing step and be ready for close combat!"

Just then plasma rounds started to flicker over the ridge, Cpl. Merdok opened fire with our Hogs chaingun. We had engaged and fire our first shots in this hell storm of death and destruction...



Chapter 2: Storming the Front

The sound was deafening as the M41LAAG opened up on the poor sun-of-a-*** covie who had fired at us early. Actually it wasnt a poor sunufabitch, just a *** covie that had invaded our planet and destroyed so much of our lives. The trench line was about 20 yards away, so me and Merdok jumped out of the Hog and dove into that pitiful hole in the ground where i knew i would spend atleast the next day of my life in.

There were already another squad in the trench, run by some new lieutenant named Parker. He screamed at us, while gunfire slashed across the barren urban wasteland we now occupied.

"God damnit, this point in the line is fine, we need you to the south." Merdok replied

"Yes sir, i'll move my fireteam to that point NOW..."

We didn't appreciate these youth replacements commanding us, Merdok had taken a plasma round right to the face on Harvest, Parker didn't have the rite to even think about giving him lip. We gave the poor LT a last frozen look, and then started down the broken trench. We reached our position during a lull in the fighting, so i had time to neatly stack my Ammunition magazines, and my Grenades in easy reach on the firing step. Suddenly a roar ripped across the valley. It was time for the Slaughterhouse to start up again.

Plasma mortars seemed to rape the earth as they impacted behind, and in front of our trench. The sight was bedazzling, and would have stunned me with its deadly beauty if it had not been directed at me. I look up the line and felt sorry for those ***. They were already in contact. I could see the pin-points of light that were the marines BR55's and MA5C's. I heard the rip of a stationary LAAG and glanced up as a Shortsword close-support bomber dropped its deadly payload somewhere on top of the ridge. Infront of me hell seemed to open up, I saw a grunt breach the outer perimter, and knew that it was time to fight.

My first shot went wild, and it didnt strike anything. My second was dead center in a brutes forehead, my third even better. It took out a Commander, i laughed like a lunatic on fire as i fed my MA5C with Magnum 7.62mm rounds. The gun felt hot in my hands, and my heart felt hotter as i exacted revenge for what they had done on Eradinus, Sigma Octanus, and several other planets i had fought on. *Pop, Crack, Pop* I added my own fury to the sea of fire. The new guy Takashi, the driver, i saw his left eye ripped open by 2 brute spiker rounds, and then i felt the supersonic hiss of a sniper rifle entrenched farther behind me. The spent shells started piling up, and the pile of mags started dwindling down.



Half an hour later i was out of ammunition.

Chapter 3 (A side story): Last stand of Hill 103


I ran as fast as i could, my BR55 buzzed as i put down a grunt, the blue gore splatted my boots as i ran by. I screamed

"GET YOUR ASSES UP ONTO THAT HILL!"

Private Haller called out

"Sir we cant!, hunters on the far slopes!"

I looked up and scanned the horizon of the broken hill for the hulking shapes of the hunters, i saw nothing. Out of the corner of my eye i spotted a sickishly green glow, and watched in horror as 4th platoon was turned into Well-Done steak. The gray slope that was hill 103 loomed below me, I used the scope on my Battle rifle to pick off a brute climbing the rocks. My Squad jumped in behind me, Private Zaid tossed some grenades into a cluster of grunts. My head suddenly jerked sideways, as if some other being was controlling me. I stared now at a brute that was about 4 yards away. I brought my rifle up and started firing on full auto into the beasts brain. Nothing connected, within seconds i had my arm broken, and my leg crushed by a brute leg. I screamed in pain as the beast was pounded by a .50 cal machine gun emplacement farther up the hill. Suddenly the tide turned, a broken outhouse blew sky high as mortars found the Covie troops taking cover in it. I watched wave after wave of brutes and grunts repulsed by a few Machine guns and marines. Suddenly i noticed bright teardropped shaped ships dropping out of the sky, That was the last thing i saw as i felt the cool heat of plasma envelop our position.

The brute chieftan Grokan bellowed his war-cry on top of what the humans had called hill 103.



Chapter 4:Firing Blanks

*Clack* My rifle spent empty, the last cartridge spilling out onto the broken gravel of the trench. I screamed for another clip, but nobody heard me over the roar of the Hogs LAAG. i Reached over and tugged the ammo satchel out of a dead marines broken corpse. I hated doing this, but it was his dignity in death, or my life. I did what i had to do, so i loaded the ammo into my MA5C and began pumping rounds out into the fray again. The tap that controlled the covenant suddenly closed. No more brutes came, no more grunt charges pounded the wasteland into pulp, and no more Hunters clambered the slope, looking for marines to slag. Sgt. Kurk yelled over the com

"Get your asses out there and recover any ammo and weapons you need! Command just ordered us up to take back a little piece of real estate named Hill 103!"

The squad leaders mader their hasty replies, and i yelled to the others

"Comon, get the hog, Urbansk, take the wheel"

I didnt need to say it was because takashi was dead, everybody knew and nobody wanted to talk about it. There is a time and a place to mourn, but its not on the battlefield. I zoned out as Urbansk gunned the engine and we sped off away from that hellish kill-zone. The ride seemed to be much quicker than the ride there. I watched as we drove past the HQ, it was gone, only a pile of rubble remained of that Command center. The "morgue" was the most depressing. Usually the bodies of a battle are neatly stacked in dignified positions, this time the grave crew only had time to toss the body onto a raging fire. I stared at marines crying, standing over their broken friends, and screaming in rage at the *** aliens who had taken their brothers.

It was about 20 minutes before we reached the base of hill 103. It was a disgusting wasteland, Nobody from graves had been able to get over here since the Covies controlled the hill. On top of the hill you could hear screams of pain, as the brutes toyed with the remaining marine survivors. It boiled our blood that we could do nothing until the artillery did its job. I prayed as the 180mm shells fell on top of that hill, by the time they were done the hill was more like a bump in the ground. Nothing remained of the once proud "Artisan" District of New Mombasa. As we advanced up the hill i heard a moan. It was a young private, his dog tags were blown off, but he was still alive so i gave him to the medic. He told me that the the soldier would probably make it, since he had only suffered a few light burns, most likely overwash from other larger plasma explosions. I was happy that at least i had been able to save a single life, rather than just take them.

At 1900 Military time, Hill 103 was declared secured. It was a chance to take a rest, as the engineer combat team started building a new bunker, and network of trenches we all slept easy. In the morning a bright new fort stood on top of hill 103. We had been lucky that no Covenant attack had come at us that night. I wondered if we were finally depleting the covie troop strengths, though i doubted it. A plasma round struck the bunker, not 2 feet away.

"SNIPER!"

somebody screamed, everyone panicked and dove for cover. Suddenly a roar ripped through the valley, and spikes and plasma started smashing into the fortifications. I rushed into my squad's bunker and got to the firing port. I had gotten more ammo, and had been sure to stock up on as much as i could carry this time. A burst from Cpl. Merdok took the leading brute in the eye, and we cheered as 80mm Autocannons ripped through the enemy ranks. They kept coming though, and we couldnt stop them no matter how many rounds we fired. It all turned into a blur for me. I fired a single shot which impaled a grunts straight through its strange alien heart. A clip went into a brute about 60 yards away, and a Grenade tore apart a charging pack of Jackals. It felt like i was firing Blanks.

Chapter 5: Beta Line

There were 3 of us left, Me, Merdok, and a replacment named Jason. We wreaked of despair, and our faces were placked in mud and dirt. It was time to fall back. The tac-net was alive with traffic, but i tuned it all out except for HQ's channel.

"All units pull back from hill 103, and The alpha trenches on the ridge!"

From what we were hearing the entire front was collapsing. I dropped a spent mag out of my Assault rifle, Click clack, it went while it bounced off the ground. The dusk of war rolled across the battlefield. In the distance artillery boomed, guns banged, and plasma sizzled. The hillside was covered in bodies, both human and and covenant. I stared at the Sgt. He was locked in a final death hold with a giant brute. As i scrambled out of the blasted bunker, i saw a few dozen other stragglers limping towards the Beta line of trenches. The mettalic clink of a chaingun sliced through the air. Furhter down the ridge the covies were renewing their assualts. It was a deathly beautiful dannce, with lights flashing and Voice screaming a perfect, yet chaotic melody of battle.

As i passed a group of reinforcments, i saw how they looked at us. Like we were animals, or something. God ****we had all fought for this planet, i had atleast earned a shower back home. I caught a ride on a broken down Cougar transport, it was going back to HQ to re-arm and recover from its ordeal. The crew told me they had been on top of the ridge for only 20 minutes before they had expended everything but their side arms. The dull thud of a sniper rifle echoed through the little vale that we were driving through. As i looked up the ridge i saw a brute standing, holding it's power hammer above its head. I swore that i would get the blood. Then the tac com burst back to life.

"This is Cpt. Chan, all units of the former 708th Marines report to me. Major Betane was just killed on The Ridge, i need 1st platoon and 2cnd platoon to move up and reinforce the beta trench lines!"

There went my shower, with a enthusiasm that could only be matched by a gravedigger, i reloaded my Ma5c and jumped on a scorpion heading up the ridge. I felt like i was in a trance, just going through the movements of a pointless drill. I reached the top of the ridge and slid into a dug-out. There were 3 guys from 2nd platoon that i knew there. I didn't remember their names, all i knew was that i had fought with them during the Sigmus Octanus campaign. One tossed me a can of Goop, thats what we called military issued rations because they had the same consitency and taste as the afore mentioned substance. I nodded my thanks, choked the *** can down, and leaned back and fell asleep.

BANG! i was awake. It was pure chaos, i grabbed my rifle and looked over the top of the trenchline. I saw 3 Grunts firing up at me, and past them and all around were Brutes, Jackals, Hunters, And more grunts. Crack, A grunt is nailed in the stomach, he lights on fire and runs around before exploding and taking a brute with him. I see the scorpion fire, the round is like a shovel and rips a dozen jackals faces off. The 32 round mag lasted me all of 40 seconds, then i reloaded and poured my bullets into a hunter. It fell over, the eels that composed it's body writhing as i ripped them to shreds. A Sparrowhawk gunship made a quick visit to us, it hammered the wave of covenant, but it only stopped the tide while it was there. The second it left a new fresh wave of troops charged us, i screamed and fired untill the gun was to hot to hold. But i held and fired more. The barrel started to slag, and i knew my hands were covered in burns by now. Pop, pop, crack, bang, each represented the death of an enemy, but they kept coming. Pop Crack..... It faded off into the night.....

Chapter 6: Horizon

The horizon was on fire, I could see a longsword fighter soaring down through the atmosphere, traces of light flashed from its gun muzzles. I could see the high explosive 88mm shels trace along the far side of the hills, i wondered what was going on over there, something big because there were never any spare longswords for a air strike. I could smell the blood on the air, it was mixed with another strange scent, probably what the covenant smelled like when they decomposed. The stink permeated the air, giving the scene the feeling of depression. The dark clouds hung over the horizon, lit up orange by shell fire. You could see for a hundred kilometers it seemed, i held my assault rifle loselly in my left hand. It had been my constant companion as the dusk settled into night. Covenant forces glowed a ghostly blue over the ridge, the trees around my shook, the artillery fire rumbled the earth.

My boots crunched over a hard layer of dirt, the leaves had all been blown somewhere far away by the winds of battle. The squad halted, and i could see my breath through the cold light of the night. Up in orbit, you could see a Covenant ship being ripped apart by a pack of Frigates, but then a point of light appeared, and another. Soon the frigates were forced to retreat, while the wounded ones were ripped to shreds by plasma torpedoes. Each spark being put out represented the loss of a thousand human lives. More than what we lost down here in a few hours ,but not by much. My rifle lit up, the motion sensor detected incoming unknown/hostile targets. I crouched down and signalled the rest of the squad to follow my lead. The clank of brute armor had never been so clear, their savage grunts wafted through the cold night. Suddenly a trio of gunshots were heard farther up the ridge. A sniper from 2nd Platoon butchered the 4 brute patrol, we silently gave him our thanks, and moved on to the hidden command dug-out.

The Dugout was about ten yard wide, and covered with debris of war. A random fast-crete block, a broken child's doll. I removed my headset, and slowly crouch walked into the dimly lit corridor. The hallway's echoed with the sounds of war, and a command center. Orders were barked, gunshots fired, and sirens whistled. The emergency lights cast a red tint over everything, and for a second i thought that the hallway had been soaked in blood. My Br55 was on safety, and my pistol secured in its Nytex holster. I opened the door into the Situation room when the world went white and blue.

Chapter 7:Fallout

Nukes, thats what screamed in my head when the flash of light flashed into the small space that was CCC Situation room. I quickly realised that was not the case, as there was no ringing, and no shockwave, and no instaneous death. I heard the speakers bark

"ORBITAL PLASMA BOMBARDMENT, CLASS A, PENETRATING CRUST!"

That was bad, Covenant only did that when they felt they had gathered everything they had needed. I listened to the chaos that was in the room, and decided to just go outside and see what was happening for myself. The rusty brown earth sank beneath my boots as i walked outside. The dust blew and i felt as if something big was about to happen. I was right...

At that moment, HIGHCOM went into overdrive, the council had just voted to nuke the valley's where we were fighting. The radio went wild with withdrawal requests, and you could see the missile frigate in low orbit over the city. I heard the roar of the covenant as they believed the breakthrough had occured, their pure confidence shook me to my very bones. Their rumbling charge was so huge, that even though i could not see it, the ground shook with their pounding, and their voice made the air thrum. The automated turrets installed in the bunkers opened fire, their buzzing noise whited out everything. A platoon of marines poured into the room, and i knew that all underground shelters would be the same. Situation was at Defcon 1, and anybody still out there was just another casultie of a war with a KIA list so long it was kept on 2401 different computers in the office of Graves.

The white flash was the last thing the Brute warrior Mennahitate saw as he hacked a young marine's arm off. Sgt. Keller of 45th division was screaming on the com when the EMP and nuclear fallout wiped him from existence.

"KILL EM ALL BOYS! *Distant gunfire over COM*"

After the ringing stopped, i stepped outside and was met with a gust of hot wind that knocked me over. The once lushios valley was a rocky wasteland now. Even the shelling had not done this much damage too the Valley before the nuke had landed. I remembered that day till i died, the pure primordiral might spiralling out destruction into the evening sky. The flash was said to be heard all the way in the Cairo spaceport.

The command came up the line to push back up that desolate slope, they said that radiation wouldn't kill us faster than the covenant.

Chapter 8: Sierra 117

The Riflemen climbed the mudslick slope, stumbling and tripping over debris. The hair on the back of neck sizlled, the radiation was still there, but it was lessening every minute. They had dropped a clean tac nuke, which ment that the radiation would go from lethal, to irritating in a matter of half an hour after the detonation. The ground was charred as we made our way through the blast zone, The 10 man squad was making little progress. There were no signs of the covenant, and we were stuck on our own out in that wasteland. I could see the ridge about a thousand yards ahead of us, and i thought that i could see light fighting on it. The radios were dead, as the EMP had knocked it all out. My rifle read low ammunition, so i deftly pulled the mag from it's slot, and inserted a hefty new clip. i walked through a field of ashes, and something crunched. I looked down and saw charred bones, to big to be human. The nuke had wiped everything out.

We left the crate behind, and made our way to the crest of the slope to the ridge. The whine of plasma and the crack of gunfire wafted through the hot breeze of the Saharan night. The Vest felt heavy on my chest, and my pistol chafed my thighs. Pale light emnated from over the ridge, Shining off my Combat knife. the Com came back online.

"THIS IS FLEETCOM HQ, TARGET DESIGNATED SIERRA 117 IS INBOUND, SECURE LANDING SITE APROX. 5 KILOMETERS EAST OF YOUR POSITION!"

I was stunned, The Masterchief was on that bright light? There had been rumors that he had been killed on reach, but most people didn't think so since there had been no official spartan casulties. He was my younger brother's hero, and my hope. Humanity's greatest hero, and the Covenants worst enemy. I quickly realised that somebody would be sent out to retrieve him from the pod. If we had the chief back, maybe we could finally win this.

My New MA5C felt light that night as i trudged up the final foothill before the ridge rose above, scraping the horizon like a elemental tidal wave crashing down upon us. The brown soil mixed with the rosy blood of marines, and the covenant littered the slope like fallen flowers. The Company advanced up on this empty slope, desolate after several days battle. I tripped and fell, my helmet hit the ground with a clatter. I looked behind me to see that i had tripped over a dead brute. It's teeth were blackened, and its fur was scorched. Nearby i spotted another marine who had fallen, his blank eyes gazing into eternity.

As the rise grew closer, my heart started pumping. We could hear the covenants baying cries and barks, and knew that we were close. Suddenly the man on my right fell as a bloody stump, i dropped to the rough dirt, and grabbed cover behind a disembowelled cougar. The metal ripped open my sleeve, and cut me coldly in the darkness. Red hot spikes zipped over the horizon, and blurred muzzle flashes made my vision twist. I raised my rifle and fired at several shadows on the ridge. They fell, and i heard a bellow of pain from a brute. As the Marines advanced for the final push, the covenant were decimated and pushed back bit by bit. We all pictured The Chief coming over the ridge at the head of a victorious new army.

To my left and right were Cpl Merdok and a young soldier who i could only identify as Youngfellow. They were both hollering at the top of their lungs and pumping hot lead into the retreating covenant forces. Flashes of Sickly green pulsed, and trooper Youngfellow fell to the ground. All that was left was a slagged pair of boots, and a slagged torso. Merdok screamed and charged towards the attackers. Their dim shapes rose from the ground and a pair of Lekgolo grabbed hold of Merdok and ran their shields through his wriggling abdomen. The hunter on the right dragged its shield up into Merdok's head, while the one on the left ripped down through his groins. He was dead before his body touched the ground.

I panicked, backpedalled into a ditch, and curled into a ball. In the background i could hear vicous fighting. Marine's battle cries and Covenant Roars shook the earth like thunder and lightning. The Hills of New Mombassa shook that night all the way into the morning. I started into the dark of space, and watched as Covenant ships dropped into lower and lower atmospheres, brushing all UNSC ships aside like gnats. Then it went dark.

Chapter 9: Fire on the Ridge

My eyes opened to a bright flash of pure white light. Diamonds dazzled my pupils as thousands of LODAPR impacted on the deathly slope. Explosions of colorless light enveloped fighting The swarming covenant and the brave marines. Though i couldn't see it the pure energy explosives Melted the skin of the combatants, anything metal in the area immediately melted and entered a gaseous state of matter. Screams were drowned out by a throbbing hum, bullets and plasma in mid flight deteriorated in mid flight, and the few pieces of shrub remaining on the slope ignited into blazing infernos. The LODAPR rounds were a last resort weapon, usually used to destroy overrun positions. Fired from orbiting ships or sattelites, these missiles were each packed with a .25 Megaton clean TACNUKE of unspecified power. The explosion as it turned out, was about 2 miles away. Me and my platoon had survived only because we had managed to clear our area, otherwise i knew we would have been vaporised with the others. HIGHCOM must be getting desperate, and so must the situation in orbit if the Covenant had managed to land another dozen troop carriers and cruisers around the artifact about 100 kilometers away.

The ridged loomed above us as we started the trudge up to retake the damned ridge, i could hear the battle starting up again, and the roars of covenant, and the desperate com chatter of the Marines holding the valley. Gunfire ripped across the ridge, Huge 120MM Broadsword strafing shells gouging holes into the earth. scattered plasma rounds streaked lights into the clear night air, and occasional tracer rounds flashed into the sky. The cruisers in the distance began to lift, going to pick up more covenant reinforcements i assumed. My rifle clacked on empty after i blew away the alien face of a grunt. In the distance a Jackal screamed, and suddenly the world turned over, and i lost all sense of direction. When i stood back up my vision was disoriented, and my heart pounded, i started my way up the ridge again, trying to catch up with the squad.

I Climbed the ridge, it seemed to be on fire. My squad slowly trudged over the wreckage of what had once been peoples homes, we all wondered who had lived here, because we knew that each person had, had their own life. Stunned, dazed, Confused, shocked could all be words used to describe my actions as I raised my MA5C and pointed it towards the empty sky above this ruined world. I could see battle going on in orbit. The blinding flashes of plasma, and the dull glows of MAC rounds burning through the atmosphere. I looked back down, we had almost reached the top of the ridge, and i saw movement. I fired a few bursts at a jackal on top of the ridge and it toppled over, as if laying back to go to sleep. I wish i had been able to take the sleep, i remembered how i had watched Jason burn alive, Merdok ripped to shred in the hands of a hunter. I started to come back to my own body when i realised we were close to the top. Carefully, we approached the rise and looked over the top of the ridge, and what we saw i will never forget...


Part 1 Finish

Part 2: Tides of war

The Ground was on fire. Chunks of earth ripped into the sky, hundreds of warriors battling in the hellish maze. Covenant Cruisers on the horizon dueled a fleet of Human Ships, their Mac rounds and Plasma Torpedoes ripping holes into the atmosphere, and exploding missiles and fighters caused debris to rain down upon the earth like a metal rain. Down below rips of bright colors created an orgy of destruction. A tank's tread blew off right after it fired. The round crashing into a Spirit dropship, causing the hull to split open and drop its load like eggs for an omelette. The ground shook with a rythmic beat, and a orange glow appeared over the horizon. From the distance we began to ascend into this titanic battle.

There was a gulch, filled with mud and debris. I saw marines wading waist high into a hail of Plasma rounds. One marine turned into a pin-cushion for the needler rounds humming through the air. Another lit on fire with the backwash of fuel rod rounds that tore apart a revving warthog. All was chaos, and all was deathly. My weapon raised as if it's own accord, and started to burp flaming lead bullets into a covenant position. Further down the ridge, a MG emplacement buzzed a stream of tracers into a charging brute pack. The Brute's shields failed, and red purple gore trickled down the slope like a spill of drink. Screams and Growls filled the air, and the smell of battle was ripe in the air. Cordite, Sweat, Blood, Burning, Plasma, And Metallic smells were all part of this scent. All together it became a symbol of death, wafting through the Oxygen that i inhaled.

My blood burned as i raised the butte of my rifle and smashed in the skull of a cringing jackal, it's alien blood dripping to the infertile gray soil. Gravel crunched in my boots as i charged a enemy emplacement, shooting each grunt in the head with my rifle, and discarding the bent magazine to exchange it with a sibling that was full. Each time i fired, a tough jerk pushed into the shoulder, and a bright flash of light and a mettalic crack cut the air infront of me. Grenades thudded into a trench as i jumped into the mired pit, weapon shouldered and ready to fire. Infantrymen became entangled in a brutal melee further away than i could hope to reach. Artillery crashed onto the open plain infront of me, and the ground became punching bag to the titanic forces of chemical reactions from the explosive shells. I remember hundreds of bodies flung into the air like ragdoll puppets, each a burning candle extinguished by a bucket of water.

Fire streaked from a covenant carrier in the sky, dropping orbital pods of elites. The pods hit the ground, and we gave up all hope of surviving. A pod landed next to me, and a Elite emerged in shining silver armor. All around us the awsome beasts of war rose from their haunches and charged swords, rifles, and pistols preparing to rain death upon us. The Silver elite fired it's rifle, and i knew it was over. The round soared through the air, and burned my short frizzled brown hair as it prepared to impact upon my skull. Glowing goblets of supercharged gases streaked PAST my head and impacted into a sneaking grunt. The Elite barked out orders and started crushing into the brute forces. The UNSC marines stood stunned, and watched in horrid interest as Elite Cruisers began to warp in, Each cruiser burst into the high orbit of space and turned towards the fleet of covenant ships. The Brute controlled ships began to retreat towards the "artifact" that sent out a cold beam of blue bright light, spinning like a vortex. Gunning down any stragglers, the Elite's ships sent down wave after wave of orbital pods, spawning troops in bright blue and red armor. The Brutes now outgunned and outnumbered began to pull back, i watched with glee as a pair of elites with swords cut a pack of brutes into well done steaks. Grunts squealled and stampeded back into their Brute master's dropships and a few exploded as stray rounds found methane packs.

The battle was over, the tides of war turned. In the distance a dark portal opened up, and a great wave of energy punched into the surrounding countryside. I was knocked flat and watched as the covenant ships entered the portal and dissapeared. A few Cheers echoed from the hollowed corners, but it died down quickly as a new warp opened up in the visible distance. A green tinged covenant Cruiser entered warp, and crashed somewhere over the horizon. The battle wasn't over yet.


END FIRE ON THE RIDGE

took me 3 posts to get it all down LOL

wow, haven't seen you since....... since I first joined HWF

Ive only been gone for a few months