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Kyle gripped his BR55 and his fingers lifted up and down nervously. He looked at the ammo counter under the scope and saw it read full. As he read through his check list mentally he looked at the other Marines in the pelican hold. They rocked from left to right as it came to a stop and he awaited for the go ahead command, blinking rapidly.

[Gotcha Jib. I'll make sure we get there safe and sound with rifles at the ready.]

Mendez's Pelican was racing towards the ground as he delivered his last bit of breifing. "Do NOT fire until fired upon. Secrecy is the key here, Marines, and if you bust that up, you had better hope you aren't on my pelican back home." Receeding from the cockpit, Mendez walked to the back of the loading bay and slapped the door mechanism, causing the ramp to lower. "We're going in quick and quiet, Gentlemen, I hope you came prepared."

As the pelican touched down, most of the ODSTs and Marines were already disembarking. Quickly securing a perimeter, the marines were busy finishing preparations. Mongeese and troop carrier warthogs were the main transport they had for the first wave, light and quick vehicles were key. "Marines, mount up. We do this by the book."

Jumping onto the back of a mongoose, Mendez clutched his left hand onto the Marine sitting in front of him's armor, and hung his BR55 off the other. "Move up." Hitting the accelerator, the mongoose lurched foward, followed by a convoy of warthogs, escorted by other mongeese. It was a short trip, only four kilometers. "Marines, set up positions around the base of that generator. Make sure you aren't seen. We're here to set up, and make sure the others make it in safe. No heroics. Do not fire until I give the order."

As the marines settled into their positions, about 300 yards out from the tower, they utilized every small nook, cranny, and rock available to them for sniping cover.

"Second wave, perimeter secure. Waiting on your signal."

Kyle hit the ground and got into a warthog passenger seat. He watched for any movement as it drove up to the generator. He hopped out and followed Mendez down the embankment to the generator entrance. As he layed prone behind a small rock, he noticed a large brute captain followed by three minors walk out onto the metal dock of the facility, "Sir, requesting permission to take a shot, sir." He aimed for the brute captain's head and waited for a command.

Karr grabbed his crutches and the rifle next to him. "Captain... you got yourself a TACCOM."

He followed the Captain of of the tent, "Am I to be in your Pelican Captain?"

Kyle ducked in, still aiming at the captain. A phantom rushed overhead and hovered next to the ledge of the deck, side doors extended and several more brutes stepped off and looked around. He muttered, "s**t..."

Anthony gripped the mans hand and saluted afterwards as Captain Lee trailed off to his pelican.

Getting help from a few Marines, Anthony was able to get secured into his pelican and ready for take off.

"Foxtrot One Seven One preparing for all system check and weapons lock. Running go codes, switching over to Kill-box 3 Beta. All aerial units, this is CWO Karr, TACCOM Officer for this mission, all landing sites are coming to you as followed. Lock and load gentlemen."

Anthony continued the checks...

"Anybody got a spare sniper rifle?" Jon whispered into his COM. "i feel uncofortable being on cover duty with something as inaccurate as this MA5C" he waited a second before his spine shivered "anybody else getting the heeby geebies here?"

Captain Robert LeDuc of the 305th Striker kept his head down, focused on his tac-map as his pelican lifted off the ground. Overhead, the Shadow Of Intent floated silently, looming over the small flight of pelicans. Soon, they would be back on the ground. Soon, he would be safe on his feet again. Because on his feet, there was little one could do to faze LeDuc, a veteran of thirty years of war and a master tactical analyst. No, he knew this plan, had helped work on it, and nothing would stop the UNSC from carrying through on their promise to take down the generators.

The scenery passed the open pelican's troop door, flashing past in a canvas of tans and yellows. A few soldiers tapped anxiously on their rifles, peering sideways at the Captain in their midsts, unsure whether to take his relatively relaxed state as a sign to worry or as a sign of confidence. As Robert's gaze roze to meet theirs, their fears were quelled.

That was, until a flash turned the sky purple, then green, then grey. And the blood in all their veins seemed to ice as High Charity phased into the Ark's atmosphere and began a long downwards spiral to it's surface. Suddenly, LeDuc's radio was bursting with traffic.
"Unidentified Contacts! Lots of them!"
"Requesting Further Instructions!"
"WHAT IN THE SAM HELL IS THAT THING?!"

Swerving suddenly sideways, the pelican tilted a whole forty-five degrees and began closing the troop bay hatch as giant globs of organic matter rained down around them. As the troop bay door was closing, the Captain caught a glimpse of a pelican getting hit by one of the strange projectiles and simply collapsing from the gravity of the hit. A spray of greenish liquid spattered through the last foot of sunlight as a small bulb fell into the troop compartment. Gunfire rang through the Captain's ears, and suddenly his world was spinning...




"CAPTAIN!!!...

CAPTAIN LEDUC!!!"
Robert woke up to vigorous shaking, lying next to a few wounded marines. One of them, a private, was nursing the worst case of gangrene the marine captain had ever seen. A few feet farther away, two firing squads were pouring lead over some rock cover. A mad howling sound and chitinous chirps echoed in the canyon, painting a real scene of madness over the once pristine installation.
The Captain shook himself and got up, picking up a battle rifle that had been set next to him, presumably the same one he had been nursing on the ride here.
"I'm awake... I'm alright.
How much time was I down?"
"Two minutes, sir! Long enough for the flood to hit us hard!"
"s**t, son... Where's the rest of the wave?"
"Down there, sir!"

LeDuc looked down at the valley below, and almost had to hold back a swear.
The flood now filled the canyon, covering it in bio-organic growths. On the other side, farther from the flood's influence, the first wave was hidden and the covenant loyalists were going to respond to the alien threat. Five pelicans lay in ruins, and more than three hundred soldiers now marched to the macabre waltz of the infected.