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Logan had decided it best to spread out his troops, forming a line as they combed through the forest. He heard a squeeled in his ear before hearing someone's voice, "Calling ground troop Beta. This is Echo 045, You guys need support? I'm coming up on your position with a fresh batch. Over..." He was concerned before over the lack of COM traffic, but was glad to know everything hadn't gone to hell. "This is Beta Team. Any and all support would be accepted, but we're currently in a forest and you'd find it rather difficult to land here. We're heading towards the forest's edge and will meet you there, over." He quickly ordered his team to speed up their progress, wanting to leave this place as soon as possible.

He winced as he heard screams, bones cracking, and an explosion before the COM went dead. He clicked the COM off in time to hear the Pelican's dead hulk crashing into the ground not far from their position. He quickly ordered his team to 'double-time it' to the crash site. He didn't harbor any false hopes of survivors, but perhaps they could find some heavy weapons. It didn't take long for them to come across the wreckage, most of what was left of the frame being twisted and slagged. Several chunks of armor had been melted, and one of the wings was missing. He ordered his men to surround the Pelican before climbing into the deformed aft section. He immediately noticed the six dead Marines in this compartment, their bodies mauled beyond recognition. He retrieved their dog tags before turning to his search for ammo and weapons. He quickly found two containers that had been placed in the cross-braces above him, thanking whatever deity had protected them from the trip down. He was lucky enough to have found two M247 Anti-personnel Turrets. These would definitely come in handy for defending a fixed position. He found a few extra packs of rockets for a Rocket Launcher , and several extra clips of ammo for their BR55's and M7's. Besides that and a few grenades, however, there was nothing more of use in the bird. The long-range communications equipment had been melted with the rest of the cockpit. He had two Marines carry the diss-assembled turrets, and another carry the extra packs of rockets. There was one Missle Pod on the one remaining wing on the Pelican, but without a Warthog they couldn't move it. The other Anti-personnel Turrets attached to the Pelican were slagged, and would never be used again. He climbed out of the Pelican once more and tagged its position for future reference, hoping they could salvage what was left later, and ordered his men to move out to the rally point, not being that far from their goal. He knew there was only about a half mile between them and their rally point, and knew that anything could be between them.

He and his seventeen Helljumpers crouched silently at the edge of the forest as they examined their rally point from a distance. They weren't even a quarter of a mile away from their enemy. Logan sighed as he zoomed in on the Covenant forces using one of the trooper's sniper rifle. He noted a Hunter pair as the most destructive force on the Butte, and already knew how he'd deal with the walking tanks. He also noticed two Elites and several of the dog-like enemies he didn't consider great threats, Grunts. The SPARTAN zoomed out and handed the Trooper his Rifle back as he quickly ordered his team into several smaller groups. He had his Sniper Team, which consisted of the two Helljumpers with Sniper Rifles and one 'body gaurd', who he ordered to find the highest ground they could, set up shop, and be ready to take out the Elites on his command. He had his Rocket Jocky, who would take two other Marines with him when they advanced on the enemy position and take out the Hunters as fast as they could. He didn't care how many rockets it would take, as long as those things were dead. That left eleven ODST's, which he split up and sent half to go around to the other side of the structure, hoping to attack from two sides at once. He thought this was a solid plan, especially with the limited resources he had, and would order the attack the second his Troopers said they were in position. He checked to make sure his Battle Rifle was loaded, clicked off the safety, and sat in waiting with his five infantry men, waiting for the time to attack. He had hoped to avoid a conflict like this, but knew there was no way of avoiding it now.

The Rocket Jocky team, which had used a hidden path in the hills beside the butte to sneak up on the enemy, was already in position when the order to open fire was given. The Helljumper with the Rocket Launcher opend up after taking careful aim at the first Hunter, letting one of the two rockets loose before pivoting and firing at the other Hunter. The first rocket flew straight and true, impacted on the Hunters chest-plate, and blew a huge gash in its center. The second Hunter howled in rage and agony over the loss of it's bond brother, before the second rocket connected with it and effectively blew it to hell.

The Sniper Team had been waiting for the order to attack, and already had the Elites in their sights when it was given. They both fired at the same time, and both shots impacted on the tops of the Elites' helmets, killing both of them before the twin reports echoed between them. They Snipers quickly turned on the Grunts, carefully taking aim at each one before firing. Several Grunts fell as the rest of the ground forces advanced on their confused enemy.

Logan and his five ODSTs ran up the hill next to the structure, quickly making it up just in time to see Grunts tople over backwards as the high-velocity rounds tore into them. He looked past the unorganized troops to see the other six Troopers rounding the corner and opening up on the remaining forces, slowly scattering as their leaders were slaughtered. He quickly brought his rifle up and took aim at a Grunt running into the facility, squeezing the trigger twice. Both rounds hit, one striking the bastards methane breather, while the other hit the creatures arm, causing it to drop his plasma pistol as it ran in fear. One of the Marines ahead of him was at the entrance, and was about to enter when a charged plasma bolt impacted on his face-plate, causing his corpse to fall over backwards as his allies took up positions around the entrance. He quickly ordered his Snipers to keep an eye out for enemy dropships, and slowly rounded the corner of the entrance, just in time for an Elite to open up with his Plasma Rifle. The super-heated plasma was absorbed by his quickly draining shield, and he barely had time to prime a frag grenade and toss it into the dug in Covenant forces, before retreating back behind the wall, giving his shields a moment to recharge.

There was a brief scream of rage from the Elites in command, before an explosion drowned out the noise. One Elite, which had been standing too close to their way in, was flung from the structure before impacting on the metal with a wet, pulpy smack. He quickly rounded the corner once more, running in as he searched for a target. He noted a few charred Grunts lying on the floor, before seeing a severly pissed off Elite in golden armor with a Plasma Sword roar a challenge and advance on the SPARTAN. Logan knew he didn't have enough time to wear down his targets shield with his Battle Rifle, and retreated backwards. He primed one of the captured plasma grenades he had policed from the Grunt they had silenced in the forest, and threw it down in front of him, still moving back. The Elite was either too stupid or too angry to notice it as the creature stepped over it. The grenade went off, the blast impacting on the Elites back and causing its shield to overload and fail. Logan quickly raised his rifle up, squeezed the trigger once, and watched as the round tore into the front of the Elites helmet. The alien fell face-forward onto the floor, dropping his deadly Plasma Sword as it did. The strange weapon guttered and went dark as its fail-safes permanently disabled it. He kept his rifle raised and aimed at the end of the passage he was in. When nothing stirred or made a jump for him, he ordered his men to enter and secure the immediate area. He lowered his Rifle as ODSTs pushed past him to inspect the dead, policing any weapons they could. He hoped there weren't any more surprises for them in this strange place, and that he could keep at least some of his men from dying.