"Mayday, Mayday! We are going down! I repeat Phoenix 1 has been hit and we are going down!" The pilot shouted into his head set before looking back at his passengers. "Praetorians, I suggest you put your heads between your legs."
"That doesn't seem like it will help anything." Praetorian Guzman, the newest Praetorian, said.
"Yeah well if I can't land this beast you might wanna be ready to kiss your ass goodbye!" The pilot laughed.
"Just make sure your strapped in Private." A low rumbling voice cut off the pilots laugh.
"Yes Sargent!" She shouted as she checked and rechecked her seat straps.
"Alright everyone. Brace for impact. This is gonna suck!" The pilots voice seemed to climb a few octaves as he spoke.
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Praetorian Jason Corvus was the first to come awake after the Lancer-T crash landed into a forest. Miraculously, the pilot, at the cost of his own life, managed to keep the vessel from exploding potentially saving the members of Team Black Flag.
Activating the HUD, inside the eyeholes of his helmet, he checked the vitals of his team. All alive, thank god.
After grabbing the pilots dog tags he quickly moved around the troop compartment waking his team. "Everyone get moving. Gather your gear and Corporal check the Mulch units make sure it's intact." The Mulch or MLCH-15 is the ground transportation used by Preatorian spec ops like his unit. They were lightweight mechs that collapse down small enough that they can be carried over any terrain their unable to cross, which due to their model there isn't many types of terrain that can stop them.
"All Mulch units are operational Sarge. Our armor engrams didn't make it though." Corporal Justin Tanks, the teams engineer, replied.
"Sir all weapons and armor are working properly." Private Elizabeth Carmine, the teams quarter master, called out.
"Good. Specialist Sol. How'd the radio equipment come through?" Corvus said as he walked over to the man who was bent over a series of headsets and mics. The Praetorians had comm systems in their armor but it was all short range. Able to cover a planet at most. But their long range comms were usually stored and carried within one of the Mulch units.
"Sorry sarge." Sol sighed "Busted to hell and back. Can't get it working neither. Not without alot of time and some different tools and mats."
"That's fine. Praetorian command should've heard our distress call. They'll be coming." Corvus pat his friend on the shoulder.
"All do respect, but so will the Covenant. After all our gear isn't UNSC. They'll want to get their grubby mitts on it." Sol slapped the busted radio equipment
"Right." Corvus said. "Get your gear, set up your Mulch and get ready to move out." He walked over to get his equipment together. "Alright. Carmine I want you on point. Sol and Tanks your on rear guard."
"What about me Sir?" Private Guzman asked.
'Gotta remember this was her first mission in the field. That's why it was supposed to be a simple recon op. Now it's gone all to hell.' Jason thought to himself. "Private you watch the left flank, high and low. I'll do the same on the right. Anything catches your eye you let us know." He said aloud.
"Yes Sir." She said stiffly.
"Right. Everyone mount up and let's move." Jason stepped up onto his mount as his team fell into position.
The forest was awash with activity. Creatures of all shapes and sizes moved all around them. The vibrant lush colors were much different that of their craggy barren rock of a home world. There were many times where Private Guzman called out that she thought she spotted something and the team had to investigate. All of which had been false alarms.
"Sorry Sir." She said after the most recent false alarm.
"Don't be. I'd rather investigate every time than have you see something and not say anything. Our mission is no longer recon but survival. Your doing great. Keep it up." He explained as he thought back on the first squad he'd been in during the invasion of The Rubble.
Private First Class Jason Corvus was following his team lead through a barren ravine. Assigned to the rear guard with Specialist Jakob Wolfe they would turn around at random intervals to make sure they weren't being followed.
"Hey Wolfe. I think I saw something." PFC Corvus whispered.
Wolfe turned around and took a look. "Where? I don't see anything."
Pointing to a crop of rocks Corvus muttered "I turned around and there was what looked like a figure in gold but it was gone almost instantly."
"Heats messin' with your had new blood. There's nothing there. Come on we're falling behind." Wolfe pat him on the shoulder then moved to catch up with the rest of the team.
Private First Class Jason Corvus was the sole survivor after his team had been attacked by a Sangheili Elite and his team lead sacrificed himself to take it down.
Jason shook his head clear of the massacre of that day as the team began moving again. Hours passed and the sounds of the forest began to wear on the team. As the sun began to set every crack of a branch or rustle in the bushes began making the team tense.
The tension eased slightly when they entered a clearing. It was small but big enough for the team to make camp and be able to sleep away from the tree line.
With a few words the team dismounted and began making camp. With helmets off and rations in hand Jason, Sol and Guzman sat and ate.
"Sir." Guzman said tentatively. After a grunt of acknowledgment from from Jason she continued "Wouldn't it be better if we were in among the trees? After all a Covenant sniper could spot us and start firing and we have almost no cover."
"Good question." Jason was quiet for a minute while he organized his thoughts. "The way I see it is we haven't encountered any Covenant forces so far and any who are around are probably at the crash site which is quite far by now. On top of that we were hit almost immediately after exiting slipspace which means we weren't the target. No, I'm more worried about the creatures out here than any enemy forces."
"But they're just animals. With our armor and weapons what can they really do?" Guzman frowned.
"The armor isn't perfect. It has its weak points just like anything else. The armor shields help but if we were among the trees if someone gets grabbed by an animal it can pull them behind trees to avoid our fire."
"So there's risks with both options. How do you know you made the right choice?" Guzman asked.
"I don't. Now get some rest. You and I have third watch." Jason replied then laid back and drifted off into sleep.
A hand shook Jason's shoulder before Sol's voice spoke close to his ear. "Boss. Time for your watch. Guzmans already up."
With a slight groan Jason sat up then stood and drew his his bow. "Anything to report?"
"Nada. Saw a few deer but nothing more. Quiet night." Sol paused then continued. "Makes me nervous man. Knowing the enemy is out there but not knowing where."
"I know. Get some rest. We move in four hours." Jason understood how his second felt. Intel is part of what makes an op successful. But something the Sargent learned years ago is that when shit hits the fan a cool head, quick thinking and improvisation can be the difference between life and death.
Private Guzman was already making her circle around camp. Pausing every so often to scan the tree line. Replacing his helmet Jason opened a comm link to her. "Guzman. Every ten minutes I want you to double tap your comm to let me know you're still there. Need to keep your back to camp and eyes on the forest. Let me know if you see anything."
"Understood Sir." The honorific was starting to get on his nerves but the newest member of his team was fresh out of the academy so to speak. It would take time to break the unnecessary habit.
The hours ticked by slowly as the darkness seemed to grew larger. Even with his experience the Sargent was starting to feel the effects on his nerves. As he'd ordered the Private double tapped her comm every ten minutes and he'd reply in turn.
Finally the sun rose over the eastern horizon. And the sleeping members of the team began to gather themselves as the stress and nervousness started to dissipate. Then the sounds of war broke out from the southwest.