ODST

Alarms of every kind were blaring and whirring on either side of the exit hatch. Tossed from side to side, he could barely keep his hands on the lever.

2000 meters. He started to tense his muscles, bite his lip, and start counting the seconds.

1500 meters. Four seconds. He flexed his lever hand.

1000 meters. Nine seconds. A hatch inside the compartment opened, revealing his assault rifle. Good, that meant that all systems were performing smoothly.

500 meters. Eleven seconds. He braced for impact.

100 meters. Thirteen seconds. He grabbed his assault rifle with his left hand.

Impact. The front hatch swung open, and he pulled the lever, releasing the electromagnetic seal that held his drop suit, and therefore him, in place.

He dropped onto hard, purple-tinted rocky soil onto his hands and knees. He looked up and began scanning the area.

He saw the trooper in front of him get blasted into two by a nearby plasma grenade. Another was then felled by two flying, purple crystalline needles which exploded after slight delay, ripping apart the soldier’s chest.

He spotted the shooter. It was a Jackal, a ferocious, bird-like creature with fangs and an energy shield attached to its forearm.

He squeezed off three shots in quick succession, but each was repelled by the shield. The Jackal then ran towards a large boulder for cover.

The trooper sprinted towards a slight rift, a small ridge amid the battlefield about as high as a man was tall.

He dove toward it, catching bits of shrapnel from a nearby friendly grenade behind him. The blast propelled him forward, smashing his visor into the hard rock, cracking it. All if the projected indicators of his shield levels, ammunition count, positional map and objectives all began to waiver until they disappeared completely.

He sat up, dazed, confused, and deaf. He unlatched his helmet from his suit and tossed it away. Now he could hear. He surveyed the barren landscape, all of the falling soldiers, and their drop pods now several meters away. Suddenly, a heavy footstep landed on the crest of the ridge, directly above the trooper next to him. Suddenly, a blur, a whoosh, the sound of snapping bones, and an 8-foot-tall monstrosity stood right next to him, roaring fiercely.

The Brute swung the hammer back, hitting another soldier in the head, causing it to explode as if it were struck by a live grenade.

The trooper began to backpedal, looking around for the weapon that had been stripped from his hands by the blast. Not spotting it, he unholstered his pistol and squeezed off several shots before spotting a short, humanoid alien preparing to throw a grenade in his direction. He waited till the alien was about to throw it, and shot him in the head, causing it to roll to the Brute’s foot.

A loud bang, and large chunks of flesh flew in all directions, as did his hammer, which impaled a nearby drop trooper.

He picked up the assault rifle of a fallen comrade, checked the ammunition, and stripped the poor soul of his ammunition. He also spotted a rarity on the battlefield: a battle shotgun, lying beside its fallen owner.

Setting his rifle aside, he recovered it, checked its ammunition, then grabbed the pouch of shotgun shells and slung it over his shoulder. He brought the shotgun over his shoulder and pressed it against the his back for two seconds. The drop suit initiated an electromagnetic seal to keep it in place, and he grabbed his assault rifle, picked up another helmet, placed it on his head, and set off for the objective.