The Last Platoon (A Short Story)

Prologue
Location: UNSC Frigate In Amber Clad, Delta Halo, Coelest system
November 2
The barracks was silent.
Two dozen Marines entered the room, their expressions betraying concern. Those who had been sitting in the barracks speaking quietly had instantly recognized ill news was imminent. All knew those returning had been aboard the first pelicans deployed to the recently discovered ringworld. Two privates sat down at an empty table, and a corporal from the table adjacent moved to sit opposite them.
"Good to see you boys back in one piece, what happened down there?"
"We pulled out before we saw any action. Commander wants all hands on deck for wherever we're headed." replied one of the privates, named Adams.
The corporal gestured with his head to the rest of the recently arrived Marines. "What's got you all looking so shell-shocked then?"
"It's first platoon. We extracted the survivors... Both of 'em."
The corporal hid his surprise poorly. ODSTs were infamous for having high casualty rates, but over 80% was extreme. "Damn." whispered the corporal. "Those ODSTs were the meanest bastards on this ship. Gunny?" he inquired.
"He made it." said the second private, named Rodez. "Debriefing with Sarge and the Commander up top."
"What about the Chief?" called out a Marine from across the room. The three men looked up and noticed most of the room was paying attention to their conversation.
"Sierra's still down there. Sarge left two of our boys with him." replied Adams.
"You're telling me we just dropped our Helljumpers and the Master Chief in the middle of a Covenant Army, and now we're hightailing it somewhere else?" proposed the Marine.
"Doesn't make sense." Agreed the corporal. "Wouldn't want to be those boys though, if 'First got torn up that bad down..." his words trailed off, and the Marines in the room stiffened, as a high pitched beeping noise sounded. Moments later, a dark-skinned Sergeant entered the room.
"Fifth Platoon, report to the hangar! Commander's declared Combat Alert Alpha, and the Sergeant Major wants us ready to go A-S-A-P. You hear me Marines?"
"Sergeant Banks, Sir!" yelled the corporal, as the Marines of Fifth Platoon hurried towards the ship's armory to get equipped.
Staff Sergeant Banks frowned as he watched the Barracks empty. These men were unsettled, and he didn't blame them. The unthinkable had occurred - Earth under attack by the Covenant. And instead of defending it, they were in unknown space for a classified mission. They all knew Earth would be weeks into it's defense by now, but having been in cryosleep for the duration of their journey to the ringworld, most of the Marines onboard In Amber Clad were still coming to terms with the reality of Earth being threatened. No one said it aloud, but Banks knew everyone was thinking the same thing as he: Is there an Earth left to fight for?
Banks had recently been transferred into the In Amber Clad's Marine Company; his own platoon had been dissolved after their extraction from Mombasa. He knew the Marines of Fifth Platoon didn't trust him yet; he could say nothing to alleviate their tension. Rather, he had to keep the heat on them, force their instincts to kick in and carry them through whatever task was ahead of them. Banks put on the Sergeant cap he hated wearing, and followed his men to the Armory.
Chapter 1
A loud clank echoed through the empty armory.
"Damn it!" swore Marcus, forcefully disposing of his damaged helmet. The ODST helm rattled around the crate of ruined and melted armor and settled slightly listed to the side, it's cracked visor staring back at the Gunnery Sergeant. He collapsed onto a bench as he begun to remove the rest of his battle-scarred Shock Trooper armor, which was currently painted a dark blue with alien blood. The drop had been a complete disaster, the Covenant having already established a strong foothold on the ring, with stationary gun placements forming a tight perimeter. The Master Chief had ordered the Troopers to steer towards a weak point in their defenses, but most of the drop pods had been shot down or forced to make a late course trajectory alteration, landing at dangerous angles, or out of position. Only two of Marcus' nine troopers had survived the initial drop, and second squad's drop had been even less successful - not a single ODST had survived long enough to make contact after landing.
Two clusterfucks in a goddamn row, he thought, recalling his last mission on earth, where his squad's pelican had been shot down over old Mombasa, killing their pilots and one of his troopers. But there was no time to think about the fate of the rest of his squad- most likely weeks dead, or the suicidal op hours earlier. He had orders to carry out.
After gearing up in a fresh Battle Dress Uniform, he holstered a BR55, grabbed several clips of spare ammunition, and headed to the hangar.
"You're certain there's no way around it?"
"I'm almost certain Commander. I've parsed the footage we have exhaustively. The wall closes on itself, projecting a complete dome-shaped energy shield."
Commander Miranda Keyes frowned. "Keep studying what we have officer. I won't risk another drone giving away our position, not with that fleet up there. Dismissed."
As science officer saluted and left the bridge of the In Amber Clad, a playful voice broke the silence:
"Looks like we're gonna have to get our hands dirty after all. Whatever's inside that fun house, something made damn sure it didn't have an easy way out."
"I don't like it, Johnson." Miranda replied to the man on her right. "From what I can tell, there was nothing like this protecting Alpha Halo's Library. Did you observe anything similar elsewhere on the ring?"
Johnson's grin disappeared in an instant as he considered his response. "Nothing close to this scale. But my gut tells me this is... one big containment facility."
Miranda's gaze dropped to the floor, then drifted up to the virtual display of the immense dome. "Like the one my father died in... Can it really be here too?" She mused
"Commander, I'll lead a force into that wall, see if there's a way through. If there's a way to take down that barrier-
"No." Interrupted Miranda. "I'm not sending you in blind. And if you're right, dropping the field could cause a whole lot more harm than good- I won't repeat my father's mistake. If we can't get to the Index, neither can the Covenant. Send Fifth Platoon on a recon op. Since we've lost Cortana, they'll have to make do with basic intrusion software. I want their technicians granted access to the security protocol data from Alpha Halo."
Johnson began to protest, "Commander, I'm the only one on this ship who knows what we might find behind that wall-"
"And that's exactly why I'm not risking you until we know more. Make it happen Sergeant."
The use of his rank not lost on him, Johnson snapped off a salute and spun on his heel. The young, headstrong commander disliked being argued with about as much as her father had, but 
*To Be Continued*
Category:Short stories