Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (AlphaBenson)

Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST) are elite special forces operatives under the authority of NAVSPECWEP who utilize drop pods deployed from orbiting vessels in order to insert onto the battlefield. Tracing their origins as far back as the very inception of the United Nations Space Command, ODSTs were once considered the greatest fighting force humanity had to offer. Because of the extreme dangers they face, both from their unconventional deployment and the extreme difficulty of their mission, they have earned the moniker of "Helljumper".
==Operational History==
===Interplanetary War===
While a concept known as the "Drop Jet Jumper" existed as far back as 2129, the true progenitors of the modern ODST were handpicked from various Special Operations Groups across the United Nations in the same stroke that created the United Nations Space Command and its Marine Corps. As part of the Mars Campaign that followed, these early ODSTs were first deployed to the Frieden-occupied city of Kenosha, where the fledging special forces unit more than justified their creation. It is said that the vast majority of causalities suffered were largely the result of some sort of mechanical malfunction that arose with the early drop pods during their descent. Those who had perished in this unfortunate manner were later said to have "dug their own grave".
As the vessels of that era had not been constructed with mass orbital troop deployment in mind, the infant UNSC Navy had to quickly repurpose and refit existing craft into impromptu "Drop Carriers". These Drop Carriers were slow and unwieldy, and required an escort in order to safely reach their destination, limiting the true capabilities of this new breed of soldier. 
In the years following the end of these conflicts, the ODST's headquarters was constructed in Kenosha on Mars. On the very same spot where the first drop pods made landfall. For the next few hundred years, the Helljumper and their flaming drop pod persisted as a symbol of UNSC power.
===Insurrection===
As a predominantly Earth-centric military, the UNSC, and by extension the ODSTs, saw little action during the relative peace characteristic of the colonial expansion during the 24th century. ODSTs would continue to consist purely of special forces veterans during this time, although the title of "Helljumper" was valued more so for the prestige than anything else.
This all changed as civil unrest threatened to tear the UEG apart, and the UNSC began to replace the Colonial Military Authority as the primary peacekeeping entity in the Outer Colonies. Initially, there was the expectation that once the UNSC had interceded, they would bring about a swift conclusion to the conflicts, and bring peace to worlds like Eridanus II much in the same way they had Mars generations ago. 
But whether it be the Navy warring in the stars, or the Marines and Helljumpers in the bombed out streets below, one truth became evident as the fighting dragged on: the Insurrectionists were proving to be more of a challenge than anyone suspected. In this conflict, ODSTs largely engaged in counter-terrorism operations across a large variety of worlds and environments. But unlike the Mars campaign, there was a far larger casualty rate that had nothing to do with drop pod malfunctions.
As a result of mounting casualties, a plummet in public perception and support, and a drought of new blood to replace the old, the UNSC had no choice but to relax the incredibly high standards of the ODSTs. Now, instead of requiring candidates to be veterans of previous special forces groups, new applicants were eligible as long as they had fulfilled their first two-year service in any of the three UEG armed forces. That being the UNSC, CMA, or select Planetary Defense Forces. Much to the chagrin of the old guard. Some feared that these new lower standards would only lead to higher fatality rates, while others bemoaned the perceived loss of prestige in the title of "Helljumper".
But with the Insurrection being the greatest conflict humanity had faced since the Interplanetary War of the 22nd century, UNSC command was adamant that the ODSTs needed to undergo a rapid modernization. Their counter-insurgency retraining and tactics would be informed by the CMA's defunct ORION project. Dedicated Drop Carriers were also no longer necessary, and troopers were instead transported by new multi-purpose ship designs that incorporated dozens of drop tubes into their superstructure, increasing their flexibility in deploying troopers considerably.
In much the same way that the Insurrection is credited in shaping the UNSC's understanding of naval warfare in space, it could be said that this period of undeclared civil war is what truly gave rise to the modern ODST.
===Human-Covenant War===
The appearance of the alien hegemony known as the Covenant would turn everything the UNSC and the ODSTs thought they knew about war on its head. The armor of the ODSTs that once offered them great protection against small arms fire boiled away in the face of the aliens' plasma weaponry, and even the strongest Helljumper could not hope to challenge the physically superior Sangheili or Jiralhanae and survive. And that was all assuming the trooper even made it groundside to begin with. On top of the inherent risk of a combat drop, many troopers perished when the ships carrying them were shot down by Covenant plasma.
In the face of such an overwhelming foe, the ODSTs were again made to loosen its standards. Not in terms of candidate prerequisites, but rather by accelerating the ODST training course. Thanks to this, as well as a series of drafts launched in the later years of the war, the ODSTs numbers would balloon like never before. Unfortunately, their casualty rates also reached record highs.
Having nothing but their wits and training, various special forces groups in the UNSC, including the Helljumpers, cultivated numerous tactics in order to combat the aliens and their superior technology. This included utilizing the enemy's advanced weaponry against itself, supplementing their defenses with Covenant point-defense gauntlets, and in rare cases, deploying tear gas or other such ordnance against shielded targets. For it was found that while the aliens' energy shields protected them against kinetic and directed energy weapons, it had little defense for chemical or biological weapons.
While the men and women of the ODSTs continued to distinguish themselves admirably in humanity's desperate war for survival against the alien empire, for the first time in their near four hundred year history, their spot as Earth's greatest fighting force was challenged with the advent of the SPARTAN-II Program. Superhuman soldiers who fought using powered armor, allowing them to exceed any and all human limitations.
In 2525, an altercation occurred between four ODSTs of the 105th Division and one Spartan recruit aboard the UNSC Atlas that left two troopers dead, and the others critically injured. Despite attempts to keep this event under wraps, rumors of the incident spread like wild fire among the rest of the ODST divisions, and is often credited as the reason behind the resentment of the Spartans by the ODSTs. Although, there are others who claim the one-sided rivalry was inevitable, as the fiercely proud troopers would have never taken kindly to being dethroned. Least of all by by mysterious, hulking super soldiers who seemed every bit as cold and hard as the armor they wore.
Regardless of how any one trooper felt however, ODSTs would often find themselves fighting alongside Spartans in pivotal operations during the war. One such operation was SILENT STORM in 2526, one of the first true counter offensives under taken by the UNSC. The 21st Space Assault Battalion, or "Black Daggers", along with the Spartans, were tasked with disrupting the Covenant's ability to wage war in human space. Ultimately, this endeavor culminated in the Battle of Zhoist, in which the vast majority of Black Daggers lost their lives in exchange for the destruction of a Covenant superstation that was instrumental in supporting the Covenant war effort at the time.
When the Cole Protocol was first enacted in 2535, a full drop company of ODSTs were stationed aboard the UNSC Midsummer Night to assist with its mission of enforcing this new order. Meanwhile, the Spartans of Gray Team were following a similar objective that involved destroying as many references to Earth's location as they could find. This would eventually lead to the crew and troopers of the Midsummer Night to encounter the Spartans aboard the Rubble, a collection of artificial habitats constructed out of hollowed out asteroids by Insurrectionists and survivors of Madrigal's destruction. With their goals aligned, the ODSTs, led by an officer named Faison, would assist the Spartans both in storming a Kig-Yar ship and dropping onto the nearby planet of Metisette, where an army of Unggoy was being raised.
Another prominent example of ODSTs setting aside their rivalry to work with Spartan elements would be Operation: GREY VEIL in 2544. This was an assassination mission targeting a Minor Prophet, in which a Spartan sacrificed herself in order to protect the surviving ODSTs. While this act of selflessness and heroism softened the hearts of one particular trooper, this story failed to become as widespread as the initial rumors that supposedly created the wider resentment of Spartans. Especially as the Spartans enjoyed a wave of publicity in 2547, much to the chagrin of veteran troopers, who believed that the sacrifices of their comrades were being forgotten in favor of propping up the UNSC's new poster boys.
In a way, these concerns were not unfounded. The public story of what happened during the Battle of Installation 04 in 2552 bears only a superficial similarity to the actual events. As the combined result of a lack of survivor testimony, censorship and a coordinated effort to bolster the legend of the Master Chief, the stories of the rest of the brave men and women aboard the Pillar of Autumn will remain untold. Fireteam Raven were one such group of unsung heroes, whose efforts were instrumental in assisting the Master Chief in his destruction of Alpha Halo.
But all of this is not to say that the ODSTs' greatest achievements were only when they were paired with the superhuman Spartans. Operation: FIRESIDE earlier that year saw the destruction of a Forerunner artifact that would have led the Covenant straight to Earth should the aliens have obtained it. Similarly, ODSTs in the Battle of New Mombasa denied the Covenant possession of another such artifact, and the day after, a rapid reaction squad secured a Huragok that had critical information about the Covenant's purpose in the African mega-city.
===Post-War Conflicts===
== Organization ==
While they may be a subset of the Marine Corps, ODSTs are recruited from not only all branches of the UNSC, but also from other militaries across the United Earth Government, such as the CMA or even select planetary defense forces. These colorful and varied individuals are then assigned to one of the several still operating Shock Troops Divisions, such as the 105th.
Within every division are battalions and within those battalions, companies. But that is about all that can be safely said to be similar across all ODST units. 
===Special Purpose Forces===
While every ODST is trained for a wide variety of mission sets and with an equally wide array of equipment, the ODST Special Purpose Forces (SPF) are specialized units that go one step further, dedicating themselves towards maximizing their combat efficiency and capability in particular environments and scenarios compared to your average Shock Trooper.
====Space Assault ====
The 21st Space Assault Battalion, and units like the "Black Daggers", are one such prominent example of an ODST SPF unit. Equipped with their signature "Space Assault" armor, these troopers specialize in navigating and fighting in micro-gravity environments. Whether it be in the cargo hold of a damaged Insurrectionist ship, or in the bare void of space. 
Like most modern ODSTs, units such as these were originally conceptualized to combat human opponents. 
====Air Assault====
Often referred to as "Bullfrogs", Air Assault troopers are in effect the in-atmosphere counterpart to the Space Assault units. Instead of utilizing integral maneuvering thrusters, these troopers sport large, heavy jump-jets capable of generating enough force to allow a person in full gear to take to the sky. Although extended flight is not recommended from a tactical standpoint, short burns allow the trooper to leap, or "bounce", over large swaths of difficult terrain, granting them unparalleled flexibility. This is best utilized in urban environments, where tall buildings naturally provide cover for the trooper during their bounce, as well as vantage points to strike back against the enemy with.
Bullfrogs, perhaps more than any other ODST unit, are most similar in essence to the "Drop Jet Jumpers" of the early 22nd century, the soldiers that would in turn become what most see as the modern ODST.
===Special Tactics and Equipment Group===
====Hellbringers====
====K9====
==Culture==
==Equipment==
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Category:Canon Expansions