[center][H1]James & Alex[/H1]

II

[i]Outremer, planetside. City outskirts.[/i]


[img]https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/halo/images/f/f5/Hevstohalo05.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20060806194134[/img][/center]


“[B]Good luck, sir,[/B]” was the last thing Alex heard before the drop pods carrying the ship’s Salients were launched from the port side of the Galahad’s Glare. Through a small, reinforced observation window facing outwards from his seat, Alex saw the petty officer who launched his pod salute. He was gone in a split second, replaced with a flash of combusting gas as the pod began its supersonic trajectory through the emptiness of space towards the surface of Outremer.
	Alex’s pod was accompanied by six pods containing a Salient in each, and two dozen carrying elite drop troops assigned to accompany and protect the augmented soldiers on their critical assignment. Though in overall command of the unit, Alex would be leading the Salient Blue Team, while his lieutenant, Zara-387, lead the Red Team a few kilometers from the Blue Team’s landing site on a separate mission, whereafter they will rejoin the rest of the unit. The crew of the Galahad’s Glare watched the two dozen or so pods soar through the void like a cluster of embers, rapidly shrinking until they were imperceptible. There was no sound within the pods aside from the gentle hum of the electronics. Alex read the console in front of him and saw that his velocity was several times the speed of sound and rapidly increasing.
	Outside the windows of their ships, the crews of the OSN fleet could see a dazzling display of lights. The capital ships had steamed ahead of the smaller ships carrying troops, and began to engage the alien vessels in orbit over Outremer. The naval action was hundreds of thousands of miles away, yet it seemed close enough to touch for each crewman who knew that within minutes their ship could be struck and their hull ruptured, leaving them victim to the vacuum of space. There was no time for those thoughts now.
	“[B]Thirty seconds to planetside,[/B]” came the monotone voice of the information suite inside Alex’s helmet. His optical display showed the artificial ground of Outremer where he would be landing, as well as the position of his pod and the others around him. His trajectory was almost ninety degrees. The ground below him was almost completely flat, and the program controlling the descent of the pod adjusted its position to avoid an angled landing. Alex didn’t need to speak to his team. Each one of them knew their mission to the letter, and each one of them was capable of carrying it out on their own. They didn’t need the reassurance of normal soldiers or marines. They would be landing almost a minute before the drop troops followed them so they could thin out the bulk of whatever awaited them.
	
“[B]Impact imminent.[/B]” Five seconds later the concrete ground of the city outskirts upon which Alex landed cracked and sundered under the enormous stress of the pod’s landing. Milliseconds after touching down the door of the pod hissed and ejected forwards, as though a superhuman had wrenched it from its hinges and tossed it away like waste paper. Alex propelled himself from his seat and waded through the grey air, thick with dust kicked up from his impact. Before he had even cleared the pod he had fired his first round from his rifle. His optical display showed the thermal outlines of Outremer’s aggressors. Somewhat humanoid, but altogether not human. There were dozens of them. A platoon or more, in OSN terminology. Alien forces occupying the area of the city they had taken, picking through the debris and wreckage of their invasion. Some of them were small, runty creatures that stumbled and hopped rather than walking. They looked like labourers, used for menial work. Others wore some kind of shimmering armour which dazzled the eye when struck by sunlight. These were much taller. They would tower over the drop troops when they landed.
	All around him Alex saw wrecked vehicles and buildings. He saw a collapsed bridge a kilometer or so away. The air was hazy and smoky, exacerbated by the dust kicked up by the Salients landing around him. He fired another round, taking another step forward. Then another. Another. Within five seconds of landing, the pod had released his harness, ejected the door, he had readied his rifle, stepped through and executed three of the creatures. They hadn’t even seen him through the dust. Two of his team landed almost close enough to touch their pods, further clouding the air. One of the doors of the pods ejected forward with such force that it crushed one of the labouring aliens against a wall. Their rifles joined Alex’s percussive orchestra. Another pod landed nearby, but through the roof of a building, smashing through each floor in succession until it struck the ground. Its occupant had to manually break through his door and blast away rubble with an explosive device, protected by his powered armour.
	Ten seconds had passed since Alex had landed. A dozen were dead, the rest reeling from the shock and making for whatever cover they could find. The salients were all planetside now, working together to clear the area. They didn’t need to speak. Each of them knew what to do, like programmed machines, and they performed their purpose perfectly. Alex and his team had landed in a sprawling parking area on the outskirts of the city. It was chosen for its spacious area. Most of the drop troops would be able to land here. They were surrounded by buildings, some dozens of storeys high, but all empty.
	Within a few seconds, Alex would be joined by several dozen soldiers. What had been an area of the city devoid of human life for a few days or weeks would soon be bustling with armoured warriors, with Alex and his team spearheading Outremer’s efforts against their invaders.