The following is a retelling story based on my experience playing my second Fireteam game. I made some creative liberties on the backstory.
The Split of Team Zion
When the Flood started to encroach on New Mombasa just after the Covenant opened the gateway to the Ark, some scattering groups of UNSC soldiers were still active in the city. These groups were either Marines who were from the same squad or amalgamated from surviving members from different squads. Others however came from the ODST.
Team Zion was originally a squad of five ODST’s who were deployed on New Mombasa to help disrupt the Covenants communication links. Unfortunately, one ODST was killed whilst falling from orbit. Another squad member lost his life when a Brute impaled him with a blade from a Brute Shot. The other two members of the squad went MIA.
This only left Marksman Lawrence as the last surviving squad member of Team Zion. He would later group up with other stray ODST’s and a Veteran Marine at New Mombasas Safari tourist attraction.
This team consisted of:
- Private Lawrence. E, ODST marksman specialist who joined the UNSC before his homeworld, Labradorite II (named after a gemstone by which the planet looked similar to in appearance), was glassed by the Covenant. Whilst his military record lacks the greatness of the “heroic” kind, he nevertheless tries to maintain order and the objective in mind.
- Sergeant “Whisky”
- ONI operative [M•S]
- ODST [422]
As they just became acquainted, if wary of the strangers before them, they’d be met by the oncoming Flood.
Now the strength of these men and women will be tested as a team. Lest they become part of the Flood as one…
Alone you will die
The team spilt off as they did their own tasks, rather than staying as a group in a single location. This had a benefit of each member using the best of their abilities and talents to take down their targets with a preffered weapon of choice. The downside was that the more distant they were, the harder it was to regroup.
Lawrence, a marksman specialist found out the hard way as he had several swarms pinning him down. Try as he might with a spray of SMG fire, the Flood came crashing down on his position. Several times he was on the brink of being overwhelmed by incoming fire, and in some cases near death situations.
What didn’t help the situation was the incoming bombardment of shots by a Flood driven Wraith. Which caused a nuasance to the team from positioning themselves on the top floor of the Safari building.
As if that wasn’t enough, a group of infected Marines were using a Warthog spraying machine gun bullets at lone wolf team members. Lawrence took the most damage from being in proximity to the thing.
A regroup was needed in order to concentrate on staying together as a team, or at least be split in teams of two.
The Flood showed no sign of mercy…
A bottle of whisky and an unlikely turn of events
Lawrence decided it would be better to regroup and find his team mates, alive or dead. Before going up the stairs, he saw Sergeant “Whisky” in the small room crouched at the corner. Despite seeing Lawrence before him, the Sergeant didn’t move a muscle. He either went crazy from it all or preparing himself for his last whisky to face the Flood.
Upstairs another squad member was on the top floor, dodging incoming fire from the Wraith like a game of dodgeball. Lawrence tried to help shoot the Wraith down, but the range was too short to make a dent in the thing. Instead he went to take down the Flood forms that were swarming upstairs.
He had help from a fellow ODST squad member and the one he met earlier with the Wraith. They grouped up and shot down the Flood monstrosities in the thinly tight belief that they might just live by the end of this battle. Soon enough, the stairs below were cleared and the Flood reorganised to make another wave assault in the area.
The team were somwhat together again as they prepared for the next wave of attacks. It was only when an ODST squad mate found a working Warthog, she beeped for Lawrence to take on the mounted machine gun. Now the battle just got interesting.
Fury of the Warthog and a rescue mission
ONI Operative [M•S] drove the Warthog like a seasoned rally driver as she expertly maneuvered the vehicle around the battlefield. Taking care not to overturn the vehicle and to ensure Lawrence can make the necessary payback load from the machine gun to spray down the enemy. They managed to decimate much of the Flood from the spores to the bulked brutes that would normally cause issue on foot.
Another ODST squad member took the reins of a Warthog, and together, both groups made fury upon the enemies of mankind. Shooting, ramming and driving over the corpses of Flood carcases in an effort to keep the momentum of this new revitalised defence. The first Wraith was destroyed, much to the hooting of the Warthogs horns at a fine kill.
Only three times did the Warthog crash at an angle, and each time Lawrence and [M•S] would quickly turn it upright to get back into the fight. By the third crash they were wedged into a concrete wall near a second active Wraith, hitting Lawrence across some distance. He hit the ground hard which knocked him out for a couple of minutes until he regained consciousness. By the far end the ONI operative was being pinned by the Wraith’s burning payload.
Lawrence knew she wasn’t going to make it without some back up (or a distraction for the Wraith). So he came across towards her as she came across to him in a Flood infested battle zone. Luckily, [M•S] got out without being vaporised, and Lawrence covered her as they both regrouped back into the Safari building complex. From there, the final assault was about to commence…
Riders of the final wave
At this point it was a case of staying alive just long enough to destroy the Flood from taking over this strategic location. Whilst the second Warthog was going around the battlefield spraying machine gun fire, Lawrence and the ONI Operative needed to find a new Warthog or some restock of weapons. Then from a corner a damaged but fairly factional Ghost was found. [M•S] took reins of her new ride as she turned to go out into the battle zone. Or so Lawrence thought.
The ONI operative turned it around and got off, then directed Lawrence to take over and drive off. Surprised by this offer, he took the reins and drove off out of cover to face his doom. Though he was not alone as the second Warthog was still in combat taking on the horde. [M•S] found a second Ghost and followed Lawrence as they drove deep into the Flood to finish off the final wave of parasites for good.
Leaving on good terms
As the dust settled and the Flood had finally stopped, the team took a well earned break from the battle. Lawrence was new to this kind of Warfare against the Flood. Unlike the Covenant who were the greatest enemy that could potentially wipe out mankind in the fires of religious zealotory. The Flood represented a far greater threat as the never ending disease to the galaxy. How many live would it take to defeat such a thing?
His team knew this enemy from previous engagements, the looks on their faces solem, tortured and hardened by the horrors they’ve faced. Today was unlikely to be the last encounter of the Flood.
Then, one by one the team split apart to go forth into the hellish landscape of the war torn New Mombasa. No goodbyes, no hand shakes and no eye contact. They knew for too long now that such things wouldn’t be right. They had their duties to commit to by their commanders, or by their own initiative on a solo assigned operation.
Lawrence hoped this wasn’t the last he would meet them, hopefully alive after this invasion is over. He picks up his sniper rifle and his pistol, and walks off into the hazy heat of a burning civilisation into brink of total decimation.
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I hope you have enjoyed this retelling of a Halo: ODST Firefight match. Interesting fact, despite playing Halo: ODST since 2010, I’ve never had the opportunity to play online until now! It was a blast to finally play one of my all time favourite video game with other video gamers in a team.
Whilst the story here had some creative changes to the names and narrative drive, the rest was what happend in my match experience. There was a genuine cooperation of teamwork when I joined in with another player. We didn’t use microphone headsets to communicate, instead, it was sort of like sign language or body language to communicate on what to do.
I really enjoyed this Firefight, had me going a bit emotional by the end when I realised I finally had the Halo online experience. I wrote down my teams names so I may be able to regroup with them again. Hopefully another story could happen soon?
Until next time,
34th Tribe
34th Tribe of the Vault Wargaming 