Fireteam Glory

[RedThree]

Fireteam Glory Part 138
Parvisal sat by herself, watching as the soldiers from Fireteam Glory argued amongst themselves and debated plans she couldn’t quite hear. She wasn’t surprised to see that her commanding officer, Sergeant Jon Donovan, was nowhere to be seen. He was a coward at heart, a bully that relished in the position of power he found himself in. Parvisal wasn’t even sure why or how he was their commander, she had only been assigned to the unit three months before the Covenant had attacked Earth. A Marine with three years of service, she had seen many commanders and officers. None had held a candle to the incompetence and crude nature of Donovan. She remembered all the times the man had targeted her specifically, making her run extra laps the track for minor mistakes and berating her while she did. She wasn’t unfamiliar with the standard drill sergeant attitude of harshness towards soldiers, having been on the receiving end of many such soldiers’ tirades, but Donovan couldn’t even back up his attitude with serious strength. For that, Donovan had relied on his muscle: a tall, heavy marine named Hector who followed Donovan’s every order. It had even been Hector who was the only one of the squad to come to Donovan’s aid, despite Parvisal asking him not to, when he had ended up in a fight with Booth. She smiled as she thought about how they had all laughed a little at Donovan getting beaten up by the sniper, but had also felt bad for watching Hector get hurt too. Going after Booth for hurting Hector had crossed her mind, but she had decided against it with how she had put both Donovan and Hector down at the same time.
Anyone who stood up to him was put down by Hector, with the incidents covered up by Donovan through what she assumed to be bribery. He always did seem to attract certain higher-ups when a problem occurred. Hector was now dead, of course. Gunned down by a Covenant patrol as Donovan had ordered him to cover the remaining survivors of November Squad as they fell back into a sewer after a Covenant assault carrier had initiated a Slipspace jump over the city of New Mombasa. She had turned back for a second to see that he had taken a plasma round to his chest and was laying on the ground reaching to them for help. Parvisal had tried to go back for the injured Hector, but Donovan had stopped her and pulled her into the sewer. The look she had seen on Hector’s face as she fell into the sewer was burned into her mind. His face of realization that, even after however long he had followed him loyally, Donovan simply didn’t care enough to bother trying to save him.
Parvisal, along with three other marines, had run with Donovan through those sewers, until he was satisfied that they had lost the Covenant. She had thought about how Donovan left Fireteam Glory to die earlier that day, trapped by Covenant forces within a building that they were rescuing trapped civilians from. Donovan had stated that they wouldn’t make it out alive and that November Squad could be doing something more useful in the fight for the city. She knew that it had all been hot air, given that Donovan avoided fighting as much as he could; unless the fight was small enough for him to not be in any danger, then he would act like a selfless leader who led the charge. Of course, he hid somewhat behind Hector during such occasions and Parvisal questioned why Hector hadn’t caught on to Donovan’s view of him far sooner. She had even seen Hector show a softer side, hesitating to carry out Donovan’s order to abandon Glory when he gave it. Donovan was cruel, she had figured that out long ago, but she truly hated him now. Deep down, she hoped she would find him one day and make him pay for the men and women he had abandoned on that night. She had watched him run as far as he could away from the ambush they had found themselves in, slipping away in the chaos of the battle. They had pulled back to the base, eventually being captured after two of the surviving members of November were taken down by fatal Mauler shots.
The rest was a blur of pain and rage, as the Brutes had tortured her and the other marine for their own amusement. The marine with her, a man she only knew as Killian, has been taken away and likely had suffered a fate far worse than death given the bone-chilling screams she had heard coming from the vehicle bay. She had been lucky. The ODST named Cass and a marine from Fireteam Glory had stumbled into the Brutes, ruining their plan to ambush the rest of Fireteam Glory within the base. After what felt like eons of listening to the noises of battle outside, someone finally came to her rescue. The leader of Fireteam Glory, a gunnery sergeant the rest of Glory called Ivanoff, had found her and taken her to be examined by their medic. The woman who had treated her wounds was gentle, caring, and one of the best medics Parvisal had ever been treated by. Her name was Teresa, she had told Parvisal. The medic sat not too far away, having been mostly silent save for a couple of outbursts towards the others. The look in Teresa’s eyes while she had tended to Parvisal’s injuries had hinted at some underlying sadness or guilt, something that Parvisal could now see was eating away at her from the inside. Mustering enough will and strength, Parvisal pulled herself to her feet and sat down next to Teresa.
When Teresa didn’t react to her arrival, Parvisal tried to get her attention. “Hey,” she said, “you’re the medic that took care of those gashes on my arms, right?”
Teresa didn’t answer.
“I don’t mean to be a bother,” Parvisal apologized, “I just wanted to compliment you on how well you did with it. Never met a doctor with quite that level of skill and bedside manner.”
Teresa shuffled a little and revealed one side of her face, showing an eye and part of her mouth. “Glad I could be of use to someone, even if it was a moot point given the situation we’re in now.”
Parvisal thought for a minute, trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to say. “I… I also wanted to tell you how sorry I am for the losses you guys have suffered. I lost my entire squad last night, but I can’t even begin to understand what you’re going through.”
Teresa brought her head fully up into view, resting it on top of her knees. “Yeah? I’m glad someone understands that.”
Parvisal looked at the other soldiers, watching as they discussed strategies and ideas. “They haven’t given up trying to fight, why have you?” Parvisal turned back to Teresa, looking at her with genuine curiosity.
“I haven’t given up.” Teresa responded defensively. “A lot has happened recently and it’s just hard to… to… process it all. Some of the people I was charged to care for and keep alive have been killed, along with thousands of others that I’ve seen taken by this war.” she wiped away a tear that had formed in her right eye. “It’s all catching up to me, and now we’re stuck in this hopeless situation where we are used as toys by these aliens. What reason is there to fight? The best we can hope for is some remaining UNSC force to find us before it’s too late.”
Parvisal looked away for a moment, contemplating Teresa’s words. “What about your friend, Ivanoff? He found me and brought me to you, had nothing but praise for your attitude and spirit. I know it might be hard to think about him, but do you think he’d want you to give up?”
Teresa’s expression went from sadness to a mixture of anger and pain. “Don’t even try to use that against me.” Teresa hissed. “I already said I haven’t given up, and I don’t need someone I barely know trying to guilt me with my dead friend’s name.”
Parvisal quickly tried to apologize. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”
“Go away.” Teresa cut her off with a hostile tone. “Just go away.”
Parvisal decided to not try her luck anymore and simply stood up and joined the rest of the soldiers in the pen in their discussion.
Teresa tucked her head back into her legs. Her mind was full of conflicting thoughts. “She’s right, maybe you have given up.” her mind whispered. “Are you going to let Ivanoff’s sacrifice go to waste like this? Resign yourself to die or hope someone decides to rescue you?” Teresa experienced a sudden pang of guilt. Her attitude towards everyone, the way she had just treated Parvisal, it wasn’t right. “It wasn’t what Ivanoff would have wanted…” she said to herself softly. “But what can I do? There truly is no way out of here without many of us dying.”
Deep in her own thoughts, Teresa went back and forth at herself and fell further into despair. After endless doubting and questioning herself, something she remembered being said to her by a medic she had met early in her training came to her mind.
“Doc can’t save everyone. Sometimes you’ll blame yourself and want to quit, But Doc can’t quit, because no matter what there will always be someone that can be saved.”
Teresa realized that as the war had moved from world to world, she had let that advice slip away from herself. She was quitting, guilty that she couldn’t save everyone who she cared for. That was her greatest fear, the inability to save everyone. The feeling of being useless. That somehow it was her fault when a soldier was maimed beyond repair by alien weaponry. That it was her own failure when aliens crushed cities and slaughtered refugees. That all she could do was watch helplessly as the light of the human race slowly dwindled in the galaxy, like the life leaving the eyes of a dying soldier under her care. She had put herself down, deemed herself as insufficient within her own mind in spite of those who were under her care knowing she tried her hardest.
A flame began to grow in her soul, and soon she made her decision. She wouldn’t sit on the side and let those she still had to care for throw away their lives. To do that would truly betray the duty she had taken upon herself when she had become a medic. She would not let that happen. She would not fail Ivanoff, Lawrence, and all the other soldiers she had cared for in their final moments now by letting it all slip away from her in a cloud of self-doubt and pity. As she stood up to join the conversation, a small amount of doubt remained within her. The plan she had created in her mind involved waiting a few days for any sign of help coming to them soon. How would she convince them to follow that idea with lives on the line; how high would the cost of waiting be? She had to try, because if she didn’t then the cost would be them all.
“Doc can’t save everyone,” Teresa said to herself, “but I can try to save as many as I can from committing to something that will mean being able to save none.”

[Rogue-Elite]

I should probably change the name once more, given that the collaboration side of this has died.

I miss the other authors. Although it made the story a bit more chaotic, it was also more interesting. I loved seeing an event from all the different perspectives.

I remember the character lists with living, dead, MIA and how that unnamed broadsword (was it a broadsword?) pilot was on it forever.

Ah, Anvil 2-2! I remember that old bird like it was yesterday! That Longsword saved a lot of lives at the Kibal Yards, including Glory.

This statement is indeed true.

[SrgtGreen]

Whenever RedThree comments in this thread, I get a excited, and expect to see the next part available for me to read.

Red has been chatting a lot, leaving me disappointed.

Today I was not disappointed.

Today I read a very good part.

[RedThree]

Fireteam Glory Part 139
“What about this?” Booth had been debating tactics with Cass and the Army trooper named Jarvis Carrigan, and now she was proposing a plan to break out of the Brute camp. “We’ll draw the guards’ attention while the rest of the pack is out hunting. Then, when we’ve gotten a couple in here, we’ll jump them and grab their weapons. Using those, we’ll cover someone as they go up into the watchtowers and disable the energy barriers keeping the rest of the prisoners locked up. After that, we’ll have taken enough weapons to make a push for the vehicle depot on the west side of the encampment.” She gestured outwards to the west, where a multitude of Wraiths, Ghosts, and Shadows sat. “The Shadows there are our exit ticket. We steal those and load up the prisoners. If we get the chance, sabotaging some of the other vehicles there would give us some breathing room to break out into the jungle. They’ll have to spend some time picking through the wrecks before they can try to pursue us.”
“It’s a solid plan, for the most part.” Jarvis said, hand on his chin as he mulled over the details of the plan. “The only issue I see is that even with a majority of the pack gone, we’ll still have plenty of Brutes, not to mention other Covie freaks, here to deal with. Unless we can arm most of the fighters here, we won’t last long.”
Cass nodded in agreement. “Many of the people here will be slaughtered if we can’t arm them fast.”
Booth quickly looked over her shoulder. Scanning the area near the vehicle depot, she spotted a small building that looked like some type of armory. It was surrounded by Covenant supply crates, which she knew were usually filled with weapons. It wasn’t too far from the pen to the right of their pen. She brought it to Cass and Jarvis’s attention. “That armory there, we’ll free the prisoners in the pen closest to it so they can grab weapons, then have them come out here to cover the rest of the prisoners while they head to it. What about that?”
Cass went over the idea a couple times. “Seems like it could work. I’ll lead those prisoners to the armory first and deal with any guards that might be inside, while you all work freeing the rest.”
Jarvis also agreed to the plan.
“It’s settled then.” Cass said with finality. “We begin tomorrow, so we’ll need to get everyone else ready for it.”
To both Cass and Booth’s surprise, Teresa walked up to the group.
“Teresa, you’re up?” Booth asked with a hint of confusion.
“I’m up.” Teresa said, eyes lit with a spark of determination. “And I’ve got something to say, well, several things to say.” She looked to the side and rubbed her arm. “I’m sorry for how I’ve lashed out at you all recently. There’s no excuse for it. Especially you, Parvisal.” Teresa looked at the woman as she lifted her head at the mention of her name, sitting not far from where the discussion was happening. “I heard some bits of your plan while I was walking over. I know it’ll seem crazy, but I’m asking you to not go through with it.”
The rest of the group was taken aback for a moment, silent as they looked at her with expressions of curiosity and annoyance.
“What do you mean not to go through with it?” Booth questioned. “This is likely our best chance of getting out of here!”
“You left out one key consideration out of the plan.” Teresa countered. “The Covenant likely has air support. They’ll rip you apart before you get too far along, if you’re even that lucky.”
“That armory is bound to have some anti-air weapons, we’ll just take those and work from there.” Booth explained.
“The corporal makes a fair point.” Cass said in agreement with Teresa, looking into the air. “Recon flights have been passing overhead, which means they have a landing area nearby. What would you suggest then?” She looked at Teresa, expecting an answer.
Teresa took a deep breath, then spoke. “I suggest we wait a couple of days, maybe more, for any sign of a rescue effort. I know you’ll disagree, but just wait until-”
Jarvis cut her off. “Wait? Are you crazy? The Brutes will just keep slaughtering us while we do that!” He looked at Cass. “You can’t even think about taking that suggestion seriously!”
Cass raised a hand to silence Jarvis. “I am considering it, so shut it.” She looked at Teresa. “You truly think that the plan is too risky?”
Teresa nodded. “Yes, sir. I do believe it is. The casualty numbers will be extreme and many of the survivors will likely be far too injured to transport safely.”
Cass nodded as she thought about Teresa’s assessment. When she had prepared her response, her eyes shifted away from the ground and into Teresa’s gaze. “You may be right. But, if we go through with this, we will be endangering several lives here. Is that a sacrifice you think you can live with?”
Teresa paused. “If it has to be that way,” she said with sadness, “then I’d prefer that to watching every single prisoner die in a hail of plasma fire.
“Yeah right.”
An angry voice came from behind Teresa, which she spun around to meet. Instead of seeing a face, Teresa caught a right hook right into her nose. The blow sent her stumbling backwards into the mud, nose burning as a warm feeling ran down her face.
Kip stood above her, staring down at her in disgust and rage. “You don’t care about anyone else. All you want to do is sit around and wallow in self-pity over your ‘friend’ dying. The plan will work, without you messing it up.”
Santos was already interfering by the time Cass and Booth had processed the attack.
“What is your problem, man!?” Santos shouted. “I don’t see you contributing much to this discussion!”
Kip snapped back. “Neither are you, and at least I’m not trying to make everyone sit around while people slowly begin to die! Ivanoff is dead, but we can’t just sit around and do nothing while hoping some… some… knight in shining armor comes to help us!”
“Really? So it would be better that we all die in a single suicide attack?” Santos was stepping towards Kip now, ready to fight. “You hurt Teresa, you get to deal with me.”
Kip raised his fists. “Bring it!”
Cass moved to break up the brawl that was now occurring, while Booth went to Teresa’s aid. She got on her knees at the medic’s side and helped her sit up. The punch Kip has thrown did some damage to Teresa’s nose, which was dripping dark crimson. Teresa raised her hand to her nose to stop the bleeding, while Booth looked for something to clean her up.
Parvisal quickly ran over to help. “Is she okay?” She asked as she saw the injury.
Booth nodded. “Yeah, she’ll be alright. I just need something to stop the bleeding.” She kept looking for anything that could be useful.
Parvisal knelt down and tucked her arm into her sleeve, dabbing away the liquid around Teresa’s nose before wiping the stained sleeve on a drier patch of earth when she felt a wet feeling touching her arm.
Booth looked at her, then at Teresa, then at her again. “Well,” she said with a shrug, “that works.”
Teresa finally had recovered enough to speak. “I should have seen that coming, I suppose. Thanks, Parvisal.”
“No worries.” Parvisal said.
Before Parvisal or Booth could say anymore, Cass called out to them. “I could use some help here!”
Booth turned to see what the problem was, seeing that the other two men that Jarvis had introduced had joined the fight between Santos, Cass, and Kip.
“Come on!” Booth said to Parvisal. “I think we need to get this sorted out before it gets too far out of hand.”
“I’d say it already has.” Parvisal said as she stood up to go help.

[Deleted due to rework being required]

[RedThree]

[Deleted due to needing a complete overhaul]

[RedThree]

Major credits to Rogue-Elite for helping me get part 140 figured out! However, despite this, I am unhappy with how I've been handling the story. So I've deleted the parts that made me displeased and will be rewriting them.

[SrgtGreen]

Dang. I was betting on Donovan coming to the rescue, and redeeming himself with a heroic death.

[Bmatt123]

I would like to point out my love of this series @redthree. This is great and you need to keep it up!! also is there the tiniest chance that i can write for this?

[SrgtGreen]

I would like to point out my love of this series @redthree. This is great and you need to keep it up!! also is there the tiniest chance that i can write for this?

I remember when I was gonna write for this...

It was all planned out. Nigel was going to introduce me. I was going to write heresy and repeatedly violate the cannon. It would be lengendarily bad.

Then everyone stopped writing.

[nigelninja11]

I you might wanna introduce yourself Green. My writings for Nigel during the war have died and I’ve migrated to writing for him during the Created Uprising.

Carry on my Wayward Users