Chapter Text
In the rainy conditions of the streets of New Mombasa, Lt. Surge, Brock, Misty, Erika, and the Rookie are inspecting a piece of a drone. Rookie drops the optics package with a dull thud. Rookie looks at Lt. Surge. Lt. Surge is pondering what to do next.
"So, our drone must have been shot down by Covenant forces. No matter. We must delay no further. We should..." Lt. Surge said until Rookie taps his helmet. He has information to give him. Lt. Surge got the updated map information in his HUD.
"You think there is another clue ahead of us?" Misty asked. Rookie nodded to confirm that it is the case. Everyone is looking at the map in their HUD. They are aware of one thing. There are Covenant forces in the area. This meant either sneaking around them or engaging them out of necessity.
"Well, we can't stay here any longer than needed. The Superintendent has given us the supply centers for us to restock and continue our mission." Brock said. He is aware of the surroundings as a heavy specialist of the ground. They all head out and find a supply area. Rookie got more ammo for his silenced SMG and pistol. Lt. Surge took the sniper rifle as he jammed a fresh magazine. Brock got a new Spartan laser and assault rifle rounds. Erika got the medical packs with additional pistol rounds. Misty got more ammo for her silenced SMG and pistol rounds as well.
"We are armed and ready to go," Misty said. They proceed to head out into the rainy streets. The rain wouldn't slow them down because they were wearing their ODST armor, which kept them dry. They heard thunder in the distance. They proceed to their next objective.
"Alright, according to the Rookie's information, we should be heading to the Kizingo Boulevard. It might be crawling with Covenant, but if we work together. Then nothing to worry about it." Lt. Surge debriefed. He checks ahead with his sniper rifle. He spots a group of covenant lances occupying the Kizingo Boulevard.
"Misty, do you wonder what happened to your sisters in the moment?" Erika asked. Misty looks at Erika with concern. She has a memory of what happened many years before. It was something that she felt was very stupid to begin with, as years flashed before her.
Year 2547
The Kasumi household in Tokyo has not been easy since Misty turned seventeen years old. She volunteered for the UNSC Marine Corps. This has led to her and her sisters, Sakura, Ayame, and Botan. They all feared that the war had not gone well. They are all worried that their little sister might not come back.
"I'm leaving, and that's it. I got permission from Dad. You won't stop me from leaving." Misty said with fiery motivation. She is eager to make a difference in the war. The sisters look at each other to wonder if that's the case. There is something else.
"But Misty, who will take care of mom and dad if we are focusing on our careers?" Lily said. She is an Oxford alumna who brought up a good point about who stays behind to take care of their parents. Misty looks at her with her blue eyes, which she inherited from her Italian mother.
"Lily, all you do is look pretty in the cameras. Two of you have been wasting your time with your careers. Being performers, actresses, and models. I want to contribute to society." Misty said. She wanted to make a difference because for all her seventeen years in life, she was nothing for them to contribute.
"Misty, it's just that we cannot take care of mom and dad, unlike you do. You're the most capable person we know." Sakura said. Misty was not buying it. She lifts her duffel bag. She is not staying because they want her to. She made her choice to head out for basic.
"Sakura, I am leaving. There's nothing you can do to stop me." Misty said. Violet steps up to try to plead with her to consider Misty's choice. It was something. They are trying to appeal to her regarding their stituation they are in. That is, the rain and thunder began to pour in.
"Misty, don't do this! I heard from a friend who lost her father on the frontlines. Listen to me, the war is going to take you. You're the only one who helps us to endure the rations. There are plenty of others to fight. Besides, they started to announce the Spartans. They can defeat them without you." Violet said. She hoped that Misty wouldn't able to do it.
"Violet, I don't care. Even with the Spartans, I want to do my duty as UNSC Marine. It's my only way to protect mom and Dad. It is what I must do that is right." Misty said. She is not backing down in her decision to volunteer for military service.
"We can't let you do that. If you get yourself killed, mom and dad would be heartbroken." Lily pleaded. Misty was not having none of them. MIsty heads out of the door and slams it. Leaving her three sisters standing there left them unable to accept the fact that they might no see her again.
Present moment
Misty remembered the last time that she saw them. She called her parents, but she refused to speak with her sisters because for those years they call her a runt, tomboy, and useless in their world. She wanted to make a difference in her life. She wanted to contribute to humanity. She was not it for the glory or paycheck. She was in it to prove her own worth. That is when Rookie tapped her shoulder.
"Everything is fine. It's just...I was bit too harsh on my sisters. I'm worried if they are okay especially since the Covenant are here, I have to fight more harder than usual." Misty said. Rookie looks at her but he grabs her hand as a suggestion to consider that they will be okay. Misty smiled behind her visor. She finds the Rookie to be intiguing but mysterious at the same time. She had met him before back when she was Marine saved by him even she considered he inspired her to push harder and smarter even got her into the ODSTs. Rookie is eight years older than her, but she she sees him as a mentor to her in some ways. Rookie points to her that they have to engage the covenant in the area.
They move out. Lt. Surge made a plan. He will take sniper overview while Brock takes out the heavy gear of the Covenant, while Misty and Rookie engage their infantry. Erika would provide support to patch them up if they get hit. There was no other option to sneak around since they covered all areas. Both Rookie and Misty start out with Rookie taking down Unggoy with his Silenced SMG while Misty is covering his left flank. Lt. Surge began to snipe the JIralhanae with carefully accurate shots, but noticed the Kig-Yar snipers were present. Brock managed to take down a Jiralhanae Chieftain with a Spartan laser. It felt like an hour, but the firefight ended about ten minutes. They never felt that they had to endure such combat scenarios.
"That's the last of them. Let's keep moving." Lt. Surge said over the coms. Rookie spotted something in the distance. He sees a Gauss Turret. He runs towards it with Misty following him. The others followed suit. It was something they understood that, despite Rookie not being a verbal man, he has his own way to talk with others. They reach to the ruined Gauss turret.
"It seems that it was taken out of action for a while," Brock said. He wondered about the state of the turret is really is. He inspects the turret is not functional. It is one of the useful pieces of hardware for the UNSC. It has been placed on Warthogs, even though it can defeat armor.
"What do you think happened here?" Lt. Surge asked. Rookie pulls himself up to the ruined Gauss turret. He looks through the damaged electronic scope, down to the plaza below. He remembered what his fellow ODST, Dutch could remember as he can picture it.
"Where's the rest of your team, trooper?" Colonel Steven Stone said over the coms in a form of flash back. It was a question for Dutch to bring out the status of his team. Rookie could stated that he is alive, but for the others he may not know what happen.
"Scattered, dead, I don't know." Dutch said in a form of a flashback. It was something he feared that they are lost, dead, or worse. He could not believe that he might be the only one who feared the worse could happen to them. Rookie could wonder as they could think at the time.
"That's too bad. We're gonna need all the men we can get!" Steven Stone said over the coms via flashback. It was something that Rookie could imagine on what happen in the Kizingo Boulevard. There was only mere speculation regarding the events could take place.