Pvt. Valdez in a bad spot

Pvt. Cody Valdez was walking in his morning patrol when he noticed a squad of Covenant grunts with a brute leading them. He tried to contact his squads base but the Covenant forces saw him. "Oh snap. That's not good." said Valdez as he took out his gun. He fired on the Covenant Forces. He tried to contact any soldier he could. "ANYONE! PLEASE RESPOND!! I AM BEING AMBUSHED!! I REPEAT I AM BEING AMBUSHED!!" He yelled into his communicator.

(Open to any Class but Covenant or Rebels.)

Technically they weren’t even supposed to be here, but there’d been an increase in covenant activity in this region for reasons they were as of yet unsure of. Betty and her team were supposed to meet up with the local CO and their ONI contact. If there was one thing Betty hated more than anything, it was other people pulling her strings. Yes, she was a good soldier who followed orders, but when those orders came from someone who wasn’t her CO, or wasn’t even UNSC… Well, let’s just say she had a problem with that kind of authority. Stupid spooks and their secret missions. If she was gonna risk not only her neck, but the rest of her team's as well she’d sure as hell like to know what for. That whole “You’re serving the greater good” speech only went so far.

“Are we there, yet?” Wild Man’s voice whined from the passenger seat next to Betty, making her laugh.

“For the umpteenth time, no!” Betty answered, sounding somewhat annoyed. “Jesus, Bill! We ought change your name to Wild Child, cause you’re sure as hell actin’ like one.”

“Well, gimme a break, L-T. We been drivin’ fah fahever. I’m a man o’ action, not sittin’!”

“Man of action, eh?” Farnsworth chided. “Y’don’t think that’s a bituva stretch, even for you, Bill?” The Aussie laughed.

“Yeah, yeah. Yuck it up, Pretty Boy!” Though, Pretty Boy might have been Farnsworth’s callsign, Bill tended to use it as more of an insult.

“Shush!” Betty ordered before the Aussie could respond. Her radio crackled to life in her ear, though she was only able to pick up the end of the signal. ”… ambushed…”

“Please tell me I ain’t the only one who heard that?” She got confirmation nods from all around.

“It almost sounded like a distress call, there could be wounded?” Leave it to Doc to always want to be the Good Samaritan.

“Are we responding, L-T?” Bill asked. They were supposed to be observing radio silence until they got to base, but that sounded like a distress call if she’d ever heard one.

Coming to a quick decision, Betty nodded. “Protocol be damned.”

“Oorah. L-T.” Farnsworth called before he opened a channel to respond to the call. “This is Gunnery Sergeant Gavin Farnsworth responding to what seemed to be a distress call. What is your current situation? Over.”

“Take the wheel.” Betty ordered to Wild Man next to her. After some skillful maneuvering the two managed to switch seats without having to stop or exit the vehicle.

“What’s up, L-T?”

Betty pulled a hard case from under the passenger seat and after opening it revealed a computer of sorts inside. Her fingers flashed over keys and surfaces as she worked on trying to get a lock on the signal to pinpoint the man’s location. “There!” She cried as a map overview displayed on the top screen. “The signal came from somewhere near section H5 looks like. Gun it Sergeant!” She ordered.

Bill didn’t need to be told twice. He got his name Wild Man for various reasons, only one of them having to do with how he drives a hog. Hopefully they wouldn’t be too late to make a difference.

"I repeat is anyone there." yells valdez into his comm. "Shit no response. I guess I'm on my own." He says to himself as he is firing on the squad. As he was firing a covenant ship dropped reinforcements. "Oh No. Reinforcements are here." says Valdez. He repeats his message into the comm

The reply came in much clearer now that they were locked onto the man's signal, and just as Betty and the rest of her team had suspected, it was definitely a distress call. Covenant and a heap of them with even more inbound. "Look's like yer gonna getcher wish, Wild Man!"

"Oorah!" Was Bill's only response as he took a hill a little too fast even for Betty's taste, making her wish not for the first time that these things came with bitch bars.

It wasn't long before the Covenant drop ship was in their view. "Do I even need ta ask if ya brought the big gage, darlin'?"

"You kiddin', chere? I'd nevah leave home wit'out it." Came Freddy's response moments before an RPG went hurtling at great velocity towards the Covenant drop ship. Shaman acted fast and the one was quickly followed by a second and the alien craft was barely able to start a retreat before it was bursting into flames and debris.

There was a chorus of cheers from her team as they watched the ship burst into flames moments before Bill took another hill at high speeds, which made the hog perform a jump that would give the historical but legendary Evel Knievel a run for his money.

Bill showed no signs of stopping as they approached a clustered mass of grunts and jackals. That little stunt had definitely warranted the aliens attention and the rest of the team supplied suppressive fire as Bill plowed right for them, taking at least half a dozen out in one pass before turning around to make another one. "Ah, bowling for Covies! You sure knows how to show a fella a good time, L-T!" They kept moving as to make it more difficult for those Covie bastards to target them.

Shaman's railgun was doing the brunt of the work, though, as it continuously pelted the area with fire. Betty actually smiled behind her helmet as she took out another grunt with her shotty. Pretty Boy had out his assault rifle and was putting them all to shame with his pinpoint accuracy even without his rifle. Doc was tucked as safe as he could be behind the front seats. It wasn't that he was afraid, in fact in battle situations Doc could be a damn reliable teammate in a fire fight, but they only ever used him as a last resort. They typically did everything in their power to protect their resident medic.

It didn't take Betty long to spot Private Valdez, the man who'd sent the distress call, and when she found a window of opportunity, she took it. "Cover me!" She shouted as she jumped out of the hog and made her way over to him. She took out a grunt or two on her way as the others covered her with more suppressive fire. When she made it to Valdez, she ducked behind the boulder he had been using for cover. Betty then switched her communicator to project her voice outside of her suit.

"Thanks for the invitation to the party, Private! Next time I'll remember to bring more bean dip!" She attempted to banter with him a moment in an attempt to alleviate some of the stress he might be feeling. Being alone to face a Covenant ambush was never a fun situation. "How ya holdin' up, Valdez?" Betty asked before she peeked up from behind the boulder. There was a Jackal attempting to sneak up on them and Betty shot it right in the head so it was now only half a torso with legs.

"I'm doing better now. Thanks." said Valdez. he saw a group of Grunts and took them out. "You have any extra ammo? I'm running low."

Betty had long ago opted for the extra storage upgrade to her chest armour, so when Valdez had asked for ammo, she was all too happy to oblige. After pulling a full mag from its storage she tossed it to him. "Knock yourself out private!"

With all of them working together they made very short work of the rest of the Covenant forces. Valdez even managed to impress her on a few occasions. "Not bad, Private." She clipped him in the arm with her fist.

"Yeah, not bad at all, mate." That reply came from her sniper as he jumped down out of their hog and made his way over to them. The other following suit.

Betty extended her hand for him to shake. "Firs' Lieutenant Elizabeth Black. ODST: 57th Overlanders." She smirked ever so slightly behind her helmet but seeing as it was polarized an icy blue, he wouldn't see that. Now that the threat was over though, Betty had some questions. Namely what he was doing out here. "What're ya doin' so far out by y'self, Private? Where's the rest o' your unit?"

"Private Valdez ODST 98th Rangers. I was out on Patrol here. My Squads base isn't too far. Thanks." Just as Valdez was gonna leave More Covenant arrived. "Are you serious? More." said valdez as he reloaded his weapon. Right when the covenant dropped down he shot at them. He got 6 of them.

"Did y'say yer with the 98th, Private?" At his assurance she smiled, again with him being unable to see it though. "Well this mus' be yer lucky day, Quick Shot, cause tha's exactly where we're headed. Can I offer ya a l-"

"Lieutenant?" Doc's voice cut her off. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but according to radar there's another Covenant drop ship inbound."

"Fuckin' shit! Ya gotta be kiddin' me." She whispered under her breath. "Shaman get on the B-F-G." She ordered. Immediately Shaman pulled out a M68 Gauss Cannon from the rear hold. It's classification wasn't really BFG, they just liked to call it that for the humour factor. Shaman hooked the cannon to the interchangeable mount on the back of their hog and began blasting at the Covenant ship. "Wild Man, yer in charge o' coverin' our getaway." Bill knew by that Betty meant she wanted him to set some mines in the path of the Covies, which he promptly got to work; no one could lay a mine field faster than Wild Man Macy. Valdez and Pretty Boy were already busy popping off Covenant forces as they jumped out of their ship. The doc? Well he was doing what Doc did best in keeping a low profile and handing off ammunition and magazines when needed.

Betty hopped back into the driver's seat of their hog, followed by Wild Man jumping in from the other side. Betty drove and slid the vehicle to a halt next to Valdez and shouted at him above the sounds of all kinds of gunfire. "Get in, Quick Shot! Let's go!"

"You got it." said valdez as he jumped in. He fired at the Covenant as they were driving away. He saw an Elite. "I think we have a big problem with and Energy Sword in it's hand!" said Valdez over the Constant Gun Fire.

Betty spared a glance over her shoulder and spotted the Elite in question. "Jesus Titty-fuckin' Christ!" Shaman on the big gun was still busy with the Covenant ship; he was focusing his heavy firepower to try to bring it down, so he wouldn't be bringing down any elite's today.

"Left, left, left, left!" Bill shouted as he pointed out the direction, shoving his arm in front of Betty's face. Betty did as he suggested which was taking them through a ravine of sorts.

"Why exactly did I just drive us into a feeding trough, Wild Man?"

"This ain't no feedin' trough, L-T." He assured her. "This is Die-Again Alley." Betty didn't really understand the reference but she assumed it had something to do with one type of media pop culture or another. The man was obsessed with the entertainment industry. Betty raised an eyebrow and just turned to look at him, though all he saw was the icy bluish silver of her helmet's visor.

"Did you or did you not tell me to cover our escape?" Bill asked. Just then Betty began to notice the subtle blinking of mines laid out on the ravine floor and walls.

"Bill?" The impatience in her voice was evident. "Are you tellin' me that I'm drivin' us through a mine field?" She shouted in anger.

"Don' worry, doll face! They's remote detonated!" Betty breathed a sigh of relief. "Jeezus, L-T. What kinda demoman ya take me for?" He asked with a smile in his voice.

The covenant forces were still fresh on their tail, the Elite with the Energy sword leading the pack. Once they cleared the last set of mines, Betty expected Bill to set off the fireworks but when no boom was forthcoming she glanced over at him. "Bill?" He didn't say anything, he merely stared back at the incoming forces. "BILL?!"

"Just ten more feet!" He waited until the Covies were in the dead center of the kill zone before he pressed the button for detonation. The ground shook around them as a maelstrom of explosions rocked the ravine walls. Betty had to maneuver around falling rocks and debris as she made her way out of the gulch, all the while Bill and the others whooping and hollering up a storm.

Once things calmed slightly and Bill was sitting right in his seat again, Betty checked her tacpad on her wrist. "We're only about 30 minutes out. Sit tight boys, this wild ride's almost over." Betty glanced in her rearview at the rising smoke and flames ushering from the gulch they'd just driven through. She would say one thing; her team definitely knew how to leave an impression.

"Dang. Well, now it'd all fine and good. You guys sure can leave an impression." says Valdez. As he outs his gun down, he reloads his pistol because he was using that after he ran out of ammo for his DMR. "Hey, I'm gonna need some more ammo for my DMR. Can I get some?" he asks.

Betty met Gavin's gaze and she nodded her head. Their designated marksman then retrieved 2 sabot round cartridges from his storage compartment on his armour. " 'ere ya go, mate." He said as he patted Valdez on the shoulder and handed him both magazines.

"Ya got a mean aim there, Quick Shot." She praised the rookie before turning to glance at her own marksman in the back seat next to him. "Whattya say, Pretty Boy? Think the kid might could give you a run fer yer money?"

"Not bloody likely." Farnsworth responded snarkily. "No offense, kid. I mean you're good. Maybe with a couple-a more years experience under ya belt with the right tutelage ye could even be as good as me. No one's ever outshot me an' Eliza here." He lovingly patted his SRS, even going so far as to bring it up and kiss the barrel.

"Still preferring cold metal to the real thing there, eh Pretty Boy?" Bill asked from the front seat.

"Not at all, William." Gavin knew how much Bill hated to be called William. It was kind of a game the two played; see who could get on the other's nerves faster. "I'd love the real thing," Gavin continued. "But when she shoots my advances at every turn it's kinda hard to get anywhere." Betty sighed heavily, knowing full well that he was talking about her. Gavin even named his rifle Eliza after her birthname. It was kind of hard to ignore.

"Yeah, well, maybe if you didn't hit on every willing piece o' bar tail any time we get a leave, maybe she'd show you the time o' day. Maybe. Just sayin'."

"I do not hit on every piece of tail when we're out on leave!"

"Really?" Bill asked incredulously. "Really? Who're you tryin' ta kid, Pretty Boy? Remember our last leave, bout 2 months ago? Harmony station?" When Gavin still didn't show any sign of catching onto what he was talking about, Bill continued. "You an dose t'ree Polski girls?"

"Oh, yeah..." Even with his helmet on Betty could imagine the goofy grin on Gavin's face and the dreamy far-off look as he recollected just exactly what Bill was talking about. "We need to go back there..."

"See, that's exac'ly what I'm talkin' about! Women ain' just play things, man. Ya wanna get anywhere wit' 'em, ya gotta show 'em some respect. Especially the one you're aftah."

"So, you're saying, in order to get the one, I'd have to forsake the many?"

"That's what I'm sayin'."

"Hmm..." Pretty Boy paused a moment as if he were seriously contemplating this. "In that case, looks like the only Eliza I'll ever be gettin' my hands on is the one that fires armor-piercing sabot rounds." Betty laughed at that. There wasn't much else in this world Gavin Farnsworth loved more than Women, Booze and Guns. It'd take something pretty drastic or extreme for him to give up any of the three.

"You're hopeless, man." Bill chided.

"Give it a rest, Wild Man." This remark came from their resident Heavy. He might be outside watching their asses but he was still privy to t heir comm-linked chatter. "Dat boy ain'never gwon ta settle down. It ain't his way."

Betty was just glad that conversation was over. Valdez probably didn't have a clue what they were on about so probably wouldn't understand much of it, but still. Betty hated being a topic of conversation. "So, Quick Shot, where ya from?"

"Mombassa. I'm from Mombassa." Valdez doesn't talk that much so he stopped talking after that. He just sat back.