<div align="center"><strong>Mission Start... 3... 2... 1...</strong></div><hr/><hr/><br/>The screech and groan of metal on metal was loud inside Adelaine's blackened helmet, the HUD blank for now without the bleeps of jackels and grunts. The sounds of the metal straining to withstand the outside pressure were deafening as the single person pod plummeted toward the Covenant ship. She prayed then, for whatever reason she was compelled to. There was little she could do but wait for the impending collision but talking to an invisible higher power was easier than screaming, 'Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!' She concentrated on the mission instead- the thirty personnel of ODST, Spartans and others should not have too much trouble with their mission Admiral Bane had given them:<br/><br/><em>"Alright men, here's the situation. There's a Covenant Cruiser hovering over down town New York City. We don't know what it's doing or what it's purpose is. Your mission to drop onto the Cruiser, find out it's objective and then destroy it. Your mission starts in ten minutes, grab your gear and report to the drop bay. You're dismissed and good hunting out there."</em><br/><br/>Those ten minutes had been filled with the organized chaos that was the loading of weapons and personnel. Addie moved through easily enough, dodging a soldier unlucky enough to cross in front of her. Grabbing her normal sniper rifle, assault rifle, pistol and raided the plethora of grenades stacked in rows, Addie- call sign Shadow, continued to brace for the impact landing on the Cruiser would be. Bumpy and teeth rattling, there was a roar and she was thrown in her harness- helmet clanking against the wall sending her senses reeling. Trapped inside her pod, her comms went static and she was left in her own headspace for a time. The limited view was nauseating, but she managed to see Earth rushing up towards her, the flames of her entrance into the atmosphere licking across the glass.<br/><br/><strong>"Sierra six three six, off course- entering Earth's atmosphere..."</strong><br/><br/>Adelaine heard only static in her Comms, hoping someone had heard her call before the rush of interference as she peeled off on her lonesome. The computer chirped to life, its voice heralding her imminent collision,<strong>'Brace for impact in ten...'</strong>The female Spartan started counting silently, watching the ground rush upwards.<br/><br/><em>Nine...</em><br/><br/><em>Eight...</em><br/><br/><em>Seven...</em><br/><br/><em>Six...</em><br/><br/><em>Five...</em><br/><br/><em>Four...</em><br/><br/><em>Three...</em><br/><br/><em>Two...</em><br/><br/>Addie braced, the metal compacting under the grip she had built in her years as a Spartan. She fought the urge to close her eyes, watching buildings come into view that could only be New York City.<br/><br/><strong>'One.'</strong><br/><br/>The pod skipped, bouncing across the ground and colliding with a carport and taking out a few vehicles along the way. Adelaine growled in irritation, everything shaken loose in the chaotic tumble. She peeled herself off the wall of the pod, releasing her harness with a quick clip. Pulling the handle, she pushed open the door to peer outside. It did not look like she was in an area with much Covenant activity. Retrieving her weapons, she loaded up and peeled off, leaving the area at a double time to avoid running into anyone that may have seen her wayward crash landing.<br/><br/><strong>"Sierra six three six landed- New York City, Earth. Off course and on foot. Please advise."</strong><br/><br/>She circled through buildings, creeping around the bigger groups with their Hunters and Wraiths. Addie knew enough to avoid them whenever possible to conserve her ammunition until she reached the rest of her squad. She had climbed to a tall roof top, spotting smoke far in the distance. Addie could only cross her fingers that it was a friendly. Repeating the call every hour as she moved, she reached no one and then night was falling. Dusk was fading into twilight as she holed up- blackened armor hiding her from view. She could only hope that tomorrow she would find a few others from the thirty personnel sent in.<br/><br/><div align="center"><strong>Day One melts into Day Two...</strong></div><hr/><hr/><br/>Sleep was barely required, and there was still a hyper sense of adrenaline as Adelaine waited in her hole. She had maintained radio silence through the night and up until the sun peeked over the New York horizon. Moving quietly, she climbed to a roof top- looking for the smoke she had spotted. Her vision sharpened, spotting circling Banshees and blue flames that could only be tossed by the aforementioned Wraiths. Hoofing it off again, she kept a keen eye out for enemies- her HUD surprisingly quiet for the moment.<br/><br/>It was a few hours and several calls for statuses later that she even ran across another group, though this one was smaller. She crouched behind a concrete wall, peering down into the street as a group of jackals, grunts and a single brute came tromping a little less than quietly up it. Her scope was trained on the brute, watching him issue is orders, waving his bladed weapon toward the other end of the street that was directly in Addie's direction. Taking a deep breath, she squeezed the trigger gently- the round catching the muscled creature in the eye socket. She thought she had missed for a second, knowing that one stray should would send him into a rage and she would be hard pressed to down him later. He dropped, crushing a grunt that disappeared under his bulk with a spout of methane.<br/><br/>The patrol dove for cover, scanning for her position with creepy accuracy. Addie watched a jackal take control, forcing the grunts to gain ground in her direction. Slipping silently down into the shadows, she moved street-side to approach her prey. Her hands deftly checked and primed a grenade, lobbing the frag into their midst. The metal landed and bounced, scattering the ragged-tag group in the absence of their Brute leader. The hiss of the methane breathing apparatuses was not hard to pick out, and she lifted her pistol with a deft two-hand grip as she advanced.<br/><br/>Green sparked on her left and she ducked, huddling out of sight as a jackal advanced past her position. She retrieved her combat knife, flipping it in one hand as she pounced- assassinating the bird-like creature with practiced skill. Dropping the corpse, she moved- taking out the patrol until she was left to pick apart the gear they carried. Taking as many of the 'sticky' grenades they loved to carry, she loped off again- dead-set on finding another person in this place. Her strides were even and quiet, making great time to no where until she finally managed to hear:<br/><br/><em>"This is PFC Matthew Fry of the USNC ship Hercules, I am lost in New York. If anyone can hear this..I'd appreciate a waypoint to a safe destination.."</em><br/><br/>True, she did not hear any thing else and she shifted, locking on to the transmission.<strong>"PFC Matthew Fry, this is Sierra six three six in your area. Status?"</strong>She ducked into cover, spotting another patrol as she waited for a reply.