final checks Lance corporal David Rick stood up and began checking the armor of the person in front of him he verified the helmet was sealed and the camera was recording as indicated by the tiny red light moving down he saw no missing back armor plates and the backpack showed a full charge of Air and Power the medkit below the backpack still had its temp seil from when they had geared up on their right thigh he located the shot shell pouch still loaded then on the left a small backup Air Canister and suit repair kit again
all armor panels in place as he looked over the boots he saw they were sealed and magnetized he tapped their left shoulder twice with his fist just as he felt the same on his it was a simple ritual repeated countless times right before deploying whether for training or combat he looked down quickly counting his rifle magazines all 10 were in place today was not an exercise though a shuttle full of children had been kidnapped and held for ransom he saw the news broadcast as they executed the teacher live the Teran Republic's response was Swift his
entire company having mobilized to board their ship the TRW chesty puller his platoon was aboard a boarding shuttle rapidly closing in on the pirate vessel they had managed a successful approach by stealth soon they will be aboard and ready to teach anyone who wished to learn about the culture of Terror Marines 2 minutes first priority is the children crew Expendable the ghosts of new VOR are watching make them proud and now it's Gunner Sergeant Hannah atsuma the red lights began to flash yellow 30second warning gny Satsuma switched to the platoon's private circuit brace she quietly
ordered every one of them extended their right foot slightly forward and grabbed the ra next to them their shuttle slammed into the enemy airlock forcing it to connect safety is off was ordered and the shuttle doors opened a few Sparks were still shooting for the airlock whereas controls were overridden as the first Marines entered quickly two were pointing their rifles at the left and right flanks as the rest filled in the corridor without needing orders the first team on the left side began to move left while the rest took the right David was on the
right side next to his squad leader based off scans and available schematics of this vessel they were heading to the engine room room if they couldn't immediately find the children they were to disable propulsion so more Marines could board luckily it didn't matter if they were taking up the only airlock Teran boarding shutters were designed so another could dock with the forward or after end of each other protocol was the first two in the launch tube were the interceptors with faster engines once the engines were knocked out more would be on their way David turned
to corner and saw someone run by stop now he ordered shunning his weapon light on them his helmet translated it into two common Galactic languages but they had managed to run by another Corner resisting the urge to give Chase his team simply continued their assault when they came to the same Corner David pulled a small cable from his right arm the camera feed instantly transferred to his helmet and his Squad leaders as well he bented around the corner and was greeted by gunfire he quickly pulled back two on the left one in the center three
on the right Small Arms he announced to everyone per tactical Doctrine Dave and two others each pulled out a stun grenade and set them to detonate a half second after each other Dave threw his first then the other two their armor dampened almost ordered the explosion and Light before the Pirates could recover they ran to the corner and opened fire while advancing as they approached the pirate barricade of Supply crates one of them saw alive reach for a pistol they were met with bayonets through their body the body could be vaguely recognized as necton David
looked down to let his senses scan the body for signs of Life quickly they showed a flat line the team moved on with their visors to Spain the direction and distance to the engine room they neared another Corner the design being common among narian ship designs meant to confuse any non- crew members David's camera confirmed a barricade but no one present hiding in a crate was a lone crewman his instructions were clear keep the humans out of the cargo bay or his captain would kill him he barely saw them quickly come around the corner and
was rendered deaf and blind by the sound of explosions around him panicking he opened fire two rounds seemed to connect and suddenly his world faded to Black David was caught surprised when a crate seemed to open fire he felt himself go cold as a projectile landed between armor plates then shooting pain as another hit him a little lower both hits were to his abdomen his teammates opened fire and he was barely aware of the sounds of impacts against flesh he felt backward and landed with his back to the bulkhead hospitalman Roger Smith was instantly at
David's side David's armor was already dispensing clotting foam to seal the wound courtman Smith was getting ready to pull David back to the shuttle when an explosion went off behind him several Pirates using their crewmen in the crate as bait had emerged to Ambush the Marines several well-placed armor piercing shots followed by a grenade had taken out most of the team including their hman the rest lay dying inside David felt Fire Within himself he felt an ember that quickly grew into an inferno he watched his team die at the hands of scum he swore to
himself that today the universe would learn to never mess with the children of Terror nor their protectors he keyed a series of commands into his suit's computer he felt his pain going away replaced by the energy of r AG he took to his feet using his rifle to prop himself up he felt his strength returning and even growing until he screamed causing the Pirates to stop in their tracks David like all other Marines had been trained in the Final Stand protocol of their combat suits they even did training with toned down versions of the drugs
but it barely compared to what he felt now his suit had injected him with a lethal dose of painkillers adrenaline Nitro oxide and stimulants his entire skin itched his wounds felt normal and he lusted for the blood of his enemies aiming his rifle he opened fire as he charged killing several of them another fell to their knees trying to surrender they were met with a carb bar emerging from his wrist he slashed on their throat halfway down their chest after they fell to the floor dying he stomped their head with his boot he could barely
feel the crunch of bow another pirate charged him and David fired a shot shell from his rifle the still pellis tearing through the unarmored alien David wrecked the pump projecting the Spen shell and loaded a new one he saw three more Pirates running and gave chase their short legs were no match for his training and rage the first had to look of Terror on their face when a Bayon net suddenly emerged from their chest the one in front had no time to react as the rifle discharged another shot shell blue blood splatter throughout the corridor
David withdrew his rifle and fired a spray of bullets into the third David dropped the bullet magazine and loaded a fresh one David heard a scream a terrified high pitch scream programmed by millions of years of evolution to alert parents and trigger an adrenaline response from behind a door to his right his Visa told him the energy readings from the reactor were further away but he knew that scream too well he forced the door open control room secured shutting dou a pulsion went over the Comm within the cargo bay several Pirates had made their Last
Stand they quickly opened fire but David's instincts were Faster supplemented by the drugs in his system and his rage he rolled toward them coming out of his rooll he went into a firing position and took out two he ducked and rolled again still getting closer the screams were louder but not in the room four more rounds took out two Pirates the lone pirate threw his weapon down and adopted what was becoming the universal symbol of surrender they raised all four of their arms up and away from their body David heard more crying and then the
sound of a child being hit the crying got quieter but didn't stop David quickly closed the distance and held his bayonet to the pirate's throat what where he growled the alien simply pointed at an access hatch in the bulkhead taking no chances Dave fired a shot shell the area and David himself were splattered with blood he loaded the last shot shell from his magazine tube David ripped off the access cover and saw an assarian staring at him in amazement then Terror David reached in and ripped him out of his fortification for a split second he
saw several children in there while still holding the pirate David managed to throw them across the room stay in there kids he yelled David was on the narian before they could recover is that all of them he demanded pointing towards the hole in the wall yes all just business then the Saran replied in broken English so is this David responded as he again brought his boot up then swiftly down on the naran's head he repeated this where his Hearts were located minut to my location children rescued he announced on the aand Circuit of the Comm
suddenly feeling very tired he looked around and surveyed the room briefly he weighed what was worse exposing the children to the Bloodshed or keeping them in there he reasoned he needed to see any wounds he walked over to them are any of you hurt he asked that man hit Billy a little girl cried I'm okay he heard a boy reply sniffling back tears that man will never har you again Billy take my hand he reached in and barely felt the tiny hands in his gloves it took him a couple minutes to pull them all out
each child was roughly the same size yet they felt as though they were getting exponentially heavier when the last one was free he sat down leaning against a bulkhead who are you a child a girl asked Lance corporal David rigs Terror Marines here to rescue you he answered getting harder to speak he heard footsteps he grabbed his rifle and aimed David felt joy in seeing gny Satsuma he dropped his weapon as she lowered hers and recognized two coursen entering behind her check the kids first I'll be all right he announced over the air just need
a nap ignoring him a coursan rushed over to him [ __ ] Dave he stated ever cons I got to get you out of here now he stated is there even a point David asked again overcomes check the kid first get them to safety I'm not going anywhere David had always wondered how he would meet Destiny his dad the retired sergeant major told him fear was natural and healthy David had known fear but now it was a stranger to him he just felt at peace and tired and NAB sounded so good right now David reflected
on what had bought him to this point his his earliest memory of begging his dad not to leave he was going to a place called Terell he knew it was important but nothing was more important than spending time with his dad of course he left and then later returned then he remembered sixth grade he and Jenny Robinson were protesting his School's new policy they had handcuffed themselves to lockers and each other blocking the entrance to the principal's office they failed horribly and both were suspended what he remembers the most was when she was uncuffed he
was still handcuffed and she pinned him and kissed him it was his first kiss David was older now he and Jenny had just left their senior prom Jenny's parents were out of town they went back to her place her parents came home early the next morning her dad chased him out while Jenny raged David had arrived at Paris Island a hot humid and miserable place every time he turned around someone screamed at him yet he knew he would rather be nowhere else the more they screamed the more determined he became to prove them wrong now
David was entering a drop pod he was on a training ship and his pod was being fired into the middle of the Australian Outback he could still remember the fear and the heat of re-entry the sudden force of his pod landing on Teran soil later yet he was with his dad a party had ended and they were sitting by the fire pit drinking they were both horribly drunk his dad told him he was and always had been proud of him everything had led him to this moment he honestly had no regrets guess that answers if
I'm reupping he thought aloud for Extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action against pirate forces above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the Third Battalion ninth Marines Second Marine Division in the rexa system the enemy had taken innocent children for ransom Lance corporal David rigs as a team member of an elite boarding party engaged the enemy in close quarters combat during the fight he was mortally wounded and then his teammates killed by Carly attacks activating his suit's final stand protocol he personally resumed the battle killing many Pirates and saving over 12 innocent
children even while dying he refused treatment so that the children could be attended to First his heroic personal Valor honor and seven toward the enemy were keeping with the highest traditions of the Teran Marine Corp and worthy of the highest honor of the Teran Republic Richard Aton prime minister of the Teran Republic Medal of Honor Citation for Sergeant David rigs awarded posthumously
