Post by Killinger, J. on Mar 18, 2016 1:39:55 GMT -5
UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND DEFENSE FORCE
PERSONNEL COMMAND (PERSCOM)
CAREER SERVICE VITAE
PERSONNEL COMMAND (PERSCOM)
CAREER SERVICE VITAE
Basic Information
Name:
Killinger, Johnathon. B'Sheau.
Age:
Forty (40)
Birth Date:
01-JUL-2503
Birth Place:
New Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada; Earth.
Service Information
UNSC Military Identification:
11675
Service Number:
03603-50340-JK
Rank:
Major (O-4)
MOS:
0302
Billet:
Executive Officer
RIFLE QUAL:
240
PISTOL QUAL:
225
SWIM QUAL:
S1
PFT:
290
Unit Information
Command: 22nd Marine Division
Regiment: 12th Regiment
Battalion: 1st Battalion
Medical Information
Gender:
Male
Height:
6'5'' / 195 CM
Weight:
240 LBs / 108 KGs
Eye Color:
Hazel
Hair Color:
Black
Blood Type:
B+
Personality Profile:
John is a friendly, often caring person that has been known to help civilians, his Marines and other UNSC Personnel as much as he physically can, but at the same time makes his Marines a priority. He has a tendency to make sure every Marine under his command is physically, and often emotionally, stable by simply talking to them often and occasionally. He can rely on his voice to carry through the ranks with the respect he gives, which he expects in return. This has made him develop heavy issues with dis-respect. It has been recorded that he has gotten angry, both mentally and physically, with someone who disrespects him or his fellow Marines.
John also has a lighter side, able to crack jokes with subordinates and superiors alike. He treats men and women under his command like they are a person - not an asset. John, at the rank of Major, also believes that UNSCDF Officers should lead from the front lines rather from a regimental or battalion head quarters. His ability to lead as well makes John a very respectable asset to his troops, and he feels that the presence of a Major on the front lines fighting in the trenches with fellow Marines is a morale boost - even if it is slightly.
Physical Description:
John stands at six feet - five inches and is a well built, muscular individual. His physical regime has his arms and legs corded with muscle, and he has a deep tan that compliments his darker skin tone. John has a scar along his left calf that is the direct result of a plasma sword wound where an energy sword came into close proximity to his skin, cutting it open from the heat - literally cracking the skin open - which resulted in his calf needing to be stitched on the battlefield.
He has also suffered battle wounds, such as:
- Multiple smaller, less visible scars on his face caused by cuts received during battle.
- small scars on his hands due to deeper cuts received during battle.
John, when he decides to grow his hair out to regulation length, has thick black hair. He also has a nicely groomed goatee.
Background Information:
Johnathon B’Sheau Killinger was born July 1st, 2503 at New Lethbridge General Hospital located within Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada on the planet Earth to Brett and Shea Killinger. Following family tradition from his mother’s side Johnathon received the middle name B’Sheau; the middle name stood for ‘Brett’, ‘Shea’ and ‘yourself’. John’s mother, Shea (23) worked as a manager at a construction company. His father, Brett (24), was employed with the UNSCDF serving in the Marine Corps as a non-commissioned officer with the rank of Sergeant.
John’s first months were typical and rather insignificant. He learned to talk, he learned to walk and he learned to press buttons - much to the displeasure of his parents - at thirty six months old. He was speaking half sentences and learned at a higher rate compared to other children as a consequence of his nurturing atmosphere provided by his parents. By the time he was five he was speaking at a grade two level, had the mental and physical capabilities of a child beyond his age, and possessed enough knowledge to breeze through kindergarten. His advanced academic progress was the direct results of the efforts his parents went through to keep him above the mathematical curve of his grade.
The further John aged the further his parents became as work schedules and long deployments kept them away from providing the same level of educational progress he had during his first three grades of schooling; by grade four John was struggling in school and failed to maintain concentration long enough to learn away from home at any real capacity. His first lackluster report card sent home disappointed his parents. However, by the next report period, his grades significantly improved; after seeing her flaw his mother made the time for him again and he further improved to an above average student with the guidance of his parents by the last report period.
Obvious that just school alone was no longer keeping John satisfied his parents caved into his numerous requests to join hockey programs. By the age of ten he was playing in double ‘A’ hockey leagues in his city. His naturally talent came from his father, or so he’d like to think, but in reality his mother had more professional sports players than his father’s side.
The remainder of elementary and middle school progressed well as John developed into a bright kid, a young man and finally a teenager. His freshmen year of high school in Lethbridge went extremely well, both in academics and sports. Academically he was an average student but in hockey he became a record breaking player for the team he was playing for. He set team highs for goals, assists, points and plus/minus during the thirty game season.
Unfortunately, before John could establish himself within the city, his parents moved the family to Reach after they purchased a family home in New Alexandria. He immediately became a locally known name in his neighbourhood after he joined the local triple A team. He was named team Captain and throughout his inaugural season he lead the team into the playoffs where the lost in six games during the quarter finals.
His senior year of high school, as well as his final year of high school hockey, saw vast improvements in both academic reports and statistical results. John was an honor roll student and the top performing hockey player in the city of New Alexandria at the age of seventeen. His parents, now forty and forty one years old respectfully, urged him to consider the university scholarship he was offered.
But doubt loomed inside him. With scouts projecting he’d only be a third line forward at best, as other kids around Reach and other planets had much better players, John decided to drop his dream of playing hockey and instead honor a family tradition.
His father, Brett, had made First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps after getting a battlefield commission in the fight against the Insurrection. John’s grandfather was a retired Army Lieutenant General and his great grandfather was a retired (deceased) Navy Commander. It had been in the family for generations to serve in the military at least once and John had every intent on doing it; so he did - John decided to become a Marine officer. He declined the scholarship but attended four years in College, being accepted at the age of seventeen and graduating at the age of twenty one with a degree in science. Having achieved his goal John joined the Marines and attended OCS.
During college John entered a relationship with his long time crush, Beth, who had gone to the same high school as him. They graduated the same year, went to the same college and entered into their relationship in 2522.
After the required training, courses and skill development John was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 2524 at the age of twenty one (nearly twenty two). Shortly after his commission but before his orders John and Beth got married having dated for two years. By 2525 Beth and John had their first child, a baby boy named Travis, and a new generation of Killinger’s were born. In keeping with his mother’s family tradition the baby’s middle name was ‘J’Bethu’ for obvious reasons.
However the excitement about his son's birth was short lived as his father told the family he was deploying to a colony called ‘Harvest’ and that information was limited; the same colony John was being deployed too even though he kept it a secret. By now Brett had advanced to the rank of Major, fast tracked through Captain to become an XO of a Battalion, and had responsibilities John couldn’t understand. However, John did have clearance to know that the Covenant had arrived.
John was informed simply because he was a part of the unit that would be heading to battle on Harvest and, eventually, he told his family. While shell shocked they understood it was the purpose he signed up for. To protect his family, to protect his loved ones and - even though he couldn’t tell them yet - to protect his species.
Both John and his father departed on the same day.
”Well, what can I say; First Lieutenant Killinger is, or was, a fine officer. He was committed to the war against the Covenant like no man I had seen during the campaign. He wanted to protect his family and he knew the dangers of the Covenant. He respects them though - not as morally intact species - but as skilled combatants. I think this was the reason his platoon performed well during the campaign.” - (Ret.) Captain Issac Osborn; 2532; recorded after hearing a rumour that John had been killed.
”I’d serve with him anyday. The only reason I’m alive is because of J- er, I mean Killinger.” - (medically discharged) Private First Class Rick Burns; 2537; after being asked about John.
Harvest Campaign (2525-2531)
John participated in the Harvest Campaign the moment his vessel left slip-space. Awoken from cryogenic storage an hour before his vessel tore back into normal space his platoon was already prepared for departure - and that is exactly what they did - as soon as the Frigate he served in drew close enough to deploy their transports.
Originally John was supposed to link with with his company but while on descent towards the planet’s surface the large portion of pelicans carrying his company were either destroyed, damaged or lost. Only three pelicans made it to the surface and left John as the only officer of the group. Forty four other Marines depended on him to get them away from the hot landing zone and back into friendly territory.
It wasn’t meant to be, though. The Companies XO contacted the butter bar and ordered him to proceed towards a village that was now behind enemy lines. Killinger protested the order respectfully but was informed his unit was the only unit capable of getting there in time with enough numbers to make a difference. The XO informed Killinger that his landing team was supposed to be twice the size it was now but unfortunately it seemed they had lost communication with the rest of that team. John knew it meant they were either dead, dying or truly missing in action.
Facing the decision to either disobey orders or commit to it the Second Lieutenant committed the forces he had. Under guidance, welcomed guidance, of two experienced Staff Sergeants the Platoon was able to move into the village without any hostile contact.
Eventually they did come into contact, took casualties, but successfully held the village long enough for a flight of pelican transports and gunships to extract the surviving civilian population and Killinger’s marines at the same time. No bodies were left behind and when they returned to a secured forward operating base the seven casualties John took only added to a casualty collection point of over a thousand hours into the fighting.
John would stay on station for nearly thirty hours as the front lines were established, contested, and eventually either broken through or pushed back. Unfortunately the bad luck seemed to follow him. The front lines around his FOB were pushed back so far that the FOB itself came under direct fire. Plasma mortars, grenades, aliens and foreign vehicles erupted onto the FOB grounds. Killinger was able to round up multiple marines and joined the counter offensive but ultimately the UNSC decided to abandon the base and evacuated the remaining personnel after they repelled the assault. Over thirty marines were killed and another dozen were critically injured.
Truth be told, however, the UNSC was doing well during the first day of combat on the ground against the destructive alien alliance. Over the next month the Marines would push the Covenant back further and further, winning more and more engagements until victory seemed inevitable on the planet. John was sent home eventually for some rest since orbit was secured and the Covenant capital ship was destroyed. During that time Beth and John conceived their second child but John was already deployed by the time his son Kyle was born in early 2526.
After returning John and his platoon wouldn’t get into another combat situation again until mid 2526 within one of the numerous cities on Harvest. John, a First Lieutenant, became the highest ranking officer in a twenty kilometer radius when the command post inside the city was taken out by banshee fighters. Consequently John was forced to take command of over one hundred and fifty marine bodies and had little time to prepare for a Covenant siege.
Killinger, using defensive line tactics, was able to repel the siege at the cost of a large portion of marines under his command. He himself was a medical casualty after he suffered major knee trauma during the engagement. With Victor Company deplete and combat ineffective John and the surviving marines were reassigned to another unit. In 2527 Beth and John would have their third child together, Jennifer, who was born in the family van. Jennifer was the second of John’s three kids he was present during labor and got to hold his newborn. Though Beth and John agreed to never tell their kids that he wasn’t there for Kyle’s birth.
John wouldn’t be redeployed to Harvest again like last time. Instead, he was assigned to the garrison on Reach where he would commute every day to and from for nearly two years. In 2529 John and Beth had their forth child: Adrianna, a beautiful baby girl. John also applied and was accepted for Force Reconnaissance. He passed the required training and was assigned to a unit on Harvest and given orders to deploy immediately. However, before he could deploy, the ForeCon unit returned to Reach to rearm and resupply. John would stay on Reach for nearly another year before being ordered to deploy to Harvest one more time with his new unit.
By the time John returned he learned that the early victories the UNSC enjoyed had nearly captured the planet for the military organization; by the year 2530 the UNSC had pushed the Covenant ground forces back to a point where ONI was comfortable with saying ‘victory is inevitable’. Little did they know, however, the Covenant would send another fleet. The UNSCS Prophecy defended the planet the best it could but was critically damaged during the space battle. With the orbital battle at least concluded the Covenant launched a massive invasion force that overwhelmed the UNSC and the surviving Covenant ships begun to ‘glass’ the planet.
Entire battalions of UNSC personnel were lost to the orbital bombardment as the Covenant glassed most of the planet. John was among the few to survive the orbital bombardments but eventually they were able to counter attack.
John would see his first major combat against the Covenant as a member of ForeCon when Captain Travis Jenkins, his company commander, lead them far behind enemy lines to process information about troop movements. The Covenant, moving on a city with four tanks and three companies worth of men, spotted the Marines and opened fire.
Jenkins ordered the unit to fall back into the foliage provided by the not yet burning forest where they were able to successfully retreat away from enemy contact. However, while moving through the forest, they encountered search parties combing the woodland area for them.
The company of Marines took the vantage point on the top of a hill roughly a hundred meters away from the forests tree line after successfully avoiding further detection with the intent to ambush the scouts; they never came.
After a two man recon reported that the main force had redirected towards where they were dug in Jenkins decided to use the time to requested some reinforcements. The UNSC responded within the hour and deployed a Grizzly tank, three Gauss Warthogs and an additional platoon of Marines VIA pelican dropships.
The Covenant, obviously hearing the pelicans on approach, attacked the reinforcing Marines. The force multipliers Jenkins had received were regrettably knocked out within the first five minutes of the fire fight as the Covenant assaulted the marines on the hill. Fortunately so were the Covenant heavy hitters.
Forced to retreat once again Jenkins and his company - including Killinger - were routed towards an abandoned town wedged in between thick vegetation. With the UNSC still in the area Jenkins issued a request for support but it was shut down as the Covenant had gained the upper hand in the air.
The marines were forced to defend themselves against three waves of company sized units that had surrounded them. By the time UNSC air support arrived they had suffered ninety percent casualties, both fatal and non-fatal. While it was staggeringly high it was also a testament to Jenkins leadership abilities against a force three times the size he had available to him.
John survived the Harvest Campaign through luck, maybe some skill and the prayers from his family.
The Harvest Campaign came to a close in 2531 as a UNSC victory despite the heavy casualties and material losses. By that time, however, Harvest had lost its strategical importance as most of the outer colonies did not share similar results. Many planets had gone dark, fleets destroyed and populations glassed into the planet’s surface. Entire civilizations of exotic and alien species indigenous to those planets went extinct and billions of humans had been killed.
Though they had Harvest they were losing the outer colonies.
”I think Killinger actually got bored sitting at the base every day; ah, I’m probably overthinking it, the man has a large family to take care of.” (Ret.) Major General Spencer McCraw; 2534; recorded response to his superiors.
Reach Garrison (2532 - 2536)
When the majority of the Marines that survived the battle for Harvest returned to Reach they were either discharged, ended their service by letting their contract expire or were issued new orders to join the garrison on Reach. John, among the people who had renewed their contract in the previous years, was one of the many to receive orders to join the Marine garrison on the planet.
He returned to Camp Alexandria where he would work his day shift and be home at night. The First Lieutenant was able to enjoy the evenings with his family for many years, watching them go to plays and grow up more and more. Though John was home he wasn’t always available. Sometimes he’d have a 24 hour duty station or a field training exercise to keep the Marines under Jenkins fit and mentally prepared to redeploy.
Over the years he moved up in the chain of command hierarchy and became the executive officer of the Force Recon company he served under; being the direct second to Captain Travis Jenkins. Since the UNSC had a different organization for their special operations units the Company was a literal company of Marines that were special operations capable.
In direct comparison with the ODSTs, which also functioned in the observe and direct action role, the two hundred strong ForeCon company was dedicated to besting their ODST rivals in any way they possibly could. Jenkins had them running drills nearly every day to improve their military capabilities. Accuracy, mental capacity, tactics, the whole nine yards was covered in the training.
But as the years went by the training became less and less. It stagnated to a point where even the ForeCon guys were typing up reports on a computer desk or bored in the barracks cleaning weapons; boredom did strike but everyone knew it was a possibility. With the unit being on a rotation there really wasn’t a lot of action. Though not many would admit it - it was enjoyed before it ended - particularly by John.
Even though he had passed the time in grade and time in service requirements to make the rank of Captain he was never promoted to the new pay grade. Many Lieutenants who were serving in active war zones were getting fast tracked to Captain and it was stiffening the advancement of First Lieutenants who were sitting in a garrison waiting for deployment orders.
”Captain Killinger earned that award, Torby. Don’t second guess it, don’t try to unders - understand what he did that day. What he did, what you saw on that report, was exactly what the board saw from his helmet cam footage. The man saved lives.” Anonymous Marine; 2537; speaking to a reporter who was covering the Battle of Zenith.
”Killinger earned those stripes after Jenkins was killed. He’s the reason the UNSC Army was able to launch an organized counter offensive after repelling the Covenant forces at the bridge. While Zenith was lost the survivors owe the man the respect he deserves.” Captain Bennet Huston; 2538; addressing a review panel.
Battle over Zenith (2537)
The Battle for Zenith was probably the most important battle for John in his military career. The man lead a platoon (with the rank of First Lieutenant) of survivors from the ForeCon Company he served with to a pyrrhic victory, earned the Medal of Honour, and held a line with forty plus men long enough for the UNSC Army to organize a large counter offensive against the invading Covenant ground elements.
The Battle of Zenith, like most battles, started in orbit. John, by this time, was assigned to the UNSCS Sratoga and deployed with Task Force 77 onto Zenith in an attempt to both evacuate the largest city on the planet and push back the invading Covenant ground forces.
In orbit, while Task Force Seven Seven deployed groundside, the UNSC Navy attempted to hold the Covenant from achieving orbital superiority by deploying fighters, gunships and hunter-killer frigate and destroyer groups. However the twenty strong UNSC Fleet was fighting against a Covenant fleet similar in size so losses in space climbed quickly.
By the time Killinger and the rest of Task Force Seven Seven were on the ground the UNSC Navy had lost enough strength that reinforcements were limited or simply cut off. Half the fleet had been destroyed in the opening salvos and only a few Covenant ships had been destroyed. John, Jenkins and the rest of the ForeCon Co’s platoon leaders were made aware that the UNSC Navy consisted of Heavy Cruisers, Carriers and a few Destroyers and Frigates.
Johnathon was immediately deployed four kilometers away from a Covenant refueling base they had set up the day prior to launching their invasion on the city - twenty kilometers away - and surprisingly around a more hospitable environment. Their orders, before contact with C2 was lost, was to eliminate the refueling station. Reports suggested that there was only a company level presence with limited armor capacity.
Jenkins was also deployed alongside the Task Force’s combat engineer battalion, meaning Killinger was as well, and instead of immediately attacking the fueling station Jenkins ordered his company to protect the CEB as they built up H-Barriers and prefabricated buildings to complete a FOB for any unit operating in the desert at the time.
The planets local garrison, two regiments of UNSC Army troopers in this specific sector, were already engaging the Covenant on two fronts. Both regiments had combined logistics and manpower to deal with the growing issue of an advancing Covenant military. However, because of their two front effort, they were already over taxing their abilities to defend and deploy readily.
This left Captain Jenkins, Killinger and the platoon leaders with no reinforcements. Thankfully, since Task Force Seven Seven was ordered to deploy to the FOB in the desert, vehicles arrived on top of more Marines to combat the Covenant. Unfortunately Task Force Seven Seven was largely ill equipped and vastly under strength. With most of Task Force Seven Seven still aboard the Sratoga when it pulled away for whatever reason.
With the FOB up, defenses online and the base operational Jenkins finally decided to follow the orders he was issued. The ForeCon company moved up, with Killinger and First Platoon on point, while the rest of the company moved up behind and in a wedge formation; in the middle was the company's lone Warthog - a LAAG variant - which provided both anti-aircraft and anti-personnel capabilities.
When the Company was first engaged near a sand dune with the entire company at the height disadvantage things didn’t go well. The dune was not avoidable as it extended miles in every direction so the only option the ForeCon operators had was to charge up the hill or die. During the fighting the Covenant dug in weapon emplacements to suppress the UNSC forces.
Captain Jenkins ordered first and third platoons to flank up the left and right side of the Dune while second platoon and the Warthog tried to suppress the Covenant and firing positions from the middle. While, eventually, they were successful at defeating the Covenant it cost them tremendously.
Captain Jenkins had been killed, the Warthog had been destroyed and both Second and Third platoons were combat ineffective. Second Platoon had been nearly wiped out with most Marines KIA while Third platoon had retreated behind the cover of a smaller dune to treat the injured and wounded. The only operational platoon left was First Platoon and even they suffered casualties.
With Jenkins dead, Second and Third platoons practically inoperable, Killinger took command of First Platoon and integrated as its platoon leader for the time being. With the Company no longer being a company the role of XO had literally been reduced to platoon leader.
Out of the one hundred and eighty some odd Marines originally only forty four capable bodies remained, though just over sixty had survived. The survivors were airlifted back to the forward operating base while Killinger and his now platoon strength unit (referred to as his platoon from here on out) were re tasked with defending a defensive line around by John himself. Having heard the recon reports he knew the UNSC Army was about to be flanked and they couldn’t do anything about it.
Having asked for volunteers to defend a line until the UNSC Army could compose a counter attack to take back that part of the city he was surprised when the entire platoon volunteered. When the UNSC Army pelicans picked them up they were thanked but also surprised when they saw a SPARTAN-II on the bird. SPARTAN-036, as the man called himself, was there to do his own thing but he agreed to help the Marines out a little bit.
By the time John and his platoon touched down the weather had started to turn and night had descended on the city. The UNSCs automated weather response system alerted all UNSC personnel that an F5 tornado was a high probability so they took shelter in an office building. Through the rain and the wind, unknowing to Killinger and his forces, the Covenant had continued to advance.
When a riflemen noticed an elite shield shimmer after getting hit by something the Marines opened fire at the advancing unit. It was dark, the only illumination coming from tracers and plasma being exchanged between the two parties. For an hour the Marines would exchange fire and consume ammunition while the SPARTAN-II wandered around the unsafe streets.
The super solider would also help Killinger get his defensive line ready by pushing vehicles and debris into a fortified line two blocks long nearly throughout the night. As the hours passed the engagement ended, which turned out to be depressing for both sides. The Covenant had retreated and the Marines appeared to have wasted precious ammunition on shooting at nothing.
After the night passed and the weather subsided John requested thermal scanners and additional gear for his platoon. Only he and his platoons ‘staff sergeant’ had thermal imaging so it was important to get look outs with the gear and software in the buildings. The pelican arrived an hour later with no reinforcements but did drop off ammunition, food and additional defensive assets such as a M247 and mines.
With supplies restocked and the Covenant about to advance in force on their location they split into two groups of twenty one to cover both sides of the line. The intersection to the left was held by Staff Sergeant Sorelson while the right intersection was held by First Lieutenant Killinger. In front of them was a large field for recreational purposes with many soccer fields, ball parks, tracks and playgrounds. It essence: It was a park.
When the assault finally came the Marines of the surviving ForeCon company rallied with relative success to similar stories. However, within the first hour, they were facing a decisive defeat; Covenant were advancing aggressively and casualties were mounting.
With no other option Killinger requested air support. The UNSC Army dispatched the same pelican that had dropped off the supplies they needed hours earlier to assists John and his platoon in defending the line for as long as they could. The UNSC Army was already putting together a counter offensive but it would take time to get the assets and manpower to make it an effective push.
The pelican arrived and assisted the ground forces in defending the line. Unfortunately, thirty minutes after its arrival, the pelican took plasma fire to the left engine pylon. The entire engine pylon was destroyed and an internal explosion severed it from the dropship. The engine landed away from any friendly bodies but caused the pelican to spiral out of control.
The transport’s tail collided with a nearby building and tore superstructure, glass and itself off; sending the debris directly towards the forces on the ground. Pieces of super structure such as steel and concrete did cause casualties but the tail of the pelican landed behind the defensive line.
The pelican itself spiralled aggressively out of control with only one engine and slammed into and through the second floor of the opposite building. There were no survivors and the UNSC Army couldn’t spare another pelican at the time.
The transport had done its job though and the Covenants artillery tanks had been destroyed. A large part of their attacking force had also taken casualties. However, with the bird down, things got dicey one again; the Covenant sent in stealth elites to kill both sides of the defensive perimeter. If it weren’t for John noticing water sploshing from the footsteps he would have been killed.
Despite the early warning the elites managed to kill the majority of Killinger’s surviving Marines. He himself was nearly killed when an elite clipped his shin after being killed mid-swing by surprising reinforcements from Task Force Seven Seven.
First Lieutenant Cooper had arrived with a full sized Marine platoon, forty three more Marines including herself, on top of a squad of ODSTs she brought with her in tow. When the battle ceased Killinger’s platoon had suffered twenty seven casualties on both intersections. Unfortunately Killinger was wounded and out of commission as corpsmen tended to the fallen First Lieutenant.
Third degree burns and surgery being required to fix the muscle damage the energy sword had caused.
While he was incapacitated the Covenant launched two pepper assaults to test their readiness. Eventually they did launch another assault on the Marines but they had the range and cover advantage. For three hours they fired and engaged the Covenant infantry only advance across the field. Thankfully the supplies out lasted the Covenant as they pulled back once again after suffering casualties.
It had been a hard fought day but both sides had their losses. Only thirty Marines were still combat effective from both Cooper and Killinger’s platoons. Cooper had more Marines available with twenty two while John was down to eight. Only fourteen Marines from the original company they deployed with were still alive. Yet another time where they were nearly ‘wiped out’.
He left the remnants of his platoon under the command of Cooper while he took the injured back on the Warthogs Cooper had arrived in. The UNSC Army had organized a counter offensive at this point consisting of two infantry companies, two tank platoons and a Vulture Gunship. Assets were still on their way but the push for the east side of the city was about to begin and Cooper would be relieved once they arrived.
A day passed and Killinger was promoted to Captain on the field and sent back out with the remnant of ForeCon Marines once he recovered from his injuries. He was also given command of the company and ordered to assist the UNSC Army in regaining control of the eastern sectors.
While en route to his company John witnessed a pelican crash into a tall fifty story building. When the Warthog drove by he noticed two grunts and an elite enter the building on their way up. John ordered the driver to slow to a stop, reverse into cover and man the gun. If anyone was alive in the pelican John wasn’t about to let them be ambushed by the Covenant.
He could see the tail hanging out of the building, including the boarding ramp, so there was no way the crew was capable of leaving the pelican. If they were conscious they could have broke through the pilot windshield but John doubt that they were after that crash.
He entered the lobby floor and proceeded to walk up the stairs. Unknown to him the pelican had started burning the structure and the previous storm had weakened the superstructure of the building. Above entire floors collapses as the concrete supports failed under damage they had sustained.
Debris blocked the stairs a few floors up to a point where it killed the two grunts and blocked any path forward. He could see the elite still climbing up the stairs as a brisk pace in order to claim his prize - the deaths of any humans still alive - and John couldn’t allow that. John had to think quickly and decided to do something stupid; the building was still under construction so a crane was on the top. There were wires that lifted supplies from the surface to the top were near a window and that was the only way up.
John ascended the wire until the fortieth floor, climbed through a broken window, and proceeded towards the stairwell. The pelican was some floors up and the fire had already started to consume any flammable surfaces on this floor. John checked the stairs and was fortunate to find it not blocked. He could easily see where the pelican was as a portion of its wings were poking through the concrete walls. It explained why the stairs were blocked on the lower levels but it appeared that the wing also took out a section of the stairs leading up to it.
John reached the 43rd floor and immediately found a deceased Marine - body still warm - and spent shotgun shells nearby. He paid his respects, took the dog tags from the Marine and acquired his weapon. The unfortunate casualty didn’t have any ammunition and was probably flung free from the pelican as it crashed into the building.
The pelican had slid through the building and came to a rest at its spot rather than crashing into the building and stopping immediately. It explained why these floors were under heavy loads and unsafe to navigate.
When he got to the pelican he saw the elite looking through the canopy at conscious people. He engaged immediately and caught it by surprise. Unlike the Marine below who probably was caught by surprise John had the upper hand and forced the elite to retreat further away, though it was on the same floor and alive.
The elite had weakened the canopy by firing his plasma rifle at it. A portion of the screen had melted while the heat cracked it further. Two brief shotgun blasts were enough to completely shatter the canopy and the survivors climbed out fairly well armed.
The elite attacked and was gunned down by a shotgun, a magnum, a battle rifle and an assault rifle. It didn’t last long but did wound both the pilot and Killinger. The pilot suffered a shot to the chest and that same shot burned Killinger’s arm by proximity. The pilot was able to get his armor off before the plasma could melt through but suffered burns. The heat had been so intense it started bleeding.
He took the crew back to the Army FOB and dropped them off, got a quick treatment for his wound, and added the body to the casualty collection point. When he was cleared to leave he did, rejoining the surviving elements of his company.
By the time he arrived however UNSC Army tanks were sitting in the park and Army troopers were discussing how the battle was going casually. Leaning on the side of buildings and smoking; the battle wasn’t here anymore it was further away.
That’s when everyone was hit hard. The UNSC Fleet had been defeated and the Covenant had begun to glass the planet. Portions of the city erupted in the fiery glow and the Marine FOB in the desert - being obvious to satellite imaging - suffered a direct hit. Task Force Seven Seven ended that moment.
The UNSC evacuated their personnel from the planet through an emergency evacuation. The UNSC Navy launched a last ditch effort to secure the space above the city and managed to do so. Unfortunately, while securing that portion, two MAC rounds hit the planet at full power.
The emergency evacuation was a success as everyone left. The only thing that truly mattered was saving as many lives as possible. Obviously you strapped any gear, vehicles and other equipment you had or could get onto a pelican or in an albatross but the vast majority of non-living assets were left planetside as it was glassed.
It was a major defeat for the UNSC and the planet was literally lost.
For his actions during Zenith John was awarded the Medal of Honor for going above and beyond the call of duty.
“John has - well he’s served with distinction. But he was stubborn and requested to stay a Captain when he was promoted to Major in 2541. Those men he had fought alongside in his Force Recon company. Well. He couldn’t just leave them for another unit. He absolutely refused to leave his men and I understand.” Admiral Eric Klix; 2541; casually speaking about John declining a promotion.
UNSCS Solace (2537 - 2541)
John was sent back to Earth, his homeworld, under orders to join the Marine compliment of the Marathon Class Cruiser UNSCS Solace assigned to the Sol Defense Fleet. However, a month after he arrived for his duties as the Force Recon Company CO on the vessel, the Solace was redeployed to Reach to join Admiral Cole in the outer colonies. By this time, sadly, most of the outer colonies had been lost and the inner colonies were starting to get attacked.
Cole was still fighting though; that meant that any ship assigned to him was as well.
Surprisingly though the Solace never saw combat with Cole’s fleet and remained over Reach for the most part. The one time it did see combat it was patrolling the inner colonies and was boarded. Counter boarding was successful and John didn’t lose a single person from his Company during the efforts. The ship survived the encounter and destroyed the CCS Class battlecruiser that initiated the boarding in the first place.
One on one the Marathon’s were more than a match for the standard Covenant warship.
In 2541 John declined a promotion to Major, citing his reason were ‘staying with the survivors of Zenith for as long as I can’, and was simply forgotten about for the entire year of 2541. However, at the end of the year things changed.
“When he was finally promoted to Major and assigned to the 17th MEU - well those were the days my phone stopped ringing. In some twisted way I want to feel popular again.” Colonel Joseph Martin; 2542; after the selection board approved his promotion.
Skirmish in Rockchild
John was promoted to Major in 2542 and assigned to Seventh Marines, Second Battalion as the XO for Lieutenant Colonel Taggart Walker despite him rejecting promotion a year prior. Unknown to him but Admiral Eric Klix vouched for his promotion for the time he served on the Stratoga. He was well liked and a remarkable leader by the Navy Flag Officer’s words that would be the weight needed to push the decision of the selection board.
Even though John had declined previous promotion he wasn’t stupid enough to decline two. He accepted the promotion and reported for his duties within the week. He would deploy with his battalion on Roth IV, the habitable planet in the Roth system, where he engaged the Covenant within the main city.
The Skirmish for Rockchild was a major victory on the ground but a decisive defeat for the UNSC forces in orbit rendered that victory useless. The Covenant pushed three times to capture the city but each time the Marine Battalion repelled the pushes. Major Killinger served on the front lines for the duration of the fighting even though his responsibilities were with the Lieutenant Colonel back at the command post. There was no excuse to why he fought on the front but the Lieutenant Colonel allowed it.
He would be stationed on Roth IV for three months before the UNSC recalled their forces pending a defeat in orbit against the Covenant. Three months the campaign lasted, one of the longer ones in comparison to how orbital battles went, but it was still a defeat. Rockchild, along with Roth, were glassed after the UNSC pulled out.
27th MEU; 12th Marines, 1st Battalion (2542 - Present)
John joined the 1st Battalion, 12th Marines two months after Roth.
He would deploy with Marines to the Templar, a missing Halcyon Class Cruiser, and retreat with them. Gunnery Sergeant Cruz assaulted him on the way back and the heated incident became the first true action John had taken as the XO of the battalion. Gunnery Sergeant Cruz was NJP’d to Staff Sergeant and another that participated in confrontation was punished without a NPJ.
His role as an XO became more realized as the year went on.
He participated in battle during the operation on Phoenix III but saw limited combat. Instead he spent most of his time in the Battalion Command Post. His new responsibilities as an XO at this level were - self admitted - challenging for him to accept. He wasn’t used to this type of technical leadership or responsibilities.