//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10: Boarding Action 
// Story: MLP: ODST - Hazardous Venture 
// by JO3 
//------------------------------//

	The gunship lumbered forward, the wartorn moon three thousand feet below. A hail of unfriendly projectiles moved to contest the skies. “Triple A!” the copilot screamed. Holes perforated the hull and useless wings of the great grey giant.
“Entering orbit; fire at targets of opportunity,” the pilot radioed to the gunnery teams.
The ship shuttered with every shell sent, and it bucked with every hit taken. Joe looked through the window to his left. Joe was checking the pulse-jets due to one of them falling behind on thrust. What he saw was something worse than a bad engine.
“Griffon boarding parties! On the exterior; they're tearing her apart,” Joe radioed to the crew. Grabbing an SMG and slinging his Spartan Laser across his back, Joe shot out the window he was looking through moments before.
Climbing through the broken glass, Joe moved to challenge the defectors. The griffons were armored similarly to some of the Changelings from before, only the griffon's helmets were vacuum sealed instead.
The nearest hostile charged at the ODST, bringing its claws to bear. A short burst quelled this threat, but the gunship rocked as one of its engines quit out. The copilot lessened the demand on the opposite engines, keeping the craft airborne. “This is going to be a long night...” Joe said, regaining his footing.