Patrick merely shrugged at their responses and hoisted himself into the drop pod as the order was given. Maybe the AI was rampant, or maybe they actually [b]were[/b] able to defect. Whatever the case, it was a computer. Shouldn't be too much threat to a team of highly-trained ODSTs.
He closed his eyes as the pod shot out of the Wayward Wanderer, opening them only once the shaking and jostling reached a high point. As dangerous as it was, something about dropping feet first into atmosphere was quite pretty. 
A frown crept across Corporal Ross' face as the black, angry storm clouds came into view. A raging thunderstorm, how fitting.
He was pulled from his thoughts as Truman's panicking voice came over the comms; his terrified screams finally ending in silence.

[i]One.[/i]

The familiar jolt of the drag-chute meant that he'd be meeting the same fate if nothing was done. Firing up the undercarriage rockets, he figured he'd been able to slow himself to a semi-decent speed before the ground rushed up to meet him. 

Patrick groaned to himself after the pod hit the ground, giving his head a shake before popping the hatch and clambering his way out. It seemed like he'd landed in a small plaza, near the intersection of two streets. 
Lucky?
No, clearly not. His HUD showed at least eight hostiles to the west, and if he were a human-hating alien, that huge crash might've piqued his interests. He grabbed his M45E with one hand, drawing his pistol with the other. 
Corporal Ross sprinted to the western wall, setting himself against it before he set the shotgun down and reached for his radio.

"This is Corporal Ross. Still alive out here. I'm near the intersection of... uh... Stevens and Maynard? Got a big group of Covenant comin' up Fremont Avenue. Will be headin' towards you in a tick, Sarge. Just gonna check to see where the aliens plan on going."

Sliding his pistol back into it's holster, Patrick grabbed his shotgun and slowly moved down the wall, making a mental note of the two drop pods in his view range. 
One was in view of the Covenant, and if that Marine didn't make some kind of escape...
Well, that wouldn't happen.

He peered around the corner, squinting his eyes and trying to make out the familiar shapes of their enemies amidst the rain.