Special Delivery

This article is about the Halo 3: ODST soundtrack. For the achievement, see Special Delivery (achievement). For the music segment, see The Pillar of Autumn (music).

Special Delivery
Album:	Halo 3: ODST Original Soundtrack
Composer(s):	Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori, and C. Paul Johnson (Extra Firepower)
Length:	10:21
Previous:	Data Hive
Next:	Finale

Special Delivery is the sixteenth track (Disc 2 Track 7) included in Halo 3: ODST Original Soundtrack, and plays in the Halo 3: ODST campaign level Coastal Highway. It is composed of From Bones (0:00-1:18), Still Strong (1:18-2:28), Extra Firepower (2:28-4:07), Mercy Plea (4:07-7:18), and Hell of a Night (7:18-10:21).

Overview

From Bones

From Bones (1:18) is a reprise of No Response (from the earlier track Skyline), though it leads into a second synth melody, featuring more static sounds and chimes. The piece plays in the opening cinematic, and continues into the gameplay sequence in which Veronica Dare, Edward Buck, and the Rookie lead Quick to Adjust through Sector 1.

Still Strong

Still Strong (1:10) fades in with a reprise of the low strings melody in Strong, Silent Type (from the earlier track The Rookie), albeit with additional short saxophone snippets. The piece plays when the team approaches the elevator in Sector 1, and continues into the second cinematic in which the team arrives at the New Mombasa Waterfront Highway as well as the gameplay sequence that follows.

Extra Firepower

Extra Firepower (1:39) fades in with a synth melody with electric guitar and percussive rhythm. The melody grows more intense before fading out. The piece plays plays quietly when the they enter third section of the waterfront highway, and ramps up in intensity at each section. It ends just before the team enter the highway section where the team witnesses the CAS-class assault carrier charging its excavation beam.

Mercy Plea

Mercy Plea (3:11) begins with a drumroll and soft ambiance, then leads into low brass playing the slow and solemn melody from Street Sweeper (from the earlier track Traffic Jam), joined by heavy drums, then strings to echo the melody. As the brass and low strings continue the solemn melody, woodwinds return briefly with the trembling melody first heard in Strong Silent Type (from The Rookie), which is then echoed by high strings. The piece ends with a drum solo. The piece plays when Rookie and Buck arrive at the entrance to Uplift Nature Reserve and continues as they defend the position from Covenant deployed from Type-52 Phantoms.

Hell of a Night

Hell of a Night (3:03) opens with soft synth ambiance, playing the same slow and solemn melody from Street Sweeper, though at a slower pace. This first section plays after defeating the final wave of Covenant at the entrance of Nature Uplift Reserve. Low strings suddenly cut in with a grave melody, followed by high strings cutting in with the somber melody of the second theme from Rain (from the earlier track Deference for Darkness). They repeat the melody at a higher register before ending with the saxophone playing its three-note cue, strings return for a climatic and grand ending. The piece then enters another reprise of the low strings melody in Strong, Silent Type, accompanied by snippets from the piano this time. Joined by soft percussion and still accompanied by the piano, the strings build up with the somber melody of second theme from Rain, playing at a much slower tempo, and joined by high strings for a crescendo finish. This second section plays in the ending cinematic of the level, when the Alpha-Nine escapes from New Mombasa.

Production notes

• The name Extra Firepower is a direct quote from Dare when the team comes across an M808C Scorpion.
• The name Hell of a Night is a direct quote from Buck in the ending cinematic.