Another Day at the Beach

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Another Day at the Beach is a bonus video on the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack. It details what happens to the second Pelican after being shot down by the Scarab in the cinematic before the level Outskirts.

Characters

Covenant

• Special Operations Elite KIA (Killed by Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker, with the help of Private Butkis)
• Jackal Sniper KIA (Sniped by Lance Corporal Jones)
• Two Minor Grunts (Unknown, possibly the Grunt pair encountered in-game)

United Nations Space Command

• The Master Chief: (seen standing in the troop bay of a Pelican)
• Cortana: (Voice Only)

Marines

• Unknown, Recon: (Voice Only)
• Unknown, Pelican Pilot: (Voice Only)

• Sergeant Avery J. Johnson: (Voice Only)

Orbital Drop Shock Troopers

• Butkis, Private
• Jones, Lance Corporal
• O'Brian, Private: KIA - Killed in Pelican crash
• Walpole, Private
• Pete Stacker, Gunnery Sergeant
• Unknown, Pelican Pilot: KIA - Killed in Pelican crash
• Unknown, Pelican Co-Pilot: KIA - Killed in Pelican crash

Synopsis

File:6814-t halo2 beach.jpg

The Minor Elite and Jackal Sniper stand together.

Butkis (Right) telling Jones (Left) the location of the sniper.

The second Pelican, that is shot down in the first cutscene of Outskirts, flies over Hotel Zanzibar and is spotted by a Spec-Ops Elite. Private O'Brien and the Pelican's pilots are killed in the crash, and Sergeant Stacker tells the remaining 3 ODSTs (Butkis, Jones, and Walpole) to grab their tags and ammo.

The Elite sends in two Minor Grunts and a Jackal Sniper to engage them, and the sniper nearly hits Butkis. Jones, the squad's sharpshooter, easily takes him out. The Jackal's body falls from the ledge and lands next to the Grunts, scaring them back to their previous location. The first Grunt gets by the Elite, however, he manages to grab the second one by the neck, then throws him aside. He then activates his Active Camouflage and leaps down towards the ODSTs.

The Elite takes out his Energy Sword and slashes at Butkis, connecting with the ODST's Battle Rifle and cleanly severing it. Butkis falls and and grabs a Plasma Pistol, originally in the possession of the Grunt. The Elite then throws a Plasma Grenade at Walpole's helmet. Walpole yelps in surprise, takes the helmet off and throws it, and the helmet explodes next to the Elite, draining its shields and deactivating his Active Camouflage. The Elite grabs Jones and uses him as a hostage, with the Energy Sword at his throat. Jones tells the ODSTs to take him out, Butkis fires an overcharged Plasma Pistol at Stacker's command and takes out his partially regenerated shields, and Stacker finishes him off with his Battle Rifle. The Elite falls and drops his Energy Sword. Slowly, his hand unclenches, deactivating the Energy Sword.

Cortana contacts Stacker and tells him to find a safe spot and that they'll come to him, whilst the ODSTs congregate around the dead Elite, with Walpole delivering a swift kick to the corpse.

Transcript

Unknown Recon Marine (Radio): Immediate; Grid Kilo 23 is hot. Recommend mission abort.

Pilot (Radio): Roger, recon. (To Sergeant Johnson) It's your call, Sarge.

Sergeant Johnson: We're going in. Get tactical, Marines!

(Five ODST's inside the troop bay. Stacker is sitting between the troop bay and the cockpit. O'Brian and Walpole to the left, Jones and Butkus to the right.)

Stacker: You heard the man, boys. It's time for some hazard pay!

(The ODSTs enthusiastically prepare for combat. Butkis cocks his Battle Rifle. While O'Brian hits Walpole's arm. Jones is sitting in the corner with his Sniper Rifle.)

Pilot: Thirty seconds out... stand by to... whoa...

(Pelicans fly by)

The pilot goes silent as a huge Scarab comes into view. Its leg spears a truck which explodes, then its main gun focuses and fires, destroying the lead Pelican. The two other Pelicans veer off, as Plasma Turrets on the Scarab's back turrets track them. The rightward dropship containing GSGT Pete Stacker and a fireteam of ODSTs catches a burst of plasma on its left engine...

(Cuts to outside of the Hotel Zanzibar)

(The Helljumpers' Pelican, with its engines screaming and burning, flies fast over the Hotel Zanzibar)

(A group of Covenant stand on the third floor)

Elite: (looks up, points at Pelican): Wort, wort, wort!

(Grunts mumble words)

(The Pelican swerves towards the ground. Its starboard engine explodes and begins to flame, and the dropship crash lands behind Hotel Zanzibar. Butkis stands up from being moved from the right to the left side of the Pelican. Walpole is sitting in the same place checking on O'Brian to his right. Jones is on the left side on the ground crawling to the cockpit. Stacker, bleeding at the temple, is using the Pelican's wall for support.)

Stacker: (coughs) Status!

(Walpole looks up from O'Brian's body)

Walpole: Sir, O'Brian's down.

(Jones looks towards Stacker after peering inside the cockpit)

Jones: We lost our pilots, too.

Stacker: Grab their tags and ammo.

Butkis: (looks out of the Pelican): Sarge, we better get moving.

Stacker (joins Butkis): Agreed. We'll find better cover in those buildings. Butkis, you take point.

(Cut to Elite)

(The Elite stands on the building and looks at the crashed Pelican, commands the Grunts to move to the second floor and the Jackal to stay back and snipe.)

(Cut to the ODSTs. They find cover behind a wall. Butkis looks out and almost gets killed by the sniper Jackal.)

Butkis: Hello! (turns back to Jones) Sniper...3rd floor to the left.

Jones: Here, let me give him my "Welcome to Earth" gift basket.

(Jones puts his Sniper Rifle above cover and shoots the Jackal down)

(The Jackal's body falls from the ledge and lands next to the Grunts, scaring them back to their previous location. Frag Grenade explodes nearby.)

(The first Grunt runs by the Elite, however, he manages to grab the second one by the neck, growls loudly at him while the Grunt drops his pistol and becomes even more panicked. The Elite then throws him aside. He then activates his Active Camouflage and jumps down towards the ODSTs.)

(Cut to ODSTs. They walk toward the ground floor of the hotel. Suddenly, the Elite activates its Energy Sword and slices at Butkis, cutting his Battle Rifle in half.)

Butkis: Whoa...!

(Butkis falls down. He stands up wielding the Grunt's Plasma Pistol. He waves it around, scanning for the Elite.)

Stacker: Damn, where is he? Anybody see him?

(The ODSTs sweep the area in a defense position.)

(A Plasma Grenade is seen flying through the air and sticks to Walpole's helmet. He grunts in surprise and throws the helmet away. It explodes near the Elite, deactivating its shields partially and its Active Camouflage.)

(The Elite grabs Jones by the neck and uses him as a hostage, with the Energy Sword at the ready. Butkis charges his Plasma Pistol, while Stacker and Walpole aim their Battle Rifles at the alien.)

(Elite starts to say something, most likely threats. It roars at them.)

Jones: (struggling, groans): Take him, guys!...

(Elite continues to roar)

Stacker: Cook the bastard.

(Butkis discharges the Plasma Pistol, taking down its shields. Stacker fires a Battle Rifle burst at the Elite, and it dies, its hand slowly unclenching the Energy Sword, deactivating it, while Jones rubs his neck gasping.)

Cortana (Radio): Second squad, this is Cortana. What is your status, over?

(Stacker helps Jones stand up.)

Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker (Radio): We're operational, Ma'am. Barely. Our pilots didn't make it.

(Walpole kicks the Elite's body over and stares at it.)

Cortana (Radio): Find a hole, stay put. We'll come to you.

Trivia

Comparison of Pelican exhaust effects in cut scenes.

• Although the Sergeant of the squad doesn't have a helmet, he somehow still hears and replies to Cortana, indicating that the function is carried out by a Neural Interface.
• The names of the Marines are the names of several of the animators at Bungie Studios. All of the names of the Marines were shown in the Halo 2: Killtacular documentary during the cinematic design part.
• This is the only time the Pelicans engines are shown as blue with exhaust effects, while in the campaign's cutscene the Pelicans engines had no exhaust and were black.
• Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker has ODST armor in the video, but when you reach Hotel Zanzibar in Outskirts, he is wearing a Marine uniform. This may be a simple oversight on Bungie's part, or that it was the fact Stacker was the protagonist in this video and that Bungie wanted to show his face.
• In the original cutscene of "Outskirts" only the pelican with Master Chief gets shot by the turret. Here, however, the pelican holding the ODST's get shot first at the engine by the turret which then proceeds to shoot down the one carrying Master Chief.
• Although the Elite is a Special Operation one, his armor looks more like a Minor's. This is likely just a mistake, however.
• The name of the video is likely a reference to part two of Outskirts, titled A Day At The Beach.
• In the scene where the camera circles around the ODSTs that are looking for the cloaked Elite, Lance Corporal Jones is carrying an extremely large Magnum.
• In the cinematic, the squad uses what many call the "Noob Combo" to take out the Elite (i.e. an overcharged Plasma Pistol to take out the shields, and then a headshot from the Battle Rifle).
• The name of the short has 7 syllables in it. This is another 7 reference.
• When the Elite is killed by Stacker, he slowly releases his Energy Sword, which then collapses, similar to the way a failsafe disintegrates the sword in Halo: Combat Evolved.