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Leading into Something Bigger by Jones Marshall
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Leading into Something Bigger Part One
Date: 8 November 2006, 12:36 am
2nd Lieutenant John Black looked down the sights of his M6D and emptied about three rounds into the red bulls-eyes in the center of the target, the chamber sliding back with each shot and the muzzle flash shining off of the silver metal of the gun.
'That's some great shooting, Lieutenant Black,' came Colonel George Backwater's voice from somewhere behind him. 'You ought to make a career out of it.'
John slid his visual interface back into his helmet and turned around. The Colonel stood in his medal-decorated green uniform, his pipe in his mouth and a faint puff of smoke coming out of it and disappearing as it went further away. His moustache bristled in the breeze which wafted in from the doorway off to the right of the firing range.
The evening sky was above them, the sun setting off in the east (or was it west? John couldn't tell) and providing a red sky to accompany the coming of the night.
The Colonel's moustache bristled again.
'Could you stop bristling your moustache? You're freaking me out,' John said, holstering his pistol.
'Whatever. Anyway, you ought to be in those shooting competitions they have back on Earth. You could win money,' the Colonel continued.
'I doubt that let someone in with a military background,' John replied, taking out a bottle of water and unscrewing the top. He gulped some of it down and then placed the lid back on.
'John,' the Colonel said, his voice changing from one of being impressed to one of seriousness, 'Do you know why I came here?'
'No, I have no idea,' John said, realizing that he didn't know why the Colonel was here and not doing paper-work in his office.
'I have been told to find men for a special mission. Young, handsome, strong men like you.'
'Why young, handsome, strong men?'
'That's what that idiot Captain Turnwell told me.'
'Isn't he the going to be Captain of that new ship, the…'
'Winter Sunshine. Yes, he is. The ship with the new and improved slip-space drives that can just about beat any Covenant ship in the galaxy.'
'I heard he's a hero.'
'He's won medals, yes, but that don't make him a hero. Hell, I've won medals just by standing around and doing nothing.'
The Colonel pointed to a medal with a gold band and shaped in a circle with a small picture on it.
'Three years longs service,' the Colonel said grinning. He pointed to the next one. 'Six years long service.' Then he pointed to the next one. 'Twelve years long service. You don't need to be any battles to win those.'
John sat down on a chair by the firing booth.
'Come on, get to the point,' John said impatiently. He had to report back to his platoon in an hour, and it took him half an hour to get to where his platoon was stationed.
'John, I think you're good enough for the mission I'm about to tell you about. It's a classified mission that no one outside of this firing range can know about.'
The Colonel looked around. The janitor was standing near the door, using a mop to wipe up what looked like vomit from the tiles.
'You there, could you leave?' The Colonel asked.
The janitor stopped and looked at him. He had a scruffy beard and seemed to be chewing on gum.
'What?' He asked, putting away his mop.
'Could you leave?'
'Why?'
'I have to tell this man about something top secret. I need you to leave.'
'Whatever you say,' the janitor said, walking out of the firing range.
The Colonel turned back to John.
'John, have you heard of Nazis?' The Colonel asked, leaning forward towards John.
'Yes, vaguely. The ones that started World War Two?'
'Which was over five hundred years ago. Anyway, are you aware that since the time those fascist bastards back in the early years of the UNSC got beaten off, Nazism has started becoming more powerful?'
'I wasn't aware of that, no.'
'Well, we have just discovered that the Nazis are planning to steal relics from the Palace of Versailles. Not just any ordinary relics, for one, there's the Spear of Destiny.'
'What's that?'
'It's the Spear that pierced the side of Christ when he was crucified which killed him. The Nazis are planning to take that.'
'And you obviously want me to stop it from happening?'
'Damn right, Lieutenant. Damn right. We should meet tomorrow and talk about this some more.'
Leading into Something Bigger-Part Two
Date: 15 November 2006, 2:17 am
Captain Bob Turnwell put down the papers and leaned back in his chair. Paper-work certainly wasn't his thing, so he took out a lighter and lit the corner of the pile of papers in front of him.
As they slowly burned away, he took out a cigar and put it into his mouth. He lit it with his lighter, just as the burning papers set the desk on fire.
He grabbed the fire extinguisher from the corner of the room and sprayed the fire down. Another close call, he thought. He could have lost his desk that time.
He hung the fire extinguisher back onto the wall and sat back down. He had been out of action for a few months, made to do paper-work that the brass told him was 'important'. That was a load of horse-crap. This paper-work was only to keep him out of their way while they were off commanding troops in battle. They didn't want cocky captains like himself out in the field, especially at a crucial moment in the war against the Covenant. Well, he'd show that brass what he was made of when he was back out on the field.
His office was quite small for a captain's office, with hardly anything adorning the walls except for a few photos and a few medals he'd won back in the early days. The photos were mostly of him out with the boys on fishing trips back on Earth.
The planet, Reach, one of the most heavily fortified planets in UNSC space, may have looked and smelt like Earth, but t him it sure wasn't Earth. It felt like a giant fortress world, the way they surrounded it with those damn MAC platforms and their ships. It was the same with Earth, but at least there was still some areas left on the planet which hadn't been militarized. Such as the deserts of Africa and the rivers of the Amazon. He had been to all those places when he'd been back on Earth.
There was a rap on the door. Probably one of those administration fellows with more paper-work.
'Come in,' he said aloud. In stepped a man in a suit who was wearing glasses and had short-cropped hair. He looked at the partially burnt desk and started thinking twice about coming in.
'Who are you?' Bob asked, puffing on his cigar.
'John Smith,' the man said putting out his right hand to shake it with Bob's. Bob looked at him as if he was asking for too much. John put away his hand and sat down.
'What do you want? Are you here to give me more paperwork?' Bob asked.
'No, sir. I'm here to tell you that you've been assigned as Captain of a new ship.'
Bob's eyes lit up with this comment.
'A new ship?'
'Yes, sir. The Winter Sunshine.'
'Who came up with that name?'
'Ask the guys who built it. Anyway, it has an improved slip-space drive which makes it the fastest ship in the fleet. It can actually beat a Covenant ship with relative ease.'
'When do I start?' Bob said, taking his cigar out of his mouth.
'Well, it's in Construction Dock No. 7 above the planet. You've been asked to inspect it, sir.'
Inspection wasn't exactly Bob's thing, so he leaned back on the chair and put the cigar back into his mouth.
'Do I have to inspect it?'
'You're recommended to, sir. There may be things wrong with it that only an experienced Captain can spot,' John said, hitching up his briefcase and placing it on his lap. He unclipped a few pockets, obviously searching for something.
'How many men will there be aboard it?' Bob asked.
'About four hundred and fifty-two, sir,' John said, taking out a booklet with the words Winter Sunshine Class Frigate Manual printed on the front.
'Here's the manual, sir,' John said, holding it out towards Bob. Bob grabbed it and started flicking through it.
'What's so special about its slip-space drive?' He asked.
'You'll have to ask the guy who made it, sir.'
'Can you name anybody who's going to be on my crew list? Anybody popular or famous or well-known?'
'Not really, sir. Although, I have been asked to ask 1st Class Sergeant Jeff Ganszo if he wants to be posted aboard, sir.'
'I've heard of that guy,' Bob said, 'a hero, from what I've heard. I've only ever met him once.'
'He's been deemed "unstable" by the UNSC,' John replied.
'Unstable, huh?'
'That's what I've been told, sir.'
'I'd still like him on my ship, though.'
'I'll tell him, sir.'
'Tell him soon,' Bob said, pufing again on his cigar, 'I have a feeling something big is going to happen in a few days.'
'How can you be so sure?'
'I have a sixth sense about these things.'
'Whatever you say, Captain,' John said, packing away his briefcase and moving over to the door. As it opened, he turned around and looked at the Captain.
'How big is this thing you, er, suspect will happen?'
'I suggest you move off of the planet, John,' the Captain said, grinning. He sure loved scaring the hell out of these kinds of people.
John turned to the door, obviously nervous. He stepped out into the corridor beyond, his highly polished shoes clacking away on the tiled floor.
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