 |
About This Site
Daily Musings
News
News Archive
Site Resources
Concept Art
Halo Bulletins
Interviews
Movies
Music
Miscellaneous
Mailbag
HBO PAL
Game Fun
The Halo Story
Tips and Tricks
Fan Creations
Wallpaper
Misc. Art
Fan Fiction
Comics
Logos
Banners
Press Coverage
Halo Reviews
Halo 2 Previews
Press Scans
Community
HBO Forum
Clan HBO Forum
ARG Forum
Links
Admin
Submissions
Uploads
Contact
|
|
|
Anomaly #679- pt. 5
Posted By: RogueFox<roguefox68@gmail.com>
Date: 19 June 2006, 12:25 am
Read/Post Comments
|
Date estimated late 2552
UNSC Ark Royal and Accompanying Escort of 14 Ships
In Transit to Delta Halo
Captain Skirata had sat back and watched as Admiral Hood had ordered them out from lunar orbit to a place with known enemy presence. Protocol kept him from saying anything, but he had to say something now.
It was eating at him.
"Admiral, could I see you in private for a moment?" Skirata asked.
"Of course, Captain." Hood replied. The two stepped to a side storage room and stepped inside. The pressure door hissed shut behind them.
"Just what the hell do you think you are doing?" Skirata asked. "You are taking my ship and 14 others, mostly frigates that can't dent a Covenant ship, into a place where more enemy vessels are deployed and in much greater numbers! This borders on insanity, Admiral! I question your ability to effectively command this battlegroup."
Hood stared at the man. Skirata was under alot of stress, but then again, they all were. Outbursts like this could not be tolerated, even in private.
"Captain, our situation at Earth was this: hide-out until the Covenant left or until the Covenant found us. Option 1 was unlikely, and option 2 was inevitable. I have a few questions for that new ship that destroyed all those Covenant." Hood said. He turned and walked to a window and looked out into the inky black of Slipspace.
"And what if they don't much care for UNSC vessels either?" Skirata asked.
"Then either way we end up dead, Captain. This way offers just a tad bit more hope than sticking around lunar orbit for some plasma to hit us." Hood snapped. "Now, you will comply with my orders or I will give Commander Maddox command of this vessel. We have to take major risks Captain. We don't have a fleet or a base anymore. Its just the 15 of us. We have to find a way to survive and strike back. Sticking around Earth does us no good. This may very well do us no good either, but it has more promise for a favorable outcome. Dismissed."
Skirata looked at Hood for a long moment. "Yes sir." The Captain spun on his heel and strode out of the room.
Hood sighed. He appreciated Skirata's concern and constant thinking for the safety of ship and crew, but now wasn't the time. He stood up straight, straightened his uniform, and walked back out onto the bridge to prepare for whatever awaited him upon their exit into real space.
Date Estimated Late 2552
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
In Transit to Delta Halo
Turbolift 6
Lieutenant Silvermann looked up at the imposing Spartan who stood a head taller than his Marines. The turbolift glided to a halt and beeped.
"Computer, hold." Silvermann ordered. The computer beeped acknowledgement.
"Ensign Bennett, give us a situation report."
Bennett, a specialist in Galaxy-Class starships, nodded and activated a computer panel on the side of the turbolift. The panel displayed a view of Deck 39. Two areas at the rear of the deck pulsed red. Yellow areas encompassed them both.
"The red areas indicate where the boarding craft have latched on. The yellow areas are where internal sensors have placed enemy contacts. Estimated 7 in all. 2 of the Gorilla things, the rest a mixture of the guys with the portable shields and the bugs."
"Brutes, Jackals, and Drones, sir." the Chief said.
Silvermann looked at the Chief. "Right, that's what we'll call them then. Alright, Chief, you're with me. This deck has an astrophysics lab, some anti-matter containment pods, and a fusion reactor. Careful where you shoot. Let's take out the first group, then await my orders. Computer, open."
The doors to the turbolift opened. 10 Federation Marines and 1 SPARTAN-II made for a big surprise to the Jackal standing outside the door. Three compression rifle blasts made it the last thing he ever saw.
Deck 39 was basically a U shape, since it was entirely in the realtively square/oval stardrive section of the Enterprise. The two boarding craft had latched on at the bottom of the U. Silvermann and the Chief led the way, with the Marines carefully watching every nook and cranny.
A Brute roared and led a group of Jackals and Drones around the corner.
The Chief and lieutenant immediately took a knee and began to fire. Jackals and Drones began to fall. The Brute roared and caught Ensign Bennett in the chest with plasma rifle fire. Bennett fell to the ground screaming.
"Medical emergency! Request emergency transport to sickbay!" a Marine yelled.
Bennett disappeared in a blue tinge of light.
The Marines kept up fire as the Brute finally staggered to a halt and fell. The remaining Jackals turned to flee, but phaser fire found them all.
A Marine pulled out a tricorder and began to scan the deck. A tricorder is a device that folds up neatly into a rectangle-shape. When its three parts unfold, it can scan for anything from lifeforms to electromagnetic frequencies.
"I'm reading a...Brute, two Jackals, and a Drone around the corner." the Marine reported.
Silvermann pulled out a hand phaser and gestured for another Marine to do the same. "Highest stun setting, wide beam. The Captain wanted some of these guys alive."
The Marine nodded.
"3...2...1...NOW!" Silvermann ordered.
The two Marines ducked out from behind the bulkhead and fired. The phaser beams caught everything in their fields of fire and put it on the deck, except the Brute. The stun beams just served to agitate the Brute as it raised its Carbine to fire.
Another, narrower orange beam caught the Brute in the chest. Together, the three beams knocked the Brute over.
The Marines ran forward. They were all knocked out. Silvermann looked back as the Master Chief holstered his hand phaser.
"What setting was that?" Silvermann asked.
John inspected the weapon. "Seven."
Silvermann shook his head. These Brutes were awfully tough. They'd have to make some new tactics to avoid casualties like Bennett again.
Captain Picard's voice sounded over the ship's comm. "Master Chief, report to the bridge."
"Yes, sir." The Chief replied and moved to the turbolift.
Silvermann watched him go and wondered what the hell he was. He had alot of questions for the Chief, but those would have to wait.
Silvermann tapped his combadge. "Silvermann to Transporter Room 3. 13 to beam directly to the Brig."
The Marines and the captured Covenant disappeared in blue tinges of light and Deck 39 was quiet again.
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
Bridge
Captain Picard sat, nervously. They were five minutes from dropping out of warp and seeing wherever the Master Chief had taken them.
The turbolift doors parted and the Chief stepped out onto the bridge. "You requested me, Captain?"
"Yes, Chief. I'd like to know what to expect whenever we drop out of warp." Picard asked.
The Chief told the story of Delta Halo and High Charity and the Covenant Civil War. Picard sat back and listened without a word. The bridge crew slowly stopped their other activites and listened to the Spartan's tale.
"You're taking my ship into the middle of a civil war?!" Picard exclaimed. "How do you know they haven't reinforced themselves?"
"Because I have this." the Chief calmly answered and produced a data chip.
"Its a communication from Commander Miranda Keyes just before we lost control of Earth orbit."
"Mr. LaForge, get me a way to view this transmission." Picard ordered.
Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge went to work on trying to get the data out of the Chief's little chip.
|
