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Halo 2: The Wraiths part two: New Friends
Posted By: Wiley Kimball<kimballwh@aol.com>
Date: 13 May 2003, 7:58 PM
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HALO 2: The Wraiths chapter 2; New Friends
Dramatis Personae
The Wraiths
Com. Oni Yazuka, AKA the "Ghost's Shadow"
Sgt. Sergey Arkadeyevich, AKA "Sergey the Devil"
Sgt. Louis Loiselle, AKA "Louie"
Major Dieter Weber, AKA "Rifle One"
Sgt Homer Johnson, AKA "Rifle Two"
Corporal Tim Noonan
Master Chief Petty Officer Julio Vega, AKA "Oso"
Lieutenant Eddie Price, AKA "Rocket Man"
Flight Officer Dan Malloy, AKA, "Vulture"
Crew of the UNSC Bonhomme Richard
Admiral Kevin Mangles
Ships AI, Alexander
Crew of the CCS Lucifer
Ship Master Loki 'Lukamme
'Lukamme's bodyguard,Isao 'Namoree
Other UNSC personnel
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117
AI Cortana.
Location: UNSC Longsword fighter, Threshold system
(Master Chief mission clock: +77 hours, 34 minuets.)
"Halo, it's finished," Cortana said
"No, I think we're just getting started," Replied the Master Chief in his deep, calm voice, while removing the helmet of his MOJLNIR battle suit, now battle-scarred and flecked with bits of Flood meat. He pulled out his M90 Shotgun; now one of his favorite weapons, and set it next to him, well within reach if he had any unwelcome passengers on his Longsword interceptor.
"Cortana, what is the nearest known human ship, you know I would very much not like to spend the whole trip to Earth in this rather small space, don't you?"
"Scanning, the nearest known human ship to our current location is the UNSC Grey Wolf, however," Cortana stated, "At this speed it will take five days at least to come within hailing distance." "Oh and one more thing," She added as an afterthought, "Would you mind taking me out of your helmet? There should be an AI slot somewhere on this ship."
"All right, then." He moved to the helmet, removed the blue AI chip, and slipped it into the slot on the instrument panel. Cortana's image, that of a young woman in her mid twenty's, appeared over a small consol.
" Much better," She commented.
"If you don't mind, I would like to catch up on some sleep," said the Master Chief.
"Of course not, you've earned it," She said. "I'm just going to analyze some data I found in the Core, I think it might be useful."
"Go ahead." And with that he sank into the pilot's seat, and fell asleep within five minuets.
~
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the UNSC Bonhomme Richard, Admiral Kevin Mangles, a young, physically fit man of thirty, was busy preparing himself for a possible fight with Covenant forces in the target system.
"Alexander," as the ships AI was known," Power up all offensive and defensive systems, I want them fully charged by the time we are ready to exit Subspace."
"Already on it, Sir," replied the AI. Modeled after Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Alexander's image was that of a young man wearing a gold armor suit. A brilliant tactician, Alexander had been programmed with multiple answers to just about every strategic scenario, and was a worthy AI of the Bonhomme Richard.
"Good, and while you're at it, give everyone a wake-up call," commanded the Admiral.
"Of course, Sir," was the AI's response.
Five minuets later in the Wraiths private cryo-bay, the elite troopers were busy thawing out and suiting up in their black Nomex body suits, also known as "ninja suits". They had their orders: be ready for anything, and they would be. After they were suited up, they moved to the private armory and equipment room, where they loaded up on their specialized weaponry, which included the SC1 tactical pistol: a .50 caliber 7-shot pistol with integrated silencer and mounts for several different specialized items, including laser mics, scopes, and laser sights.
Another piece of weaponry the Wraiths used was the MA5C battle rifle, further augmented for their needs with a silencer and a mount for a multipurpose launcher which could be used to launch several different pieces of hardware: grenades, gas grenades, sticky cameras, flashbangs, sticky shockers, even a grappling hook. The Battle Rifle was a slower firing, more accurate, and lighter version of the MA5B assault rifle. It fired 9.5mmx40 AP ammunition, held in 70-shot clips, and was of bullpup design, which meant the ammo feed was to the rear of the trigger, which allowed for a longer barrel, but in a shorter gun.
The next set of weapons that every trooper carried was the grenade; from standard frag grenades, to nonlethal flashbangs, to sneaky remote-detonation grenades. Also, Tim Noonan, the tech specialist, utilized special issue grenades, namely the EM pulse grenade, which was used to disrupt Covenant electrical systems.
The team was also outfitted with the P-343 submachine pistol; a relatively compact weapon with a high fire rate, but poor accuracy. Perfect for swarm clearing, the SMP had a 40-shot clip of 5.5-mmx99 AP ammunition.
Julio Vega, the team's fire support man, was equipped with a M-41B heavy chain gun, a portable version of the one on the M12 LRV "Warthog". It was shorter, lighter, and was fed from a 1700-shot pack that was strapped on the user's back. It had a very high fire rate, and was more accurate than the standard M-41.
The two snipers, Dieter and Johnson, equipped their S-2 sniper rifles. It fired a 14.7mm anti material bullet that could pierce several armored soldiers before stopping. The rifles also had several different barrel lengths, all of them equipped with silencers. The snipers equipped the shortest barrel they had, since they expected to have to board a Covenant ship.
Another thing every trooper carried was a close-combat weapon of some kind; from Yazuka's samurai katana to simple combat knives, they were the most silent weapons the men had, and stealth was usually key in their missions.
The next thing the troopers did was get their specialized equipment: night/thermal vision goggles, wireless motion sensors, fiber optic cables, which hooked up to their OPSAT, or Operational Satellite Uplink, a thousand- credit PDA strapped on their wrist which held info, objectives, and served as a view screen for their camera equipment. They also loaded up on flares, wall mines, first-aid kits, lock-decrypters, and even tranquilizer-dart guns. Then they moved to the Pelican, and waited.
~
"Exiting Slipspace now, Excellency." The Grunt standing next to Loki 'Lukamme said.
"Good, bring the Construct on-screen," said Loki.
The screen appeared, seemingly out of thin air, and showed what was left of Halo; a cloud of gas, dust, and a few pieces. "Damn it!" He roared, and spun around, slinging his activated plasma sword, catching a Grunt and pinning it to the wall. The rest of the bridge crew stared. " What are you looking at? Scan the area; I want to know if anyone is still alive."
"Scanning, Excellency, I'm detecting one Human fighter, type 2," replied the Grunt at the scanning station.
"What is it carrying?" Loki inquired.
"One Human and one AI, Excellency."
"Vaporize it," commanded the Ship Master, walking over and retrieving his sword. Now what am I going to do?Thought 'Lukamme.The Prophets will have my head, even though I did not cause this.
~
"Chief, wake up! Covenant!" Yelled Cortana.
The Chief woke with a start, instinctively grabbed his Shotgun, pumped it, and swept the cockpit.
"Where are they?" He asked.
"9 'o clock, about 20 kilometers, they're powering up weapons." Replied Cortana.
The Chief was readying the weapons systems, ready to go down fighting, when the Bonhomme Richard appeared 'above' his Longsword, and immediately hailed him.
"This is the UNSC Bonhomme Richard to unidentified Longsword, with whom am I speaking?" The voice on the comm asked.
"This is Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, formerly stationed on the Pillar of Autumn, nice timing.
"Copy that, Master Chief, it's good to hear from you. You are cleared to dock in landing bay 1A, and make it quick; we're going to have a fight on our hands." Came the voice on the comm.
The Master Chief quickly accelerated the Longsword and brought it around to the port side of the immense ship. In seconds he was in the docking bay. "We're safe, for now." He announced to Cortana
"I sure hope so." She replied.
~
"Excellency, reading one Human ship, unknown class, it has recovered the fighter and is turning to attack us." Informed the Grunt at the sensor station.
"Power up all weapons and shield systems, blow the Humans to pieces." 'Lukamme said to the weapons officer.
" Yes, commander," replied the Elite at the weapons station.
~
"Alexander, give me a firing solution on the target's bridge area." Said Mangles.
"For plasma torpedoes or MAC guns?" Alexander responded.
"Both."
"Yes, Sir." Alexander barked. "Solution plotted, weapons read as fully charged, ready to fire on your command," he informed.
"Fire plasma torpedoes on my mark. Three… two… one…mark!" He yelled.
There was a pause, and then the whole ship shook as the plasma torpedoes malfunctioned, and then shut down. "What happened?" The Admiral asked.
"Sir, plasma torpedo cooling system overheated, system is shot," Alexander said.
"Great, just great." Kevin commented. "Fire MAC guns on my signal."
"Sir," Alexander interrupted, "Covenant ship has launched plasma torpedoes. Beginning evasive maneuvers.
The ship rolled and dove hard to starboard, launching missiles to try and intercept the torpedoes. Two succeeded, but there were still three torpedoes with a good lock, and they were closing fast. "Sir, I'm going to try something I think just might work." The AI said.
"Go ahead," the Admiral said.
The ship suddenly turned around, heading straight for the torpedoes.
"Bringing forward shields up to full, brace for impact
"Yo, this is loco!" Burst out one of the bridge members
Nobody challenged him, as they were all most likely thinking the same thing. The torpedoes struck the forward shields, and, strangely, bounced off in random directions, and were immediately shot down by missiles or guns.
"Excellent maneuver, Alexander. Now, let's finish this," ADM Mangles said.
~
"Bring us around behind the Humans and fire again. Kill them this time." Loki commanded. This Ship Master knows what he is doing, that was an excellent move. Let's not let it happen again. He thought. Still, what am I going to do about the loss of Halo? The Prophets are not forgiving. Even killing this Human ship, with our stolen technology built in, the Prophets will still kill me, they always need someone to blame, and I'm pretty sure it wont be the Humans… Then it dawned on him. "Disregard that last order, bring us ten units from the Human ship, and put me thru to their Ship Master." He ordered.
"Excellency?" One of the Elites questioned.
"You heard me, do it!" He barked.
"Yes, Excellency, as you wish." Said the Elite.
~
"Sir, Covenant ship is pulling away." The sensor officer said in alarm.
"What? Why?" The commander asked. What's he up to? He thought.
"Sir, incoming transmission from Covenant ship.' Shouted the comm officer.
"Put him on." Instructed the Admiral.
"Attention, Humans, I request that you power down your weapons and stop your attack." Came the deep voice on the comm, that of Loki 'Lukamme.
"Why?" Responded Mangles.
There was a momentary pause, and then: "Because I wish to form an alliance."
Everyone on both bridges stood in shocked silence. Suddenly, there was a commotion on the Covenant ship as an Elite tried to stop 'Lukamme. There was a blue-and-white blur, and in one swift motion 'Lukamme's white-armored bodyguard, Isao 'Namoree, sliced the rebeller in half with his plasma sword.
"Thank you, Isao." Said 'Lukamme
"Anytime, Excellency." He replied.
"Now, Human, do you accept my offer?" Loki asked.
"Of course, we are powering down now." Said the still-stunned Mangles.
Just then, The CCS Lucifer received the transmission that the Covenant had wanted to receive for so long: that the location of Earth was finally ascertained, and to head there immediately. Loki saw this, and decided to inform his newfound allies.
"While we should have an on-board meeting, I have just received word that the Covenant has learned the location of your home-world, Earth. I suggest that we depart for the system now, if we wish to save your species." He said.
"Well, then, it has finally begun; The Battle for Earth. All right, then, Alexander," He said.
"Yes, Sir?"
"Plot a new course: Earth."
"I've already started." He replied.
To be continued…
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