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Anamoly #679- pt. 1
Date: 12 May 2006, 3:19 am
Author's Note: This is a work of crossover fiction. If you do not like crossover fiction, please stop reading now.
Date Unknown
African Savannah
Sol System
The Master Chief checked the ammo counter on his old MA5B and the ammo pouches he had left in his rucksack. Only roughly 300 rounds of ammunition for the old assault rifle, and another Phantom was landing outside. He heard the warbles and barks of the Grunts as they searched the ruins of the old power station for him.
It had been a week or so since the Covenant had launched a massive orbital attack on all remaining human ground positions in Africa. The Chief's armor had taken several hits, so the computer inside was sketchy and the date had been lost; he estimated a week had passed since then. He had no knowledge of any other human forces in Africa or in the rest of the galaxy for that matter. After he had seen the Covenant activate the Forerunner facility, he had attempted to sabotage a Covenant ground command and control center. The attempt failed, and the Chief had been fighting a running battle for two days to an abandoned power station. He had holed up here and repelled two light attacks. The Chief knew he couldn't last forever. Eventually the Covenant would blast him with a Wraith or some other superior weapon. The Chief jammed a fresh clip into the assault rifle and peered around the corner at the two Grunts sniffing nervously.
The Chief stepped out and fired.
Covenant Invasion Fleet
Earth High Orbit
Sol System
The Covenant Fleet Master left in charge of the remaining Covenant ships in orbit was responsible to make sure that the subjugated humans in the other parts of the planet didn't cause any trouble. He had ground troops on the ground to keep order in the population centers, but the humans could riot and cause problems and delays. The Prophets didn't like delays very much.
"Fleet Master. We have...an anamoly off the port bow."
"Specify type of anamoly."
"Unknown, Excellency. The phenomenon does not seem to have coordinates."
The Fleet Master stared at his sensor operator.
"Are you telling me that it is, and yet it isn't there?"
"Sir, an object is emerging."
An odd ship with a large, oval-shaped fore section and a smaller aft section with two blue-glowing nacelles on either side of the aft section appeared.
"Identify that vessel." barked the Fleet Master.
"Vessel is attempting to contact us. Sir! Detecting human lifesigns!"
The Fleet Master snarled.
"Don't bother communicating. Fire all weapons batteries as soon as they are ready."
The tear-dropped Covenant ship turned with its thirty cohorts to face the newly arrival. Angry motes of red fired at the ship.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise-D wasn't about to stand for that.
"Mr. Worf, return fire at the fleet, all torpedo bays and phaser arrays fire. Helm, evasive maneuvers."
The Enterprise fired phasers and photon torpedoes at the Covenant fleet. She then lifted up and away from the Covenant fleet. The plasma tracked and connected with the Enterprise, causing the ship to rock violently.
"Status report." Picard ordered.
"Shields holding at 65% from plasma barrage. Lasers had no effect on the shields."
The phasers had cut through the shielding of the Covenant craft like paper and the photon torpedoes slamming into them blew gaping holes in their hulls. Several of the ships hit lost containment of their reactors and blew into pieces. The rest of the Covenant fleet moved to pursue the Enterprise.
"Helm, come about to 312 mark 126. Tactical, fire all weapons at will."
The Galaxy-class warship came about to face her pursuers and let another barrage of her weapons go. 5 more Covenant ships were destroyed or crippled by the combination of the phasers and photon torpedoes. The Federation craft rolled onto her ventral side, firing all her phaser arrays on the fore part of her hull as she sped by at flank speed. Covenant ships withered under the barrage. As the Enterprise whipped by, the remaining Covenant ships managed to get another plasma barrage off. The plasma slammed into the rear of the Enterprise. She began to trail plasma from her port nacelle and slowed down.
"Damage Report!" Picard yelled.
Commander William Riker, first officer of the ship, responded, "Port warp nacelle leaking plasma, hull breach on deck 26 from plasma torpedoes! Casualty reports coming in from aft sections! Inertial dampeners have failed! We can no longer perform any radical maneuvers, Captain."
Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge, Chief Engineer on the Enterprise, reported, "Sir, these plasma weapons are having an electromagnetic pulse effect on our ship systems. Attempting to compensate by changing shield resonance frequencies."
The Enterprise came about and fired another blistering barrage into the enemy fleet. Only two Covenant ships remained in orbit around Earth. The warship glided by both of them and fired two crimson red photon torpedoes out of the aft part of the ship. The torpedoes slammed into the crusiers and ruptured their engine cores, destroying them.
Picard stood on the bridge. Inertial dampeners had failed due to the EMP effects on ship's systems, meaning that the Enterprise could not take the radical maneuvers she needed to survive if more Covenant craft arrived.
Lieutenant Commander Data, the ship's android, was seated at Operations.
"Data, who the hell just attacked us and why?" Riker demanded.
"Unknown sir. Their technological configuration onboard their starships is nothing in the Starfleet database. Their plasma torpedoes are the only serious threatening weapon they have. Their laser devices would not penetrate the ship's hull. As for their motives, their ship to ship communcations were translated, at best, weakly by the Universal Translator. They referred to this ship as a "filthy infidel craft" and ordered our destruction."
"Data, why are we at Earth? Where is Starfleet Command?" Picard inquired.
"Sir, according to ship's chronometer, it is the year 2552. I believe the anomaly we entered has somehow transported us to an alternate history of the universe." Data responded.
"Scan the planet for lifeforms." Riker commanded.
Data turned to his console and began tapping in commands.
"Numerous lifesigns. Mostly human on the North American continent, with sporadic life readings unknown to us but match those read on the vessels we engaged. Most likely an occupation force of the planet. No other human lifesigns are detected...Correction. One human lifesign has been detected in Africa among a heavy concentration of the hostile life-forms we engaged. I estimate over 200 ships in atmospheric flight over Africa."
Picard sat in his chair. "Beam him aboard. I want to know what the hell is going on here."
"Aye, sir." Data responded.
Picard got up and walked to the turbolift to greet the new arrival.
Abandonded Power Station
African Savannah
Earth
The Chief ducked under a catwalk as plasma from above slagged the metal. An Elite warbled a command and he heard the dull thuds of footsteps approaching.
Slipping behind a pole, the Chief panted and waited. He was down to his last ammunition clip. The Elite had drawn a Plasma Blade and was charging down the catwalk. Suddenly, he felt a tingling feeling.
The Elite skidded to a stop where the Chief had stood seconds before, staring curiously at the blue motes of light that twinkled around the spot.
His superior would be furious over this one.
Anomaly #679- pt. 2
Date: 17 May 2006, 5:04 am
Date estimated late 2552
USS Enterprise-D, NCC-1701-D
High Earth Orbit
Sol System
The Master Chief felt as if he had been ripped apart then recoalesced. The tinge of blue that had blurred his vision began to disappear. He saw a room with green walls, a large console protruding from the floor and a panel behind a man in a yellow and black uniform. The blue tinge vanished, and the tingling stopped. The Chief cautiously looked around and slowly stepped off the platform, rifle partially raised.
"Take it easy." said the transporter operator.
"Where am I? Who are you?" the Chief inquired.
"I'm Chief Miles O'Brien, and you're aboard the USS Enterprise. Who might you be?"
"Master Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN 117, United Nations Space Command."
John knew the designator "USS" was never used for UNSC vessels. Only American warships of the ancient past carried that designation. The Chief studied the room intently. The technology seemed vastly superior to that of the UNSC's space-faring vessels.
"How did I get here?" John asked as he looked over the exposed EPS conduits that were undergoing maintainence.
"Well, you're in the Enterprise's transporter room. The transporter, in a nutshell, is a device that breaks an object down, molecule by molecule, teleports it elsewhere, and reassembles it in the same manner it was broken down."
The Spartan turned to face O'Brien. As he did so, Jean-Luc Picard entered the transporter room.
"I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise. I welcome you aboard as our guest. If I may ask who you are?"
The Master Chief looked at Picard's uniform of red and black and the four pips on his collar. He was unsure if this Picard could be trusted.
"Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan 117."
"Ah, welcome aboard Master Chief." Picard said. "We will show you to your quarters later, first there is much to discuss." Picard tapped the combadge on his chest. "Senior officers to the conference room." Picard turned about and began to speak, but realized he was staring into the Master Chief's chest. He cleared his throat and looked up to face the armored giant. "If you will accompany me, Master Chief. I'm sure you have alot of questions you want answered."
Picard turned to leave. The Master Chief was unsure of this Picard and this ship, but seemed to have no choice in the matter for now. They were human, after all, and seemed friendly. The least he could do was cooperate for getting him out of that hellhole in Africa. But that didn't mean he would get careless. He gripped his assault rifle and followed the Captain into the corridor.
Picard began, "You see, Master Chief, we are not from your time or your universe at all. We were conducting a scientific study of a nebula whenever an anomaly opened near our ship and pulled it in. We emerged here surrounded by thirty spacecraft of an unknown configuration. They launched an immediate attack on us. We managed to destroy or cripple them all, but not without damage to our own vessel. Perhaps you can enlighten us on..."
"You destroyed THIRTY Covenant ships by yourselves?!" the Chief asked incrediously.
"Yes, we did." Picard said.
John didn't know what to make of it. Here he was, transported aboard a vessel with both humans and aliens he didn't recognize at all with technology that seemed to surpass anything he had seen. Now, this Picard was telling him that his vessel had destroyed thirty Covenant warships.
Picard and the Master Chief continued down the corridor from the transporter room to the turbolift. Enterprise crew members nodded to their Captain respectfully, but gawked at the imposing Spartan walking next to him. Occasionally John had to duck low bulkheads.
"What is this ship?" John finally asked.
"This is the USS Enterprise, a Galaxy-class ship built for exploration, diplomatic, and if necessary, tactical implications." Picard responded. "She is the flagship of the Federation Starfleet, something we are quite proud of. She is 642.51 meters in length, 463.73 meters in width. We have a hull of duranium microfoam and tritanium plating and 42 decks."
"Federation?" John asked.
"The history lesson will come later, Master Chief." Picard answered.
The duo reached the turbolift, which they proceeded to enter. "Bridge deck." Picard commanded. The computer beeped, and the lift kicked into motion.
African Savannah
Covenant Command Cruiser
Holding Position over Forerunner Facility
Earth
Sol System
The minor Prophet looked over to his Brute assistant.
"You. Get me in contact with the fleet in orbit."
The Brute bowed his head and turned to a console. He stared curiously when his ping received no response. The Brute then looked out the window in time to see the fireball streak past the cruiser. Klaxons sounded as the remains of the Covenant fleet that weren't obliterated by the Enterprise began to burn through Earth's atmosphere.
"Explain why thirty of my ships are burning up in this planet's atmosphere?!" the Prophet demanded.
The Brute scanned for anything. Since the Great Schizm in which the Elites, Grunts, and Hunters had broken the Covenant, there had been incidents all over the galaxy with rogue Elite fleets attacking fleets still loyal to the Prophets. Perhaps one of these were responsible...
The Brute stared at his display. His scans returned a lone ship in orbit of an unknown configuration, but with human lifesigns. He informed the Prophet of his findings.
Ten minutes later, 50 Covenant ships began exit burns to get into orbit and engage the ship responsible for the destruction of their comrades.
Anomaly #679- pt. 3
Date: 24 May 2006, 3:41 am
Before we get along, I'd like to put a crew list of the Enterprise up here so people don't get confused.
Dramatis Personae
Captain Jean-Luc Picard - Captain of the Enterprise
Commander William Riker - First Officer
Commander Beverly Crusher - Chief Medical Officer
Lieutenant Commander Troi - Ship's Counselor
Lieutenant Commander Data - Second Officer
Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge - Chief Engineer
Lieutenant Worf - Tactical Officer
Date estimated late 2552
USS Enterprise-D, NCC-1701-D
High Earth Orbit
Sol System
Picard and the Chief stepped off the turbolift onto the bridge of the Enterprise. Lieutenant Worf, the ship's security chief and tactical officer, stood at the tactical station at the rear of the bridge. Worf was a Klingon. Klingons are a race known for tactical prowess and strength. The average Klingon could hold their own against a Spartan in hand to hand combat for awhile.
"Report, Mr. Worf." Picard ordered.
"Lieutenant Commander LaForge has put up a dampening field around the ship to defend against the EMP the plasma weapon emits upon impact. The inertial dampeners remain offline for the time being, pending repairs to the EPS conduits on Deck 14." Worf reported.
"Lietenant Worf, meet Master Chief...I'm sorry, your name?" Picard asked.
"Just call me Master Chief, please." John replied.
"Well then, Mr. Worf, meet the Master Chief. Later I want you to go over what we have in the armory for ground combat weapons. I'm sure he's going to need them soon. Also, let him meet our division of Federation Marines." Picard said. "Join us in the conference room, Mr. Worf."
The two Starfleet officers and the Spartan crossed the bridge to the conference room, which naturally held a conference table. Seated on the left side of the table were Commander William Riker, Lieutenant Commander Data, and Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge. On Picard's right, sat Commander Beverly Crusher, Lieutenant Commander Deanna Troi, and Lieutenant Worf. The Master Chief stood behind Picard's chair.
"This gentleman is only known as the Master Chief. I suppose we can begin with giving him our background and then he will reciprocate." Picard began. The Chief nodded.
"As I told you before, the Enterprise is from an alternate timeline and dimension of Earth's past. We represent the United Federation of Planets, an organization made up of 150 member worlds and Earth being a charter member. We have been in existence for 300 years and our ship is part of Starfleet, the exploration and military arm of the Federation. We came here by way of an anomaly of unknown origin to Earth's orbit. Now...how did Earth get in this condition?" Picard said.
John told the entire history of the Covenant War up to that point and Earth's apparent defeat. He also explained his status as one of Earth's elite warriors and his armor and the capabilites it possessed.
Riker whistled as Troi, the ship's counsleor, looked horrified.
"This, "Covenant", just destroyed humanity's colonies and conquered Earth without even making a first contact attempt?" Troi asked incrediously.
"That's right." the Chief replied.
Picard began to reply, then Picard's combadge chirped.
"Captain, this is the bridge. We have fifty ships of similar configuration to the ones we engaged breaking atmospheric flight and moving to intercept, estimated time of arrival five minutes."
"Red Alert! Shields up, arm phasers and photon torpedoes." Riker ordered. The bridge crew leapt up and ran to the bridge. John followed, still holding his assault rifle.
"Captain, we can't engage that many Covenant ships without our inertial dampeners. We have to leave the system until they can be repaired." LaForge said as he furiously tapped on the Engineering console at the rear of the bridge. Lietuenant Commander Data sat at Operations and began to scan the enemy ships. "Reading plasma charges building on the capital ships. Several smaller craft leading them in."
The Master Chief jumped up. "Boarding craft, Captain! Get clear!"
Picard looked to the Ensign at the helm. "Set a course for the Alpha Centauri system, Ensign. Warp 7. Engage."
The Ensign looked confused when the computer didn't register the coordinates.
"Sir, the Alpha Centuari coordinates we have in the navigational computer do not match any known star as detected by stellar cartography."
Picard grunted. "Our navigational computer is useless in this dimension."
The Master Chief remembered about Cortana, Miranda Keyes, and Sgt. Johnson trapped on High Charity.
"Captain! Set your course for 318 mark 020 mark 68! There's people that need rescuing there!" The Chief yelled.
Picard looked at the Chief for a long moment.
"You can't honestly trust him yet, Jean-Luc! We just beamed him aboard!" Crusher protested.
"The Covenant vessels are within firing range." Worf warned.
The Enterprise shuddered.
"Two boarding craft have attached themselves near Shuttle Bay 2." Data reported.
"Set course for those coordinates, Ensign. Maximum Warp." Picard ordered.
The Enterprise turned away from the Covenant fleet and rapidly began to accelerate. Moments later, she elongated and disappeared in a flash of white.
"Mr. Worf, get security teams and the Marines to repel the boarders. Capture them if at all possible."
"I have set up security forcefields around Main Engineering, the bridge, Sickbay, and vital areas to the ship. I have also evacuated Deck 39, where the craft have attached." Data reported.
"I'll be coming with you, Mr. Worf." Riker said.
The two walked to the turbolift as Worf commanded his security teams and Marines with his combadge. The Chief dug into his rucksack, got his last full clip, and slammed it into the rifle. He pulled back the charging lever.
"Permission to assist in the repelling operation, Captain Picard." the Chief asked.
Picard turned to face the Spartan and studied him. "Permission granted, Master Chief. Mr. Worf, give the Chief a compression rifle and a hand phaser. I don't think one clip of ammunition will be able to cut it." Picard said with a smile.
The trio stepped onto the turbolift and the doors hissed shut.
Anomaly #679- pt. 4
Date: 30 May 2006, 12:07 am
Date estimated late 2552
UNSC Ark Royal and accompanying escort of 14 ships
Lunar Orbit
Sol System
Lord Hood studied the video of the pitched battle between the Covenant spacecraft and the ship that came out of the anomaly. Lord Hood, an admiral in the UNSC since the start of the bloody war, had never seen any fleet of human vessels beat the Covenant so soundly. Yet, this one vessel, with a majority of human lifesigns and quite a few they didnt recognize, managed to defeat 30 Covenant ships. It had taken off via a form of light-speed travel other than Slipspace after 50 more Covenant ships rose to challenge it.
"Lieutenant Stewart, is that spectro-analysis of that ship done yet?" Hood inquired.
"Just coming in now, Admiral." the sensor operator reported.
Cairo Station had taken several hits after the initial Covenant attack and was losing life support. Hood and the surviving crew and Marines transferred to the Ark Royal. Like its British predecessor, Ark Royal was a carrier, one of the finest in the UNSC's fleet. Ark Royal and her battle group of 7 Frigates, 5 Destroyers, and 2 Cruisers moved away from Earth's orbit as the Covenant poured in system. Luna's gravitational field blocked them from the Covenant scanners and they had hidden there for several days.
"Sir, spectro-analysis...inconclusive. Ship is made out of materials similar to titanium-A, and several other unknown compounds." Stewart reported.
"Their last known trajectory, where was it taking them?" Hood inquired.
"Towards Delta Halo, sir." The navigational officer said.
"Prepare the battle group to move out. Set your course for Delta Halo." Hood ordered.
Ten minutes later, 15 Slipspace ruptures opened behind Luna and the UNSC ships slipped in and disappeared.
Date Estimated Late 2552
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
In Transit to Delta Halo
Deck 19, Armory
The Chief caught the rifle Worf tossed him.
"This is a Type-3 Phaser Compression Rifle. It fires a phased burst of energy. Your fusion pack can power about 60 shots before needing to be changed. This should be your main weapon." Worf instructed.
The Chief looked the weapon up and down and nodded.
Worf took an odd-looking device off the wall. It had a handle that curved up to a large triangular shaped end with a rather blunt end.
"This is a hand phaser. It recharges after each shot. It operates similar to the compression rifle, except that this weapon fires a beam rather than a pulse shot. It has a stun setting, to a vaporize setting, and to maximum setting. An overloaded phaser will explode like a bomb, so use it only in extreme duress." Worf said.
He handed the phaser to John, who clipped it onto his belt. Worf grabbed two more compression rifles and tossed one to Riker and kept the other one for himself. He also handed out additional hand phasers.
"Let's go." Riker said.
A klaxon sounded. The computer reported, "Alert. Unauthorized entry into Main Engineering section 12."
Riker, the Spartan, and Worf took off at a run for the turbolift.
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
Main Engineering
Geordi LaForge heard the computer's alert as he returned to Main Engineering from the bridge. He opened the phaser locker and began to pass hand phasers to his engineering personnel.
Once they were all armed, Geordi took one and armed it to the kill setting, 8. He began to look up the length of the Enterprise's warp core for the enemy.
The Enterprise was powered by a warp core, a device that combined matter and antimatter in a large reaction chamber with a dilithum crystal inside it to facilitate the reaction. Most Federation starships use Deuterium and Antideuterium for the reaction. The reaction results in a complete mass to energy conversion, which powers the starship in addition to several fusion reactors.
As Geordi was looking up, he heard a crewmember scream and fly off of a maintance ladder three stories up. He landed with a sickening crunch and his fall was chased by a series of red bolts.
Geordi saw the ugly looking thing. It resembled a gorilla, except with brown hair. Geordi aimed his phaser and fired. The yellow-orange beam reached out and hit the Brute dead in the chest. It roared and raised its plasma rifle. Geordi ducked behind a panel as red energy bored into the bulkhead and tapped his combadge. "This is Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge requesting any available security or Marine personnel to report to Main Engineering! I need medics down here too!"
Geordi raised the phaser's setting to 12, enough to vaporize any living thing. He rolled out from the corner and fired.
The Brute roared as it was hit and the phaser's intense beam caused the Brute's molecular structure to atomize. In seconds the Brute had turned bright orange and slowly dematerialized in front of the Jackals it commanded.
Just then, one of the Jackals screeched and was hit by a series of pulses from a compression rifle. The Jackal's body was thrown to the floor. Worf appeared and slid down the ladder towards the engineer's position.
Geordi turned and was almost face to face with a Brute that had snuck up on him. The creature roared, then Geordi heard the comforting blast of a Type-3 Phaser Compression Rifle. Three blasts was all it took.
As the Brute fell, Geordi saw Commander Riker firing at some Jackals who were attempting to get out of Turbolift 8. The person he owed his life to, however, was their strange and imposing guest.
The Spartan ran forward to him.
"Are you alright, Commander?" John asked.
"Yeah, fine. I owe you one." LaForge said.
Worf ran over to them both as a contingent of about 10 Federation Marines poured through a Jefferies Tube access port. Jefferies Tubes were ways to get around the Enterprise for maintainence or if the turbolifts were offline. Federation Marines wore uniforms with green shoulders. They were specially trained at the Starfleet Academy for boarding actions and ground actions.
The Chief looked up and saw where a group of Enterprise crewmembers were attempting to fight off a group of Drones. There were five Drones. Five blasts from the Chief's compression rifle later, and five dead drones lay next to the warp core.
The Marines fanned out to where two Brutes had just dropped down from an open Jefferies Tube. They all fired their compression rifles on the Brutes and one went down without being able to fire a shot. The other fired on the Marines. The Marine the plasma was directed at dropped to the deck and saw three of the Jackals approaching to help the Brute. They were about to flank them, and those shields presented a problem. He pulled out a photon grenade and lobbed it. The explosive bounced off the bulkhead behind the Jackals and rolled up behind them. The antimatter and the matter inside combined and annihilated the creatures. In the meantime, the other Marines had cut down the Brute and were checking for other enemy contacts.
Geordi stepped over to a console and tapped in some commands. "I read all clear in the engineering section. They look like their trying to get back to their boarding craft, but the second they leave our warp field they'll be destroyed." A Marine with a lieutenant's insignia stepped over to where the senior officers and the Master Chief stood.
"Lieutenant Silvermann, this is the Master Chief, a guest from this dimension's Earth. I believe you will find in him a kindred spirit." Riker said as he introduced the platoon leader to the Spartan.
"A pleasure to meet you Chief." Silvermann said. "Is engineering secured, sir?"
"It is, Lieutenant. Move on to Deck 39 and deal with the original incursion. Bring the Master Chief with you." Worf said.
Dr. Crusher came in with a contingent of Starfleet Medical Personnel and began to treat the wounded.
The Klingon turned to the Chief.
"You are the most gifted warrior I have ever had the honor of fighting alongside. I would be honored to fight with you again." Worf said. Klingons were a race known for their lust for battle, and for such a thing to be said to a non-Klingon was rare.
"Coming from him, that's a compliment." LaForge commented.
"Let's move it out, Marines!" Silvermann ordered.
The 10 Marines and the Chief moved to Turbolift 6 to proceed to Deck 39.
Anomaly #679- pt. 5
Date: 19 June 2006, 12:25 am
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.
Anomaly #679- pt. 6
Date: 10 July 2006, 11:30 pm
First Age of Enlightenment
Remnants of Elite Rebel Fleet
Delta Halo
The Special-Operations Elite looked at the monitor at the odd configuration of the ship.
"You say it isn't in Slipspace, but it is...bending space to accelerate it past light speed?"
The other Elite looked up. "Yes, Fleet Master. It has powerful control of the space around it. It will arrive in moments."
The Elite, known as Half-Jaw, pressed the Communications Panel. "Arbiter, you are needed in the Control Room."
Moments later, the Arbiter strode onto into the room. Everyone had accepted his command in the epic battle between the Brute controlled ships and the ships commanded by Elites. The Elites had managed to fend off the Brutes, but at tremendous cost. Only thirty-five Elite craft remained fully operational. Another twenty were damaged. Half-Jaw briefed the Arbiter on the situation.
The Arbiter looked at the ship on the main view screen as it flew through space to reach them. He activated his comlink. "Keyes. Report to the Control Room. I want your opinion."
"Yes, Arbiter." came the human's reply.
The other Elites gave the Arbiter an incredulous look.
"These humans are our allies now. If anyone wishes to dispute that, I will have you killed." the Arbiter said, his tone daring any of the Sangheili to challenge him.
No challenge came back.
Keyes and Sergeant Johnson stepped onto the bridge. A few Marine personnel had survived Delta Halo, and they too were onboard the craft.
Keyes studied the ship on the screen. "I've never seen a starship with this configuration."
The Arbiter made a noise that Miranda could only guess as being agitated.
"Combat alert. All hands to battle stations."
Date estimated late 2552
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
In Transit to Delta Halo
5 minutes to dropping out of warp.
As Geordi worked on the chip, Data had been studying the Chief intently with a tricorder.
"Can I help you?" John asked.
"I am merely studying your armor's components, if that is alright with you. Your armor's shielding equipment is quite crude compared to our own." Data reported. Commander Riker looked over at Data, then to Deanna Troi, and grinned.
"Yeah, well, it gets the job done. Anything you'd like to ask me instead of scanning me like a science project?" the Chief asked.
Data closed the tricorder. "It was not my intention to offend you. I apologize."
"You're not quite...human, are you Commander?" John asked.
"No, I am not. I am an android." Data responded.
Troi stood up to intervene. John was struck by her beauty.
"Master Chief, you'll have to excuse Data..."
"Got it!" LaForge announced. Picard stood up from the command chair and saw the tangled wires and the isolinear chips scattered on the floor. "It took some engineering, but I got it to work Captain."
"On screen, Mr. Worf." Picard ordered.
Commander Miranda Keyes appeared on the Enterprise's view screen.
"Admiral Hood, or any receiving UNSC force, this is Commander Miranda Keyes reporting from the Elite Command Ship Glorious Enlightenment."
Keyes gave a report that detailed the Elites willingness to ally with humanity, but that it would take time to relieve Earth from the Covenant assault. The transmission ended abruptly.
"That's when the Covenant began their attack, Captain." the Chief reported.
"We've arrived sir. Dropping out of warp." the Ensign at the helm reported.
The sparking remnants of High Charity and thousands of destroyed and damaged Covenant spacecraft littered the system.
"My God." whispered Deanna.
"Scan for any active life signs or ships, Mr. Data." Picard said.
"Detecting fifty-five active Covenant vessels, sir. Twenty of them are heavily damaged. Captain, they are assuming an attack posture and are arming weapons systems."
"Red Alert!" Picard yelled. The bridge darkened as red lights began to pulse on and off and a klaxon sounded.
"The inertial dampeners, Geordi?" Riker inquired.
"Back online, Commander. I can't guarantee how much of a beating they'll take." the chief engineer reported. "I'll be in engineering."
"Hail them, Mr. Worf." Picard said.
"They are not responding, Captain."
"Load all torpedo bays. Arm phasers." Riker barked.
"Ensign, bring course to One-Three-Seven Mark Five at one quarter impulse. Mr. Worf, lock on the closest enemy craft and prepare to fire." Picard commanded.
The Enterprise swooped onto her new course and bore down on the left flank of the Rebel fleet.
Remnants of Elite Rebel Fleet
Half-Jaw looked up from the console. "The fleet reports ready, Arbiter. Their weapons are of an unknown design. They are still hailing."
"Arbiter, they may have friendly intentions!" Keyes protested.
The Enterprise continued to move towards its attack vector on the view screen.
"Arbiter! There are human life-signs aboard the craft, along with several others we cannot recognize."
"The Flood." Half-Jaw growled.
"All ships! Keep in attack formation and blow this infested ship from space!" the Arbiter roared.
"The Flood…don't…try to hail…anybody…" Keyes tried to point out. No one heeded her.
Keyes sighed and awaited the inevitable slaughter of this newcomer.
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
"They are firing plasma torpedoes, Captain!" Worf yelled.
"Helm, evasive maneuvers. Mr. Worf, all phaser arrays fire continual spreads. Fire photon torpedoes! Dispersal pattern: Sierra!" Picard ordered.
The Galaxy-class starship executed a roll, spreading the two plasma torpedoes over its port and ventral shields. It then lashed out with all of its forward phaser arrays, sending orange beams of light into the Rebel fleet. Unshielded ships could only take the powerful phaser for a few moments before being impaled by it. The Enterprise released a spread of five of its photon torpedoes that immediately formed up into a star formation that impacted two starships. They slammed through the shields as if they weren't there and blew the ships to pieces upon impact. The Enterprise began to nimbly weave through the Covenant fleet, firing her phasers.
Remnants of Elite Rebel Fleet
Half-Jaw stared at the sensor readouts with shock until the cruiser next to the command cruiser was hit by the crimson red, almost star like weapons of the newcomer and was destroyed.
Johnson gave a curt laugh as he watched the vessel dodge and weave, firing the orange energy beams at the Rebel fleet, causing all kinds of destruction and mayhem and managing to dodge most of the plasma torpedoes and shrug off pulse lasers like they were nothing. "Smartest bunch of Flood I've ever seen."
The command cruiser shook.
"We've been hit by one of their energy beams! Our shields are down!"
The Enterprise glided to a halt in front of the command cruiser, using it as a shield from the rest of the Rebel fleet. A tone warbled from a console.
"They have a lock on us and are hailing once again. They have identified us as the ship in charge and are demanding that we stand down." said the junior console operator.
"If they were Flood, they wouldn't have stopped trying to kill you. Hell, if they were Flood, they wouldn't have tried to contact you in the first place. What were you thinking?" Keyes said.
The Arbiter grunted. He had lost 10 starships in this brief skirmish and it seemed he had barely put a dent into this newcomer. "Put it on screen." came the begrudging order.
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
"They are responding to our hail, Captain." Worf said.
"It's about time. That was a good bit of shooting, Mr. Worf. Mr. Data, what is their fleet's status?" Picard inquired.
"We destroyed 10 ships in our five minute skirmish. 5 more were heavily damaged. Twenty-five remain fully operational." Data reported.
"Good bargaining position, I'd say." Riker commented.
"Put them on viewer, Mr. Worf." Picard ordered.
The Arbiter and Miranda Keyes appeared on the Enterprise's view screen.
"I am the Fleet Master of the Fleet of Enlightenment. Who are you?" the Arbiter said.
"I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise. If I may ask why you attacked my…" Picard began to reply.
"Chief?!" Keyes exclaimed. "What are you doing over there? Who are they?"
"It's a very long story, Commander." the Chief replied calmly.
"I trust we can stand down from our battle posture, Fleet Master?" Picard said.
"Yes, of course. Stand down Combat Alert." the Arbiter ordered.
"Stand down Red Alert, Mr. Worf." The computer beeped and the lighting returned to normal.
"We have much to discuss, Fleet Master." Picard said.
"So we do, Captain."
Anomaly #679- pt. 7
Date: 2 November 2006, 10:25 pm
Sorry it's been way way waaaay too long guys...haha, here's the link to the rest of the story http://halosn.bungie.org/fanfic/?series=Anomaly+%23679
You've probably all forgotten it by now, but I'll pick up with the 7th installment...
Date estimated late 2552
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
Holding Position just off Delta Halo
"Energize." Picard ordered. The transporter came to life as the Arbiter, Half-Jaw, Keyes, Johnson and two Elite guards appeared on the pad. Greeting the arrivals was Captain Picard, Lieutenant Worf, Counselor Troi, the Master Chief, and two Federation Marines. "Welcome aboard, Arbiter. I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard. This is my chief of security and tactical officer, Lieutenant Worf and ship's counselor Deanna Troi." The Arbiter nodded to Picard and stepped off the platform and came toe-to-toe with the Master Chief.
Not a word was spoken. Picard was about to tell the Marines to intervene when the Arbiter spoke.
"Demon, you have very well ruined my career and caused much death and destruction."
"Just following orders." the Chief coolly replied.
"We are fortunate that we did not succeed in stopping you. I hope we can place all past...grievances, behind us for the coming battle in which we will most certainly be required to cooperate."
The Chief gave a nod and stuck out his hand. The Elite took it and they shook, and the tension level in the room dropped considerably.
"Well, with that out of the way, shall we proceed to the conference room?" Picard said.
The delegation moved out of the transporter room and towards the bridge. They passed a viewport and Worf glanced outside of it. "Sir!" he exclaimed. Picard turned and looked to see Slipspace ruptures and fifteen oddly configured spacecraft come out in a scattered formation. The two fleets formed into attack formations and headed towards each other.
Picard tapped his combadge. "Commander Riker, stop them from attacking each other. Go to Yellow Alert and do not fire unless fired upon." Picard ordered and broke into a trot for the turbolift.
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
Bridge
"Commander Data, what sort of ships are those?" Riker inquired.
"Commander, the ships have human lifesigns and they are using nuclear fusion as their propulsion source. There are no shield generators, and no energy based weapons. They seem to have missile pods similar to that of 20th Century technology and a cannon that fires a magnetically charged projectile." Data spun to face the commander. "So, against these aliens, they might as well chuck spears." Riker said. Data looked down, and then looked back up. "A more accurate analogy would be spears and..." "Thank you, Mr. Data. Hail the incoming warships." Riker interrupted.
Admiral Hood appeared on-screen. "I am Commander William Riker of the Federation Starship Enterprise. Who are you?" Hood stood a little straighter and replied "I am Admiral Terrance Hood, commander of the UNSC carrier Ark Royal and her battle group."
"Admiral Hood, you need to stop your advance and hold your position." Riker said. "We don't want anyone to feel antagonized."
Admiral Hood stood a little straighter. "Riker, I'll stop my advance when they stop theirs. Are you an ally of Earth or not?" Riker sighed. "Admiral, this is a complex situation. We're not from your universe at all; we're from a parallel universe to your own."
Hood gave Riker an incredulous look. "What?" "We'll explain later, we just need you to halt your advance." "Riker, we'll stop our advance whenever they stop theirs. Hood out." The viewscreen winked back to the inevitable clash of forces; the twenty-five Elite spacecraft and the fifteen human spaceships moved toward each other, each side arming its weapons.
Riker grunted. "Data, get me the Elite in command." Data tapped in some commands. "They are responding to our hail, Commander."
A golden Elite appeared on the screen. "Yes, Riker?" "Commander, please halt your advance towards the human fleet. It could lead to a nasty firefight." The Elite chuckled. "I will never back away from a fight, Commander. If these humans wish to challenge us, we shall take them head on." Riker straightened his uniform. "They have promised to break off if you stop your advance." "And suffer the indignity of capitulating to humans with inferior technology? I think not. I suggest you tell your compatriots to halt their advance." The viewscreen winked off.
"Data, its time we show these characters a little superior technology." Riker said.
UNSC Carrier Ark Royal
In battle formation against Elite Fleet
"What are they doing?" Skirata asked. The Enterprise moved in between the two fleets and turned to face the human fleet. Suddenly, a pale blue beam reached out from the stardrive section of the Enterprise and grabbed the carrier. The deck shuttered and the ship ground to a halt. "Sir, they're using a graviton emitting beam to stop our advance." More pale blue beams reached out, and stopped the whole human fleet dead in its tracks. The Elite fleet behind the Enterprise slowed and came to a stop.
Hood pounded a fist on his command chair. "Who's side are they on?" he asked.
The communications officer looked up. "We're receiving a hail from the Enterprise, sir." "Put it on." Hood said, begrudgingly.
Riker appeared. "Admiral, I regret that we had to hold you in place using our tractor beam, but you would not comply with a completely reasonable demand."
Hood sat, not sure what to say or do. Just then, the turbolift door at the back of the bridge onboard the Enterprise opened and the party of Picard, Worf, Troi, the Enterprise Marines, the Elite guards, Half-Jaw, Keyes, Johnson, and the Arbiter stepped out.
Picard walked down towards Riker and nodded to his first officer, taking over the situation.
"Admiral, we were just beginning talks with the Elites about a peace settlement and possible military action to retake Earth. Would you care to join us? We'll explain everything once you and your party arrive."
Admiral Hood signaled for his communications officer to cut the feed. "What do you think, Hal?" Skirata shrugged. "I don't see you having much of a choice, Admiral." Hood sighed and signaled the communications officer to reestablish the feed. "We'll be over as soon as we can get a shuttle pod launched."
Picard smiled. "That won't be necessary Admiral. Just gather your party and tell me when you're ready."
Hood stared for a moment, then motioned for Captain Skirata and two Marines to join him.
"We're ready, Captain." Picard nodded, and tapped his combadge. "Chief, beam the UNSC party directly to the conference room." "Aye, sir." Came the reply. The Elites, Keyes, Johnson, and the Federation delegation, minus Worf and plus Riker stepped towards the conference room at the rear of the bridge.
Hood was about to ask what was going on, when he felt a tingling feeling. He saw a blue light that grew brighter and brighter and then suddenly, the light disapated and he was standing in the presence of Picard and the others with the two Marines and Captain Skirata.
Riker gestured to a chair. "Have a seat Admiral. There's much to discuss."
Back on the UNSC carrier, the communications officer looked at Commander Maddox.
"Sir, permission to speak freely?"
"Granted, Lieutenant."
"Sir, this is some crazy shit."
"Agreed, Lieutenant. Agreed."
Anomaly #679- pt. 8
Date: 9 November 2006, 11:00 pm
Date Estimated Late 2552
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
Station Keeping between UNSC and Fleet of Enlightenment
"That is unacceptable, Hood! Earth is a lost cause! You would be better served being integrated within our fleet!"
"Listen, Arbiter, we have to try! If the Covenant activates the construct they've found, God only knows what will happen."
"Admiral, you have no other forces, save your fifteen ship fleet. How do you propose, even with the capable assistance of the Enterprise, that we defeat 300 Covenant vessels? All of which are equal or superior in firepower to our own vessels."
Picard had sat back and watched the UNSC admiral and the Sangheili fleet master go around and around one another. The Elite wanted everyone to pull back and gather forces, something Picard thought was wise. The human wanted to take the force they had and attack Earth. This construct on Earth apparently had great importance.
Lock-Jaw looked to Picard. "What do you say, Captain Picard?"
Picard looked at his senior staff. "Well, I fail to see the immenent danger posed by this construct; however, I am new to this dimension, so I am not one to make a decision either way."
"Is it an energy beacon? A weapon of some sort?" LaForge asked.
"Unknown, Commander." The Chief answered. "I got in close to it whenever the Covenant first discovered it; I couldn't determine a purpose. But I did get some good data, and I can think of one person who would know what to make of it."
"Who?" Hood asked.
"Well, I imagine she's right where I left her." The Chief jerked a thumb at High Charity.
"What you suggest...it is infeasible. The station is flood infested, I have eight ships burning any craft that exits the station." the Arbiter said.
"I'll go alone, if I need to. Cortana can tell us what this construct is, and how pressing it is that we retake Earth."
Picard looked to the Arbiter. "Infested?"
Keyes cleared her throat. "Captain, the Halo rings contain parasitic life-forms, known as Flood. They infect other organism and use them to reproduce infection forms, or turn them into combat forms to attack and protect the carrier forms which hold the offspring. These Flood managed to capture space-faring vessels and get on board the Covenant station. It's probably crawling with such organisms."
Picard mulled this over. "Well, it seems that finding this Cortana is our best option." He tapped his combadge. "Mr. Data, scan the Covenant space station. Are its shields down?"
"Negative, sir. The shields of the station are still up."
"Mr. Worf, calculate the amount of phaser energy it would take to bring those shields down."
"A phaser on 45% capacity for 15 seconds would be the safest way to overload the shield generators without destroying the station."
"Prepare the phasers and move us into transporter range. Prepare fifteen Marines for boarding actions and have them report to Transporter Room 3." Picard ordered.
"Even with your transporter, you will still take casualties Picard." the Arbiter said.
"What's the matter, backing away from a fight?" the Chief said, hefting his phaser rifle.
The Arbiter moved his mandibles and drew his plasma rifle. "It will be interesting to fight along side you, rather than against you for a change."
The Chief nodded. "Permission to assist in boarding operations."
"Granted." Picard and Hood said in unison. Hood stood. "Can I access a communication station? I want to prepare some Marines to assist you."
Picard tapped a few controls on the conference table and Commander Maddox appeared on the small viewscreen in the conference room.
"Yes, sir?"
"Commander, prepare a fifteen member fire team and have it ready to go in ten minutes on the Enterprise's signal."
"Aye."
The viewscreen clicked off. The Arbiter had withdrawn a communciation device from his armor and was giving similar orders for fifteen Elites to prepare for boarding actions.
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
Holodeck 2
The Master Chief stood in front of Lieutenant Silvermann and fourteen other Federation Marines in the yellow and black grid pattern of the holodeck. Most carried the Type-3 Phased Compression Rifle. A few carried the Federation Assault Rifle, which fired plasma in a shotgun blast. One hefted a small photon torpedo launcher.
"Alright, Chief, what are we looking at?" Silvermann asked.
The Chief briefed the Marines on all facets of the Flood organism, from its unbelievable strength to the dangers of the pod like infection forms.
"Whenever engaging combat forms, watch for the following tactical manuevers. Computer, begin program Spartan-1."
John had come in with Lieutenant Worf while the Marines gathered themselves together and, using his MJOLNIR armor's video recorder, recreated all of his Flood encounters through the holodeck. The Enterprise's holodeck was a device that took video or specified oral parameters and used photon particles to make an actual representation of the event, rather than the event just being on a screen.
The yellow and black grid pattern of the holodeck disappeared and the interior of High Charity appeared. An Elite Flood form charged at the Marines and leapt into the air.
"Freeze program." John ordered.
The Flood form halted midair.
"You can see how the Flood form will leap into the air to attack you hand-to-hand in the absence of a weapon. Be prepared for it to use both energy and projectile weapons, when it does have access to them."
"Computer, run program."
The Flood form fell to the ground dead, accompanied by the blasts of a compression rifle.
The Chief looked to the Marines. "Lieutenant Worf's set your weapons to holodeck training parameters. You should get some experience before we leave. Fan out!"
Lieutenant Silvermann began barking orders to the Marines as they learned and adapted to fighting the Flood.
John wondered how different things would be in his universe if they had only a fraction of the technology of the Federation.
Three Hours Later
The Enterprise, the Elite flagship Glorious Salvation, and the UNSC carrier Ark Royal all moved within the Enterprise's transporter range to the station. The Enterprise's phaser array glowed a warm orange and let a beam of phased energy go. The beam struck the station and the shields shimmered. After fifteen seconds of fire, the shields winked out of existence.
"Transporter operators, begin beaming operations to the control center. Be advised; if we detect Flood overrunning your position, we will destroy the station. Also, scanners cannot penetrate inner decks of Covenant construct. You'll be going in blind." Riker ordered. Forty-eight Elites and Marines, some UNSC and some Federation, plus Lieutenant Worf, the Master Chief, and the Arbiter, beamed over to High Charity.
High Charity
Command and Control Center
"CONTACT!!" A UNSC Marine screamed after he materialized, and shot a Flood form in the head. It crumpled and died.
John checked to make sure everyone had finished the transport process and looked up to see one hundred Flood forms turn to face them.
They made gurgling noises and snarled. They charged.
Spartan-117 raised his compression rifle and fired.
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