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Archive: Part One - Partners
Date: 23 October 2006, 7:17 am
0407 Hours, October 22, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ Sol System
Planet Earth: Australia. New South Wales; Sydney
Admiral Caitlyn Hope sat at her dining room table, absentmindedly fiddling with the tablecloth. Her laptop sat open on the table, bathing her in white light. She was tired, but the three ascending tones that drifted out from the laptop's speakers awoke her from her daze. She looked out the frosted window. Little ice crystals stuck to the pane, and formed beautiful spider webs of glass.
She sighed, and looked back to the screen. A small unopened envelope with bold writing next to it greeted her with a bored, blank stare. She stared back hoping it would disappear. She knew what it contained, and was not eager to open it. Reluctantly she sluggishly moved her fatigued hand to the mouse lying next to the laptop.
The simple click of the mouse button rang loudly in the silent room of Hope's apartment.
The screen changed, and she stared at the writing, slowly reading it, but taking nothing in. Finally, she forced herself to read it properly. Her mind, even though it was fatigued, filtered out all the drivel in the e-mail, and only absorbed the essential part. Strangely enough, the whole e-mail could be shortened to one word.
Wood.
Hope was used to e-mail being filled with large, unnecessary, intelligent sounding words. She had come to expect that in every e-mail she received from ONI Section 0.
This one was no different.
Hope shut her laptop, automatically severing the internet connection and turning the machine off. She pushed her chair a bit further from the table, and slumped down in it. She looked abound at her flat. Mounted speakers, holo-panels, and a large central holo-screen gazed back at her indifferently. These were all hooked up to a specially modified AI matrix grid within Hope's flat.
Wedged in between the walls, floor and ceiling of her apartment was a layer of AI matrix and of all the ways Hope liked to describe her flat; "a roomier MJOLNIR helmet" topped her list.
She thought her apartment had earned the title; after all, it was this place that once housed her experiments on the AI matrix weave being inserted into MJOLNIR assault armour. But the title always reminded her of the grueling work, effort and time she had put into the project.
It was hard working with Catherine Halsey, especially when Project MJOLNIR was the project that everyone was so interested in. Hope had never met a SPARTAN, but had co-designed the suits that had saved most of their lives.
Kelly, Hope's personal AI, chose this moment to appear on the nearest holo-pad, in the centre of the table.
"You seem tired," she said bluntly. "You should get some sleep".
Hope tried to face her, but the light given off by her bright violet body was too much to face after being in the dark. She shut her eyes and responded.
"I'm fine, Kelly, really. How's the weather out there?" She inclined her head out the window.
"The NOAA-7 satellite is down at the moment, I'll update you later."
Hope squinted her eyes and looked at the hologram before her. Kelly was beautiful, and had the 'mind' to match. She was a 'smart' AI, but she often proved a little too smart for ONI's liking. Until a few years ago, Kelly had always resided in the AI populated databanks and AI pathways within the ONI computer complex, but she had been too nosy and mischievous to stay there. She often hacked into ONI classified records, Section 0 files, and other top secret places. So, ONI had tried to shut her down, twice.
But Kelly had proved too resourceful, and never came close to being destroyed, despite numerous attempts. Being the sister of Kalmiya and Cortana had its perks, the main one; having all the counter-intrusion software the other two had. Unfortunately, ONI had ordered Hope to keep her locked up inside her apartment, and Hope reluctantly agreed.
"Thankyou. I don't fancy a trip in the elevator while it's raining. Especially with Wood on board." said Hope
"So he's definitely coming?" asked Kelly, a hint of intrigue in her voice.
"Unfortunately. With him, there's bound to be trouble. Especially on this risky mission."
"The Archive assignment?"
"Yeah. I don't trust him, and I don't know why HighCom does either. Still, we have to push on."
"Be careful, Caitlyn. Wood is bad news."
And with that, Kelly receded back into the holo-panel, and back into the walls.
Planet Earth: Australia. Victoria; Melbourne
Thousands of kilometres away, in Melbourne, Admiral Matthew Wood woke with a start. The shrill scream from the alarm was muted with the press of a button. It was early morning, but Wood had work to do. He slid his legs out from under the covers, and rested them on the floor.
He slowly stood up and stretched his cramped back. At 26, Wood was one of the youngest Admirals in the UNSC. It had its perks, like commanding officers. But it also had major disadvantages; Caitlyn Hope being the main one. Wood pushed these thoughts from his mind. He'd have plenty of time to dwell on his hatred after he had checked who else was on the Archive assignment.
"Please don't let it be Hope. Anyone but Hope." He silently prayed as he walked out into his living room. The large space was filled with expensive and high quality lounges, chairs, tables, and other furniture. It was dead silent; Wood was the only inhabitant in this house. He walked across to his kitchen, passing his massive TV, and opened the stainless steel fridge.
Cold and light greeted him. He pulled out a jug of chilled water and brought it over to the bench top. He reached up to one of his top cupboards, and pulled out a glass. He poured and downed the water, feeling the cold, smooth liquid slide down his throat. It was cool and refreshing, but it did little to take away the thoughts of Hope.
Three descending tones rang through the room. The e-mail had come. Wood, his head still full of thoughts about Hope, darted around the room looking for his laptop. It was resting on his soft blue lounge. Wood saw it and ran to the lounge.
He opened the laptop, and saw the little black box alerting him to 'one new message'. He accessed his inbox, and saw it. "The e-mail that could ruin this whole operation" Wood whispered, expelling the breath from his lungs. He opened it, and his eyes flashed with astonishment as he located the name.
Admiral Caitlyn Hope.
Wood dropped his laptop, and it landed with a dull thud and a crack on his wooden floor. "Of all the people," he shouted, shaking. "It had to be her!"
A slight echo rang around the room, and quickly died. Wood went back into his room to get dressed. HighCom would be open at the moment, and Wood had work to do.
'There is no way Hope will be with me on the assignment! Anyone but her!" he shouted to no one.
Archive - ChapterTwo: Reason (Part 1)
Date: 2 November 2006, 10:48 pm
"Keep up, Sang." Hope whispered into her mouthpiece, smiling. She heard a grudging reply, and the Marine at the rear of the six man group ran a little faster.
She paused, and the ceasing of the soft ruffling of the leaves on the forest floor behind her told Hope that her team had paused too.
Wood slowly shuffled his way to the front of the group, to where Hope was crouching.
"What is it?" he asked quietly.
'I saw motion, to the left of our position. I couldn't see how many there were, but we should wait until what ever it was passes." Hope cautiously replied.
"Could it be more Marines?"
"No. We're the only patrol in this area."
Hope didn't need to say anything more to make Wood fear the worst. He knew this area was littered with Covenant camps, but he didn't think they would meet any in the forest.
Wood issued an order over the team frequency, "OK, lets move; quietly."
The group trekked on for a few more minutes, pass tall tropical trees and small winding rivers, before Hope stopped them all again.
"Get down!" she hissed over the com. Her team flattened themselves on the lush green ground.
The chirping and whistling of the normally active beetles and bugs in this forest was unnaturally quiet.
The sounds of heavy feet trudging in front of the group made them all hold their breaths. Seconds passed, and a lone Grunt appeared, walking slowly, a plasma pistol in its small blue claw.
Of all the species of Covenant, it was the Grunts Wood hated the most.
"Barbaric scum," ran through Wood'######, as a look of disgust crept into his normally stoic face.
Suddenly, as if Wood was not in control of his body, he got into one knee and hefted his silenced BR55. He had the element of surprise, and the Grunt was just starting to turn its small head, when three armour piercing bullets tore through its body. It was dead before it hit the ground.
After a few moments of astonished silence, Corporal Tudor from the rear of the group whispered;
"Nice job, sir!" Wood smiled and stifled a laugh.
"Let's keep going."
Satellite reconnaissance of this area showed a small system of caves that Hope's team could rest for the night. And almost all of them were perfect spots for them to watch the small Covenant camp they were sent to spy on.
Early reports told of a small number of Grunts inhabiting the camps, and judging from the five small, super cold structures seen in surveillance pictures, it was possible that there were at least fifteen Grunts in the camp. Hope's team were the third team to watch this spot, as the UNSC were planning an attack against the Covenant on this planet.
The planet Germaine was a forest world on the border of the inner colonies. It was not a military used planet at all; it was used for farming and environmental studies. That still didn't stop the Covenant from landing and destroying cities. They hadn't started glassing any sections yet, only using ground troops to secure certain areas.
ONI concluded that they were looking for artefacts, similar to events Sigma Octanus IV and Reach. The UNSC decided not to launch a full blown attack on the Covenant fleet until the ground situation was fully, or at least mostly, understood.
Lieutenants Hope and Wood were to lead a small group of three Corporals and one Lance Corporal to the caves and then to watch this particular camp, designated Gamma Camp. Their orders were specific; they were not to directly engage or alert the Covenant inside the camp of their presence. Fortunately, and miraculously, the Covenant was oblivious to the UNSC forces slowly creeping through the thick forest of the once peaceful world.
Hope was laying down on the edge of the cave lip, feeling the heat of the rock beneath her. She propped her upper body up with her elbows, and looked through the sniper spotter scope again. Wood walked up to her from behind, hearing the faint swishing sound of a camera taking photos.
"Any activity, Hope?" he asked.
Hope rolled over and lied on her back.
"Not much,' Hope replied, an aspirated sigh escaping her lungs, "A few Grunts moving about. No signs of Elites anywhere."
"Gamma seems pretty useless." Wood quietly said.
"Useless? In what way?" Hope creased her brow.
"There are no Elites; just Grunts in the camp. How would that be useful to the Covenant in this situation?"
"The Covenant is…" Hope couldn't think of a word, "weird. I mean look back at Sigma Octanus, Reach, Constantinople. They were all strange engagements and they all had something to do with those mysterious artefacts."
"Yeah, but I'd just like to know whats going on inside of those Prophet's heads. Everything would be so much easier."
"Heh, if only." Hope sniggered. It was getting darker.
"You want me to take over? You deserve some rest." Wood said, taking in a deep breath.
"Yeah, why not. Thanks." Hope got up, and put her hand on Wood's shoulder.
"Don't stay out too long." She said with a smile.
It was quiet when Hope walked into the cave. Corporal Birchall and Lance Corporal Sowell were playing cards in one corner. Sang and Tudor were using the small stove to heat up some canned beans; their dinner. Hope sat on the left side of the cave.
"El-Tee, anything out there?" Tudor asked.
"No, its all clear. We'll go on a short perimeter patrol tomorrow. Until then, we just have to wait." Hope tiredly replied. She looked around the cave. The brown rock was worn away and parts were covered in grime and spider webs.
"Is the accommodation not what you expected, ma'am?" laughed Sowell.
"It's good enough for this op. That reminds me; make sure you leave no trace of us being here. If the Covenant gets nosy, they may search these caves."
They all nodded, and returned to what they were doing.
Minutes passed, and Wood entered.
"It's getting too dark to do anything. I think we should leave it for tonight." He reported.
"Yeah, I was just telling them about the perimeter search tomorrow." Hope said, inclining her head to the marines.
Hesitantly, Wood spoke. 'Speaking of that, I think one of us should stay here. Keep watch in case Gamma's situation changes."
"Good call. But who will it be?" Hope asked with a smile.
"Wait here." Wood crept out of the cave. Moments later, he returned holding two sticks.
"Whoever picks the shortest stick stays here?" Wood asked.
"Sounds fair."
Wood tossed the sticks to Birchall. "Catch!"
Birchall caught them with two hands, and rearranged them behind his back.
When he held his hands out in front of him, grabbing the two sticks, there was no way to tell which the longer one was.
"Ladies first, ma'am" smiled Birchall, bowing his head.
Hope reached out for the left one, but changed her mind. She took hold of the right one and slid it out of Birchall's hand. It was short. Birchall revealed the other stick; it was longer. Hope was staying at the cave.
"Ah well," Hope smiled, "Who else is hungry? Lets eat!"
Archive - Chapter Two: Reason (Part 2)
Date: 9 November 2006, 11:10 pm
0600 Hours, May 1, 2542 (Military Calendar)/ Fire Cross System
Planet Germaine.
The light sprinklings of rain made the vast leafy forest floor glisten in the morning sun. Hope stood at the mouth of the cave, watching Gamma Camp. She shivered, partly because of the cool wind snaking down her spine, partly because she was concerned for the ground team, Wood and his team had just left, and she could make out their slow movements underneath the low plants. Hope whispered a small prayer to the wind, "Stay safe, and come back."
They would reach what ONI considered the safe perimeter around the camp in a little over an hour. Until then, Hope would sit and watch Gamma to record any changes in the occupation of the camp and report them to Wood via radio. A Spirit dropship had landed not long ago, unloading two more Grunts, methane tanks and food. It seemed Gamma was staying operational for a long time.
Wood stifled a yawn, and crawled through the wet plants on the forest floor. Sang and Sowell were up ahead, while Birchall and Tudor brought up the rear.
Wood's com earphone crackled with static.
"Com check. You good?" Hope's voice resonated in his ears.
"Reading you loud and clear," Wood whispered back, "I'll radio back in when we reach the perimeter."
An hours trekking brought Wood's team to the perimeter, where they had a full view of Gamma Camp. Their objective was to circle the camp and make sure they recorded everything they could via cameras attached to their helmets.
"Sowell, you go up ahead, we'll follow behind." Wood said quietly. Sowell obeyed and sprinted up further. The rest of the team crept forward, and slowly edged around the base.
Wood had a plan. It had been going though his mind since his little 'encounter' with the lone Grunt. If it went off without a hitch, he and his team would be heroes. If it didn't, his career would meet a gruesome end. Wood's mind reeled back to the night before. His own words sounded in his ears; "No Elites, just Grunts." He had decided. He and his team would attack the camp.
Hope knew something was wrong. Movement from the distance caught her eye, and she looked through her sniper scope. The trees were moving; something was heading towards Gamma at high speeds. Small bursts of blue light escaped through the foliage, along with flashes of purple armour.
Two Ghosts were arriving, and on them were two red clad Elite warriors.
Hope's eyes widened, she had to send a message to Wood. He had to get out of there.
She keyed her mike. "Wood. Two Elites are entering Gamma. Copy?"
There was no response. She hoped he had heard, otherwise Wood and his team weren't coming back.
Wood decided not to tell the Corporals all of the details of his impromptu plan; he'd only tell them the things they had to know.
"We're going in. New orders," Wood lied, watching the confused faces of the Marines.
"There are fifteen Grunts in there, sir." whispered Birchall.
Wood lifted his battle rifle. "We can take them."
"Yes, sir," Sang gloomily announced, "I'll follow you in."
"Good man," Wood smiled, "Who else will?"
All of the others nodded their heads, still looking confused.
"Good. We move now, fast."
The team ran forward, getting closer to the camp, while Wood stayed a bit further behind. Roots sprung up from the floor and plunged back down again, creating snags in which a person could trip over.
Wood did exactly that. He landed face down, while his team kept on running. His gun skidded into a tree a few metres away. Getting up and brushing the dirt from his armour, Wood looked in the direction the Marines had run. His radio crackled to life.
"Wood. Two Elites are entering Gamma. Copy?"
It was Hope's voice. He was about to reply when he heard twigs snap. He turned his head and saw two Grunts walking towards him.
Fortunately they didn't see him. Wood ran and crouched behind a small cluster of rocks, and waited for the Grunts to pass.
The Marines would have reached the base by now, and he needed to warn them. But if he did, the Grunts would hear him, and kill him. Wood turned off his mike, in case anyone tried to talk to him and gave him away. He made up his mind. His life was worth more than theirs. Wood waited, and in the distance he could hear his Marines screaming.
Sowell rushed into the camp, spying a Grunt emerging from a Methane Tent.
It was facing him, its small blue arm outstretched. At the end was a small weapon glowing green. Sowell instinctively got out of the way, firing his Battle Rifle as he dodged the overcharged bolt of energy flying past his head.
His bullets tore through the Grunt's head, cutting its methane chamber hooked onto its back.
He heard a low humming sound, and it was getting louder. He looked to his left, and saw two Elites riding Ghosts, glide into the camp. As soon as they saw him, one yelled in his alien tongue. One Ghost sped towards him, while another went around the rear of the camp.
The Ghost stopped five metres in front of him. Sowell fired at it, aiming for the engine. He should have run, because the Ghost's dual plasma cannons open fired, burning and melting the Battle Rifle and Sowell.
Birchall came in right after Sowell, but after seeing the Grunt shooting at him, he dived into a bush. After watching the Elite brutally murder his comrade, he ran back into the forest. He ran for a few minutes, not looking back. One second, he was looking forward, and then the next, he was falling to the ground.
His foot had been caught in a root. Birchall got up, and sensed something moving behind him. He reached for his Battle Rifle, but it had gone. So he twisted around and pulled out his sidearm. He looked down the barrel of his M6E, and saw a red armoured Covenant Elite looking at him. The Elite's chest rose and fell quickly, and a huffing sound escaped its mouth. "Is it… laughing?" thought Birchall. It raised Birchall's Battle Rifle.
The Elite fired before Birchall could react. The bullets entered his chest and head, killing him instantly.
Corporal Sang was third into the camp. He was alive for just long enough to see an Elite standing over Sowell's burnt form. He tried to run, but it was too late. The Elite raised a Plasma Rifle as Sang raised his Battle Rifle.
They both fired, and Sang's rounds bounced off the Elites shielding. The plasma however, continued on its course, hitting Sang in the chest. A blood curdling scream escaped his burning lungs. The elite fired again, ending the scream, and ending Sang's life.
Tudor, the last man to enter the camp, ran in a few seconds after Sang. After seeing two of his team mates die, hid behind a Methane Tent, and keyed his mike. "Wood! Wood!" he yelled. He needed extraction, before he was killed. But there was no response. He tried contacting Hope, ironically, she was his last hope.
Tudor changed frequencies and pleaded into the mike, "Hope! Hope! Please come in." He felt pain in his chest and looked down. Two points of energy were sliding back in to his blood splattered chest, and out his back. An Energy Sword. He took two quick breaths, dropped his gun, and then rolled over, dead.
Hope jumped when her radio screamed, "Hope! Hope!" She couldn't identify the Marine who was calling out her name. She grabbed her mike and asked, "Hello. Who is this? Hello." There was no response.
But in the background she heard a scream of pain. She stood there stunned, when a voice from behind her woke her from her trance. "Hope." She turned and pulled out her sidearm, pointing it towards the voice. It was Wood. She lowered her weapon, holstered it slowly and looked at him. He was exhausted.
"What… happened," She asked slowly, her face having no trace of emotion, "And where are the others?"
"They're dead, all dead. I barely escaped." Wood whispered in between gasps of cold air.
"How? Why?" Hope asked in her emotionless voice. She was fuming and Wood could tell.
"I…" Wood thought about lying to her, but couldn't formulate a lie to cover up all of his tracks.
"I sent them in. They-"
"To Gamma?" Hope cut him off, her voice showing signs of shocked disbelief.
"Yes. I thought we could take-"
"Take on over twenty Grunts and two Elites with four soldiers, and still expect to get out alive?" Hope asked, her voice quivering with anger.
"They didn't know about the Elites." Wood pathetically whispered, and looked to the floor.
Hope looked at him. "Why didn't you tell them?" she asked, shaking her head. The volume of her voice was growing. She wanted to kill him at that moment.
"I would have given away my position, there were Grunts behind me," Wood rambled. "Hope, I could do nothing! It was me or them!"
"Oh don't you say that. Just… Don't. I'm calling for evac." Hope started to walk back inside the cave. Wood could see the burning anger in her eyes. She hated him.
"Hope." Wood said. She ignored him.
1108 Hours, May 2, 2542 (Military Calendar)/ Epsilon Eridani System
Planet Reach, Reach UNSC Military Complex.
Wood sat in the small hall outside the interview room. The two silver doors leading in to the room looked menacing. He felt hot, and sweaty. Wood shut his eyes and remembered the last few days, especially his last hours with Hope.
She hadn't spoken to him during the Pelican ride back to the Taramadia, a destroyer orbiting Germaine, and she had avoided him all the way back to Reach. At first he liked her, but now, he could tell they weren't going to be friends.
He heard doors hiss open and jumped up. He had to go in. But when he opened his eyes, the two silver doors were still shut tight. He turned around, and Hope, in a black navy dress uniform, walked into the hall, her head held high. Wood sat back down. She stood in front of him and just looked at him with her cold blue eyes. Minutes passed, and finally she spoke. "I know everything."
Wood opened his mouth to speak, but Hope cut him off.
"You should dread the day we meet on an op together, because I'll be there at the first moment you screw up. I'll be waiting, with a gun, to make sure nothing like this ever happens again." Hope told him, hatred lining her calm voice.
"You're overreacting-"
"You should be discharged, killed even. I wouldn't care. But mark my words," Hope scowled with a look of pure malice on her face, "Next time; I'll be there at the first moment."
She walked out of the room, leaving through the white doors near the end of the hall. Wood was left alone for a few minutes. He contemplated Hope's words. Then he dismissed them as the silver doors hissed open, and he reluctantly walked into the darkness to meet his fate.
If it was Hope's version or not, he knew it would be bad.
Archive - Chapter Three: Change
Date: 23 November 2006, 10:23 pm
"If you go there, you're gone forever…
If I go there, I'll lose my way…
If we stay here, we're not together…
Anywhere is…"
0505 Hours, October 22, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ Sol System
Planet Earth: Australia. Victoria; Melbourne
Matthew Wood impatiently flashed his security clearance card to the young officer at the gates. He quickly opened them. Wood's sleek black sedan sped though the courtyard of the ONI section of HighCom's Melbourne headquarters, kicking up dust and pebbles.
His car smoothly slid into a parking spot, next to a civilian Hog. He got out of his car, and the sun beamed warmly on his face.
Wood walked up a light sandstone path, slivers of silt and sand landing on his black shoes. He couldn't hide the anger on his face, and it was plain for everyone to see. He had to see someone about this.
Wood was looking forward to meeting the bright Admiral that decided to put him and Hope on the same assignment. She would ruin the mission, and Wood was sure he could convince someone of that.
He pushed open the two glass doors and walked passed the reception desk. The receptionist was seated behind it, and with one flash of his security clearance, she let Wood pass. He walked past her, and walked down a small hallway to the right.
Portraits of old Admirals smiled down on him. He reached the end of the hallway, and eyed a small silver panel on the wall with an illuminated arrow pointing down on it. He pressed it, and it glowed brighter.
A soft ping escaped an unseen speaker, and Wood knew that elevator that would take him to the secure sector was approaching, rising from the chasms of the earth.
A few minutes later, the white outer doors opened, revealing a small mirrored chamber. Wood entered it and the doors closed slowly. He looked at the silver panel to the right of the door, and pressed a button marked 'O'. The lift idled for a moment, and then descended back to where it had come from.
After a few minutes, Wood felt the elevator slow and stop. He knew he had passed though hundreds of layers of strengthened Titanium-A armour plating. The doors opened, and a calm female voiced announced, "Floor 'Oh'; Operations."
Wood stepped out of the elevator, and walked into an impressive white lobby. At the rear was the receptionist's desk. He strode over to it, and the receptionist pulled heres away from her computer screen to look at him.
"Please place your ID card into the machine, sir." She routinely told him. He did as he was told, and a beep told him to take it out. His profile appeared on the receptionist's screen.
"Captain Wood?" she asked.
"Yes," Wood replied, and with a sarcastic smile he added, "That's what it says on the card."
The receptionist ignored his last comment.
"Are you here regarding the Archive Assignment?" she asked,
"Yes. I need to see the Admiral in charge. Is he in?" Wood asked, with a hint of superiority.
"Admiral Tevenson is in his room. Its…" the receptionist looked at her screen, "Room AJ. I'll alert him you're coming," she said with a false smile.
"Thankyou," Wood replied, equally as false.
As Wood walked down the corridors, he tried to remember if he'd ever encountered Admiral Tevenson before. When he located room AJ, he took a deep breath and knocked, hard.
"Enter," a deep voice boomed, and Wood pushed the gold handle down and opened the door.
Sitting behind his desk, smoking a cigar, was Admiral Tevenson. A tall, old man, wearing a crisp white uniform. Wood saluted.
"Admiral,"
"At ease," Tevenson nodded, "have a seat." He motioned to one of two chairs in front of the desk.
Wood took a seat. "Admiral, first, I thankyou for letting my son pilot the Carthage. I know he will do a fine job."
"I'm sure he will," Tevenson replied, "And secondly?"
"It's Hope, sir. Why did you choose her to be on the mission, with me?" Wood asked.
Tevenson's face twitched.
"To let you know, she was chosen first. You were the second candidate," he boomed, his eyes narrow.
Wood's eyes narrowed.
"And, to answer your question, I chose you two because you are the best we've got."
"But considering our history…"
"You can't put that behind you? Wood, it was ten years ago."
"Yes sir. So there is no chance of changing?" Wood hesitantly asked.
"No," Tevenson bluntly replied, "You'd better go. Darwin in five hours."
"Yes sir." Wood got up to leave when the Admiral spoke,
"Wood. I don't want anything to go wrong on this mission. Alright?"
"Yes sir." Wood nodded, and walked out.
The receptionist in the main lobby saw Wood storm out of the elevators, into his car, and speed off down the road, and out the gates.
Planet Earth: Australia. New South Wales; Sydney
It was cold inside the large expanse of the Sydney International Airport. Caitlyn Hope walked through halls made of white tiles, and grey steel. At the end of the hall, she found herself in a room with numbered sections. She knew these were gates, and her eyes spied out gate eleven. She walked over to it, seeing people huddled together in the cold. She sat down on a white leather couch, its chill touching her even through her jacket.
She looked ahead, and watched a small television screen perched up in the corner of the section. Gate 11: Darwin. Departing at 7:30am. Hope exhaled, and looked at her watch. Half an hour to go. Hope closed her eyes and slumped down in her chair. She realised there was soothing music drifting out of the speakers.
"If you go there, you're gone forever…"
Listening to the soft music, Hope's thought reeled back to a few hours before.
"If I go there, I'll lose my way…"
She couldn't take Kelly along with her. She'd be issued an AI when she boarded her ship.
"If we stay here, we're not together…"
Kelly had said she didn't mind, but Hope saw the sadness in her 'face' and her 'eyes'.
"Anywhere is…"
The music halted, and a voice resonated throughout all the sections.
"Flight KL-142 to Darwin is now boarding at gate eleven."
Hope got up, her mind still full with thoughts about Kelly. What if something happened to Kelly while she was away?
She silently prayed that Kelly would stay safe, and walked over to the gate. The guard at the gate checked her ticket, and directed her to the walkways that lead her to the front of the plane. Once she had boarded, she sat down in her designated seat. Hope shut her eyes for a few minutes, while the other people boarded.
When she opened her eyes, she eyed a man coming down the aisle towards her. She recognised him as Daniel Wood; Matthew Wood's son. Daniel was an exceptional ship navigator, and was probably piloting one of the ships in the Battlegroup.
"Could be dangerous," thought Hope.
The plane exploded down the runway, and Hope was headed off to Darwin to begin phase one of the Archive Assignment. The two Captains and all other crewmen were to meet in Darwin, Australia, and use the space elevator there to get to the UNSC Darwin, a geosynchronous orbital platform from which a carrier would come and take them to a MAC Platform, the Rome, named for the city it orbited over.
From there, the Captains were to inspect their specially made Trinity-class destroyers, while the other crew were shipped to the other ships in the Battlegroup.
Hope's destroyer, the Carthageand Wood's destroyer, the Sphenophyter, were going to make up the command stations for Battlegroup Legion, the Battlegroup that would escort the Library-class vessel, the most valuable ship in the UNSC. Two frigates, the Watson, and the Mallon, and two Marathon-class cruisers, simply designated Aft Cruiser and Fore Cruiser, were to make up the rest of the escort Battlegroup.
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