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First Alien Contact by Commander Demitri Wolf
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First Contact - The Stray
Date: 7 February 2005, 5:39 AM
Chapter One: The Stray
1200 Hours, January 1, 2440 (Military Calendar) /
Epsilon Eridani System, Office of Naval Intelligence
Medical Facility-003, in orbit around planet Reach
Commander Joseph Taylor paced across the antiseptic white tiled floor of the Observation Room biting his nails as he went. He was uneasy, and there weren't many things in this universe that would make him nervous, but this did. He glanced to the terminal on one side of the room where its heart rate and other vital signs were being monitored-nothing unusual for something that had been sedated with extremely powerful tranquillisers-and then looked back to his companions.
Leaning over the brass rail was Lieutenant Commander Lauren Corbett, a woman of outstanding intellect, she was nearing twenty-seven and had studied criminal and military law at Harvard and languages at Yale before joining the Judge Advocate Generals office which was now part of ONI. Her naturally brown hair was sun bleached blonde and was at regulation length, her deep blue eyes added to her aura and made her look slightly out of place on a government medical station.
Next to her was Commander Anna Forbes, also extremely intelligent, two years Corbett's senior and three years Taylor's junior; she was here because of her medial degrees that she attained after studying at Yale, where she met Corbett; she now worked aboard the ONI Medical Facility. Two inches taller than the 5" 10' Lieutenant Commander, her brown hair fell longer-than-regulation to just past her shoulders and her blue eyes complimented the look. Both women were married-and both with a child-much to the dismay of many of the males at ONI who found them very attractive.
Commander Taylor-married also with a child on the way-had a muscular build and chestnut brown hair that explained why the 6" 2' thirty-two year old was found so handsome by the female officers. He was once a Navy pilot fresh out of Luna, but it wasn't long before his impeccable skills and outstanding credentials drew attention from the Office of Naval Intelligence who soon after extended an offer to him to join them as an officer, which he accepted. He was here as a senior officer to oversee this, the horrid tests and experiments that were being carried out on this creature.
Soon the thing would be finished with and his presence would no longer be needed, he was looking very forward to when he would be able to put several blast doors and a handful of armed guards between him and it.
"What do you think it is Commander?" came Lauren's voice.
Taylor pondered the question and replied, "I don't think I'm qualified to answer exactly what it is, but perhaps Commander Forbes, your doctorates would make you more aptly able to answer, do you have an answer?"
"Sir, in my eight years of practicing medicine and my five in ONI, I've never seen anything like thing, as best I can say it's roughly human sized, maybe a foot or so bigger and almost human shaped. But it's most definitely not a human, I can't say exactly what it is but put simply; it's an alien." The Commander concluded.
Joseph grunted in agreement, lent over the bar and looked down on the 'test subject'. It was ugly, not hideous or repulsive like aliens he had seen in movies, but ugly. It had four mandibles protruding from its face and had some sort of golden armour incasement.
"Well, whatever it is, I'm glad it's down there and I'm up here that's for sure." Corbett said and Anna replied, "You took the words right out of my mouth."
Dr. John Hopkinson, Chief Medical Officer on the facility spoke softly into his mouthpiece as he delicately removed the chest plate from the creatures armour.
"Removing item J-68346," as he handed the armour to his assistant, Dr. Philippe Daveu, "Dr. Daveu overseeing the cataloguing of the armour." Philippe took the armour and carefully placed it on the conveyer belt that fed it through a processor that detected its chemical makeup and other data and sent it back out. He put it inside a bag that he inserted into another smaller machine that sucked the air out of it before clipping it to the line that ran over the conveyer belt and entering details into the computer. He hit the red button on the computer and the line started to slide the package away.
All the while that was going on, Hopkinson was taking extreme care in removing the outer layer of skin on the creature's stomach. He put it onto a metal plate and spoke again into the microphone, stating that it was 'item J-68347' and handing it over to Daveu who repeated the process.
John took a small syringe from the table next to him, removed the safety seel and took a sample of its blood. He placed it on the tray and then took another that had already been filled with a green liquid and inserted it into the supposed kidney of the creature and injected it. He was extremely nervous being in a room with this thing, the sooner he finished the sooner it would be killed and he could perform an autopsy, but it needed to be alive to properly analyse it's blood flow and other important scientific things. He had just removed the needle from its kidney and placed it on the waste tray when the intercom on the wall clicked on.
"Dr. Hopkinson, his heart rate is picking up, you don't have long, are you finished?" the voice came from a tech manning the console where all the data from the probes and patches inside and outside the creature was collected.
The elderly doctor sighed and replied, "Almost I just have to, what the he..." but the doctor never finished his sentence as he was cut short by the sedated alien creature behind him that was certainly not unconscious anymore. In the three seconds that the doctor had turned to speak through the intercom the alien had woken, taken in its surroundings, broken the bonds tying it down and pounced on his victim. It then smashed the doctor's head on the ground three times before blood flowed from his mouth; he was dead after two knocks.
The console tech hit the emergency button next to him and howling sirens blared throughout the facility while the observation room was sealed with titanium-A battle plate armour usually used on ships. A view screen appeared in the room and its three occupants rushed to it, only to be horrified by what they saw. The creature had finished with Hopkinson and turned its attention to Daveu who yelled in terror. The alien strode bristly up to him and lifted him by the neck with ease, the doctors legs kicking against it and his voice still sounding in terror, chilling the onlookers to the bone. The thing looked into Daveu's eyes and roared in his face before brutally punching him in the stomach with such force Daveu spat up a large puddle of blood and slipped into unconsciousness. It seemed pleased with itself and before it chucked the body of the doctor to the ground it gave another roar and forced his head from his shoulders.
Commander Forbes screamed in fright while Taylor and Corbett fought back the urge to throw up.
Taylor bashed the intercom button with his palm and bellowed, "All defence personnel to the containment area we have a security breach. It's loose, two men down." He cut the transmission and pushed the button for the link to the enclosed research area where the alien was now on rampage, smashing things and roaring loudly, it scared the hell out of its onlookers.
"Stop. Please stop." Taylor pleaded with the alien who only just seamed to realise that its armour was gone and it had a large section of its skin over its chest missing. "We won't hurt you, please just stop."
The creature looked like it understood what he said and looked at the camera that was taking the footage of it and gave a terrible laugh at him. Taylor swallowed hard,
First contact with an alien life form and all it wants to do is kill us.
Lauren put a hand on his shoulder, "We have to get out of here in case it comes for us."
Anna nodded in agreement; Taylor hit the bulkhead release and the massive door slid slowly up. "I hope you rot in hell you son of a bitch." Joseph spat at the intercom as they opened the doors below so the quick response team could get in.
They walked out and into an elevator that they took to the reception area of the station, on the way up they heard bursts of gunfire along with screams and roars from both the humans and the alien as it attacked them and finally fell after the flurry of bullets cut through it and it collapsed on the floor,
Limbs twitching before it stopped after drowning in a pool of its own blood while the team examined the bio dome where the doctors had been murdered.
After seeing the two dead doctors the marine in charge went back out and bashed its head in violently with the butt of his weapon screaming at it while other marines fired rounds into it, blood splattering everywhere. The elevator's occupants were silent in shock and didn't move until the doors opened and they stepped out. Vice Admiral Samuel Howe-Head of the Facility-approached them and gave a weak smile, "I...I hope you can appreciate that the existence of alien life is Top Secret, nobody can know about this. Debriefing in my office, six minutes."
"Yes Sir." They replied in unison.
The occupants in Vice Admiral Howe's office ranged from the tech the was manning the data console, the Quick Response team that had killed and beaten the alien and the trio of officers that had witnessed the whole event.
Once everyone was in and the door had been shut Howe immediately started the debriefing.
"What you saw today, the alien, we found him-a lone scout-on a planet that was deemed ready to colonise by the UNSC. It was by itself, for reasons we are still unaware of. At the moment we are calling it 'the Stray', but we don't know if there are more of its race or wether it was the last of his kind, we don't know if its is the only race of aliens out there, we don't know if they are aware of our presence in the universe or of our abduction of the creature. What we do know is that they are hostile, extremely powerful and cunning, with-as it displayed to us," he said and picked up a remote from his desk, pointing it at the screen on the wall and pressing the start button, "that it has a brain that reacts very quickly. Play clip frame by frame." He ordered and the small media clip started up.
The screen showed the Doctor injecting the liquid into the creature's kidney and then turning as the tech spoke over the intercom. As he turned the frame rate slowed down and zoomed in on its face, it was hard to see but somewhere in there its eyes opened and focused on the doctor, before closing again.
"The remarkable thing is that its eyes were only open for 0.27 of a second, and in that time it took in its immediate surroundings and prepared itself to attack." Howe said pausing the clip to speak and then playing it again.
The view zoomed out and showed the larger picture, the doctor talking then spinning around in surprise as the creature broke its bonds and lunged at him. Due to the slow rate in which the image changed it was possible to see the look of utter surprise on the doctors face-his eyes widening dramatically, his mouth opening in surprise-and the look on the creatures face-the look of bloodthirsty lust to kill the man that stood before it. "End Clip." Howe said and the screen went dark.
"As you can see it is a vicious and cunning creature. To cut a long story short; it is deadly, it is now dead, you knew of its existence, you do not speak a word about it to anyone, ever. If this gets out who knows what will happen, have the paperwork on my desk and destroy anything on you that you deem to relate in anyway to what you have seen here today. That is all-you're dismissed-but Commander's Taylor, Forbes and Lieutenant Commander Corbett, please stay behind."
The others filled out and the door closed shortly after them.
"Please, through here." Howe said and gestured through the privacy screen that blocked off the other half of his office, his personal quarters. They approached the screen and a small retinal scan beam shone over Howe's eyes, pinged, and the screen slid over.
"Take a seat," Howe gestured towards the armchairs in the middle of the room set around a mahogany coffee table; "More mahogany." Taylor thought.
"Anything to drink?" The officers all shook their heads.
"Very well," replied the Vice Admiral taking a seat, "There is a reason I had you stay other than to have a chat over drinks. I've had orders from the brass to send you on an official Office of Naval Intelligence investigation into the origins of the Stray. I'll leave the proper briefing for when you get to Camp Hathcock, that's where my orders originate. That's all I can tell you at the moment. Good luck."
Twenty-Third Cycle, 57 Units, 8th Age of Reclamation (Covenant Battle Calendar) /
Covenant Destroyer Forbidden Haven, unknown coordinates
The Blue-armoured Sangheili on the flickering holograph droned on relaying pointless information to the viewer. His mandibles twitched as its eyes raked over something of interest among the clutter of his daily report.
"Is there anything of interest to me in between the lines of that tiresome report messenger or can I go to sleep?"
By the Forerunners, how has this happened? This is troubling.
The one called messenger, pondering what had caused such a catastrophe to take place, replied to the other.
"Well Excellency there is something here that might be of some worth to you in your..."
The Sangheili raised a hand and stopped the babbling messenger, obviously a far more insignificant creature to his Commander counterpart.
"Do not waste my time with idle talk messenger, if they are anything other than the normal battle reports and rubbish from the other side of the universe then let me know. If it interests me you'll have saved me the task of having you killed for wasting my time if it isn't, understood messenger?"
The lesser creature's mandibles quivered slightly, but he tried to his fear. He wondered wether he should let the Commander what had happened or not. If he did and the Gold-armoured Sangheili wasn't pleased with what he had said then he would be killed, but if he didn't, and he knew that this was valuable information to the higher up, then the punishment would be far worse; he'd take his chances with the truth.
"Yes Excellency. Sometime in the last twenty-four cycles or so a group of Yanme'e scouts on a routine operation found evidence of an alien presence on the planet Ashbiloch. Up until a few hundred cycles ago Sangheili guards were used on the planet as sentries on the lookout for Heretic's that habitually passed by and occasionally landed. The Yanme'e scouts came across a dropship of some sort, though mostly destroyed it vaguely resembled a Herikuu once we reassembled its scattered remains," the messenger said, likening the alien craft to the winged creatures that lived on the Sangheili homeworld, "we still do not know of its origins but plan to investigate further. The Sangheili guard that the Yanme'e were sent to replace was nowhere to be found, we suspect that the aliens have taken him."
The Commander gave a grunt and replied, "What was his name?"
Almost trembling with fear the messenger mumbled something under his breath. "What is his name!" the Commander roared.
The Messenger's arms snapped to his side and he stood ridged before blinking, "Jhako 'Henekree." He repeated solemnly, bowing his head in knowing sorrow.
Supreme Commander Bora 'Nekalee nodded slowly and then grabbed the large chair next to him and flung it with all his massive strength at the purple wall of the Forbidden Haven; the tiny splinters of wood that littered the ground all that remained of it. He grabbed for the two primitive metal Unggoy dagger's in the ornamental case on the wall, he threw the knife in his left hand at the wall where it stuck and wobbled violently emitting warbles from the shaking metal. The second he thrust into the table leaving a large mark in it before throwing it too at the wall. The whole time his mandibles were parted to their extremities and a guttural roar resonated from his mouth.
He then tore the energy sword hilt from his belt and activated it with a flick of his wrist, "Whoever did this will pay, my son's death will not go unavenged." He vowed to the messenger whist shaking with rage, "Inform the council that I request a meeting with them in five units, do it now."
The messenger nodded and terminated the connection leaving the Commander alone once again. 'Nekalee's hands shook as he tightened his grip on the moulded hilt in his hands and then relaxed which he repeated a few times before the words that he had heard before finally sunk in.
His son was gone, taken by aliens, probably dead. They would pay, he would make sure of it.
'Nekalee was only half there when he succumbed to his rage and let out another roar as his right arm flung out and he carved angry yet graceful movements in the air. He deactivated the sword and calmly went to the door that pulsed with light, pinged and opened up allowing him passage through. The doors slid closed behind him and locked his private quarters, hiding the COM system that now lay in smouldering ruins on the floor.
2341 Hours, January 1, 2440 (Military Calendar) /
Epsilon Eridani System, Reach UNSC Military Complex,
planet Reach, Delta Wing-Section Three secure facility
"I don't give a damn Dieter," Vice Admiral Howe barked, "wether I have the clearance or not, I want access to all files relating to the alien!" he banged his fist on the desk and the AI in front of him flickered slightly.
"Sir, Section Three security clearance level is required to access these files," the Captain James Cook modelled AI standing on the desk replied, a tone of frustration in his normally cool passive voice, "to give you access to them would violate many protocols and would be..."
"What did I just say?" Howe interrupted, "You know I can eject your processor cube and smash it with my shiny new shoe now don't you?"
Dieter seemed to smile, "Threats don't work against Artificial Intelligences I'll have you know Vice Admiral Howe, so there's no use trying. I can get you the files with less restriction but the Top Secret files I can't do, will that suffice?" he drawled. Howe nodded, glaring at the AI as it shrugged and vaporised into the air leaving behind a cloud of sea blue smoke which soon faded away too.
Howe raised his head from his desk a minute later when he saw the flashes of light emanating from the projector on the other side of the room.
"Well, did you get the files?" he asked impatiently and the AI smiled as he glided over to the desk and waved his hand. Howe's computer beeped and the he hit the Enter button, he gave identification and the barrier on the files lifted.
"Thankyou Dieter. We found it on Athens, outpost close by." he mumbled as he read to himself, "Right then, I think it's safe to say that it's not the only one there is, I hope those three are ready. Dieter, get me Admiral Jason O'Neill, Section Three Commander, Camp Hathcock."
The AI nodded and vaporised, leaving Howe alone in the dark office. He made his way over to the small bar fridge and took out a bottle of scotch that he poured a glass of and downed in two gulps. His fingers pealed off the cool glass as he set it down on the table and flopped back down in his seat. A trickle of sweat ran down his face and he glanced up at the digital thermostat on the wall, forty-two degrees Celsius; no wonder he felt like he was in an oven. The Vice Admiral fumbled on the table and knocked a button on his computer keypad; the air conditioner overhead clicked on and he pushed the downwards-facing arrow button half a dozen times.
The window on his computer showing the temperature of the air being cycled through the room by the air conditioner tickled down and stopped at nineteen degrees, Howe felt the cool air sluice over him and reclined in his chair. He closed his eyes, he wasn't going to sleep he just needed to rest for a moment, then he'd talk to O'Neill, just a few seconds.
Howe awoke at the sound of buzzing and rose a hand to his closed eyes trying to clear the fatigue, he open his eyes and blinked a few times while yawning before hitting a button on the keypad. He looked up at the computer and found Admiral O'Neill's unsmiling face staring back at him.
"What, Howe? The Admiral asked tiredly, there were bags under his eyes and his normally sharp face looked somewhat shrunken.
"Sir, I've looked over the autopsy results and any data I could access, I just thought I might suggest forming a fleet to accompany the three officers we have sent, if there is an intelligent race out there in space who knows how advanced they are. If we send three officers un-aided to a planet to investigate an alien presence then we have no idea what could happen, it's crazy an d foolish not to mobilise a strike team. That's my view sir."
O'Neill yawned and clenched his jaw shanking his head, "Howe, we at Camp Hathcock believe that mobilising a fleet to go to a possibly alien inhabited world is more foolish than not sending one. If this race is far ahead of us and we send three officers to attempt contact then we have a higher chance of success than if we send in a strike force. If there are aliens and if they are hostile and we find out at the expense of three officers don't you think that that is better than possibly loosing an entire fleet?"
"Acceptable losses," Howe muttered with a silent rage flowing through him, "No, Sir, I don't think any losses are acceptable, but my view hardly counts for anything anymore. Sorry for wasting your time Sir, Goodnight." He made to disconnect the connection when O'Neill interrupted.
"You're being put at the head of a medical research project Vice Admiral, the dead creature's body is to be further studied, I want the full report on my desk in hard copy and electronically transmitted to my computer in seventy-two hours, Goodnight."
The connection terminated and the room shrunk back into darkness and silence, the soft whir of the air-conditioner and the gradually intensifying beating of his heart the only sounds Howe could hear.
"Well at least one thing is for sure Dieter,"
"What might that be sir?" came the AI's voice from the computer speakers
"I'm going to need some more scotch."
First Contact: The Expedition
Date: 3 March 2005, 2:11 AM
2349 Hours, January 1, 2440 (Military Calendar) /
Epsilon Eridani System, Reach UNSC Military Complex,
planet Reach, Camp Hathcock
Corporal Fredrick Taper, an ONI Sector Three Commander, sat at his desk with his head in his shaking hands. As much as he didn't like what he was about to do he knew it had to happen.
A small select group of ONI spooks knew of the existence of the aliens, along with a tech, a quick response unit, an Admiral and three ONI officers now on their way to where the alien was found.
It was his job to make sure that they never returned.
The quick response team would meet an unfortunate demise when their dropship explodes, the tech would be meet his demise along with them. The officers would be dealt with later but that left one other person, Vice Admiral Samuel Howe, Head of ONI Medical Facility-003.
He took one hand off his head and opened his top drawer, the small pistol gleamed and sone in his eye by reflecting the light from the desk lamp. He grabbing the gun he switched off the lamp, shoved it in his black cloak pocket and got to his feet. He made his way to the door and left the room in darkness and silence, this is one job he wasn't going to enjoy.
Howe was still in his office, asleep on the sofa in the office's conference area. A knock at the door made him shift over in his sleep but he didn't wake up, another few knocks however and he was looking over at his clock with extremely tired eyes.
01:10 AM
"Jesus, what now." He muttered and got up, "I'm coming, hang on."
He straightened the tie that hung loose around his neck and buttoned up his cuffs. Before going to the door he hit the button on his computer keypad and the temperature rose a few degrees, much better.
"Good morning Corporal, can I help you?" he asked when the door opened to reveal his guest.
"Yes I believe you can sir, may I come in?" the Corporal asked, his voice showing no sign of the panic he was feeling.
Howe stepped aside and Taper entered and looked around the room, no one else here, good.
"Would you car for some scotch Corporal?" the Vice Admiral asked looking up from his small bar fridge.
"Ah, yes please." Taper replied in his heavily German accented voice as he slid the gun out of his pocket and quickly twisted the silencer on.
Howe approached with two glasses and set them down on the table in between two armchairs, he sat in one and gestured for the Corporal to take the other.
"What exactly is it that you need to talk to me at ten past one in the morning Taper?"
The Corporal watched him drink the scotch, the last you'll ever have, he thought as he brought his up to his lips and downed most of it in a single gulp. He set the glass down, raised a hand to his mouth and wiped the drops of alcohol away,
"This."
As the Corporal dug his hand into his pocket Howe took another sip of the scotch and tilted his head back trying to get the last drips from the glass. Bringing out the pistol, Taper raised it and fired a shot at his exposed throat; he was a professional marksman, it would look like suicide.
The glass dropped to the ground and spilt its contents as Howe slumped backwards and lay still and blood trickled down his forehead. Fredrick took a cloth dipped it in his scotch and rubbed it over the handle and trigger before placing it in Howe's right hand.
He rubbed a bit more of the scotch into Howe's other hand and around his feet and took the glass over to the bar fridge.
He poured a glass of scotch and raised it to the dead man, "Danke." He drunk it in one swig and then cleaned the glass in the sink, being careful only to touch the tap with the cloth.
He pocketed the damp cloth and took out a pair of gloves that he put on and ejected the AI system.
He left the room with the lights dimmed, a gun and an AI's processor cube in his pocket as well as a laptop computer under his arm.
He turned back towards his dead superior and saluted him, "Farewell Admiral."
Tech Officer (2nd Class) Marko Carlson ran down the long metal corridor to the sound of clicking boots and blaring sirens. The quick response team attached their crash helmets and cocked their weapons as they headed for the dropship bay.
The blast doors retracted as they got closer, they exited into an open hanger, the sun shone down and bounced off their reflective visors.
"Come on get in, get in!" Flight Lieutenant Jonas Harrison bellowed from the cockpit and the team leapt into the back strapping themselves into the seat harnesses.
"What's the brief Jonas?" Commander Douglas Shanley called over the noise of the new dropship prototype.
"There's a suspected terrorist situation at UNSC HQ, that's where he comes in," he yelled back, nodding in the direction of Carlson, "the whole place is in lockdown, there's no communication in or out, he's gonna have to hack into the system."
The Pelican lifted off the ground and stalled before the thrusters charged to 100% and powered the craft forwards into the sky. At a thousand feet the craft shook and then had a series of violent spasms while it shot upwards.
"I've lost control, get outta the ship, its gonna blow!" Harrison hollered and pulled at the joystick, beads of sweat forming on his face as he realised that while the others might survive, he was dead. He tried to get the ship back up but it wouldn't move, it kept on its upward slope.
Shanley and his men unstrapped their restraints and rushed for the exit, "Thankyou Jonas, I'll be seeing you later." Shanley called with a smile as he dropped out of the back of the dropship.
The ship veered sharply to the right as the Marine plunged downwards, suddenly a low rumble sounded and an explosion tore through the ship, disintegrating everything inside it and engulfing the Commander in its fiery grip.
Inside the complex the team had just left, Corporal Taper smiled and re-entered the building through the large bulkhead, the personnel he passed noticed him as he walked down the long corridor tossing and catching a small metal object.
Though none of them recognised it as a key component in a Pelican's engine.
0335 Hours, January 2, 2440 (Military Calendar) /
narrow-band point-to-point transmission: origin
UNKNOWN; termination: Omega secure
antenna array, Reach Military Complex
Planet Reach, Camp Hathcock
PLNB Priority Transmission XX089Z-XX
Encryption Code: GAMMA
Public Key: N/A
From: CODENAME: PROMETHEUS
To: CODENAME: ZEUS
Subject: NONE
Classification: EYES ONLY TOP SECRET (SECTION III
X-RAY DIRECTIVE)
/file extraction-reconstitution complete/
/start file/
Zeus,
My work is done, there was an accident with a prototype model, will be at briefing at 0700.
Prometheus
/end file/
/scramble-destruction process enabled/
Press ENTER to continue.
"You will be dispatched at 0100 Hours on the seventeenth of this month, any more questions?" Admiral O'Neill briefed the three people, the members of Top Secret Project: Trinity.
A man sitting in the corner was the room's only other occupant and while the group couldn't see his face the insignia on his uniform revealed his rank; he was a Corporal.
There was silence. "Good, then that is all. Arrive back here at 1200." The three officers filed out of the room and Taylor shut the door behind them. Muffled sounds of talking came from the room but the group were soon out of earshot down the corridor.
The VTOL Jump Jet known as the SkyTiger II looked impressive in the otherwise dull, empty hanger, at its controls was Lieutenant Commander Corbett who was issuing commands on the buttons with her fingers.
The sleek black jet was equipped with heat seeking Stinger missiles and quad 50mm rotary cannons as well as dual 102mm cannons.
The roof of the hanger slid away and revealed the vacuum of space; a grin appeared on Corbett's face as the engines of the craft roared in anticipation.
Corbett hit a button and the jets propelled the craft up higher until it was clear of the hanger, the jets swung around and the Tiger shot off, heading towards the large jungle-desert mix planet a dozen kilometres away.
It had been just over two weeks since she had sat in Admiral O'Neill's office with the unknown Corporal, and now she was on her way to Athens.
She heard a familiar sound and took a glance at the radar, two other jets, identical in shape to hers; Taylor and Forbes. Smiling again she keyed the intercom, "Ah, decided to show up ey? Thought you'd never get here."
"Trouble with the fuselage, had to get it checked Corbett." Taylor replied to the joke.
"Of course Sir, nothing to do with the fact that I'm a better pilot than you."
"After Luna I was a Navy pilot for five years, and I got the skills to prove it, would you two care for a race? First one to Athens wins, the other two concede defeat."
"What do we get if we win?" Forbes asked.
"Team leader for the mission." Came the crackly reply over the COM system.
"Your on."
It was Commander Forbes who landed first, "Right then, Joe, set some markers around here so we know where we started, Lauren, contact O'Neill, tell him were in." she radioed over the COM channel.
She started the engine back up and was followed by the others shortly after. "I'll go Northward, Joe-East and Lauren-South, we'll rendezvous here," She said pointing out an area on the map on the HUD "and head West. Maintain radio silence unless necessary. Alpha, out."
While on the mission the three officers referred to themselves and each other by their SkyTiger's names; Anna was Alpha, Joseph-Delta and Lauren-Zulu.
"This is Delta, I think we got something, Grid 14 by 26, it looks like a...a city," Joseph stuttered, " Except its purple, and swollen, get over here, Delta out."
"Roger that Delta, Alpha on the way, out." Anna replied over the COM as she rotated the thrusters and gunner the Tiger off towards the rally point.
Supreme Commander Bora 'Nekalee looked at the display screen and snarled, he would get revenge.
The thing shot across the sky and then came to a stop, "Is it in position?" Bora asked.
"Yes Excellency, on your command." The other Sangheili replied, his lanky fingers danced across the keypad, feeling the slightest resistance as he pushed against its seemingly transparent buttons.
'Nekalee took a moment to think and then issued a one word command, "Fire."
0131 Hours, January 17, 2440 (Military Calendar) /
Planet Athens, Samna Aurelius System
At the helm of SkyTiger Delta, Joseph stared in awe at the alien city in the distance. Alpha and Zulu were on their way and he was sure that the aliens didn't know of their presence.
He switched a control and the thrusters powered down, the Tiger declined in altitude and nestled among the thick grass in the field.
Joe would be waiting at least ten minutes for the others; he killed the engine and slipped a hand into his rucksack on the floor emerging with a small chip.
He popped it into the receiver on the dashboard and started his playlist up in random order, how he loved the early twenty-first century's taste in music.
"Ah." he sighed, a favourite of his. He settled back into the seat and hummed along with the music.
All of a sudden he heard a crackling noise, one that could be likened to static. An alarm blared and the display screen shone a warning: Incoming Projectile.
"Shit!" He yelled and restarted the thrusters which shot him up into the air, the screen showed a ball that looked like a shining blue meteor; one heading right for him.
He set the jets to full but knew he couldn't escape, the crackling noise got louder and moments before impact his mind wandered back to his son and wife on Earth, theirs was the last image Joseph Taylor ever saw.
He heard the music playing and the tune relaxed him, he embraced the moment and welcomed death.
The fireball hit the Tiger and it burst into flame before crashing into the ground and exploding in a brilliant shower of sparks.
Alpha keyed the frequency, "Joe what was that? Joe, Joe!" she cried out in vain before hitting the command freq, "Lauren, get the hell out of here, call for recon, Joe's dead." She killed the connection and hit the thrusters.
Bora 'Nekalee laughed and commended the other Sangheili, "Brilliant. Wait, what's this?" he pointed to another object.
"There's one more on approach, another torpedo Excellency?" he suggested.
"Do it, do it quick. I don't want any of them to survive after what they did to my son."
Anna squinted and held back tears as she released safeties on the Stinger missiles and primed the 102mm's.
The purple city loomed closer and she saluted Taylor as the Tiger shot past the flaming wreckage.
"You ready for this bastards?" she punched the missile release and gripped the controls, her fingers poised over the triggers for the dual 102's. "You bloody well better be."
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