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Just Getting Started by James Kinsella
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Just Getting Started: Chapter One
Date: 16 March 2003, 10:11 PM
Just Getting Started
Chapter One
1421 Hours, September 7, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSC Stryker Unknown System
Cortana reasoned, "We did what we had to do . . . for Earth. An entire Covenant armada obliterated, and the Flood . . . Halo. It's finished."
"No. I think we're just getting started." said John as he unlocked the pressure seal on his helmet and popped it off. "What's the engine temperature at now, Cortana?"
"Engine temp is approaching recommended parameters, soon we will have propulsion." Cortana replied, "The bigger problem isn't our engine but rather our Shaw-Fujikawa generator. It was damaged in our retreat and needs service immediately. I can guide you through the procedure but we have to start now! If we lose the generator we get to take the long way home."
"Understood", John responded, "Let's get started"
Two hours, thirty-four minutes later...
"Now that we're done with that job I have something to bring to your attention" Cortana said as she posted a message on the main screen, "Chief you should probably have a look at this."
United Nations Space Command Priority Transmission
09894B-72
Encryption Code: Red
Public Key: file /lightning-matrix-four
From: Admiral Michael Stanforth, Commanding Officer,
UNSC Leviathan/ UNSC Sector Three Commander/
(UNSC Service Number: 00834-19223-HS)
To: Captain Jacob Keyes, Commanding Officer UNSC
Pillar of Autumn/ (UNSC Service Number: 01928-19912-JK)
Subject: NEW ORDERS
Classification: RESTRICTED (BGX Directive)
/start file/
Covenant presence detected on several main slipstream routes
in the systems Tantalus and Omega headed towards EARTH.
All UNSC warships are hereby ordered to proceed to Earth
IMMEDIATLY by shortest route possible.
/end file/
"When we were in the POA I accessed our transmission database." Cortana said, "The captain received this message approximately three minutes after we left the bridge. He never read it! I've done the math. That means that the covenant could reach Earth six days from now! The quickest we can get there is in four days. Bring the reactors back online, you may be needed in ground actions on earth!"
"Calm down Cortana I'm bringing the reactor on now." John said as he punched the code in. "Powering engines to 90%, bringing slipstream generators online now. Transfer to SF space in, three, two, one, now!"
As they made the transfer to slipspace a small blue and steel ball shot forward and connected magnetically to the Longsword Interceptor's black hull. "Hmm" thought 343 Guilty Spark, "This shall be an interesting endeavor. I can't wait till we arrive!"
Chapter Two
1830 Hours, September 11, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Stryker Periphery of Sol System
"Chief, Wake up!" Cortana shouted, "We will exit slipspace in approximately two minutes before we transfer to normal space! We have to prepare to dock with Leviathan and brief Admiral Stanforth on what happened. He's the head of NavSpecWep, your service branch."
John responded with a quick nod and ran to the ship's controls. He activated the pre-exit procedures and prepared to exit slipspace. As he deactivated the trans-light generators he felt the lurch of massive deceleration. He looked out the view screen and saw Earth for the first time.
"Chief" Cortana said urgently, "We are receiving a hail from Admiral Stanforth. It's on a priority alpha channel. I'm routing it to the main screen."
Admiral Stanforth appeared, looking much more haggard than usual. The stoop in his back was not usually detectable in a video transmission. The chief guessed that his last few days had been rather hectic. "Chief is that you?" Stanforth said with a shocked look on his face, "Where the hell is the Pillar of Autumn and Keyes! I could use his ship in the upcoming battle."
"Sir I'm sending you a briefing of all the Pillar of Autumn, Cortana, and I have done since we left Reach. Sadly, the Captain will not be joining you anytime soon, or the POA for that matter. They didn't make it. My briefing will explain why. Meanwhile may I have permission to dock with the Leviathan?" "Immediately Master Chief, I will expect you on the bridge at no later 1920 hours. I happen to have a surprise for you. Stanforth out"
As the Longsword Interceptor slid into the port docking bay a ball of blue light detached and flew undetected into the nearest turbolift. "What do I want to do next?" the monitor thought to himself. "Perhaps revenge will occupy my processors for now."
Chapter Three
1917 Hours, September 11, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Leviathan Sol System
As the chief exited the fighter all personnel on the deck turned to stare at him. UNSC Infantry had elevated the Spartans to legendary status due to the fact that most soldiers had never even seen a Spartan. These troops were looking at a combat god and they knew it.
"Chief as much as you respect Admiral Stanforth I don't think he'll be happy to see us back. If you recall our mission was to disable a covenant ship and determine the location of their home world. The last time I checked that mission was not complete."
"Relax Cortana I'm sure that the Admiral will be happy to see. Besides, he couldn't have expected me to disable a covenant ship with a single badly damaged Longsword Interceptor. He'll understand. We did destroy an entire armada of Covenant capital ships as well as a race of parasites. He's got to give us a little credit, if he even notices us at all with crap he has to deal with right now"
"Master Chief, I've integrated with this ship's Command system using your communications link." said Cortana "I'm detected rising levels of heat in the ships reactor. The temperature isn't raising at a high enough rate to cause any alerts, you have to be looking for the info. It may be carelessness on the part of the Leviathan's A.I. or it may be something else. Give me a few cycle's to check something out."
"Okay." John responded as he made his way to the bridge. He stopped the elevator on Deck 17 and exited. This level held the armory and he wanted to have the latest weapons at his disposal. He immediately found the Battle Rifle and took it to the target range. He emptied 3 clips in short order. He was satisfied with the new weapon, it had a 2x scope and it's accuracy made the MA5B look like an M41 LAAG. There was one drawback however, its rate of fire. To solve this problem the Chief exchanged the shotgun he'd been carrying since Halo for an SMG. In testing the chief discovered that this gun would more than make up for the Battle Rifle's slow rate of fire. It's accuracy however was pathetic, and it ran out of ammunition fast. He stowed this issue and went back to the elevator. As the elevator passed the 4th floor he felt the presence of Cortana flood back into his head.
She immediately said, "Chief we have a problem! That engine problem earlier was no accident. It was the Monitor!"
Look for the next Chapter: Just Getting Started: Chapter Two
Just Getting Started Chapter 2
Date: 23 March 2003, 5:08 PM
Just Getting Started
Chapter Two
1947 Hours, September 11, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Leviathan Sol System
Cortana said, "Chief we have a problem! That engine problem earlier was no accident. It was the Monitor! He's activated the engine overload cycle but masked it as a sub-routine that burns off extra ion buildup on the reactor core! That's why the Leviathan's A.I. didn't detect the problem. He's on board the ship, in engineering bay 2. I don't know how he survived the blast but he is here!"
"I see that your construct has detected my presence, Reclaimer, therefore I will be blunt." said the monitor, "I'm here to destroy you and this ship. I will endeavor to make your death as painful as possible."
"Chief, I've sent a message to the Admiral. Hitachi, the Leviathan's A.I. is extracting the reactor core now. This however is a stopgap solution at best. The monitor will be able to take control of leviathan and restart the overload process in approximately 7 minutes. We must find 343 Guilty Spark before then."
"Understood." John said. He ran to the elevator and hit the button for engineering. As he stepped off the elevator he heard the familiar humming and chirping that usually accompanied the monitor. He pulled out his SMG and opened fire. As he emptied the first clip he noticed that the rounds weren't even hurting the monitor.
"Why are you trying to stop me Reclaimer? You should know that your projectile weapons can't hurt me. My weapons however should be quite effective against you." The monitor opened fire with a laser like that of the sentinels, but his was blue and cut the Chief's shields twice as fast. He couldn't get away from the beam. John saw the spark as his shields gave out and he made a last ditch jump behind a diagnostics station. The monitor flew over the station and said, "You should not have resisted Reclaimer. I understand your reluctance in giving me the Index, but destroying the Installation was incompetent as well as infuriating. I hope in your dying moments you reflect on your mistake."
"Reflect this!" said a voice that cam from behind the diagnostics station. John heard the distinctive whoosh of a Spnkr rocket and saw a fire trail connect with the menace floating above him. The Monitor fell to the ground and said, "Reclaimer, the Forerunner will have revenge on my deactivation." With that unusual set of last words the blue flame of the monitor was extinguished.
As John stared at the hulk of metal he realized that he still hadn't seen who saved him. He grabbed the station and pulled himself up. As he looked over the edge of the station he almost fell down from shock. He was looking at a Spartan! The Mjolnir Armor was different but the person inside was to big to be anything but a Spartan. The first thought that came to his head was who was it? Second in his mind was how?
"Who are you?" John asked. "I didn't know there were any other Spartans." John thought back to their briefing on Reach when Dr. Halsey said that Mendez was going to train a new group of Spartans, but he had never seen or heard about them. This had to be a trick that the monitor was using on him.
" It's James!" responded the figure. "I hope you didn't forget who I am Chief, nut I guess it's possible what with your age and everything."
"James what are you doing here! I thought you were dead." "Nope, I'm just as hard to kill as you. When my thruster pack was shot I flew away from you guys and over the edge of the dock. I saw hundreds of Covenant and immediately opened fire. That's when I discovered something interesting; the rounds from the assault rifle propelled my backwards. I soon reoriented myself towards a damaged ship and shot my way over there. When I got onboard I found the Covenant was ignoring us and glassing Reach. We escaped to slipstream and the rest is history. How have you been though?"
"Hanging in there" John responded. "I couldn't possibly tell you all that happened without leaving somthing out. I'll show you the After-Action report I made on the way home. Until then let's head to the mess hall."
"No can do John." James responded, "I've been called to help the ground troops on Earth prepare for the battle. I'm also supposed to stay on the ground during the battle. As a matter of fact I've got to go now. I'll see you on the battlefield!"
With that James went to the elevator and punched in the floor of the hangar bay. John could not express the feelings of relief that were plaguing him at that second so he pushed them away. With that thought he heard a General Announcement on the ship's intercom.
"This is Admiral Stanforth. Covenant ships have executed a pinpoint slip-jump to undercut our fleet and are currently plasma torping Earth. All UNSC Ships in the area are ordered to break formation and attack at fastest speed."
On a private com channel John heard Stanforth telling Cortana to get the chief to the bridge. John had a thought all of a sudden. "Admiral, with all due respect I believe I can be of more use in other places. I think I've got an idea." John ran to the elevator and hit the button for hangar deck. On his way to the hangar he picked up a new Battle Rifle. He walked into the hangar and heard Cortana on the com channels arguing with the Admiral. John walked over to the airlock emergency command station. He opened the airlock. Cortana asked, "What if we miss?" As they flew out of the airlock John responded in his usual confident tone. "We won't." And with that they fell towards Earth. A Covenant cruiser loomed up beneath them and they fell faster towards it....
I PROMISE the NEXT one WILL have BLOOD and GUTS
Just Getting Started Chapter Three
Date: 30 March 2003, 6:37 PM
Just Getting Started
Chapter Three
2011 Hours, September 11, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Neutral Space Sol System
John opened the airlock. Cortana asked, "What if we miss?" As they flew out of the airlock John responded in his usual confident tone. "We won't." And with that they fell towards Earth. A Covenant cruiser loomed up beneath them and they fell faster towards it.
Cortana shouted, "Chief we're gonna hit that thing too fast! I hope you know what you're doing! I don't wanna die because of your arrogance."
John Responded by pulling out his SMG and doing exactly what James had told him. As he started firing the gun their momentum started to decrease. He kept shooting until he had emptied almost three clips. He then braced for impact.
The impact knocked his shields to half, but that wasn't the real problem. The problem was that he was three meters from the hull of the ship and the shield meant that he would soon slide off. He pulled a Lotus Anti-Tank mine off his back and set it on the surface with a timer of thirty seconds. John sort of skated away but not fast enough. The implosion blew him twenty meters. He used his SMG to propel him back towards the now 8 meter deep hole in the side of the ship. He chinned the control in his helmet that activated the magnetic boots. He then proceeded to open one of the doors that were in the hallway.
"Nicely done." Cortana said. "Only one problem. We are almost at the stern of the ship, and I need to be on the bridge to take control of this vessel. That means you've got a little over a kilometer of Covenant infested hallways to work your way through. I hope you planned for that eventuality."
"Relax, Cortana. Have I ever let you down before?" With that John opened the next door and opened fire. There were two grunts and a jackal, but they didn't last long at all. Their blood covered the wall and floor. He exchanged his almost depleted SMG for the Needler that the grunt had and checked the other grunt for ammunition. He also picked up the plasma grenades that the grunts had. As he moved into the next room he found a single elite. He emptied half a clip of needler ammo and watched calmly as the body flew to the ceiling with the explosion. He reloaded and moved to the next room.
This room seemed to be an ammunition depot because of the massive amount of small arms that were located here. Two Hunters also happened to be in the room. John knew the needles would just bounce off of their armor so he switched to his Battle Rifle. He found that the 9.5 caliber rounds seemed very effective against the Hunter's exposed belly and back. So effective that he only wasted four rounds on the pair. This was something he would have to remember. He went to the ammunition locker and pulled out all the diamond shaped needler magazines he could hold.
John continued in this vein of killing for quite some time, when Cortana finally reminded him of her presence. "It seems like you have things under control but we are just outside the bridge and their commanders probably have been informed of your presence by now. I recommend extreme caution."
John took this advice and picked up a fallen Plasma Rifle and added to his Battle Rifle and Needler. He walked quietly up to the next door and readied himself with a needler in his left hand and a Battle Rifle in his right hand. He used the rifle's muzzle to push the button that opened the door. The door opened to reveal a shocking sight; there were two of the much speculated Prophets floating about a meter above the floor. That was the normal part. There were four tall blue creatures that looked like they had taken a trip through a medieval armory.
They turned to face him and the Chief opened fire. The needles had absolutely no effect but the rifle made quick work of the first creature. John saw the familiar glow of a charging fuel rod gun and rolled forward. He threw away the needler and launched two grenades in the direction of the creatures. He jumped away as a bolt of plasma landed at his feet and watched as two of the creatures and both Prophets fell to the grenades. He opened fire on the last creature with his Plasma Rifle. It seemed to have a small effect. The creature ran at him and took a huge downward stroke with his left arm. The arm had a wicked blade attached that dropped John's shield immediately. John punched the creature in the gut with is left fist and shoved the rifle in his mouth. As the creature's face melted from plasma burn John heard a garbled death cry.
Calmly, as if the event hadn't happened, John walked up the ramp to the bridge and plugged Cortana's memory crystal onto a port at the base of the holo-projector.
"Nice to be able to stretch my legs again." Cortana said smugly "That was not a fun journey John, too much death." The Spartan shrugged as if it didn't matter to him. "I'm accessing their database now. Those creatures you killed in here are referred to as Brutes by the Covenant army. They are the Elite Guards of the Prophets. Before we get into details I'm going to vent atmosphere in all sections except the bridge for five minutes. That should give us some privacy."
"Chief, my mission parameters state that I have to find the Covenant Homeworld before I do anything else. I'll need cycle or two to crack the encryption. I'm going to send a message to all U.N.S.C. ships notifying them of this ship's new allegiance so they won't shoot us and then I'm going work on that encryption. Do whatever you want, but obviously don't leave this room."
Kind of Anti-Climatic but the next one will be full of interesting details; the Covenant homeworld's location, what happens to Earth, and more...
Just Getting Started Chapter Four
Date: 1 April 2003, 10:59 PM
Just Getting Started
Chapter Four
2114 Hours, September 11, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Covenant Cruiser Golden Apocalypse Sol System
"Do whatever you want, but obviously don't leave this room." Cortana said to the Chief. She then went back to her work. First she applied the newest Covenant language buffer that she had downloaded before they left the Leviathan. The language was very short and direct, which was odd considering they were a religiously bound group, and religions were usually pretty indirect. Maybe theirs wasn't. She quickly moved to the navigational database. It was heavily encrypted so she tried a little trick. She activated the autopilot's course plotter and asked for the most direct route to their homeworld. It was incredible, the computer instantly sent the data to the helm and Cortana intercepted and copied it. For being such an advanced species it was surprising how simple their encryptions were. On any UNSC ship that route would have been covered by at least three sub-system buffers. Cortana couldn't get a name for the planet anywhere in the computer but she new exactly where it was. She immediately opened an all-channels message and sent the coordinates to Fleetcom and all ships in the area.
"Chief, I've located the Covenant homeworld. I have sent the coordinates to Fleetcom and all ships in the area including the Covenant ships. I did this so they would retreat from Earth to go bolster their homeworld's defense. It seems to be working, all Covenant ships have accelerated on outbound vectors from Earth. I'm repressurizing all sections of this ship. I've received orders from Fleetcom to bring this ship to the Reyes-Mclees shipyard above Mars for immediate study. Then we are to take the next outbound shuttle to the Earth, it seems the Covenant left in such a hurry that they left troops in Chicago and Cincinnati. It should be noted that the Cincinnatians are holding the Covenant off very well. I hope your ready Chief, your actions today are the only reason the Covenant aren't still attacking Earth."
"Let's get going." Was John's simple response.
1200 Hours, September 19, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Fleetcom Military Reservation Earth, Sol System
John was standing in a room almost identical to the secure briefing room that had been on Reach. The only difference was that James and John were the only Spartans there. Admiral Stanforth, Director of NavSpecWep was standing at the podium.
"Hello everybody." Admiral Stanforth began, "First I'd like to congratulate you all for our successful defense of Earth. I want to single out the Master Chief as the only reason we are standing here today. But before I do that we have some serious business to attend to. First of all we have the issue of the Covenant homeworld. It is ONI's opinion that the Covenant will stay in their space for at least a year, so as to bolster their defenses. This is our chance to catch up to them. Our scientists have been working nonstop for the past eight days on the ship Golden Apocalypse, currently stationed above Mars. This ship is possibly the biggest intelligence advancement we have ever had. The scientists and technicians have been working on extracting Covenant technology for use in our own ships. We also have three A.I.'s working on deciphering all of their computer networks. Simultaneously our A.I.'s have been implementing this technology in plans for our next set of ships. All of our shipyards have received this data and we have started the largest fleet building project in history. In approximately three months we will have six-hundred new ships outfitted with Covenant Shield technology, plasma weapons, gravity systems, and slipstream engines. Our older ships will also be upgraded to support this new technology. Our armories are currently refitting to make a newly designed battle system called the Mjolnir Mark VI. This suit will not be as strong as the Mark V but will support Shield systems. The major bonus is that the normal human body will be able to drive this system, not just the Spartans. There are a plethora of other advancements in our ground fighting and weapons categories but it would take days to brief you on all of them. It is my feeling that in three months time we will be able to meet the Covenant on equal terms and eliminate that threat forever. I'm sorry this briefing took so long, but it was necessary to brig everyone up to date on the state of our military. Now Barrin, our A.I. attaché with ONI will tell you of our projected battle plans."
"Thank you, Admiral," the A.I. said, "I am here to inform you of our new plans for the Covenant. Firstly, we believe they will stay in their area of space for at least a year. ONI sees this as an incredible opportunity. All of our ships will be sent over the next few months to attack the Covenant Colony Worlds identified by the Golden Apocalypse's nav databanks. In essence we will do to them what they did to us. Our advantage is that we now have tactical information on all the colonies as well as their exact location. This will allow us an incredible chance to level the playing field. Hopefully, we will have the complete support of the people on this new initiative. I have no more pertinent information at this time. Thank you."
With that pronouncement it was clear the briefing was over. The stand erupted in a hubbub of excited voices and laughter, the first it seemed that anybody had heard in years. Barrin however had no such look on his face as he walked towards the Master Chief.
"Chief," Barrin said, "I have orders for you from ONI. You are to report to Luna base Sierra immediately. We have an attack on the colony Enlightenment planned already and you are needed to implement it. Cortana will also be with you on this mission and has been directed to become your permanent mission specialist. I will see you at Sierra." With that Barrin faded away.
John thought to himself for the first time in years, "What if we win?"
Just Getting Started Chapter Five
Date: 4 April 2003, 12:10 AM
Just Getting Started
Chapter Five
1400 Hours, September 19, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Fleetcom Military Reservation, Earth Sol System
"Chief, I would like to congratulate you on your permanent acquisition of a Smart A.I.; I know that I will be useful in the field." Cortana said. John could almost hear the smirk in her voice. Of course that wasn't really true, Cortana's "voice" was actually in his head.
"I wonder what kind of mission we will be asked to perform?" John said, "But I guess you might have already stumbled across that information. So spill, what is it, recon, troop support, tactical force? Come on tell me."
"I don't think that I am allowed, under UNSC protocol, of course." She replied, once again with that smirk in her quasi-voice. She accessed the shuttlepod's nav computer and estimated distance to arrival. "You will find out in approximately twenty-one point four minutes. But until then I am the only one 'In the know' and that's how I'm going to keep it."
John laughed at her feeling of superiority and returned his attention to the view screen. He redirected the shuttlepod's camera towards Mars, and zoomed in on the Reyes-Mclees shipyard. The place was bustling with activity, small craft buzzing around, large craft sliding into docking bays, and building and repair ships flying around in a blizzard of motion. He stared at this spectacle until the Dockmaster A.I. of moon base Sierra notified them that they had landed and were clear to exit.
John walked off the ship and immediately made his way towards the command structure. The low hallways of the base reminded him of a starship, and he hated those; he never had any control. He walked into the command room and saw something he never expected. He almost fell down. It was Dr. Halsey! She was alive! John felt an enormous sense of gratitude towards whoever had gotten her off Reach. He walked up to her and saluted.
"At ease John. I was hoping to see you again." She said with a smile. For the first time John noticed her age. The last few months had definitely not been kind. "I am here to show you the new suit we've designed you since you left Reach. Follow me into this room, we haven't got much time."
John followed her into a side room. In the middle of the room, on a plexiglass stand was a new suit of armor. Dr. Halsey jumped right into the briefing.
"I hope you're prepared for this John, it's an incredible system. It has almost double the strength of the Mark V, but the suit itself is actually less bulky. The reactor is based on the Covenant design, found on the Golden Apocalypse. It uses a kind of anti-plasma that allows for almost immediate cooling. This allows us to harness more of the reactor's power. The shield system is also a revolutionary design. It maintains the same shape around your form but it is almost one-and-a-half times as capable. The capacitors on the shield matrix have been boosted to allow for more absorption of the shot. The shields will still be depleted by an overcharged plasma shot, but due to the increased power from the reactor they will recharge at twice the speed. All of this technology is derived from the Golden Apocalypse, once again affirming that your actions probably saved our species. Would you like to try the suit on?"
Fifteen minutes later John was running an obstacle course at 45 KPH without even breaking a sweat. The new suit was even pleasing Cortana.
"They sure did put plenty of room in here," she remarked, "They even gave me my own private com system for my "extracurricular activities". I guess I won't be bogging down your system anymore." She said this with such excitement that John almost wondered what she meant by "extracurricular activities". He knew better than to ask though.
"Master Chief, could you please return to the briefing room. Your presence is required." An anonymous voice said over the com channel.
As John walked into the briefing room he saw Admiral Stanforth and his wife, Julia, a top figure in ONI. He also noted Barrin, Dr. Halsey, and a man with Captain's bars whom he didn't recognize. John entered the room and sat down.
"I'm here to address you all on our planned attack on the colony Enlightenment." Barrin begin, "The Mission will begin in one week. The target on this mission is the Prophet that rules that planet. He is also in charge of all local military operations, which includes Chi Condo, a Titanium rich planet with three orbital shipyards. If we lose this planet than the buildup of ships I predicted in the last briefing will be a lost dream. We know, from the Golden Apocalypse, that the Prophet has already made plans for an assault on Chi Condo. If we don't stop him now we could lose the planet. Master Chief, it will be your job to infiltrate the hostile planet, set nuclear mines on some of the ships in their ship docks, and most importantly, take out the Prophet. After you have completed your mission the Covenant presence there will be erased. You will be delivered to your target by Captain Gates. Your transport on this mission will be the newly refitted and renamed ship, Keyes.
I have no doubt it will serve you well. Chief you will report to Keyes on September 26th at 0730 hours. Keep your presence off the com channels. You have the next six days to get acquainted with your new suit, and all of the new weapons upgrades you missed while on Halo. This briefing is over." With that Barrin faded once again and was gone.
"I don't really like him," Cortana said, "he's to straightforward, no fun. I hope your ready John, because this is gonna be your toughest mission yet."
"I am." John replied with his usual calm. What Cortana didn't know was that for the first time in his life, he was worried about the mission....
Just Getting Started Chapter Six
Date: 4 April 2003, 8:24 PM
Just Getting Started
Chapter Six
0714 Hours, September 26, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Keyes, In Geosynchrous Earth Orbit Sol System
As John walked aboard the Keyes, he thought of what he had done over the past six days. All of his time had been spent on ordinance and training. He hadn't even had time to talk to James. Cortana had been admonished twice, both times because she had been "testing" the security A.I.'s at ONI HQ. They weren't happy with her but they couldn't stop her; she was the only A.I. advanced enough to hack into Covenant networks undetected. There was one bonus however; when she had been in the control room she copied Halo's entire weapon database to her personal directory. The Covenant is more advanced than the outdated Forerunner, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't get anything useful from them. John just wanted to get this mission over with. He had the same feeling in his stomach he'd had before they left Reach, and that hadn't turned out too well at all.
"Chief, I've been reconnoitering the Keyes. The ship has a lot more under its skin than you would think. The ship has a stealth capability much like Active-Camo. The Skin is Titanium A battleplate, but that's just the surface. Underneath is a Mutli-fractile dipersion coat that I found on Halo; it spreads plasma like water. It was however highly expensive and extremely experimental. The Ship also has two shielding systems, one primary and one backup. We have a total of four MAC guns, each capable of three round bursts, quite effective at downing Covenant Craft. The ship has two A.I.'s. One A.I. is for point defense and the other for maneuvering and tactical ops. We also have eighty Havok Tactical Nuclear devices, with a thirty megaton load each. I personally feel that the ship will be very effective at subversion and destruction."
"That's good," John responded in a cold voice, "we'll have something to fight them with finally." He was analyzing the mission in his head and had a few questions. First of all, how was he supposed to 'Infiltrate' the Covenant when everybody on the planet was Covenant? He would stick out like a sore thumb. Secondly, how was he going to plant the Havok nukes? The enemy wasn't just going to let him waltz into their ship. And finally, how was he supposed to get out? Cortana hadn't briefed him of any single ships in Keyes arsenal, so how was he going to get planetside in the first place? All of these questions made him worry, and he didn't like worrying, it kept him off the ball. He would think about these things later, for now, he got to Cryo-sleep. As he entered the Cryo-bed he wondered if this mission could be pulled off at all...
1351 Hours, October 2, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Keyes, Undisclosed Location
"Chief, I need you to cough and swallow, the bronchial surfactant needs to be cleared. Then go to the showers and clean up." The tech told John as he woke up. Within fifteen minutes he was cleaned and suited up.
"Chief, we're being called to the Bridge. Gates wants us. We are within a million kilometers of our target planet, and we need to be briefed."
"Okay, Cortana I'll get going." John responded and made his way to the bridge.
"Welcome, John I know you've already been briefed on this mission, but there is more I need to tell you." Gates said, "First, you need to know how you're going to infiltrate the Covenant. I want you to chin the third button in your helmet."
John did so and disappeared. He could see a little bit of his outline if he moved, but not enough to even know he was there. He deactivated the control and reappeared.
"The plan is for you to pull another on of those famous ship to ship jumps of yours and get inside a covenant cruiser. You will go in the loading bay door this time though. We will lock in a tight grouping with the cruiser and Cortana will lower the shields on the bay. We've determined that it is going to land on the planet and drop troops off. While onboard you will plant a nuclear device. When you make it to the ground you will find a 'Care Package' left by ONI a few days ago at grid thirty-two by fourteen. It will have the Havok devices that you need to annihilate their fleet on the ground. After you have placed the nukes you will make your move against the Prophet. After the Prophet is dead you will make it to any transport you can and get back in space. While you our on the planet we will be planting Havoks on the orbiting fleet. As we leave the system we will detonate the nukes. The window for this mission is fourteen hours, that's how long your suit can go before it starts to overload from the power it takes to fuel the Active Camo. We will be at the cruiser in five minutes; I suggest you get to our airlock soon."
John only had one question, "How are we going to get past the ship's shielding system without letting them know we are there?"
Gates responded, "The Covenant fleet doesn't keep their shields active unless the aare in hostile space." With that statement the Captain turned away and started to attend to other matters.
As John walked to the cargo bay he thought of his earlier questions, they seem to have been answered, but he still felt a bit off. Three minutes later the airlock closed behind him and he stood magnetically attached to a platform on the hull. They eased closer to the Covenant ship and all of the sudden the shield on the docking bay disappeared. John watched as the Jackals, Elites, and Grunts in the bay decompressed, sending frozen globs of blood and chunks everywhere. John deactivated the electromagnets in his boots and shoved.
As he flew across the void he wondered, "What can possibly go wrong?"
Just Getting Started Chapter Seven
Date: 7 April 2003, 12:45 AM
Just Getting Started
Chapter Seven
1418 Hours, October 2, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Boarding Covenant Ship, Undisclosed Location
As John crossed the void between the spaceships he looked down and saw one of the most beautiful planets ever. It had oceans, mountains, cities, and rolling plains. He was almost sorry that his actions would destroy it, but the mission came first. With that thought he brought his eyes back to the bay in front of him. He saw blue blood floating everywhere from when Cortana had opened the bay. The instant he was onboard the ship Cortana reactivated the shields that acted as bay doors.
"Chief, I'm equalizing pressure." Cortana said. "The Covenant will think that the shield just failed for some reason, and I am generating 'proof' for that assumption. We need to get to an uninhabited section of the ship so you can stow away. I suggest one of the ships maintenance corridors. It will provide you unimpeded access to most areas of the ship."
With that John walked over to a short doorway and moved inside. He activated the suit's new night vision scope and made his way down the corridor. After about a half hour in the tube he came across a Grunt. He couldn't go past without touching the beast, so John walked up behind the Grunt and snapped his neck with one good twist. He then hid the body in a panel in the wall. He walked for a good hour and encountered only two more of the diminutive creatures.
Cortana spoke, "Chief, your about a hundred meters from the engine core, this would be a good place to leave the nuke."
John nodded, pulled off a section of grating on a vent and put the Havok inside. He pushed the arming card into a slot in the bomb's face and watched as the warning scrolled across his screen, 'Havok armed, Awaiting detonation signal.' That meant that his job here was done. He moved back through the corridors towards the heavy ordinance room, next to the gravlift. An hour later not a single Covenant noticed the shimmer in the purple beam as John descended to the ground.
1624 Hours, October 2, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Covenant Planet, Undisclosed Location
"Chief, you have to make your way to grid thirty-two by fourteen. That's were ONI stashed your ordinance. Once you have gotten the Havoks you will be able to move against the seventeen targets designated by ONI. It will be relatively easy once you have gotten the nukes because all of the targets are in the same area, the shipyard. The hardest part of the mission will be the elimination of the Prophet. The Prophet will be protected by a guard of Black Armor Elites. It will be impossible to get close to the Prophet so I suggest a sniper attack. There should be an SRS99C S2-AM Sniper Rifle in the crate. I am working already on a location for the sniper attack"
John responded with a simple, "Yes." He thought to himself abut the difficulty of the mission as he sprinted towards the crate. Grid thirty-two by fourteen happened to be a garden in the middle of the city. As John walked up to the crate Cortana activated the radio sequence that would open the box. John saw seventeen tightly packed Havoks. He grabbed six and closed the box. Fifteen minutes later he was at the shipyard.
John made his way to the first of the ships and ran to the gravlift. He made his way to the nearest maintenance corridor and went inside. He was pulling a panel off of the wall when a grunt walked around the corner and saw a panel floating in midair. The grunt jumped in the air and ran. John dropped the panel and in one smooth movement pulled out his knife, jumped, and slit the methane tube that went to the mask. In three seconds the Grunt was dead. John picked the grunt up and put it into a panel in the wall. Then he pulled the Havok off of its position on his leg. He pulled the seals off of the bonding strips and planted it on the wall. He pulled out his arming card and armed the device. He then ran off of the ship and to his next target...
2248 Hours, October 2, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Covenant Planet, Undisclosed Location
John had made all of his targets except one; the Prophet. He made his last trip to the crate. John found the sniper rifle at the bottom of the crate and checked and loaded it. He closed the crate and turned the rifle's safety on. Cortana had found him the perfect sniper position; in a building across from the Prophet's pad.
John spent the next three hours scoping out the building and persuading the inhabitants to leave. He set up shop in the room directly across from the Prophet's private quarters. It would take Cortana about fifty minutes to break the code on the shields around the pad so John went for a quick run back to the shipyard. He located the smallest ship in the yard and cleaned the infestation out. He would now have a quick route back to the Keyes after the extermination. He then made his way back to the building. When he got inside he got himself situated in the firing location.
In a few minutes he heard Cortana over his speakers. "Chief, I've got the shields down now, the instant you see him, open fire.
John got in the kneeling position to target the loft. It took a few hours but the Prophet finally came into his scopes. He opened fire, quickly emptying the entire magazine. All of the hits were head shots, and John took about two seconds to assure the death of his target. He new he didn't have anymore time; this planet was about to get very unfriendly.
John made his way back to the ship he had cleared out earlier. He ran inside and activated the controls. Cortana oriented them to make the controls more familiar. As he took off he started to receive fire from ground forces. He activated the shield and made his way to the location Keyes sent them. As his ship docked with the Keyes they accelerated to slipstream and left the area.
Just as they left a single multidirectional carrier wave was broadcast. The planet now had seventy new suns. The mission was over...
The story isn't over folks, so look out for the next one...
Just Getting Started Chapter Eight
Date: 29 April 2003, 2:52 AM
Just Getting Started
Chapter Eight
2300 Hours, October 2, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Keyes en route to Earth
As John enter the bridge of the Keyes he received the customary stares of his fellow crewmates. He knew that they were wondering how he had completed his mission, even though it had a projection rate of almost zero percent success. He knew that it was just what he did, but others didn't understand that.
"Master Chief, I want to commend you on your mission down on the ground. I don't think that we could have ever done it without you." Captain Gates said, "We are heading back to Earth for new orders. We already sent a mission synopsis ahead and the spooks seem to like the results. I suggest that you make your way to cryosleep. We will be in slipstream for a few days."
"Certainly, Captain. I just wanted to make sure we had done okay. I'll be in the cryobay if you need me."
As John left the bridge he reviewed the mission in his head. He had infiltrated eighteen Covenant ships and planted nuclear weapons on board, assassinated a Covenant leader, and probably killed thousands of Covenant with the blast. Oddly he felt a little sorry for the deaths he had inflicted. Then he thought of all his brothers and sisters, and all remorse was gone. 'Should have thought of that before you came after us' he thought to himself. Soon he was in the blank nothingness of cryosleep.
0650 Hours, October 3, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Keyes en route to Earth
"Captain, we are being shoved out of slipstream!" Came the shout from Heimdall, the Keyes' A.I.. "The Covenant are broadcasting a frequency that degrades our slipstream route. If we don't stop we will lose control of the flight and who knows if we can survive that. I need your permission to disengage slipstream and prepare all arms. We don't know if the Covenant will be there when we get out of slipstream."
"Permission granted." Gates said. He prepared himself mentally for the fight by remembering his wife. And their life together on Sigma Octanus IV. He then allowed that anger over her loss to flood through his veins. He looked at the tactical map in front of him, waited until he saw what sensors said about the neighborhood.
Unfortunately, he saw that they were in for a fight. There were six ships in total. One cruiser, two destroyers, a carrier, and two corvettes. He wondered if this ship would hold up to its namesake.
"Lieutenant Brown, I want helm control transferred to my station, release all fighters and tell them engage the Seraphs, we're going for the big fish. Lieutenant Barker, I want you to prepare all MAC guns and get a targeting solution on the cruiser and the destroyer of your choice. I'm going after the corvettes first."
As a swarm of Dagger fighters flew out of the launch bay to vape Seraphs the Keyes swung around to engage the corvettes. As Gates launched forwards four plasma torpedoes came to greet him to the system. The Keyes reached out with her deadly embrace to take the cruiser and destroyer out. The plasma impacted and depleted the primary shields of the human ship. Using his ship as a ram Gates slammed into a diminutive corvette. Although neither ship actually touched the damage to the corvette was incredible. She would never be space-worthy again. The impact had dropped the Keyes' shields by half. As this happened another three plasma torpedoes were launched. The first was at close range and immediately depleted the rest of the shields. The other two came from far off and gave the crew a little time to run. The entire crew started to pray, knowing it was pointless.
As the last two torpedoes started to gain on the Keyes Gates thought through his options. He didn't know what to do to avoid these lethal weapons. He knew that he had relied too heavily on brute strength, and that that was the cause of his defeat. He knew it was his anger that had fueled his oversight, and wished that he could fix his mistake...
The Series is definitely not over folks. I will try to post the next one soon, but I said that last time and look how long it took. I apologize for the lapse, but life (remember, you used to have one) was calling, and I needed to answer.
P.S. Find out who Heimdall was and you can project the roll he, and the Keyes will play in the future.
Just Getting Started Chapter Nine
Date: 29 April 2003, 8:33 PM
Just Getting Started
Chapter Nine
0650 Hours, October 3, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Keyes engaged in unknown territory
As Gates realized the gravity of his miscalculation he heard a voice. "Captain, are you actually going to let this happen? Have you forgotten the ship's name? I'm taking back helm control." All of this came from his navigations officer, Lieutenant Brown. Brown quickly executed the famous 'Keyes Loop' on the corvette that they hadn't disabled, quickly ending its useful life. They now had only a destroyer to deal with.
"Only a destroyer." Mike said to himself with a laugh. A few weeks earlier a single destroyer would have been enough to eliminated two or three UNSC ships. He watched as four MAC rounds lanced through space. The resulting explosions cut the destroyer in two, and for a brief moment he could see what had to be the bridge floating in space. Then a secondary explosion toasted that section, leaving only a giant hunk of metal floating in space.
Lieutenant Brown looked back at the Captain to see why he had frozen during the fight. What he saw shocked him. Captain Gates was rolled up in a ball on the deck, bawling his eyes out. This scared Mike, and he immediately called for medical support.
1047 Hours, October 3, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Keyes en route to Earth
John had been woken from cryosleep with the usual horrible dreams. He sat up, coughed and climbed out of the tube. As he made his way to the showers he looked at the clock mounted on the bulkhead. If the time on that was correct, then he shouldn't be awake. He went for a quick shower and prepared to go investigate. As he stood in the shower he realized that nobody had actually been there when he woke up. Even though the water was hot, a chill ran up his spine. He got out of the shower and suited up as quickly as he could.
As John left the cryobay he picked up one of the new, standard-issue shotguns that decorated the ordinance locker. He also grabbed an SMG for balance. He walked out of the cryobay and immediately jumped back inside. "Cortana, any idea why there are three Elites standing in the hallway as if they should be there?"
"Master Chief, it looks like you missed some really heavy action. I've reviewed the security tapes from the last ten hours, and I'm worried. Just over six hours ago we were pulled out of slipstream, and attacked by a Covenant task force. We won, but it appears that the battle did significant damage to our shield matrix, and our Captain. Gates went into shock, and had to be removed from the bridge. It seems that the task force was just a trick. As we prepared to leave system, another, larger, battle group popped out of slipstream and engaged. We were boarded by Covenant and now they have control of the command crew. I'm guessing that somebody was able to activated your waking cycle without the Covenant noticing.
"You mean that they don't know I'm here?" John said with disbelief.
"Exactly, which means that you have an incredible opportunity. You can take the Keyes back without the Covenant even knowing you were here. Activate the Active Camo, and you will be undetectable. From what I can tell, the Covenant battle group left us here, so that their troops could ensure control of the ship was theirs. It also seems that they are making repairs to the ship. Attack now, before we get back underway."
"Okay" John said quietly. He chinned the control, and walked out into the hall. He decided that his combat knife would be the weapon of choice for this mission, and he tested that theory out on an Elite in the hallway. It seemed that Elites' shields were down when they didn't expect threats from enemies. Too bad.
John made his way through the hallways of the ship, and after about an hour he had most of the Covenant out of commission. He walked towards a gold armored Elite and was about to slit his throat when it moved. John's arm touched the Elite, and it immediately jumped to the side. Knowing that the stealth portion of his tour was over, John grabbed his shotgun and fired. The resulting explosion of blood pasted one of the walls.
The noncom ran as fast as he could to the bridge, but knew it was too late. When he opened the door he saw that a hostage situation was in place. He moved back around the corner as fast as he could, avoiding enemy fire. He knew that there were ten Elites in the room, but he didn't know what to do about them. If he didn't find a way to stop them, then the soldiers in that room would die, and he probably would too...
Hope that you like!
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