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Alliance: chapter 5
Posted By: Jack Roads
Date: 10 November 2005, 2:59 am


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"Major Blaine White to cryo bay, let's thaw out 089." "Yes sir." The cryo technician replied. He punched data and commands into a computer console and watched as the cryo tube opened… and out stepped a Spartan. "Hello eighty nine." Blaine said, having arrived. The Spartan merely snapped a quick salute in response. Spartan zero eight nine was clad in brown and tan armor, with a black hawk backed by two white swords emblem on his back and shoulders. "We need to destroy this ship, it's infested with the flood. We need help. Come with me." Blaine said. As they left the room Blaine called Burn on the radio and told him to round up his good troops, and call in the marines, and head for the armory. When everyone arrived he made an announcement. "People. We are dealing with the flood now, so get shotguns, anything fully automatic, and explosives." He let Burn keep the plasma rifle he had given him since he was the only one who knew how to recharge it. He grabbed his own modified shotgun, some dynamite and a CY-9 Cobra assault rifle. It was pretty much a battle rifle with no scope, fully automatic, and had a laser pointer. Once everyone grabbed weapons, they formulated a plan. They needed to make their way to the fusion reactor room, set a nuclear warhead, and get out. Simple. But words are easier than action. They all ventured into the ship. At first it was just some infection forms and the occasional combat form, but their numbers began to pick up. Soon they were unable to advance, enemies so thick that they were falling like rain. Eventually, after an hour of nonstop combat, and loss of a third of their force, they beat back the flood. They were bewildered, wondering why they had retreated. Something was wrong. They ventured forth, encountering no resistance. They entered the fusion reactor room, and set the warhead for a half-hour. As they returned to the ship, the flood poured into the hangar. "Damn! Quickly, get on board!" Blaine yelled. But suddenly the flood stopped. Two hulking figures lumbered through the masses of flood. Juggernauts. Blaine merely smiled and ordered everyone back onto the ship. He dropped a bag of dynamite and an assortment of grenades, lit a stick of dynamite and tossed it on top of the bag. "Enjoy." He said as he jumped onto the phantom. As they left they saw the enormous explosion of the combined nuclear warhead and fusion reactors of the ship. As they watched Blaine reminisced about how it reminded him of the sunsets he used to watch with his wife… he snapped back to reality. She was dead now. She died during childbirth from complications. He, being too financially and emotionally drained could not support a child, and put her up for adoption. He then spent a year, in extreme anguish, drinking and wandering aimlessly. Then he realized that he needed to get over it, and move on. He had hardened. He decided that nothing was worth that kind of pain, so no one got too close anymore. Then he joined the army. That was fifteen years ago. Seven years ago he was granted a year pass. That's when he raised money for his science experiment, and carried it out. Then his memories strayed to his wife, his home on Reach… the majestic rolling hills and amazing sunsets. A radio transmission disturbed his thoughts. It was Hood, and he was requested on the Cairo. He took a phantom to the station, and an official greeted him in the bay. "You're wanted in room 32-Y she said. He went to the room and was greeted by Hood and an ONI official. There was nothing marking him as ONI, but he could tell by the black, plain outfit, and he himself had worked with ONI for three years of his career. "Hello Major." Said Hood. "I understand that something called the flood was on board the ship, and you had to destroy it?" "Yes." Blaine replied. Normally he would be surprised at how quickly he learned that info, but there was ONI official there. They knew everything. He asked the man his name. "I'm afraid that that is unavailable." He said. "Right. You're ONI. You don't exist." Blaine replied. The ONI official addressed him again. " A man named Colonel Wolff has a bonus for you, for your services to ONI." Blaine smiled. It wasn't a bonus. Colonel Wolff was a good friend of his. The ONI official handed him a card saying simply, "the den." Blaine knew where that was, and took his phantom to the location, in the middle of the Sahara desert. He entered after saying a password that was more akin to an oral essay. He was patted down a half dozen times, and finally entered a room. Wolff was sitting at a table in the center. Blaine asked him, "What is this "bonus"?" he asked. "Well, I'll give you a hint. It has to do with genetics, cloning, and your wife." He said. "You cloned my wife?" Blaine asked. He wasn't ecstatic yet; there was always a catch with ONI. "Not exactly. Since exact clones don't usually live past ten, we, like you, used gamma radiation to slightly alter it, then we created the embryo. We managed to tweak her aging process, so she's technically fourteen, but looks twenty-three. But still, she'll live a normal life span." "What's the catch?" Blaine asked in a depressed tone. "Always the cold hard pessimist. That's what she saw in you. Maturity, realization of reality." Wolff said. "Well?" Blaine said. " There was no way to give her back her old mind and memory, so she has no clue who you are. Oh, Blaine… here she comes." She entered. Blaine was suddenly staring at the gorgeous face of his wife. Dark red-brown hair, brilliant green eyes, a deep tan… it seemed so familiar. "Excuse me." She said as she brushed by him like a complete stranger. For the first time in so many years, he was phased. Shocked. The woman he married, suddenly after fifteen years of her being dead, she was back, now a stranger. He suddenly felt clueless, helpless. "I'm sorry." Wolff said sympathetically. "Thank you Zach. I really appreciate what you've done." He said. Then he collected himself, resigning himself to the truth, and left the same old cold, hard man he had become over the years.





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