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Halo: Transitions
Chapter I
The Reunion

UNSC Gettysburg
En Route To Sol System
Destination Target: Earth
10.19.2552 (Military Calendar)
In Slipstream Transition

"Prepare the dropship for departure, I want to land in a dock immediately". The Chief ordered promptly.
"Yes Master Chief, before we deploy the dropship, I will program the auto pilot to dock the Gettysburg at a Orbital Platform".
The sound of metal boots resounded from a nearby corridor. Out emerged Sergeant Avery Johnson.
"Well it seems the ship is ready for a transaction back in to space".
"Thank you Sergeant, gather anything you'll need for the drop ship".
"Yes Sir".
All was quiet in the ship, only the sound of air vents processing were heard. "Cortana, What's our ETA?".
"T-Minus one minute Chief".
"I wonder how the fleet's gonna' react to a ship lost at Reach" The Sarge joked. "Shutting down the Slipstream engine, preparing to give UNSC codes to any inquires".
The Gettysburg appeared in space and started drifting.
"UNSC command are sending us the inquires, You were right sergeant….They are surprised".
"Told ya' so….who would have thought the mighty "Gettysburg", a ship "destroyed" would appear in Earth's sector".

As the Gettysburg rounded the moon it faced the one thing that has yet to be touched by destruction. Earth. Floating there in peace and harmony. Blue, Green, White were all that could be seen from space. Then in his mind, The Chief thought about what he saw in the viewport. Because of the SPARTAN Program he never got to see Earth. His home had always been Reach, and now that Reach was destroyed, he might have to call this planet home….at least until the war was over….if it became over. He was also wondering about Earth, thought to himself "So this is what we've been trying to protect". His thoughts were suddenly cut short, a message came through the COM system.
"This is Earth Defense Platform: Cairo…Continue your auto pilot program to fly but with only docking thrusters…we are sending security teams to board and search your ship…Just to be safe…Sorry for this inconvenience…Your dropship on the other hand can be docked immediately".
"Not a problem…Just glad to be back in "Human" controlled space" Cortana quipped.

"Spartans, Prepare for departure" Barked the Chief.
"Sir, yes, Sir"
Lined up in a row were three Spartans, 104, 043, and 058: Fred, Will, and Linda. All in their reflective green armor with their bright orange visors. Many say they looked more alien than man. These three Spartans were the remaining survivors, not counting one, of the SPARTAN II project. Out of the original 75 Spartans only 5 survived. Most of them were destroyed on Reach when the Covenant glassed the planet. John regretted this since he thought it was his own fault that he sent the rest of the team planet side to secure the generators powering the MAC platforms in Reach's atmosphere, while he went to locate a intact NAV database that needed to be destroyed. He thought he got the harder mission of the two…but he was wrong.

"You ready to be transferred Cortana" asked Master Chief in a whisper.
Cortana took one last look at the ship, then at the viewport with its stunning view of Earth. She sighed, "Yes Master Chief".
The Chief then tapped some buttons on the holoport and out popped a chip with a shiny orb inside. He then placed it into a slot behind his head. A cold mercury feeling flowed into his head then all became warm again.
"Its still pretty empty in here". The Chief smiled at the comment
"Come on…Lets go".
As the Sergeant and the Spartans boarded the dropship, Master Chief checked if he still had that memory crystal that Dr. Halsey gave him. In it contained the information on the one thing that actually frightened him in his entire life. The Flood. Another flashback came up: Fighting on Halo, Locating the Control Room, Heading inside the Structure containing the Flood, Finding Pvt. Jenkins recorder, Watching the Marines getting attacked by the monsters, and seeing Captain Keys final fate, Being absorbed by the Flood.

He quickly shook the thoughts out of his head. He'd worry about it at a later time. Inside the dropship, Will took the pilot seat while everyone else took passenger. The engines hummed to life and the ship lifted off the Gettysburg landing bay. It made a 90 degree turn and then flew through the hangar bay doors. It would be only a 15 minute trip, so they all decided to take off their helmets for a breath of air. The Chief reached down to his weapon and checked the display. "Damn only a round left" he thought. Linda who was sitting next to him looked over and saw the display.
"Don't worry John, the Covenant won't attack us here".
"I know its just I really hate having low ammo in any scenario". Linda smiled, The Chief knew this was a rare moment since she barley smiled in her life. He then looked at Linda more seriously, She was one of the Spartans that was assigned to destroying that NAV database. Before they left though the Covenant broke into the station and when Linda went to open the hangar bay doors so the Pelican could take off, she was shot. John grabbed her body and ran for the Pelican, When they got back to the Pillar of Autumn, she was placed in a cryotube and frozen for the entire trip. When they got to Halo, her cryotube was jettisoned into space, and hoped to be picked up later. When Master Chief escaped Halo he found the cryotube and later had her revived so she could be alive again. So she came back from the dead, as humans say "It was a miracle".
As the dropship got closer to the EDP Cairo, a ship was seen attached to it. The scanner showed it was the In Amber Clad, and the captain of the ship surprised the entire crew inside the dropship. It read: Commander Miranda Keys. The sarge spoke up "I never knew the Captain had a daughter".
"It surprises all of us Sergeant" said Fred. Cortana then said inside the Chief's helmet "One of the universe's secrets". The Chief smiled inside his helmet.
The dropship then took a orbit around the ship. It was a Frigate-Class ship. Its shape was more like a Y than the Pillar of Autumn's Assault Rifle shape. The dropship then turned left and headed for the Cairo's Hangar Bay.

Lieutenant Kirk Summers slowly lead his platoon of marines into the lone hangar bay. As he looked around he couldn't see any other ship inside, not even a Pelican, which usually occupied hangar bays throughout the EDP. "Well this must be important" He silently thought. He turned his head to face his marines. "Attention at the ready men, if there's something in there that's covenant shoot the damn thing!" he yelled. Of course he was already on edge since he got the orders to come here. Rumors were passing through the Orbital Platform that the Gettysburg a ship lost at Reach had appeared in system, and that inside held the legendary Spartans or at least the survivors.. None of this made sense to the now jumpy lieutenant. He had read the reports coming in and he knew they had to be fake. The tactical info from the Reach campaign had listed that nearly all ships including the Gettysburg were destroyed and lost at hands. It also said that nearly all ground support including the entire team of Spartans were decimated. Those who survived the ground side conflicts died when the Covenant moved in to glass the once thought to be indestructible planet. His thoughts were disrupted when he saw a dropship heading for the hangar. "This must be it" he thought, prepped himself, and took one last deep breath.

The Chief knew they were preparing for a landing. So he got off his seat, went to pick up his gear, and stepped towards the cockpit. He could see the platform coming closer hanging silently in the Earth's atmosphere. He looked back and saw each of the Spartans also prepping for departure. The dropship came gliding slowly inside the hangar bay. Inside the bay a platoon of marines lined up in a row with their upgraded, strip down, skeletal versions of the MA5B Assault Rifle equipped with a scope. In his mind the Chief thought "Better ask what model that rifle is later". As the dropship settled down on the ground several of the marines pointed their rifles at the troop bay door on the dropship. It slowly opened, a few more marines pointed their rifles.

Kirk felt frightened, more frightened then when he had been captured by the Covenant on Sepul during the Verium campaign. He could hardly breath now. He could hear no sound of breathing in the hangar. The dropship glided softly onto the deck With the engines beginning their shut off routine. He was beginning to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen rushing through him. He detected a slight notion inside of him begin to faint. The door on the dropship slowly opened. First he saw feet, boots to be exact. Metallic boots made of some unknown alloy and colored a dark emerald green. The door continued opening until it reached the cyborg's head. Which had a bright orange visor that could not be seen through. He had never seen a Spartan, only heard about what accomplishments they had. Now, right before him he witnessed a remarkable thing. He had this cold sweat all over him. He noted that he had to let himself take a breath. So he let go of the one he held and began to breath rich oxygen again.

Smoke set in from the cooling of the engines, out emerged the alien looking Spartans. The chief took a look around, found a specific marine, who he saw was full of fear, turned and headed to the center of the hangar. As they passed the marines, they could see all the same faces they always sees when they passed by any marine. Faces of awe, yet also fear filled the room.

The Spartan at the lead looked around and spotted the lieutenant at the front. Kirk's face turned white and gulped. The Spartan then looked away and walked towards the center. He regained his posture and began to turn back into a tan color.

At that time a man in white walked into the room. His uniform full of medals and honorary patches. The man was in his 60's, and had his hair shaven. On his right shoulder held the Golden Band signifying that he was an Admiral. The Chief knew exactly who it was. It was Admiral Sir Terrence Hood. He heard a marine suddenly speak up.

Kirk suddenly noted that the north door in the hangar bay opened and a man strolled through to the center. The lieutenant suddenly remembered who he was and cleared his throat. "Admiral On Deck!" yelled Kirk loudly. Everybody in the room stood at stance. The silence was uncomfortable. The admiral looked directly at him and then to the strangers in the bay. The Admiral spoke softly "At ease soldiers" .

Then the Admiral looked at John and spoke. "Welcome back Master Chief, it's a pleasure to have you back in our services".
"Thank you sir, Its great to be back". The Admiral then had a questioning look after looking at his team.
"You must have much to tell us about your "trip"".
"Yes sir".
"Then you will be debriefed after you get settled". "If you need anything just call for me".
"Thank you sir, We're all honored".
The Admiral then looked to the lieutenant to his side. "Please bring our guest to their quarters".
"Yes Sir" The Lieutenant spoke.
The Master Chief knew that this was the end of their conversation, So he saluted with his team and Sgt Johnson. The Admiral returned it and took one last look at him, turned, and was about to walk away when the Chief spoke up.
"Sir, one more thing". The Admiral faced him again
"Yes?". The Chief reached behind his head to grab an AI's crystal, and gave it to the Admiral.
"An AI…Surly you didn't….".
"I know it was against protocol but she helped me on our "mission".
"Very well…she must have a lot of data on your "mission".
"She does, sir, But she also needs a lot more thinking room".
"She'll be as good as new, I can assure you Master Chief". The Admiral then walked towards a door leading out of the hangar bay. Then the lieutenant spoke up "Master Chief would you and your team please follow me to your quarters". The chief gave him a nod and followed him through the door the Admiral walked through. As they walked through the short hallway they saw the same thing they saw in the hangar bay. More puzzled faces of marines passing by. Then they went through another door, there they boarded a tram. A sign above read "Tram Station B-01". As the tram passed on its tracks he could see to one side the moon in its waxing crescent stage. To the other he could see the stunning continent of Africa. They finally reached Habitat Bay Alpha where half of the entire Cairo Crew's quarters were. The lieutenant lead each of them to a quarter. First the Sarge, Then Linda, Will, Fred, and finally himself. Then lieutenant was about to leave when he turned.
"Welcome to Earth, sir" he said crisply.
"Thank you…" The chief looked down at his nametag
"…Lieutenant Zearer". At that the solider left. He faced his door and touched the control panel.

He entered into a room very standard according to the UNSC code. This time with an exception. The room had a large window facing the moon. He first took off his helmet reveling a very serious face, then slowly walked towards it, and stood there for a while. Pondering. Different classes of UNSC ships passed. There were several frigates, a few cruisers, some destroyers, and many fighters making patrols around Earth. "This is exactly what happened on Reach" he thought. They never had a chance. It was the calm before the storm. The UNSC there were patrolling Reach's sector. Just like now. But then the Remote Sensing Station Fermion detected them. Poor bastards never had a chance. Sent a message to Reach. They then activated the Cole protocol. But had to in the end self-destruct. The message got to Reach but not all ships could be rallied. That's why Reach fell. They had 10 ships to every 1 the UNSC had. "We were outnumbered". A sense of regret fell over him. At that moment a incoming message appeared on the Vid-Phone in the room. He walked over and picked it up, Will was on the other line.
"Hey chief wanna' go down to the cafeteria to get some chow?".
The chief smiled. "What's so funny Chief?".
"Will, your always thinking about food, don't you".
"Well yea Chief…only thing that keeps me going".
The Chief was still smiling. "Meet you down stairs", and with that pushed the end call button. The chief took off his suit and put on some more "fitting clothes". Which was a Command suit, All white and decorated in all his medals. He took one last look at his room and walked out of the door.

He came to a halt at Tram Station L-01, there he got onto a tram heading for the cafeteria. This time when he looked out, he got to see the other 2 Orbital Platforms near the Cairo. When he touched the info screen on the tram he found out that they were the Malta and the Athens. He also found out why there we're only three, in this sector. In the original planning of the EDP's positioning around Earth the UNSC thought that clustering the EDP's in to groups of three would make an effective resistance. Even if an attack would take out two of the three EDP's in a cluster, It would still be enough to take out enemy ships in the area. Also each EDP was equipped with a giant Magnetic Acceleration Cannon (MAC) gun which could easily punch a hole in any Covenant ship. The tram finally arrived at the cafeteria. He got off and searched the room for Will. He found him sitting at a table with a window overlooking Earth. As he got closer he could see that Will was already eating. He could only compare it to a starving animal suddenly finding food. Which meant Will was really messy. The Chief decided that he should grab a plate of his own before he sat down. So the Chief strolled over to the line, grabbed a plate of roast beef, and finally walked over to sit down. As he settled himself, it seemed like Will hardly noticed him. He was busily slurping on his noodle soup.

It wasn't until the Chief started eating himself that Will noticed him. "Whoa….Didn't know you were here".
"Yeah, I'm not the sneaky type either".
"What's that suppose to mean?". Will asked in a questioning look.
"Never Mind, so what do you think about this thing so far?".
"What thing?". The Chief found it amusing that Will didn't know what he was talking about.
"I mean since I've found you guys on Reach".
"Oh….Its been pretty hectic".
They both laughed at his comment. The Chief then started eating his food. His eyes fell upon that view he saw earlier, Earth.
"Didn't think it looked so beautiful"
"Huh?" Will asked looking up from his bowl. Then his gaze followed the chiefs and suddenly understood.
"Yeah, Reach was like that too, now it's a ugly misfit"
The Chief thought this comment struck him hard. How could Will even say that. But now that Reach was gone he thought that the comment was true. Now Reach was nothing but a wasteland, full of blackened land and burning infernos. He continued looking at Earth for awhile then turned his attention to his roast beef.

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