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The Archangels: Chapter Three-Green Light
Posted By: Strayer<compgeek132@gmail.com>
Date: 4 September 2005, 12:11 am
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Chapter Three-
Colonel Ackerson strode into the room full of officers. Sitting at the main table were Fleet Admiral Sir Terrance Hood, Fleet Admiral Peter Wilson, Major General Nicolas Strauss and Vice Admiral Whitcomb. The Colonel smiled, he was ready with his presentation. Even though the SPARTANs had an advantage, the other high ranking officers wouldn't be able to decline his offer of his next project; especially seeing as he had already started it.
"Gentlemen," he began, addressing the other officers. "I am here today to present you with my newest project.
"Lately, the SPARTAN II project, run by Dr. Catherine Halsey, has been a success with our ground battles. However, we are still losing to the Covenant in space and air. They have superior Slipspace technology, their ships are highly advanced and their shields have made some of our previous efforts worthless. With my new project, we can overcome these issues and triumph in this war."
Ackerson was cut off as Strauss stood up. The seasoned soldier, now officer, looked irritated at the Colonel's eagerness to waste even more money on another one of his failed tests.
"Colonel, if I may ask, why bring this up now? With the SPARTANs we can probably hold off the Covenant until we find an even better solution than yours."
Ackerson had prepared for this; he knew most of his projects had failed, but not this one. "Sir, with all due respect, let us review some of the losses we have suffered on the ground, thanks to minimal air support.
"Just last week, Lieutenant Nicholas Wu lost his whole platoon of ODSTs during a skirmish, thanks to lack off reinforcements, for our Pelicans had been shot down and nearly all the Longsword fighters available destroyed. The only punishment Wu received was a demotion to the rank of Master Sergeant.
"Another incident; Captain Michael Robinson of the 317th Marine battalion lost half of his men after his Pelican was damaged and the dropship had crashed. He later traded three more lives for one civilian girl. However the child didn't slow the remainder of his team much, but because all ships were occupied with Covenant forces, and losing if I might add. One marine, the girl and Robinson himself had to trek all the way back to HQ on foot as a result.
"I'm not sure about you Sir but I'd like to keep our men alive. Our Pelicans are too weak and our Longsword interceptors are too slow. The only thing we have that is dangerous to the Covenant in space and air are our MAC guns-"
"That will be quite enough Colonel," Admiral Hood interjected. He sighed and aimlessly scratched his head. "We are painfully aware of those previous encounters as well as the losses we have sustained. Now, inform us of your plan."
"Of course," Ackerson replied. "Thanks to the engineering staff on Reach, my team has been able to construct a brand new fighter, fit for space and air combat. Although the design may be small and unusual, it has proven to be extremely efficient in the simulations."
"How so Colonel?" Whitcomb enquired.
"Well Sir, with its small shape, sleek design and new engine, the ship is three times faster than the best Longsword fighter we have. It is fitted with twin 90mm Ventral guns and one nose mounted 70mm machine gun. Its new missiles-"
"Excuse me, new missiles?" Strauss asked, his brow knitting together. "Colonel, why do we need new missiles?" the General said through gritted teeth.
Ackerson panicked a little. He didn't want the higher ranking officers to ask why he had spent even more money on brand new, proto-type weapons. This was the one thing he hadn't prepared for. He didn't request permission to manufacture the new AGSM-5s. However there was no backing out of this. The Colonel took a deep breath and hoped for the best.
"I am sorry Sir, but the old AGSM-10s were too large for the new fighter. These new armaments were more suiting an-"
"Ackerson, I don't care if these new missiles make the new ship look like a tuxedo with a bow tie. I want to know why you manufactured the AGSM-5s without obtaining permission," the General requested quite sternly.
"General, don't worry. I'm sure these new weapons were worth the extra effort, time and money. Right now we need to focus on these new fighters and their pilots," Wilson commented, saving the Colonel. After all, the Admiral had taken a part in the project as well. "Tell me Ackerson, what information do you have on the pilots?"
The Colonel sighed with relief and silently thanked Wilson. "Sir, I have their files here with me. I will start with Lieutenant Jack Wu. Brother of former Major, Captain, Lieutenant and now Master Sergeant Nicholas Wu; Five feet and eleven inches tall with black hair, has been involved in many fights with the Covenant in space. His system ops man is Rick Xavier.
"Next is Elizabeth Perkins; Another decorated Lieutenant as well as experienced pilot; Five feet and eight inches tall with blond hair. Her system ops man is Mark Fredrick.
"Lieutenant Russell Crewe is the most experienced and oldest of the five pilots. He has fought the Covenant in space at Sigma Octanus IV, even a little during the end of the battle at Harvest as well as some bombing runs on Paris IV. His system ops technician is Selena Roberts. He is six feet tall with brown hair.
"Michael Anderson, somewhat inexperienced compared to the other pilots; known for certain stunts which have saved him and others. He is six feet and one inch tall. His technician is James Ferrer.
"Finally, Rita Hill; trained with Elizabeth Perkins. She has as also flown with Lieutenant Crewe before during a battle surrounding Sigma Octanus IV. Her system ops man is Julian Cheung. She is five feet and nine inches tall with brown hair."
The other officers nodded at each other, approving of the Colonel's choices. After agreeing, Admiral Hood stood up; however Ackerson already knew the answer.
"Colonel, we approve of your project. You may proceed with it," he announced.
The officer smirked. Too late he thought.
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"Damn it," Anderson cursed as his ship hit another piece of debris. However it wasn't hard to pull that off, the whole area was littered with the chunks of blown up Covenant Seraphs. Even though the simulation wasn't set on one of the higher modes, it was still quite a feat. He and his team had managed to take out most of the enemies, even with limited weaponry. Apparently they needed to be tested on how they would react in situations with low resources. Low resources my ass the Lieutenant thought. Two missiles and a couple of weak guns were a death sentence, not a test.
Suddenly another purple, teardrop shaped craft came into view. Michael was about to fire another missile. That was until he realized he had none left. "Oh son of a…" he muttered. Without much time to react he swerved to the right, sustaining a few glancing plasma shots. Anderson saw his shields drop down another ten percent as he tried to avoid the virtual enemy fighter. He dodged a couple more plasma bolts before barrel-rolled to the side. The Seraph flew right by him, exposing its behind to the gunfire from the officer's ventral guns. Although the guns themselves were weak, so was the enemy. Plus the fact that both weapons were focused on a certain spot and not spraying about missing didn't help the simulation that much. The fighter silently exploded into a ball of blue flames, its remaining debris flying past the wreckage and battering Anderson's fighter.
"Damn it, not again," he cursed under his breath.
Elizabeth wasn't having as much luck with the two Covenant ships on her tail either. She had done everything she could, swerve, dodge and even perform a few tricks to get out of the situation, however it wasn't working. Her shields began to drop even more as the plasma bolts barraged her fighter. If only Mark were here she thought. She mainly relied on her system ops man for help in these sorts of predicaments.
By the time the shields had dropped down to thirty percent and the fuel began to run out, Liz had nearly given up hope. That was until one of the Seraphs was hit from behind by a missile. The explosions also damaged the second Covenant fighter, but soon it was destroyed by gunfire from where the missile came from. The Lieutenant was surprised. What the…she asked herself.
Suddenly one of the other pilots' ships came into view. Then Jack's voice invaded her helmet radio.
"Sorry to interrupt, but you looked like you needed help," he teased. Perkins sighed and rolled her eyes at the childish pilot.
"I appreciate it, but I could've handled it," she argued. "Sorry again, but I don't think so," he retorted. "I've only seen a few pilots take out two Seraphs with no missiles, low shields and practically no fuel."
She grumbled and thanked him, reluctantly. She began flying around, trying to find any more enemies, but before Perkins could prove herself the simulation shutdown, signaling the end of the test. Elizabeth sighed as she exited the makeshift cockpit. As she walked over to join the other pilots, Jack gave her a cheesy grin. Rolling her eyes once again, Liz ignored him and started walking along with Rita.
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Inside the glass observation room, Captain Miller and Chief Mechanic Weaver began to talk and compare notes.
"Jack seems to be pretty talented, even without his system ops man," Weaver pointed out. "Crewe and Anderson come next. However Russell seems to be more strategic than the others. Rita's doing as well as we expected, but Perkins is struggling."
"She'll get the hang of it, trust me," Miller replied. "Well they seem to be doing well. How's construction coming along?"
"Great, we have two functioning models and the other three all being worked on. The radio and radar systems are operational; Life support systems are ready; Weaponry is good to go and the engines and shields are finished," the Chief explained, smiling at his accomplishments.
Miller noticed Weaver's expression. "Good job. Now stop smiling like an ass and get back to work Chris." The Captain then strode off with his notes, leaving the grumbling mechanic in the observation room.
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