Battle of the Mist
Posted By: Flying Battle Man<Halo_Chronicals@yahoo.com>
Date: 21 May 2004, 11:04 PM
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The UNSC destroyer Mist hovered over the small moon orbiting the planet Gano. Small flights of Longsword interceptors flew constant patrol around the large ship. Jack Nelson stood in the bridge of Mist, staring at the multiple viewscreens showing camera angles outside the ship. Unlike the exposed bridge design of the older Halcyon-class destroyers, the control room on Mist was buried deep inside the hull of the warship. Two frigates, Anaconda, and Hellfire, completed the system patrol group. The space to the left of Anaconda began boiling, green blobs swimming across the radar screen as a ship burst from slipstream space. The Covenant battle cruiser swung about to face the trio of UNSC starships, its strange purple hull glinting at the systems twin suns.
"Prepare to attack," Nelson called.
"Yes, sir!" His weapons officer responded. "Archer missile pods A-3 through A-30 loaded!" The man tapped keys and reached up to flick an overhead switch on. "All forward .50 caliber autocannons armed!"
"Longsword squadron Bravo engaging enemy fighters."
Brilliant flashes of light flared through space as the Longswords launched salvos of Akrid Ship-to-Ship missiles. Boiling blue light shot from the plasma cannons of the approaching Covenant fighters. Two Longswords winked out of existance as the blazing balls of energy reached their targets. The com board came alive with chatter as the UNSC squadron broke formation to engage in ship-to-ship dogfights.
"Bravo two pull in!"
"He's mine..NO! Wait! Help, he's got a friend! I can't sh-" Another Longsword flared into an expanding ball of shrapnal.
"Bravo six, cover me! I've got tone! Missle away!" A Covenant fighter spiraled away from the engagement, debris trailing from the remains of the back half of the ship. The craft tightened into a corkscrew spin, then exploded. "Splash one!"
Suddenly, blue strobes of light flickered from the battle cruiser and three Longswords shattered. Desperate voices from the surviving Bravo pilots came over the airwaves.
"Pull back! The freaks have got their guns online! They-"
"Help! Help! They got my wingmate! They're on me tight! I need hel-"
The last of Bravo squadron showered Mist in a fine hail of metal fragments.
Anaconda swung into position to the right of Mist and opened her main launch tubes. Longswords boiled out of the tubes. The Covenant fighters swooped in at Hellfire, plasma cannons spraying her hull with blobs of blue energy. Decks exploded as opened to space. Oxygen sprayed into space in long white trails. A Longsword caught a blast on the port wing, blowing the wing off and sending the interceptor careening into Hellfire's flank. A sketchy hologram of Hellfire's AI appeared over Mist's holotank.
"Hellfire to Mist. Main fusion reactor levers spiking. All crew evacuating. Clear area." Escape pods burst from Hellfire
As the ship spun away, Mist powered up a magnet built into her flight deck, pulling the lifeboats aboard. Hellfire shattered, a nucular fireball bathing the ship in brilliant light. When the fireball dissipated, there was nothing left.
Anaconda fired her MAC gun. The blazing white projectile slammed into the Covenant ship. The Shields flared but held. Mist fired. Twin bolts of flame ripped out from the duel MAC gun arrangement on the destroyer. The Covenant Shields burned brightly for a moment as the first MAC projectile impacted. The second hit ripped a hole in the Cruisers flank.
"Sir!" An ensign called from the tactical computer. "BattleNet sliced! The Cruiser is called Crushing Pain."
Crushing Pain folded around the MAC hole.
"Sierra 12 inbound." A Longsword swooped low over the hull and loosed two Archer missles. The missles streaked into the MAC hole, crippling the ship. Just as the Longword was about to pull up, a plasma burst ripped the back of the ship open. The fighter dived into the hole, a cloud of debris flaring up and out of the hole as the ship impacted with the Cruisers innards. Explosions ripped through the Cruisers hull. Shattered plates no longer gave off the gleam of an invincible monstar, now the ship looked dead and defeated.
"Crushing Pian is in crushing pain, sir!" The ensign whooped.
The Battle Cruiser rippled, shuddered, then detonated in a bright flash of fire.
The bridge crew cheered, and Nelson fell into his command chair.
Three UNSC ships against a Covenant Battle Cruiser. He smiled for a moment, then let his training take over.
"This is the Captain." He spoke into the mike. "Assist Hellfires crew on the double! Re-pressurize all uncompromized decks."
He let the mike drop and settled back into his chair. Though at high cost, they had won.
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