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The Shadows - Part 8: AWAL
Posted By: Glenny<CalKid07@aol.com>
Date: 8 October 2002, 2:09 am
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The group had reached Earth, undetected by all ships. Again, there were seven of them: six Shadows and Lucky. Lucky smiled...he was born and raised on Earth, in the city of Los Angeles. Castor was also from Earth, but he didn't remember. The ship sailed into the atmosphere of the planet and made its way to the headquarters of all mankind: Washington, DC
They landed on top of the Navy Intelligence building. There they walked down the stairways straight to the man running it all: Admiral Benjamin Rocks. They didn't even allow his secretary to call the office, they simply walked straight past the secretaries and guards, and Castor entered the office alone while the others waited outside.
Rocks looked up. "My God...what are you doing here? I thought you were on Reach."
Castor smiled. "Change of plans. We got out of Reach alive, barely though. And we followed the Pillar of Autumn to some ring out in the...ah hell, I forgot the system. I already sent you the coordinates of the system, and we need to send people there ASAP and..."
Rocks interrupted. "Castor, calm down. We already received your report and we are grateful for it...but unfortunately, we cannot send any rescue out to that ring, which other transmissions have confirmed the name Halo."
Castor sighed. "Halo? Believe me, nothing there even resembles anything that has to do with halos or angels."
Rocks again interrupted. "Listen Castor...I understand that they need help. We simply are not giving it to them. If we sent a ship or two out there, the Covenant would tear them apart along with Keyes and his people."
"What about Reach? Are you going to start a draft to strengthen our military? That's what I'd do." Castor leaned back in a chair and crossed his arms
Rocks stood up and glared at him. "Castor, what do you think I've been doing? I've been contacting all of Earth's major cities and they are getting on it. By the end of two weeks we will have millions coming to command new ships that are almost done being built. Hell, we even sent out emergency messages to rebels and gangs asking for their help. We're desperate, Castor, and I don't need you coming in here trying to tell me what to do."
Castor stood up. "Tell you what to do? I am simply stating facts and what you need to do."
Rocks smiled an evil smile. "I know what I need to do, Castor, and it starts with you and the remaining Shadows to no longer be secret."
Castor tilted his head. "What? I don't follow."
"I am simply sick of you guys always getting this information and not getting the credit...and I've decided from now on you should be out there fighting like the rest of our people, and getting credit for it."
Castor narrowed his eyes. "Wait...who is going to get your info then?"
Rocks leaned back and smiled. "That is classified."
"Oh give me a break, Rocks, WE are classified. You are just jealous that the teams that you favor don't do half as well as we do." Castor was now leaning forward on the table in his face.
Rocks stood up and pushed back Castor. "That is enough Castor! You are to go to the colony Porrodso and report to Colonel Dickinson. He will be your new commander."
Castor took one more attempt to cooperate with him. "Rocks, did you even look at the reports on our tracer and..."
"You are dismissed, Castor."
Castor glared at him and stood at attention. "Yes, sir."
Castor walked out pissed off. Report to someone else? Only person he "reported to" was some Intel guy who told them what to find. From there on out they'd figure out how to get it themselves. The thing bugging him the most was the Admiral's pride...he wouldn't even look at the tracer bug they placed on the Covenant flag ship. They could make a covert attack on the Covenant home planet and end the war...but no, the Admiral was too jealous of the group and refused to take advantage of the situation. Hell, Castor wouldn't have cared if the Admiral would look at it and take the credit himself, as long as he looked at it and it was noted. The anger was building quickly inside of
Castor left the office, and the others followed him down the hall. Castor suddenly stopped, and ran back towards the office. He busted through, and Rocks stood up in shock. Castor ran forward, grabbed the Admiral by the collar, and gave him a right hook across the jaw. The Admiral stumbled back, and Castor charged forward again. This time he took him and slammed him into the wall. The Admiral hit the wall and nearly fell over. Castor grabbed him again and brought him close face-to-face. He smiled, gave the Admiral the middle-finger, and threw him straight into the large wooden desk. The desk shattered down the middle as Rocks broke through it and it the ground. His lip was busted and the blood dripped down his neck and to the ground. He was barely conscious, laying in the pile of the shattered desk. At that moment, Castor knew his career in the Navy was over. He just assaulted a superior officer, and very severely at that.
If he couldn't be in the military, he certainly wouldn't be dead for it. He burst out of the room and sprinted down the hall. Military Police looked inside the room suspiciously, and then took off running after Castor. Castor opened the door to the stairs, and dropped floor by floor between the gap in the wall and staircase. The MPs ran down the stairs after him, calling in to lock down the building. Castor reached the bottom story and noticed the door was locked with a dead-bolt and with air compression. He couldn't get it open. He looked around and noticed a window one floor up. He quickly sprinted back up the stairs, hoping to get through the window. As he took the final approach on the window up some stairs, the MPs were coming down the corresponding stairs. He dove through and broke the window just before the MPs could shoot him. He fell two floors and fell into a dumpster. He jumped out, and noticed he was in an alley between two buildings. He looked down both ways, and saw more MPs coming down the alley from the East, and he instinctively ran the other way. He heard shots coming from the MPs, and they weren't stun shots...they were shooting to kill. He ran faster. As he came out of the alley, a large version of the Warthog pulled up...with Cameron driving.
"Get in, Castor!" Cameron yelled from the drivers seat.
Castor ran forward and jumped in the back. Cameron zoomed off, barely getting away before being seen by the MPs. Castor looked around in the Warthog and everyone was in it. This Warthog looked more like a 20th century Hum-V, with the top and everything.
Cameron looked back at him. "Castor, you've done it now. What happened?"
Castor was catching his breathe. It wasn't the physical running that he was breathing from...it was from being nervous from what he just did. "Rocks was going to shut us down and send us to take orders from some marines. He wasn't sending anything out to Halo, and he deleted the files we sent him on the tracer bug."
Archer nodded. "I would have done the same thing. I probably would have thrown him out the window though."
Cameron began to speak again. "Well, I've already gotten a hold of Havok. He's using his robots at our HQ to start loading our shuttle. We'll be ready to leave before we even get there."
"You better hurry, they probably are already sending people there."
Cameron smiled. "Havok is taking care of that too. He messed with navigational systems of the Navy's ships, and they'll be headed in the wrong direction. By the time they realize it, we should be gone."
Castor had to smile. "Havok never fails to amaze me." He looked around and saw that the marine Major, Neo "Lucky" Geo, was still with them. "What are you doing here still?"
Lucky smiled. "You think I wanna go back to report to somebody? If what I hear is true, I am assumed dead on Halo. I'm with you guys."
So Lucky unofficially became a Shadow. They arrived at their HQ, and noticed most of the essentials already loaded. They grabbed a few of their personal belongings and hopped in. Havok piloted the ship up and headed out of the atmosphere. The hologram of him appeared next to the navigational charts. He looked at Cameron.
"Cameron, we are on our way to the colony Porrodso just to check it out. Maybe Rocks had something planned for us there after all." Havok turned and looked at Castor, who was staring blankly out the front window. "Don't sweat it, Castor. If I could, I probably would have but a bullet into that fool years ago. Nobody likes him."
Castor gave a smile. It was true...Admiral Rocks was a two-star that nobody really liked. His only real talent was knowing who to kiss up to while working his way up. Other than that, Castor couldn't think of a soul who liked him.
Havok spoke again. "Reach is on the way to Porrodso. You want to drop by and take a look?"
Castor glanced at the AI. "For sure. Do it."
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