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Hidden Threat: Chapter 1 - Briefing
Posted By: NBD24<NBD24@aol.com>
Date: 10 February 2004, 12:23 AM


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      The Master Chief gazed out of the observation room into the limitless black of slipspace. Ever since the invention of the Shaw-Fujikawa engines, the UNSC's space program skyrocketed. Literally. Once enough ships were manufactured, people set out to build colonies. However, the human race expanded right into the Covenant armada. The Master Chief's career had changed, for the better. The Spartan was getting bored of fighting pirates and smugglers. The Covenant were the enemy he knew would be a good challenge.
      With his enhanced sense of hearing, the Chief heard the whisper-quiet doors slide open a few meters behind. He snapped out of his thoughts, turned around and immediately snapped to attention. Before him was a tall man with a stern face, short brown hair and brown eyes. The man held his hands behind the small of his back, protruding his chest making him look intimidating, even to the spartan. And the man was. Captain Henry Carlson was a strong-willed man of incredible military strategy. He was the turning point in many grand space battles against the Covenant.
      "At ease, Chief."
      The spartan relaxed, but the bulk of his MJOLNIR armor made him look tense. Developed by Dr. Catherine Halsey, the green MJOLNIR armor was something else. Countless times it had saved the Chief and his Spartans. The armor enhanced the Chief's already superior strength, and provided him protection from what seemed hundreds of barrages of plasma fire. The Chief had been used to it protecting him for so long, when it seldom broke in combat, he felt open and vulnerable. He sometimes wondered how the marines did without.
      "Chief, we're coming up on the Zeta Omicron system. I need you and your armor-assed spartans in the briefing room in five."
      "Sir." The Chief exited the room after the Captain, and hauled it towards the guest quarters. Since the Chief and the other five Spartans were not regular crew of any UNSC ship, they got used to being transferred to many different vessels. His incredibly heavy armor clanked and thundered down into the hall floor panels step after step. Various crew members looked up from their papers and gawked in awe at the sight of the Master Chief. The spartan didn't like it, but understood. One woman dropped a load of file folders.
      When he stepped into the cramped quarters, the Chief felt at home. Linda was perched without armor on top of her bunk changing every accessory on her sniper rifle. The relationship between a sniper and her weapon absolutely puzzled the Chief. Sam and Fred were totally absorbed in an arm-wrestling match. Sam seemed to be winning, though it was anyone's guess. Those two were both incredibly strong. Kelly and James were going over their weapons and equipment, testing to make sure there were no malfunctions. The Master Chief noticed many of the items, and remembered how they saved his armored ass.
      Sam leapt off the bunk and snapped a salute, "Master Chief on deck!" Right as he did so, the spartans quickly came to.
      "At ease, spartans." The Master Chief knew the spartans treated him as a superior. Though, in fact, he wasn't. They were the same age, had seen the most action, and had the same abilities. Dr. Halsey and CPO Mendez decided to make Master Chief squad leader because of his leadership capabilities. The spartans were his brothers and his sisters. Out of 75, few were left. "The captain has ordered us into the briefing room. The Master Chief paused, and blared, "MOVE!!!" As if the spartans were already super-fast, Kelly was a blur. She instantly got to the elevator and had to wait for the others. The Master Chief enjoyed testing them this way.
      The Chief hit a button and the elevator lurched upward. Kelly seemed really pleased with herself and gloated in front of Sam, who finished last. Kelly thought of everything as a race, and the Chief liked her competitivity. The group exited the elevator and marched towards the briefing room. Fred and James were laughing about one of the spartans' previous missions. The two were at the point in the story where Kelly's visor malfunctioned when their story was cut short by a serious look from Captain Carlson inside the briefing room. All spartans saluted.
      "At ease." As if the Captain's look could not be more dire, he spoke, "The patrol ship Endurance last sent report to Fleet HQ two months ago. We've not gotten word from them since. This is fairly normal out here, but the brass thinks the Covenant are up to something. Last week, Hercules came out here and were able to send a message alerting us to mass covenant activity in the system before it was blown up. They took scans, and it looks as if the Covenant are doing something on Zeta Omicron III. This is where we come in. I want you spartans to get down there, and take steps to stop whatever the fuck those Covie bastards are doing."
      Fred stiffened, "Sir, based on what you say, it seems like there would be a load of ships in-system. With all due respect to your command abilities, how on Earth are you going to neutralize the ship threat?"
      The Captain smiled. "This is the good part. Five other UNSC destroyers, including the Iroqouis are arriving with us. They should buy you some time to get down there. I know 5 destroyers are no match to 2 or more Covenant ships, but at least we can punch a few holes in them, before we retreat." The Captain paused. "If there are no other comments, I suggest you get suited up. We'll be in-system in thirty. Dismissed."





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