The Petersburg Affair: Part I, Chapter 1
Posted By: Saber<alexbath@telusplanet.net>
Date: 18 August 2002, 6:15 pm
Read/Post Comments
|
The clouds over St. Petersburg were lingering like a bad sickness. It had been over three weeks since the city had seen any signs of the sun. The cold evening brought in yet more clouds. The clouds did not bring rain, snow or even morning dew; instead they brought pain and despair. These clouds had the retched stench of war. The clouds had caught a wind current and blown to Russia from America. The scent of death still remained potent. It had been five years since the destruction of Halo, and one year since North America fell. The streets where empty in the city as most of the men were sent to America. The rest of the men hid, or took their own lives. The last thing anyone wanted was to be sent to America to fight the Covenant. It was virtually suicide in itself, except the Covenant tortured humans as if they were merely pesky insects that needed their limbs pulled off. Taking your own life was often the wise choice. The street lamps in St. Petersburg were dim and a musty smell overwhelmed the city. A figure walked in a dark alley beyond the shipyard. It was not a bold figure, and it was strange for someone to even be out that late. The figure walked towards a pier. There was a small ocean cruiser waiting.
"Good day ma'am, excellent evening out isn't it?" Said a male voice from inside the boat. The voice was not Russian it was to... American. But how could this be? Almost all of the North Americans were captured and sent to the battle cruisers.
"Sir, if I may note, your one of the only Americans that escaped the Battle of New York. I don't suggest you give away your position," commented the female figure approaching the boat.
"Ma'am you are in no position to give me orders! Now get the hell on board, we're heading for London. It's a long ride in this boat and don't expect it to be smooth either. We have a few officials in London who need to discuss a new weapon. The meeting is at 8:00 A.M. I don't suggest we be late," snarled the man.
"Then what are we waiting for Captain." Replied the woman.
The boat was untied and began its rough journey to Britain. The cruiser seemed to disappear and reappear over the swells that the sea cast at them. It did not seem likely that such a small vessel could withstand the rough waters of the Baltic. The black waters swallowed and spit out the vessel until the hull no longer reflected the lights of St. Petersburg. In the distance only a black void of eternal darkness could be detected. At this time two figures approached the dock. It appeared the two were looking for something of grand importance.
"Where the hell! You said they'd be here!" Yelled a man.
"Hey they were a minute ago, come check this out." Replied a female.
The two had found something near a crate sitting beside the pier. It was a sack with something heavy inside. The female figure struggled as she lifted it. This was strange because the bag was not any bigger than a soda can. As the figures walked towards another pier some light was cast on them. One figure, the female, had all black clothes on. Her hair streamed down her back like water rushing over a cliffs edge. Her eyes glowed blue even in the dimness of the night. The man stood bold, as if he had seen many battles. His hair was shaved into a military brush cut leaving the back of his head bald. The bald spot glistened as if it were carefully waxed each morning. The female approached the man with the seemingly heavy bag ready to let him inspect it. The two then removed the black clothes that they were wearing only to reveal UNSC uniforms. The females nametag said "Lt. RL Andrews" while the mans was labeled "Sgt. JA Robins." The uniforms they wore had not seen any battle. They were still starched as if they were fresh out of the factory.
"Come have a look at this John. I think you may be interested in what we have found," said Andrews as she approached the Sergeant. When she got close enough she slid open the bag to reveal a bright green stone shaped like the Washington Monument.
"Jesus Christ! Why would anyone be leaving this laying around! It's supposed to be at HQ. Bastard soldiers don't have any god damn respect for the human race!" Yelled the Sergeant.
"Sergeant, I left it hear for a reason. Head Quarters is gone!" Andrews smirked as she revealed a gadget with 6 buttons and a small screen.
"What the! What's gotten into you Andrews! Drop the detonator! THAT'S AN ORDER!" The sergeant was now furious and beads of sweat began to roll down his face.
"Sorry sarge! This is the end!" Andrews quickly pushed one of the buttons on the detonator, as this was done a large rumble could be felt accompanied with a huge noise. A fireball rose up in the middle of the city as debris. The HQ was no more. The Sergeant lunged at Andrews but Andrews simply stepped to one side and kicked the sergeant hard in the face. The crunch of broken bones could be heard from a block away. Now the sergeant lay still, twitching and groaning every ten seconds. It was clear that the Lieutenants steel boots had shattered his face, leaving him struggling to breath. Andrews delivered another swift kick to the temple of Robins. This time an even loaded crack echoed off building walls. It was clear that the sergeant was dead.
"Bastard!" Commented Andrews as she sauntered off. She seemed to be showering with pride at the moment as if she had just over thrown a leader. In a sense she did. Andrews began to run into the dark alleys with the heavy green gem in her left hand, leaving the sergeant lying dead. * * * * *
The sounds of alarms and monotonic beeps and buzzes could be heard all through out the space frigate. A voice came up on the loudspeaker, warning the crew of the massive human vessel, of possible boarding Covenant. The scene seemed all too familiar to one of the men on board. The man stood in the corner of the bridge with a suit of MJOLNIR armor. It was the chief.
"Chief! We have a problem! I've detected something strange down on Earth!" Cortana said urgently.
"Why does this not surprise me?" Remarked the chief.
"Its... Another construct! That means..."
"Another Halo? You gotta be kiddin' me!"
"Chief we have to get the construct! We must find this other halo!"
"Now Cortana don't jump to conclusions, the last thing we need is to abandon Earth." Said Chief calmly.
"Chief we don't know who this person is that has the construct and we don't know how many of them there are. Maybe there are millions of constructs. One thing is for sure, we need to move now!" Screamed Cortana.
The Chief made his way to a Longsword fighter. Along the way blasts could be heard hitting the ships hull. The ship wasn't going to last and at this rate neither was Earth.
TO BE CONTINUED...
|
