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1349 Hours, January 3, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ Epsilon Erandi System, in orbit above Inner Colony Eclipse "Sir. Sir." Reco looked up; startled. He had been pondering every since they had entered orbit and the nuclear warhead detonated. He pondered such things as 'Why would the Corps trust the enemy?' and things like 'Why would the Corps truth an enemy, nonetheless the Covenant.' He intended to find some answers. "Yes?" "We have established communications with the Heavy Cruiser Blade Master. They have granted clearance to land on Deck C on Hangar A." "Bring her in." "Roger." - Reco walked briskly down the hall, and stepped into an elevator. The elevator rocketed up; images passed by him with lightning speed as he was taken to the bridge. The elevator came to a gradual stand still, and Reco walked out. He walked over to a nearby Marine on duty, and inquired, "Soldier, where is the bridge." The soldier escorted Reco to the bridge. As he entered in, he immediately noticed the presence of double guard and everyone was tense. Reco sensed uneasiness, and radioed to Zeus, "Meet me in the mess hall. Fresh armor and ammo for everyone. On the double; I think something's going down." As Reco approached, the captain turned to greet Reco. "Reco, Roughneck detachment I presume." "Correct." The captain reached out his hand, and Reco generously took the gesture. "That was some impressive stuff down there Roughneck." "But- how did you know what happened?" "I've got connections." "Sir, if I may intrude, what is with all this security. I know we are at war with the Covenant but double security? Shouldn't the security be on duty in other sectors of the ship?" "Well, we have the most advanced AI on this Heavy Cruiser." "Well, can I ask this: Why is the Corps helping the pigs?" "That, my friend, is a new task. They were spies, pretending to aid the enemy. They were trying to gain the Covenant's confidence, board a ship, find the home worlds, and then relay the information back to us. However, the forces you encountered down there at Delta Storm were defectors. From now on, the defectors neural implants will turn red, indicating that they are enemy. We are waging a two sided war, against ourselves and the enemy." "Roger that. Thank you." With that, Reco turned on his heels and walked into the hallway. "Where's the mess hall?" "Right this way Sir." The escort soldier took Reco down a hall, and into a large room. The room was lined with overturned tables and chairs. Ares tossed a couple clips of ammo to Reco, at the same time ejecting the wasted one and placing an extra in the chamber. "Stand by to engage the enemy. All fire squads man your battle stations. Stand by to engage the enemy. All fire squads man your battle stations." The automated emergency warning blared over and over again. "This is it boys!" Reco proclaimed. The whole of Roughneck Two-Zero charged the barricade as one, kneeling down, guns placed at their shoulders, ready to take on the enemy. - A large green hole formed in the emptiness of space. Very slowly, a shape emerged from the catastrophic site. Instead of one shape, it was twelve different shapes. One Carriers, three Destroyers, four Prowlers, and four Battleships. "Weapons, charge the magnetic accelerator cannon. Arm Archer weapons pods A through F for the first volley. F through P for the second barrage. Unlock one Shiva II. Standby for the other two. Ready the Longsword interceptor squadron, full load. Communications, Get the admiralty on the forward view screen." "Admiral Stanforth is on the view screen sir." The weathered, graying face of Admiral Stanforth appeared on the forward view screen. "All members of the UNSC Sector Three Fleet, I am sending your AI constructs your fire paths. First barrage of Archer missiles to strike the shields and destroy them. Then rapidly fire your MAC rounds, followed by the second barrage. After the firing of the first barrage, reload swiftly and look for your targets." The Blade Master was designated to fire upon the Carrier, along with the Heavy Cruisers Sharnhorst and Bismarck. "Arm the point defense guns. Get those birds in the air. Weapons, fire first barrage when ready." "Firing, sir!" The first barrage of the Blade Master, flanked by the barrages of the Sharnhorst and Bismarck rocketed away, forcing the ships to shudder with the recoil. The Archer missiles streaked towards their targets with lightning speed, impacting the vessel within twelve seconds. Fire blossomed along the ships shields, eventually knocking it down. A few Archer missiles broke through, hit the ships hull, or hit stray Seraphs that broke formation. About twenty Archer missiles broke through the shields, and hit its target. "Fire the MAC round." "Firing." The ships lights faded and died as the MAC round drained the ship of its power. Simultaneously, the Sharnhorst and Bismarck also fired. "Sir! Inbound plasma torpedoes three o'clock!" "Initiate emergency thrusters, engage with point defense weapons. Seal all air locks!" "Roger that! Initiating emergency thrusters! All air locks sealed!" The plasma torpedoes struck its target, eventually melting the titanium A battle armor on Deck F to a petty ten centimeters. "Fire the second barrage!" "Inbound Seraph fighters sir! Initiating point defense weapons!" Several hundred streaks of red shot of in a massive volley, encouraging the Seraphs to break formation, scatter, and become easy targets for marauding squadrons of Longsword interceptors. "Sir! We've lost contact with Corporal Lovell and the Longsword squadron!" "Damn it!" "Sir! Inbound troop transports! Port side! The point defense weapons are handling the situation but they can't hold 'em off forever!" "All right! Sound the alarm! Boarding parties eminent!" During the chaos in the bridge, the second barrage hit home, ripping apart the alien vessel and breaking its spine. "Sir! Inbound plasma torpedoes! Point defense weapons on the job! Engage emergency thrusters?" "Do it!" The ship lurched as the emergency thrusters tossed it hopelessly into a new vector. "Sir! Armor plating disintegrated on Decks F, G, H, and I!" "Fire the nuke. Destroy those bastards!" "I'm on it! Shiva II away!" "Set its trajectory to 0382541-2914-0IN!" "Roger. Trajectory set to 0382541-2914-0IN!" A white contrail followed the nuclear warhead as it slowly drifted in space, motionless in the vacuum of space. A white glare followed, pursued by a soundless explosion. Concurrently, the remainder of the Sector Three Fleet let loose a barrage of Archer missiles and MAC rounds. The force of the nuclear explosion and the magnitude of the barrage incinerated the Covenant fleet. - A squad of Marines backed up, firing as they went. Red-hot plasma streaked by, visible to Roughneck Two-Zero, waiting to pounce on unsuspected enemies, from an open door. "Aww!" a soldier screamed in pain, and ran for his life. "Hold your fire!" Reco yelled to his men, "Wait for the Marines to get behind the barricade." A half-dozen Marines charged from the hallway, running full tilt at the barricade, and hoping over it as they went. "Fire at will!" Reco yelled as he saw the first sign of Covenant movement out side the mess hall. A barrage of lead cut down the first dozen of Grunts that foolishly waltzed into the hall. They screamed in pain as they ate the lead like breakfast. A dozen Jackals entered the room via a door opposite the room. Ares instinctively threw a grenade, trying to catch their unarmored backside. The grenade "harmlessly" bounced off their shields, and lay at their feet. The stupid idiots looked down as it exploded, and were rocketed to the ceiling. Their bodies fell limb to the ground, whilst the blood on the ceiling stayed put. A platoon of Grunts and Elites went forth to the slaughterhouse. The line of men ducked down, giving away nothing but a hand and weapon for the Covenant to shoot at. Reco grabbed at a grenade on his bandoleer, primed it, and tossed it over his head. The heat of plasma gradually died down as the Covenant forces were tore down. "How's everything elsewhere?" Reco inquired on the radio. "Fire base Zulu, everything under control." "Fire base Alpha, same here." "Fire base Delta, roger that." "Fire base Bravo, it's a little dirty here, but we're good." |
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