PROLOGUE===================================
1925 Hours, November 23, 2556 (Military Calendar) /
UNSC Fiery Obelisk, Epsilon Eridani System, combat zone/
in orbit around UNSC Military complex, planet Reach
"Sir, plasma salvos bering course zero-zero-two-nine on collision course!" shouted Ensign Ellie as sweat ran down her face.
"Bring the ship around, flanking speed." Commander Quinn said as he watched the destoryers warm then fire their plasma weapons.
"Aye, aye Sir." replied Lieutenant Gilyard.
"Status on the MAC gun," said Commander Quinn.
"Sixty-three percent and climbing three percent every minute." said Lieutenant McLean in his smooth always unchanging voice.
"Sir, two enemy frigates escorting a carrier have just entered the battle and are headed toward the orbital MAC gun closest to our position." called out Ellie from behind her radar screen.
"Sir, MAC gun is fully charged and ready to fire." reported McLean.
"Sir, the Distant Wind has just reported that they have destoryed two enemy destoryers, and reports from the Noble Saber that they destoryed one enemy carrier and Orbital Super MAC Station 00259 has destoryed two carriers, three frigate escorts, and has damaged one enemy dreadnought." said Lieutenant Junior Grade Takenouchi from behind her comm station.
"Thank you, Ms. Taknouchi. You hear that men. Our squadren has already gotten three kills.... now how about we get some more." cheered on Quinn hopeing to give his crew a little moral boost.
The crew cheered as at their stations. Everyones movements were quicker and done with an air of pride
Commander Quinn enjoyed their reactions but knew they wouldn't last. He turned to study the port and aft moniters.
"Ensign, how long until those salvos reach us?" asked Quinn
"ETA.....twenty minutes," she replied.
"Gilyard, put us between those frigates," shouted the Commander.
"Aye, aye Sir. ETA twenty-five," Gilyard answered.
"Put us there in fifteen," the Commander demanded.
"Yes, Sir. Pushing reactors to one hundred and twenty percent, red lining in twenty-five minutes, new ETA fifteen minutes," Gilyard replied as he tapped the commands into the nav console.
Quinn turned to the monitor for on-ship communications. He opened a line to the armory. "Spartan 201," he said.
"Yes, Sir," the Spartan said.
"Prep you men for a boarding mission."
"Sir, what is the primary objective?"
The Commander relayed the image of the frigates and the carrier. "This..." The image enlarged to show only the carrier. "...is the target. Board and destory all Covenant resistence, but do not destory the ship and keep all Covenant techonolgy onboard."
"Yes, Sir."
Spartan 201 turned off the moniter. "You heard the Commander. Prep for boarding. Jordan get the remote Pelican set with some C-12, put a minimum of nine kilograms, and blow their shields before we enter."
"Yes, Sir," said Jordan who was by far the largest and strongest Spartan in Anthony's squad.
After the first group of Spartans went to war, ONI decided to try to make class specific Spartans, there were only three in Anthony's squad. Jordan, Spartan 326, was heavy demolitions/technology expert; he was given extra carbide ceramic ossification, muscular enhancement injections, and catalytic thyroid implant augmentations. He could lift a empty Pelican one meter off the deck. During training on Reach, Chief Mendez had the demonlitions/techonology Spartans carry three times the weight of the others and were in charge of navagation via G.P.S. Ryan, Spartan 225, was sniper/recon; he was given extra occipital capillary reversal, superconducting fibrification of neural dendrites, and catalytic thyroid implant augmentations. He could hit a grunt standing inside a dropship at 22,872 meters. During the sniper/recon training trainnes went for weeks with only two canteens of water and one MRE. They were monitered with wireless video and audio recorders and if they moved or spoke they were shot with stun rounds. Anthony, Spartan 201, was recon/stealth/assassin; he was given extra occipital capillary reversal, superconducting fibrification of neural dendrites, and muscular enhancement injections augmentations. Anthony could sneek into a dreadnought and after five minutes walk down the hallways unapposed. In recon/stealth/assassin cadets were expected to hide themselfs, gather intel, and then kill a target. If the trainee did not finish all his or her tasks than they were only given one canteen of water for the day.
"Ryan get the team to the War Bird," said AJ.
"Yes, Sir," Ryan replied.
"AJ, decoy ready to deploy," reported Jordan over the COM link.
"Good, get to the War Bird," AJ replied.
"Yes, Sir" Jordan said than snaped off the COM link.
The monitor came to life and the view of the carrier was so close AJ felt like he could reach out and touch it.
"ETA five minutes." the Commanders voice echoed in the armory.
"Yes, Sir." AJ ran to the War Bird and started the takeoff sequence.
Commander Quinn stood griping the iron railing surrounding the holographic image of the battlefield. The salvos were four minutes and twenty-five seconds away, and if he was going to pull this off, he needed the Spartans to start their boarding action and to be between those two frigates.
"Gilyard, how long before we're between those frigates?" asked Quinn
"Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds."
"Have the Spartans taken off yet?"
"Yes, Sir. They just cleared the hanger and are begining their approach."
"Good, arm the Archer missles and one of the Shiva missles. Bring us in with our aft facing the carrier."
"But Sir, we would be side by side with the Covenant frigates and our aft would be facing their carrier and we have no weapons to protect us from an attack on the rear of the ship! That's suicide!"
"Thank you Lieutenant, but I already know how we will be facing and I know it seems like suicide, but in thirty seconds you are gonna detonate the rear port thrusters and the forward starboard thrusters and put us between those frigates. Do you copy?!"
"Y-y-yes, Sir."
Gilyard detonated the thrusters and the Fiery Obelisk spun in a 180 degree circle and glided perfectly between the two frigates.
"Ensign, where are those salvos?" said Quinn from behind the holographic battlefield
Ellie checked the rader screen,"Sir, ETA one minute seventeen seconds away."
"Good, that frigate won't have enough time to get out of the way of all those plasma bolts then we...."
Ellie screemed out,"Sir, The frigates are warming their plasma weapons!"
"McLean," Quinn shouted,"arm archer pods one through twenty six and the Shiva missle. Aim the archer missles along the lateral of the ship where their plasma cannons are. I want the Shiva fired at the aft toward the engines"
"Yes, Sir." McLean said,"But what about the other frigate."
Quinn glanced at the holographic battle field then at the salvo countdown timer. Only twenty seconds left.
"Fire the archer missles!" barked Quinn.
Twenty six missles streeked out into the black of space and met their target in a flowering bloom of orange and red. The energy sheild had opened just seconds before to let the plasma bolts clear the ship; but now the entire port side of the ship burned, fueled by the venting atmosphere as hundreds of grunt, jackle, and elite bodies were sucked into the vacuum of space. The sheilds flicked to life then died. The frigate's engines slowly rumbled to life in a desprit atempt to flee.
"Fire the Shiva!"
The Shiva missle tore a red line through space and impacted the frigate. As Commander Quinn watched the missle hit the aft of the ship, he turned his attention to the other frigate. The ship had failed to notice the plasma salvos heading for it. The salvos impacted with the port of the ship destroying their sheilds and melting most of their port side; exposing their command bridge. All the atmosphere vented from the ship as all mechanical operations ceased to function do to the destoryed bridge. Quinn looked back at the frigate they had engaged; there were no lights, the plasma cannons were cold, and the engines were offline. They were dead in space.
"Gilyard get us to the dark side of Reach's second moon; Ms. Takenouchi hail all ships in our squadren, have them meet us at the dark side of the second moon. Tell Commander Yates to warm up his MAC guns and arm enough archer missles to eliminate a destoryer." said Quinn.
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