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Anomaly #679- pt. 6
Posted By: RogueFox<roguefox68@gmail.com>
Date: 10 July 2006, 11:30 pm


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First Age of Enlightenment
Remnants of Elite Rebel Fleet
Delta Halo


      The Special-Operations Elite looked at the monitor at the odd configuration of the ship.

      "You say it isn't in Slipspace, but it is...bending space to accelerate it past light speed?"

      The other Elite looked up. "Yes, Fleet Master. It has powerful control of the space around it. It will arrive in moments."

      The Elite, known as Half-Jaw, pressed the Communications Panel. "Arbiter, you are needed in the Control Room."

      Moments later, the Arbiter strode onto into the room. Everyone had accepted his command in the epic battle between the Brute controlled ships and the ships commanded by Elites. The Elites had managed to fend off the Brutes, but at tremendous cost. Only thirty-five Elite craft remained fully operational. Another twenty were damaged. Half-Jaw briefed the Arbiter on the situation.

      The Arbiter looked at the ship on the main view screen as it flew through space to reach them. He activated his comlink. "Keyes. Report to the Control Room. I want your opinion."

      "Yes, Arbiter." came the human's reply.

      The other Elites gave the Arbiter an incredulous look.

      "These humans are our allies now. If anyone wishes to dispute that, I will have you killed." the Arbiter said, his tone daring any of the Sangheili to challenge him.

      No challenge came back.

      Keyes and Sergeant Johnson stepped onto the bridge. A few Marine personnel had survived Delta Halo, and they too were onboard the craft.

      Keyes studied the ship on the screen. "I've never seen a starship with this configuration."

      The Arbiter made a noise that Miranda could only guess as being agitated.

      "Combat alert. All hands to battle stations."

Date estimated late 2552
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
In Transit to Delta Halo
5 minutes to dropping out of warp.


      As Geordi worked on the chip, Data had been studying the Chief intently with a tricorder.

      "Can I help you?" John asked.

      "I am merely studying your armor's components, if that is alright with you. Your armor's shielding equipment is quite crude compared to our own." Data reported. Commander Riker looked over at Data, then to Deanna Troi, and grinned.

      "Yeah, well, it gets the job done. Anything you'd like to ask me instead of scanning me like a science project?" the Chief asked.

      Data closed the tricorder. "It was not my intention to offend you. I apologize."

      "You're not quite...human, are you Commander?" John asked.

      "No, I am not. I am an android." Data responded.

      Troi stood up to intervene. John was struck by her beauty.
"Master Chief, you'll have to excuse Data..."

      "Got it!" LaForge announced. Picard stood up from the command chair and saw the tangled wires and the isolinear chips scattered on the floor. "It took some engineering, but I got it to work Captain."

      "On screen, Mr. Worf." Picard ordered.

      Commander Miranda Keyes appeared on the Enterprise's view screen.

      "Admiral Hood, or any receiving UNSC force, this is Commander Miranda Keyes reporting from the Elite Command Ship Glorious Enlightenment."

      Keyes gave a report that detailed the Elites willingness to ally with humanity, but that it would take time to relieve Earth from the Covenant assault. The transmission ended abruptly.

      "That's when the Covenant began their attack, Captain." the Chief reported.

      "We've arrived sir. Dropping out of warp." the Ensign at the helm reported.

      The sparking remnants of High Charity and thousands of destroyed and damaged Covenant spacecraft littered the system.

      "My God." whispered Deanna.

      "Scan for any active life signs or ships, Mr. Data." Picard said.

      "Detecting fifty-five active Covenant vessels, sir. Twenty of them are heavily damaged. Captain, they are assuming an attack posture and are arming weapons systems."

      "Red Alert!" Picard yelled. The bridge darkened as red lights began to pulse on and off and a klaxon sounded.

      "The inertial dampeners, Geordi?" Riker inquired.

      "Back online, Commander. I can't guarantee how much of a beating they'll take." the chief engineer reported. "I'll be in engineering."

      "Hail them, Mr. Worf." Picard said.

      "They are not responding, Captain."

      "Load all torpedo bays. Arm phasers." Riker barked.

      "Ensign, bring course to One-Three-Seven Mark Five at one quarter impulse. Mr. Worf, lock on the closest enemy craft and prepare to fire." Picard commanded.

      The Enterprise swooped onto her new course and bore down on the left flank of the Rebel fleet.

Remnants of Elite Rebel Fleet

      Half-Jaw looked up from the console. "The fleet reports ready, Arbiter. Their weapons are of an unknown design. They are still hailing."

      "Arbiter, they may have friendly intentions!" Keyes protested.

      The Enterprise continued to move towards its attack vector on the view screen.

      "Arbiter! There are human life-signs aboard the craft, along with several others we cannot recognize."

      "The Flood." Half-Jaw growled.

      "All ships! Keep in attack formation and blow this infested ship from space!" the Arbiter roared.

      "The Flood…don't…try to hail…anybody…" Keyes tried to point out. No one heeded her.

      Keyes sighed and awaited the inevitable slaughter of this newcomer.

USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D

      "They are firing plasma torpedoes, Captain!" Worf yelled.

      "Helm, evasive maneuvers. Mr. Worf, all phaser arrays fire continual spreads. Fire photon torpedoes! Dispersal pattern: Sierra!" Picard ordered.

      The Galaxy-class starship executed a roll, spreading the two plasma torpedoes over its port and ventral shields. It then lashed out with all of its forward phaser arrays, sending orange beams of light into the Rebel fleet. Unshielded ships could only take the powerful phaser for a few moments before being impaled by it. The Enterprise released a spread of five of its photon torpedoes that immediately formed up into a star formation that impacted two starships. They slammed through the shields as if they weren't there and blew the ships to pieces upon impact. The Enterprise began to nimbly weave through the Covenant fleet, firing her phasers.

Remnants of Elite Rebel Fleet

      Half-Jaw stared at the sensor readouts with shock until the cruiser next to the command cruiser was hit by the crimson red, almost star like weapons of the newcomer and was destroyed.

      Johnson gave a curt laugh as he watched the vessel dodge and weave, firing the orange energy beams at the Rebel fleet, causing all kinds of destruction and mayhem and managing to dodge most of the plasma torpedoes and shrug off pulse lasers like they were nothing. "Smartest bunch of Flood I've ever seen."

      The command cruiser shook.

      "We've been hit by one of their energy beams! Our shields are down!"

      The Enterprise glided to a halt in front of the command cruiser, using it as a shield from the rest of the Rebel fleet. A tone warbled from a console.

      "They have a lock on us and are hailing once again. They have identified us as the ship in charge and are demanding that we stand down." said the junior console operator.

      "If they were Flood, they wouldn't have stopped trying to kill you. Hell, if they were Flood, they wouldn't have tried to contact you in the first place. What were you thinking?" Keyes said.

      The Arbiter grunted. He had lost 10 starships in this brief skirmish and it seemed he had barely put a dent into this newcomer. "Put it on screen." came the begrudging order.

USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D

      "They are responding to our hail, Captain." Worf said.

      "It's about time. That was a good bit of shooting, Mr. Worf. Mr. Data, what is their fleet's status?" Picard inquired.

      "We destroyed 10 ships in our five minute skirmish. 5 more were heavily damaged. Twenty-five remain fully operational." Data reported.

      "Good bargaining position, I'd say." Riker commented.

      "Put them on viewer, Mr. Worf." Picard ordered.

      The Arbiter and Miranda Keyes appeared on the Enterprise's view screen.

      "I am the Fleet Master of the Fleet of Enlightenment. Who are you?" the Arbiter said.

      "I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise. If I may ask why you attacked my…" Picard began to reply.

      "Chief?!" Keyes exclaimed. "What are you doing over there? Who are they?"

      "It's a very long story, Commander." the Chief replied calmly.

      "I trust we can stand down from our battle posture, Fleet Master?" Picard said.

      "Yes, of course. Stand down Combat Alert." the Arbiter ordered.

      "Stand down Red Alert, Mr. Worf." The computer beeped and the lighting returned to normal.

      "We have much to discuss, Fleet Master." Picard said.

      "So we do, Captain."





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