Assault on Earth by A-Rod
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Assault on Earth - Part 1
Date: 16 September 2004, 9:46 PM
It is September 15th, 2552, 0800 hours. The location is Earth. There is life everywhere in the surrounding void. Hundreds of ships have mobilized, making repairs to battlships and cruisers, while others repair build orbital platforms. As we take a closer look we see that a form of preperation is being done. Earth is literally a fortress world. 71 MAC guns orbit the planet. More are being built around the clock. There are 8 orbital re-fit and Space Defense platforms, with more being built. More and More UNSC ships enter the system. We see a familiar ship docked with one of the orbital platforms. It is small UNSC frigrate, looking like it would fall apart any minute. It's the UNSC Gettysburg.
Assault on Earth - Part 1, by A-rod
0750 hours, September 15th 2552(Military Calendar)
UNSC Orbital Platform A-1, The Miamian.
Cortana could have mistaked the room for a morgue. She could hear everything. A pin drop. The human heartbeat. Shit, she could even here Brigadier General Colzie breakdown crying.
Yep. Someone just a dropped a bomb on the Admiralty.
Colonel Ackerson rubbed his temples. Admiral Hood had a confused look on his face. General Strauss had his mouth open, as if in a state of shock. None of them could take in the story just told. None of them could handle the fact that their secret is up. Earth has been found. And they had to deal with it.
Meanwhile, the four Spartans and the Sergeant stood, hands behind their back in the center of the room. None of them flinched. Johnson didn't even bat an eyelash. Finally, after minutes of silence, Cortana interrupted the Admiralty's deep thought. "Admiral Hood, according to my calc-"
Hood held up his hand. "That's quite enough Cortana" the Admiral said and then sighed. He stared at the four soldiers in the middle of the room. "Marines, there is no way that I can reward you for your services. Because of you, and perhaps a little luck," the Admiral said with smile, "you have bought us just enough time to maybe counter the Covenant's inevitable attack. You've also brought back a ton of intelligence that, if we survive the next few days, may just help us turn the tide of this war."
The Master Chief stepped forward. "Sir, all I ask," he stopped and looked at the Spartans and Johnson, "All we ask, is to be given a chance to defend Earth." The Admiral looked the Chief over. "Then by God son, you will" The Admiral replied. Colonel Ackerson grunted weakly, a grunt only Cortana heard. "Master Chief, I want you and your Spartan's along with Sergeant Johnson, to get at least 24 hours of rest. That's an order" Major General Strauss said. The team in unison fired off a "Yes, Sir!" and turned to walk out the room. As the doors closed behind them, Admiral Hood spoke.
"Now, Cortana, we have alot to discuss" Hood said. "What is the ETA for the Covenant Fleet?" Thousands of symbols scrolled over her body. "Estimated time is 6 days. If it wasn't for our pitstop to their command and control center, then they would already be here" Cortana replied as she changed from a dark blue to a light green. "And the Halo data, Cortana. Is there anything that could help us in the Defense of the planet" Strauss asked. "Unfortunately, No, General. However, I have a huge storage of Covenant information that can be used on the battlefield with some effectivness. Everything from Soldier deployment's, ground formations, space formations. You name it I got it. However, we only have a week, therefore during that timetable we can only make limited improvements to our ships and soldiers." The General sighed. "It doesn't matter. We need to reinforce Earth now, Admiral. We can worry about the ONI doodads later, if there is a later" Colonel Ackerson chimed in.
"I suppose Ackerson is right, Cortana. Order every single UNSC ship to report Earth immediatly for repair and refit. Also, ready the new Armor and shield upgrades for the Spartans" the Admiral said. Hood leaned back into his chair. "We.....are open to suggestions, Cortana" Hood said.
"Admiral, there is nothing more that we could do. All that's left now is....." Hood finished for her. "Informing the public. We should probably start evacuating people to Alpha Prime." The rest of the Admiralty nodded there head's in agreement. "Get some rest Gentlemen. Cortana, I want you on Planetary monitoring and defense for the next 48 hours. Update every 10 hours. I'll reap the world-wind" Hood said. The council dismissed and Cortana's image flickered and dissapeared.
John's internal alarm clock went off. A good 15 hours of rehabilation and rest had just went by. He got out of his bunk and stretched for what felt like the first time in his life. He turned and surveyed the rest of the room. Linda, Fred, and Will were also sleeping. He put his boots on and stepped outside. The temperature was a satisfying 60 degrees outside, with a clear sky and big moon. Earlier today, Admiral Hood had informed the rest of the UNSC along with the civilian population that Earth was going to be attacked in the next few days. Evacuations had already begun.
The Chief walked down to the shooting range. In his right arm he carried a Battle Rifle. The air felt different to him. He had a feeling of insecurity without his armor. The Chief walked up the range and took aim at the targets. He zoomed in with the weapon and aimed at a target a good 170 yards away. He fired 3 successive rounds dead center in between the eyes of a dummy. He lowered the rifle. "I hope the Covenant are ready," he muttered, "because I am."
He turned and walked back to the bunk.
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