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Searching For 87 by McHaggis
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Searching For 87
Date: 1 January 2006, 5:42 am
Chapter 1: Flashback
2330 hours, September 13 2553 (Military Calender)
Abord UNSC Battleship St. Patrick orbiting around planet Reach.
"Lets finish scanning those remaints, over there, and we'll call it a day," said Captain Washington to his Junior Officers.
"Aye, sir," said Lieutenant Billy McHaggis sleepily. He yawned widely and scratched his head. He looked over his controls. All was clear. The weapons were offline. Good. He gave a quick glance over his right shoulder to check on Lt. Thorne. Her fingers moved in fast, precise taps on the keyboard. She then leaned back in her chair and streched out her arms and legs. Her blonde hair was tied in a knot on her head and Billy could tell that she, like everyone else on the bridge, was exausted. He felt like he had to check on her because there was something about her that really reminded him of-
"Sir, I'm picking up something," blurted Lt. Ellsworth.
"Ok then, what is it then Lieutenant?" the Captain said. He was startled by the young lieutenants panicked tone. Oh no, nothing now. Not now...
"Its nothing, sir, just a far away ship. I can't tell if its a friend or foe. Probably one of ours, sir." said Lt. Ellsworth, relieved. He probably just made the captain furious at him for the false alarm.
"Forget about it, it's not in our sector anyway." the Captain shrugged off the interuption and started to doze off again. Lt. Ellsworth looked at Lt. Thorne nervously and she gave him a freindly pat on the back.
Lt. Ellsworth was a sleezbag, to put it nicely. He was an inexperienced lieutenant who had a knack for messing up virtually everything. He had a very colorful history, though. He was born and raised on the rebel colony of Undul 7, a planet notorious for war. He had participated in the Undul Rebellion a year before he was accepted into the Naval Academy, where he graduated at the top of his class. This was bad because he had done nothing but loaf around all his years at the academy. Billy graduated a year before him, and had been the victum of his jokes and pranks. But that stopped after he and Ellsworth got in a fight. It was more like a brawl where Ellsworth gave Billy his respect, because he was afraid of Billy.
Billy also didn't like Captain Washington very much. He was very old and thought he knew everything. He was lazy and also rude to his crewman. He was also the leader of this mission. The mission to find a SPARTAN-087.
Billy had heard of the SPARTANS before. They had defeated the Covenant and saved Earth. Or that was what Billy had heard from the higher ranking officers. But he knew this SPARTAN-087, Kelly was her name.
He had met Kelly on Reach almost a year ago. He was just out of the Naval Academy when he was invited on the Pillar of Autumn by Captain Keyes, his uncle. While on the bridge watching his beloved uncle at work, a SPARTAN was ordered to be debriefed on a new mission. The SPARTAN was the Master Chief. He looked like a statue carved from granite. Not paying attention to what his uncle was saying to him, he stared at the warrior in awe. Then to his delight, his uncle invited him down to debrief the other SPARTANS. Once down where the other SPARTANS were, he saw the most beautiful person in his life. She was perfect. She moved with quick precision and made fast, precise moves. Her dyed, blue hair was tied in a knot on her head. She was not much older than himself. Maybe 22 or 25 at most. And then her crystal blue eyes met his hazel green ones. The moment seemed suspended in time. They both knew that this was love at first sight.
From that moment on, they had tried to meet togethed as much as they could. Billy was stationed on Reach for the longest time during the war, and that was where the UNSC was keeping the SPARTANS. After Reach, they had trouble meeting each other. While Kelly was off fighting on the ground, He was off in space somewhere. They kept in contact with each other until exactly a year ago. Xavier, a SPARTAN and one of Billy's good friends, somehow contacted him while stationed on the carrier Teddington. He sent Billy a message saying that Kelly had gone missing.
So, this is where he is now. A volunteer on the St.Patrick. All of the people on this ship, on this mission were volunteers. This mission was now the most important thing in his life. He had to find his beloved Kelly.
Searching For 87, Chapter 2: Message
Date: 2 January 2006, 10:07 pm
Chapter 2: Message
0200 hours, September 14 2553 (Military Calendar)
Aboard UNSC Battleship St. Patrick orbiting around planet Reach.
"Billy I want you to know something."
"What is it, hon?"
"I want you to know that I love you and not even a war can tear us apart."
"I love you to, Kelly. And thank you."
Billy suddenly woke up. He was drenched with sweat. He had that same dream again. The one about the last time he saw-
"You up yet sleepy head?" Lt. Thorne said. She was always nice. Too nice sometimes. But right now, Billy needed nice.
"Yeah, I'm up." He said. He yawned, then went to the wash room to clean up. Man, I wish Kelly were here right now, Billy thought as he turned on the shower. He unclothed and jumped into the luke-warm water. He stood there for about 5 minutes then turned off the water and dried off.
As he was putting on his light grey jumpsuit, Lt. Ellsworth entered the washroom. "Good morning," Billy said sleepily.
"Oh, hey Billy," He said. He looked as if he were about to cry.
"What's wrong?"
"Well, I know your on this mission because you wanna find this 87 person. No offense, but I could care less about this mission or 87."
Ouch. This hit Billy hard. But he could understand the pressure that Ellsworth was under. He was being evaluated by Captain Washington. All captains are required to evaluate each of their officers individually. It was Ellsworth's turn. And this was not an easy mission. Just 2 days ago they had encountered a fleet of pirates. Ellsworth had failed to spot them before the Captain. Ellsworth was the Tracking and Radar specialist. He should have spotted them light-years away from them. So, he was in a bad position to start off. "I can understand your feelings, man, but lets refrain from saying that number."
"Alright," Ellsworth said, obviously sorry. "We'd better get up to the bridge. Captain wants us as soon an possible."
"Ok, meet you up there." Billy said as he ran to the bridge. He could be nice to Ellsworth for now. It was clear that he also needed nice.
On the bridge, the Captain was talking to the St. Patrick's AI, Orcus. Orcus was what officers called a 'smart AI', meaning that he wasn't made to do just one task, he was like a human. This thought disturbed Billy and he pushed it out of his mind. "Lt. McHaggis reporting for duty, sir." Billy said as he saluted.
"Ah, yes. Lieutenant I want you to look at this."
Billy walked up to the Captain's computer. There was a message on it.
"Read it, son, it's for you," he said, grimly.
Billy read the message:
Encrypted Messagecode number 339002
Sent: September 13 2552
Dear Billy,
I regret to tell you that something terrible has happened. It seems that while stationed on the Ascendant Justice my SPARTANS and I have lost SPARTAN-087. Dr. Halsey has also gone missing. We assume they were together when they departed Ascendant Justice. We will use our best efforts to find her. I am sure you are devastated at the loss, as are we. Kelly is very important to us and to you. We will find her.
Sincerely,
Master Chief, SPARTAN-117
Message Endedcode number 339002
Billy quickly wiped a tear from his eye. The Captain had gone and was now fiddling with the radar system. Lt. Ellsworth and Thorne had both entered the bridge. They both sat at their stations. The Captain turned and saw that Billy was done reading. "I'm sorry, son. I got this message about 10 minutes ago. I see that it was sent a year ago." The Captain looked at him sympathetically and went over to him and put his hand on Billy's shoulder. "I have scheduled an appointment with the Master Chief as soon as we get back." He was cut off by Orcus.
"We will be arriving on Reach in 15 minutes, sir." Orcus said in his deep, monster-like voice. Orcus was a pale white skull with 2 holes on the top of his head. Billy looked at Orcus as he floated there. Interesting choice, thought Billy.
"Thank you Orcus," the Captain said, breaking Billy away from his thoughts. "So, as soon as we hit the ground, you're off to see Chief, ok son."
"Yes, thank you very much sir." Billy said. Then he took his seat at his station. The weapons were offline. Good. MAC guns were chilled. Good. And he was almost home. All was well. But he couldn't help to think about what the Chief would have to say in their meeting.
Searching for 87, Chapter 3: Departure and Arrival
Date: 6 January 2006, 11:19 pm
Chapter 3: Departure and Arrival
0215 hours, September 14 2553 (Military Calendar)
Aboard UNSC Battleship St. Patrick in-bound to planet Reach.
"Alright, listen up lieutenants. Once we arrive on Reach, Lt. Thorne and Ellsworth, you come with me to be 'evaluated' by ONI. Billy you will go directly to see the Master Chief. Now, go get cleaned up. We're leaving in 10 minutes." said Captain Washington.
Yes sir." said the lieutenants, in unison. They saluted and left the bridge. Billy walked to the washroom, lost in his thoughts. "I can't wait to see the Chief." He had a variety of feelings about his visit. Excitement, depression, sadness, happiness. All he wanted was to get his questions answered. And he had a few of them.
While Billy was cleaning up, Lt. Ellsworth entered the washroom. "Hey, good luck, man." said Lt. Ellsworth trying to lift Billy's spirits.
"Thanks a lot." Billy said with a smile. "I'm sure I'll be fine. And what about you? You ready for the ONI spooks?"
"I'm not sure. Captain says to be ready for anything."
"Sounds bad."
"I don't now man. But I'll do my best and keep my mouth shut." Lt. Ellsworth could be funny at times, but it was rare. At that moment, Lt. Thorne walked into the wash room.
"Hey guys. Ellsworth, ready for the, um, evaluation?" she said with a weak smile. She was nervous too.
"Not really." Lt. Ellsworth said while also smiling weakly.
"Me neither." She laughed.
"Alright, see you on the bridge, guys." Lt. Ellsworth left the washroom and an awkward silence followed. Lt. Thorne was the first to talk.
"So, Billy, you ok. You know, meeting with Chief and everything?" She asked sympathetically. It was odd how everyone seemed to know about Billy and Kelly's relationship. But he didn't want to think about it to much.
"Yeah, I'm fine," a lie. "I just cant wait to be home." In fact, Reach was Billy's home. His parents had both been in the UNSC. His mother was a scientist and his father was an engineer. He had been born and raised on Reach, and was always around the ships his father worked on. When he was about 10, Billy's parents were called off-planet for an unknown reason. All Billy knew was that he couldn't go with them and he had to stay with his Uncle Keyes. His parents really never payed much attention to him, and he practically lived with his uncle, anyway. So, he never really noticed that they were gone. Actually, Billy was better off living with his uncle. He was more supportive than both his mom and dad. And he encouraged Billy to follow his footsteps.
"Well, I better get going." Lt. Thorne said. She looked at, she almost pitied him. He had been through a lot in his life, she knew this. But he was a very strong person. Not just physically, but mentally too. He was fairly attractive and had a good sense of humor. He was nice to all people, and rarely had anything bad to say about someone. His tall, muscular frame was intimidating the first time you saw him. But after one got to know him, he was a great person to be around. "I can see why she liked him" Lt. Thorne thought. "Are you sure you'll be ok?" She put her hand on his shoulder. A gesture that meant a lot to Billy.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. You know me." he said with a big smile. "Good" Thorne thought. "He'll be ok."
Suddenly, over the inter-com, the Captain's voice said "Lieutenants, please report to the bridge immediately."
"We'd better get up there, now." said Thorne. She gave one last look at Billy. Then they hurriedly walked up to the bridge together.
On the bridge, Orcus looked like he was concentrating very hard, and the Captain was sitting at his station working at his computer. Orcus broke from his thoughts and said, "Lt. McHaggis, are you all ready to leave?"
"Yes sir." said Billy, he almost saluted, but caught himself in time. Suddenly, Lt. Thorne wrapped her arms around him.
"I'll miss you, Billy. It was a pleasure to get to know you." She sobbed. Billy, startled at this sign of affection, patted her on the back.
"The pleasure was mine. Good bye." As he said this, Lt. Thorne released her grasp on him and left the bridge. Lt. Ellsworth was already on the bridge and shook Billy's hand.
"See you later, man." he said.
"Later." Although they didn't say much, these few words meant everything toward their friendship. And Billy was glad to have him as a friend.
Billy walked towards the door, turned, and saluted to the Captain. He returned his salute and waved good bye. As he walked out of the bridge and to his drop-ship to Reach, he realized that he was never going to see these people again. Saddened at this thought, he pushed it out of his mind and concentrated on getting home, and his meeting with the Chief.
Searching for 87, Chapter 4: Meeting
Date: 15 January 2006, 1:17 am
Chapter 4: Meeting
0230 hours, September 14 2553 (Military Calendar)
On planet Reach.
Warrant Officer Walters eased the drop-ship into its station at Zulu Base on Reach's surface. "We're landing now, lieutenant." he said to his only passenger. Lt. Billy McHaggis gave a him nod and got ready to exit the ship."
"Thank you, Warrant Officer." he said
"All in a days work, sir." Walters gave a polite nod and opened the back hatch. Billy got off of the drop-ship and watched it fly away into space.
He looked at his watch. It read 2:30. Good he had some time until his meeting. So, he strolled around the hangar of Zulu base. To his delight, a frigate was in one of the stations. It was called the Atlantis, and it was the most beautiful ship Billy had seen in his life. It was being worked on by an army of engineers and technicians because it had sustained some damage in its last skirmish. Probably pirates or rebels. Aside from it's damaged hull, it had a huge MAC gun mounted on it. Also, it had a teal-blue stripe going down the length of it's hull. Although it was non-regulation to have such insignia, Billy really liked it. It gave the frigate it's own personality. "The captain of that ship doesn't know how lucky he is.", Billy thought. Then, he realized that he had been looking at the ship for almost 15 minutes. Quickly, he grabbed his things and made his way up to the Chief's office.
"Good morning, sir, Are you here to see the Chief?" the woman behind a desk said to Billy as he walked by her.
"Oh," he said, startled. "Yes, I am."
"Can I have your name, please?" as she said this, she started to tap the keys on her computer.
"Lt. Billy McHaggis." he said, very professionally.
"Ok, lieutenant, you may go in." she said after clearing his 'appointment'.
"Thank you, ma'am." Billy said as he entered the office. The steel doors opened with a woosh sound and, in the back of the round room, was the Master Chief behind his desk. The Chief saw the young lieutenant as he saluted. He returned it and thought "This kid looked like he could have been a SPARTAN."
"Good morning, Master Chief." said Billy, nervously.
"Good morning. We have a lot of things to attend to lieutenant."
"Yes, sir." Billy said, quickly getting rid of his nerves.
"You know why you are here, don't you?"
"Yes sir, to discuss the progress of my mission, sir."
"And to discuss Spartan-087." he added.
"Yes, sir." Billy said, trying to keep his emotions down.
"As you know, she and Dr. Halsey went missing a year ago. And, we have no trace of them at all." He scratched his head. Billy had never seen him without his armor on. He was very muscular and tall. Taller than Billy, even.
"Yes, sir." He leaned against the wall. Suddenly, he realized the answer to Kelly's disappearance was that Dr. Halsey took her for one of her crazy experiments. His mission was to find them both.
"Now, I called you here to tell you that your being promoted to Captain."
"No way." exclaimed Billy. He couldn't believe his ears.
"Yes. And you are assigned to the frigate Atlantis." He handed Billy his new badges. He was a Captain of the Atlantis.
"Thank you sir."
"Now, Captain, your new mission is to take a fleet of ships and search the nearby planet of Korolith. We think Dr. Halsey has a secret lab in the asteroids that surround it. You have permission to search the system. But, just no fireworks, ok."
"Yes, sir. And how many ships will be in my fleet?"
"Besides yours, 2 cruisers. It's not much, but that's all the UNSC can spare right now."
"Thank you, sir."
"You leave at 0500 hours, Captain. So, go and get some rest." Realizing that he was dismissed, Billy saluted and turned to leave.
"Uh, sir, one more question. What ever came of Xavier?" he asked wearily.
"Xavier? Captain, he died about 2 months ago. He was ordered to eradicate a band of pirates with 2 other SPARTANS. None of them survived the detonation of the pirate base. Here, see for yourself." The Chief pulled up the list of SPARTANS on his computer. Billy came over and saw that he was indeed dead. It said "SPARTAN-066, Xavier-MIA." He knew that 'MIA' meant that they had been killed. The UNSC wanted the public to think that SPARTANS were invincible. So 'MIA' meant 'missing in action.' He couldn't help looking down at Kellys name. It also read 'MIA', which was true. She was missing, for now. He would find her.
"Thank you very much, Chief."
"Good luck, Captain." The Chief saluted, and Billy saluted back. Then he turned and left the office.
After the steel doors shut, Billy let out a big breath. He was exhausted and overwhelmed. The meeting seemed like it had been a dream. But it wasn't, and he knew what he had to do. Continue searching for Kelly and now Dr. Halsey. He had 3 ships to do this with. Not as much as he would have hoped for, but it was enough. As he headed to the hangar to check out his ship, a young girl came up to him. She was wearing a grey jumpsuit and looked like she was a lieutenant. Her black hair was tied into a long pony-tail that was streaked with yellow. Her slender frame made her look more like a model than a lieutenant.
"Are you Captain McHaggis?" she asked.
"Yes I am."
She saluted to him. "I'm Lt. Camchoa."
He returned the salute and said, "So, you here to give me a tour of our ship?"
"Yes, sir." She said with a smile. They entered the ship, and went up to the bridge. Once they got to there, 3 people were standing, ready to meet him. They all saluted.
"Sir, I'd like you to meet Lt. Tisdale, Lt. Aster, and Lt. Winters." Billy returned their salute and shook each of their hands. He wanted them to feel as comfortable as possible. Lt. Tisdale was a little shorter that the rest of Billy's crew. Her shoulder length, sandy blonde hair and kind smile reminded him of Lt. Thorne. Next, was Lt. Aster. He stood straighter than the other lieutenants. He seemed to be the kind of person with a lot to prove. His brown hair was cut in a flat-top. And his face was as hard as stone. Finally, Lt. Winters had a very nice look about him. He smiled as he shook Billy's hand. His red hair was cut very short. He was the tallest of the lieutenants, but not taller than Billy.
"Alright, lieutenants, I want you to know a little about myself before we get to business." He looked at each of them. They all seemed to relax a bit. "I'm very laid back and casual. But don't think you will getaway with anything. I only expect the best from each and everyone of you. Just do your job. Now that I've said that, I want Lt. Camchoa to debrief me on the situation inside the ship. The rest of you, get to your stations." They all scurried. Lt. Winters went to the weapons station, Lt. Tisdale to communications, and Lt. Aster to radar. That left flight controls to Lt. Camchoa, who was waiting to debrief Billy
"Alright, lieutenant, proceed." He eased into his chair at the main command station.
"Sir, we have 58 engineers, a battalion of marines, and 15 pilots on the ship. We also have 9 Longsword bombers and 7 Pelicans."
"Good."said Billy, satisfied.
"And, sir, we have 2 SPARTANS on board, also."
"What!? We have SPARTANS!?" he exclaimed.
"Yes, sir."
"Thank you, lieutenant. You're dismissed." She saluted and went to her station. Billy pulled the SPARTAN roster up on his computer. SPARTAN-104 and -058. Good. He would call them up to the bridge later.
"Oh, Lt. Camchoa, we don't have an AI do we?"he asked, suddenly.
"We will be getting one, sir." she said.
"Ok, thank you." He was satisfied with his accommodations. His crew seemed like they do their jobs. Now all he had to worry about was his mission.
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