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The Lost Colony by xitWOUND117
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The Lost Colony Part One: Severed Contact
Date: 22 August 2003, 1:48 AM
2040 Hours, August 17, 2525 (Military Calendar)/UNSC Vostok, docked with repair station Haven, near Chi Ceti 4
Captain Eric Paveroz turned to Lieutenant Sarah Merenda at the Ops station. "How is the resupply going?" he asked her. "Complete, sir. The faulty primary coolant system has been replaced and the Archer ordinance is resupplied. The dockmaster is pulling his team out now, sir," replied the Lieutenant. "Very well. Lieutenant Baxter, get us clear of the Haven and steer a course to the asteroid field," said Captain Paveroz. "Yes sir," answered Lieutenant Stephen Baxter from the Nav station. The Captain reread his orders on his data pad.
United Nations Space Command BETA PRIORITY TRANSMISSION 09826Y-82
Encryption Code: Blue
Public Key: file/piratex/direnti/
From: Admiral Michael Stanforth, Commanding Officer, UNSC Odin/UNSC Sector Three Commander (UNSC Service Number:
00834-19223-HS)
To: Captain Eric Paveroz, Commanding Officer, UNSC Vostok/ (UNSC Service Number: 92804-19863-RP)
Subject: PIRATE DIRENTI
Classification: Classified (BGX Directive)
/start file/
Captain Paveroz, the pirate ship Warlord, piloted by William Direnti, is believed to be hiding in the asteroid field near Chi Ceti 4.
Find Direnti and kill him.
Admiral Stanforth
/end file/
The UNSC had been trying to track down the infamous pirate Direnti for months, but no trace of him could be found. Now it was Captain Paveroz's job to find the scumbag and kill him. "With pleasure," the Captain muttered to himself. He took a look around the bridge.
Lieutenant Merenda was at the Ops station. She was a tall, dark haired woman, her face continually grim. Lieutenant Baxter was a blonde, and tall, but that was usually hidden by his determination to slouch in his chair.
Lieutenant Robert Watiro, at the Comm station, was a short, plump man, who seemed to be always nervous about something. Watiro's eyes darted occasionally over to the Captain, as if he was checking to make sure he was still there.
Operating the weapons station was Lieutenant John Imriak, who was rather short and thin, but sat rigidly upright.
"Lieutenant, are you picking up anything unusual in the asteroid field?" Captain Paveroz asked Merenda. "No sir, not-wait...There is a frigate coming out of the field, sir. It's not UNSC, the ID code is two years old. Besides, it's got "Warlord" painted on it's sides, sir," replied the Lieutenant. "Good. Lieutenant Imriak remove all weapon safety locks. Charge the MAC gun and arm Archer pods A1-A7. Fire Archer missiles as soon as you have a targeting solution." "Yes sir!" said Lieutenant Imriak.
A few thuds could be heard throughout the hull as the Archer missiles were fired. "Imriak, get a targeting solution for the MAC gun and fire on my mark," ordered the Captain. Paveroz watched through the monitor at his station as the Warlord turned to face the Vostok. The Archer missiles streaked towards the Warlord and impacted on it's port side, crumpling the armor and, in several section, breaking through, sending atmosphere streaming out into space.
"Mark!" said the Captain. "Firing, aye," answered the Lieutenant. There was a rumble and a loud thud as the MAC round was fired. The Warlord fired a MAC round of it's own at the Vostok. The Vostok's MAC round slammed into the damaged Warlord, penetrating to it's reactors. The Warlord disappeared in a ball of fire, but it's MAC round hit the Vostok in the rear, starboard side. The rear end of the ship was sent spinning to port from the impact.
"Lieutenant Merenda, fire the rear port thrusters," ordered Captain Paveroz. "Aye, sir," replied Lieutenant Merenda. The ship rumbled from the ignition of the thrusters, then it slowly drifted to a halt. "Lieutenant Watiro, send a message to Admiral Stanforth that the Warlord has been destroyed." "Y-Yessir. Uh, in-incoming transmission. Priority Alpha!" answered Watiro. "Send it to my monitor," said Captain Paveroz. "Yes sir." The Captain read the new transmission.
United Nations Space Command ALPHA PRIORITY TRANSMISSION 06289Y-94
Encryption Code: Red
Public Key: file/harvest/newsbg/two/
From: Admiral Michael Stanforth, Commanding Officer, UNSC Odin/UNSC Sector Three Commander (UNSC Service Number:
00834-19223-HS)
To: Captain Eric Paveroz, Commanding Officer, UNSC Vostok/ (UNSC Service Number: 92804-19863-RP)
Subject: HARVEST
Classification: Classified (BGX Directive)
/start file/
You and your ship are needed urgently at Reach for briefing. Have lost contact with Harvest.
Admiral Stanforth
/end file/
"Lieutenant Baxter, dock us with Haven. As soon as repairs and resupply is finished notify me," said the Captain. "Yes sir," replied Baxter. "Until then I will be in my cabin, and I do not want to be disturbed." "Of course, sir."
Dear God, Captain Paveroz thought, lost contact with a colony of three million?!
Two hours later Captain Paveroz was back at the bridge, overseeing the maneuver to get clear of the Haven. "We're clear, sir," said Lieutenant Merenda. "Lieutenant Baxter, plot a course through Slipstream to Reach, enter it in the computer and prepare for cryostorage. The rest of you do, get to the cryobays. On the double!" ordered the Captain. "Yes sir!" the officers shouted simultaneously, jumping up from their seats and hurrying to the cryobays.
The Lost Colony Part Two: Orders
Date: 23 August 2003, 2:18 AM
0856 Hours, August 19, 2525 (Military Calendar)/UNSC Command Facility, planet Reach
All three of them had been called to Reach, Captain Paveroz, Captain Hugos, and Captain Veredi. Admiral Stanforth met them in the auditorium. The Captains sat in the bleachers while the Admiral stood on the stage. "Okay, you all have been called to Reach because of a...mysterious event," said Admiral Stanforth. "On February 3 at 1423 hours, the Harvest orbital platform acquired a long range radar contact with an unidentified object. Shortly afterward we lost all contact with Harvest. We sent the scout ship Argo to investigate. We received a transmission that it had arrived insystem on April 20, but lost contact with the Argo after that. Fleet Command has ordered that a battlegroup be assembled to investigate what's going on. Your ships, the Vostok, the Arabia, and the Heracles are that battlegroup. You will be leaving October 1 for Harvest. Any questions?"
Captain Veredi spoke up. "Do you have any idea of what might have caused us to lose contact with a colony of three million?!" he asked. "No clue. There are endless possibilities, but you are going to find out what exactly has happened." Captain Paveroz asked next. "What if it is an alien contact, sir? Say, the aliens are blocking outgoing transmissions with this unidentified object?" "If it is an alien contact then go through the procedure. Try to make contact with it, etc." the Admiral answered. "Any more questions?" No one answered. "Very well. You and your crew have leave until your deployment."
1012 Hours, August 19, 2525 (Military Calender)/UNSC Vostok, docked with starport near planet Reach
Captain Paveroz stood on the bridge of the Vostok looking at the main monitor, which displayed a view of vast space. Most of the crew and officers had departed for planet side leave, but a few stayed.
The Captain heard someone walk up behind him. He turned around to see Lieutenant Baxter standing there. "Uh, Captain, can I ask you what was so urgent that we had to be called back to Reach?" he asked. "I believe you already have, son. But I guess you can be given an answer," replied the Captain. "Shortly after February 3 we lost contact with Harvest. A scout ship was sent to investigate, it disappeared April 20. We are going to go find out what happened," Captain Paveroz told Baxter. "Oh god. Not Harvest. I-we...my wife is on Harvest! What do you think happened, sir?!" asked the Lieutenant frantically. "Frankly, I have no idea. But we all have to get on with our lives, son. No matter what happened."
That is the one lesson Captain Paveroz learned in his service with the Navy. You just had to keep going. He had lost a wife and two children due to a pirate raid on a passenger ship, the Hillari fifteen years ago. He had been crushed by that loss, but he kept moving. He never gave up. He still had not gotten over it, but he would do his duty, whatever the cost. The UNSC was the only reason major wars had not occurred for a long time. He was at least consoled by the fact that many other lives had been spared by his service. Frequently everyone gets too attached to their world, and when change happened, they collapsed. Captain Paveroz was not going to let that happen to him.
"Couldn't this be just a communications error or something, I mean, they have to be alright. They have to!" cried Stephen Baxter. "Highly unlikely that happened. We will just have to find out ourselves, now won't we?" the Captain said. "Yeah, I guess so..." said the Lieutenant. Baxter walked off, trying to shake off his fear. But Eric Paveroz was convinced something bad had happened to Harvest. There was plenty of time for a ship from Harvest to reach a nearby colony. Something had stopped Harvest from communicating with the other colonies. Or rather, Paveroz suspected, a someone.
In some form or another, almost all of the crew was connected to Harvest. It was one of the newer colonies, and many civilians had gone to the planet hoping for new opportunities. Everyone had a friend, a child, a loved one, or something on Harvest. But no one expected what had really happened to Harvest. No one ever dreamed what was about to begin, either.
0150 Hours, October 7, 2525 (Military Calendar)/UNSC Vostok, unknown location in Slipsteam space
"Captain Paveroz, sit up. Breathe deep and cough, sir," a female voice said to the Captain. He opened his blurry eyes and sat up. He tumbled out of the cryotube and tried to breathe in. He was suddenly coughing hard until a long sting of clear fluid flowed out of his mouth. He stood up and took a deep breath. "Status, Mraul?" the Captain weakly asked the AI, which had been installed mid-August.
A heavily cloaked figure appeared on a pedestal near the Captain. "Estimated one hour and five minutes to Harvest. All systems running normally," said the AI in it's low, powerful voice. "Good. Wake the rest of the crew and officers and get all weapons manned and ready. We don't know what happened to Harvest," ordered the Captain. "Yes, Captain." Paveroz left the cryobay to get dressed.
0250 Hours, October 7, 2525 (Military Calendar)/UNSC Vostok, unknown location in Slipsteam space
Captain Paveroz stood at the bridge, his officers all at their stations. Lieutenant Baxter was unusually upright in his chair, sweating and staring intently at the main view screen, waiting for the first glimpse of Harvest once the would exit Slipstream space. Lieutenant Watiro was even more nervous than usual, having to wipe his brow every ten seconds. Lieutenant Imriak, however, was unchanged, which the Captain liked. No matter what the situation, John Imriak was business. Sarah Merenda was also staring at the main view screen, a look of determination in her eyes. She, too, expected something had happened to Harvest, and she was not going to let anyone get away with it.
"Exiting Slipstream space now, Captain," said Mraul, standing on the armrest of the Captain's chair. Everyone felt the sudden deceleration of the ship as they entered normal space. The main view screen flickered and the ships Arabia and Heracles came into view. And looming before them was Harvest. But it did not look quite right. It was gray and black, not green, white, and blue, the signs of land, water, and atmosphere. And orbiting the planet was a strange looking ship. "Dear God!" cried the Captain.
The Lost Colony Part Three: Welcomer of Destruction
Date: 23 August 2003, 8:41 PM
0255 Hours, October 7, 2525 (Military Calendar)/UNSC Vostok, near planet Harvest
Harvest loomed before the Heracles, the Arabia, and the Vostok, but not the lush, fertile colony it had been before. Before them was a dead, boiling planet, cratered and barren, sunlight reflecting of Harvest's glassy surface. Three million souls, vaporized, all trace of them burned to the ground. And orbiting Harvest was a purple colored ship, it's hull smooth and organic, the front end swollen, almost majestic looking.
All this Captain Paveroz of the Vostok saw through the main screen monitor. As did the officers on the bridge. The Captain had feared that something had happened to Harvest, but he never expected this, this...total annihilation without warning. "Ca-Captain Veredi i-is trying to m-m-make contact with the un-unidentified object, s-sir," said Watiro, obviously terrified.
Suddenly a voice that sounded much like an AI's but full of hatred and menace boomed through the bridge speakers. "Your destruction is the will of the Gods...and we are their instruments," it said. "Oh Jesus! Oh no! What is happening?!" cried Lieutenant Watiro, trembling, his voice thin and weak.
Then blue flashes of light burst from the alien ship, red motes of light appeared on it's hull. The blue bolts of energy headed straight for the Arabia, crashing into it's side, boiling away the titanium-A armor and breaching the hull, igniting the atmosphere that streamed out.
The Heracles flew towards the alien ship, launching Archer missiles at it. Damn, thought Captain Paveroz, he beat me to it. "Lieutenant Imriak, fire Archer missiles pods A1-A7 at that ship as soon as you get a firing solution, and charge up the MAC gun," the Captain ordered. "Yes sir," said the Lieutenant at the weapons station, acting like this was just another pirate to kill. "Lieutenant Baxter, come to course-Lieutenant!" Baxter had slowly gotten up out of his chair and walked over to the nearby window, pressing his face against the thick glass, shaking his head and mumbling. "Dammit Lieutenant!" yelled Paveroz. He threw himself into the Navigation chair and typed in the course settings. A series of dull thumps could be heard throughout the ship as the missiles were fired.
The alien ship fired more blue bolts, sending the energy towards the Arabia once more. Half of the Vostok's and Heracles's Archer missiles collided with the blue light, only to detonate and leave the fiery lasers unscathed. The rest of the missiles hit the alien ship, explosion covering the hull, but they faded and the ship was covered in a semi-transparent silver coating, which also faded. The alien ship was undamaged.
The strange ship's shots hit the Arabia, fully penetrating the ship and breaking it in half, setting off small explosions everywhere throughout it's hull. The engines and lights of the Arabia went dead, and bodies could be seen slowly drifting away from the ship.
"Lieutenant Merenda," said the Captain, "where any lifepod launched from the Arabia?" "No sir. She went down with all hands," answered the Lieutenant. "MAC gun fully charged Captain," said Lieutenant Imriak. "Fire Archer missile pods B1-C7 and the MAC gun, Lieutenant," ordered Captain Paveroz. "Firing, aye." The ship shuddered as a massive amount of armament was fired.
The Heracles fired missiles and two MAC rounds of it's own. Huge streaks of metal and hundreds of missiles slowly flew towards the purple craft. Then the alien ship fired more fiery bolts of energy at the Vostok, splashing across the human ship's missiles and continuing, leaving only the Vostok's MAC round heading for the ship.
The three MAC rounds slammed into the alien ship, but it's silver cover appeared again, absorbing the damage. Then the Archer missiles collided with it, it's silver shield flickered, and went out. The few remaining missiles hit the ship's hull itself, doing a little amount of damage.
Captain Paveroz desperately tried to escape the blue bolts, radically changing course and pushing the Vostok's reactors as far as they could go, but the fiery energy changed their own course, chasing the human craft. Finally they impacted on the Vostok's starboard side, boiling the armor away and ripping apart the hull. The ship rumbled and groaned as it was slowly destroyed.
"Captain! The reactors have been hit! They're going to explode in five!" yelled Lieutenant Merenda. Four...three, the Captain slowly counted in his head while the rest of the crew stood frozen at their stations, two...one-
0310 Hours, October 7, 2525 (Military Calendar)/UNSC Heracles, battling with an unidentified ship, near planet Harvest
Captain Veredi watched as the Vostok was destroyed in a massive ball of fire, chunks of it's hull were hurled into space. "Lietenant Kura," he said to the weapons station officer, a young woman, "fire the MAC guns," he ordered. "Yes sir," she replied, typing in commands. "Captain, primary coolant failing, switching to backup. We had better shut them down, they're going to overheat," said Lieutenant Ollera at the Ops station. "Alright, shut them down," said the Captain with a sigh.
As the Heracles's MAC rounds streaked through space towards the unknown ship, the alien craft fired again. The MAC rounds slammed into the alien ship's hull, crumpling it's armor, but the ship showed no signs of slowing or the armor being breached. The fiery blue energy, however, splashed across the Heracles's hull, breaching the armor and igniting atmosphere.
"Lieutenant Jurrad!" yelled Captain Veredi. "Get us into Slipstream space immediately, we've got to get out of here and report." "Yessir," replied the Lieutenant at the Nav station. The main view screen came out of focus then flickered off as the ship entered Slipstream space and accelerated.
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