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Triple Threat
Date: 19 August 2006, 6:33 am
**September 21, 2552**
Sean, Brooke, and Jessica sat at a mess hall table on the UNSC Destroyer Horatio enjoying a decent meal while wondering why they had been called back from their respective mission's in the Janus system.
"Maybe the Covenant hit another inner colony, and we're being sent in?", Jessica said with notable anger in her voice.
"If that were the case, there are plenty of Marines and ODST's that could hold the planet instead of us," Brooke replied, trying to down play the question posed by her squadmate.
"Not if it was Earth," Jessica said.
"If it was Earth, the Covenant fleet wouldn't stand a chance against the Super MAC's and capital ships there. Only if they piled in-system like Grunts would they have a shot at winning," Brooke quickly replied, once again trying to calm her friend.
"Well, if it is an inner colony, we'll do what we can," said Sean, interupting the back and forth conversation.
"Yes sir," the two female Spartan's quickly replied.
"Heh, Grunts..." Jessica said, visibly relaxing as she said it.
_______________
"Route the transmission to my quarter's, Lieutenant", Captain Yasakawi said over the intercom.
"Aye, sir", the young Lieutenant replied.
A small screen on the Captain's desk instantly had a window appear with new coordinates and orders on it. Charles Yasakawi slowly sat up from his bed while reaching for his glass of scotch he'd been sipping prior to falling asleep. He looked at the digital readout in the corner of the screen, "0134". "Great, half an hour of sleep." He stood up and stretched slightly, taking a step forward and hoping it wasn't another inner colony that was under attack. His senior staff had been told about the attack on Reach, with orders to tell nobody on the ship. Most of the time someone would have let such an order slip their minds, but given the gravity of the planet that'd been glassed, they knew what it would do for the morale on-board and had kept quiet. Right now the ship was heading for Reach, to quickly examine what was left, strangely it hadn't been completely glassed, and then head to Earth for a desperately needed break.
Charles put the glass of scotch to his lips while leaning forward to read the message on the screen.
The glass slipping out of his hands and shattering on the floor had no apparent effect on the Captain while he snapped for the intercom to the bridge.
"Lieutenant Williams, set a new course, I'm forwarding the coordinates to you now." The Captain fumbled with the touch screen, trying to highlight the coordinates with his index finger, he finally did it and sent them to his helmsman. Standing up and taking a weak-kneed step back before collapsing upright on the edge of his bed, the blood drained from his face, he silently whispered, "Earth".
_______________
The Captain thought of "greater things" as he slowly regained his bearings. The Horatio had been patrolling the outer colonies for over two years without any major Covenant-related incidents, the same couldn't be said of a majority of ships in UNSC space. There was the odd scuffle with a raider or pirate group who used the genocide on the UNSC as a distraction for their illegal activities. Not being a spiritual man by any measure he had to wonder if this was fate, or karma, that his ship, after being relatively lucky in terms of victorious combat operations over the last 24+ months was being sent into what would no doubt be called the "final fight" for generations to come. Assuming there was a future for Humanity.
Charles had spent the majority of his life onboard the Horatio, signing up for the UNSC Naval Academy at 18, showing great prosperity within a year of his tenure there before finally securing the title of Valedictorian of his class. His first assignment, in 2512, was as a Lieutenant Junior Grade on-board the Frigate Powell on a simple mission to the Sigma Octanus IV system while en route to the outer colonies to run anti-pirate operations. For the next year and a half the Powell chased renegades through half a dozen star systems. Playing cat and mouse games with eachother, maneuver, counter-maneuver, trying to lure the other out was a challenge, even exciting.
None of that prepared him for his first job on board the UNSC Destroyer Heracles. By the time he was transfered to the Heracles he had spent time on ship, and in the classroom, polishing up on his Advanced Naval Tactics at the UNSC's Naval Officer's Academy on Reach. The tactics he learned there and his continually high-marks had led to a promotion to Lieutenant Commander and his return to the Powell with that rank.
But his first job on board the Heracles as a full Commander was to create a battle plan with three ships, against a completely unkown force, that may not even have been a force, it could've been an astronomical anomoly, and find a way to defeat it. He had no idea, for good reason, what he was supposed to do. He decided the best way to fight something unkown was to react, not act. The idea was to jump in-system, run a continuously defensive recon operation the entire time they were there, and make a quick getaway. The plan that took place at Harvest didn't save the two frigates that had guarded the Destroyers' retreat, but it had saved the Heracles.
The captain sat there, thinking it all over, he was there for what was the first fight with the Covenant, he had to wonder, "would this be the last fight?"
After what seemed like an eternity lost in self examination, the Captain stood with a hardened stare aimed at the message he'd received. "I'm not letting them glass another planet, especially Earth." Relaxing slightly due to years of combat training he began to think up a battle plan and a schedule for the Marine detachment on his ship, knowing they'd be needed the instant they entered Earth's orbit. The first order of business was to inform his senior staff of the situation, he would need their valuable insight in making the most of his ship's weaponry when it came to blows with the Covenant.
_______________
"Everyone have a seat," Cpt. Yasakawi said to the three Lieutenants and Commander that stood around the table in the ready-room.
"Our planned recon mission to Reach has been scrapped. We've been recalled to Earth ASAP."
"Why?" asked Cdr. McKenzie, feeling a sense of tension in his superior.
He paused slightly, searching for a way to break the news.
"The Covenant...They found Earth", Lieutenant Harmann said in a soft, inquisitive voice.
"...Yes", Charles answered simply.
It felt as if a Halyceon-Class cruiser had landed on each of their chests, caving them in, stopping their breathing.
The Captain continued, "We've been ordered to Earth to join the fight, along with..."
"What fight?!", Cdr. McKenzie blurted out.
The Captain took a breath before proceeding. "Yesterday fifteen Covenant ships attacked Earth, fourteen were destroyed in orbit while the fifteenth took up position above New Mombasa. On arrival it sent repeated distress calls that made it through the jamming systems aboard the Super MAC's stationed in orbit" He paused before continuing, "The city was levelled when it made an atmospheric jump away from Earth."
The room was silent for a full thirty seconds before Lt.Harmann spoke up, "What are we supposed to do on arrival, sir?"
The four sets of eyes around the table locked on him.
He stood straighter and spoke. "We've been ordered to a close Earth orbit, our job is to protect the Super MAC station Cairo."
There was something wrong, he could see it in their eyes, in the slightly slouched shoulders, they felt hopeless. First the news of Reach, now Earth, it wasn't any wonder they felt helpless. On top of that, they knew based on the after-action reports they'd read of the battle at Reach that the Super MAC's were the first thing that'd be targeted by the Covenant. They knew if it came to it, they'd have to sacrifice their lives for at least one more shot from the giant MAC they'd be guarding. He had to say something, even if it wasn't perfect, something to get them to fight, to want to kill anyone who got too close to the Cairo.
He relaxed his stance and leaned forward putting his weathered hands on the table they sat at, locking eyes with each of them, getting their attention, making them sit straighter with his stare.
"I don't need to tell you all what the combination of hitting Earth, the time this message getting to us, and the 36 hours it'll take us to get home means. Don't deny or kid yourself, by the time we get to Earth the Covenant will be there..."
The three men, and one woman surrounding the table looked at him with a mix of shock and horror on their faces.
Charles Yasakawi stood straight up, crossing his arms over his chest, while forming a sadistic, yet cocky, smile, "And when we get there, we're going to kill every single one of them".
_________________
**End of Part I**
Triple Threat: Part II
Date: 24 August 2006, 4:29 am
September 21, 2552
0811 Hours, on board the UNSC Horatio...
"Good workout people, hit the showers," Corporal Lena Douglass said to her squad as they filed out of the gymnasium.
She looked at them as they left the relatively large room, a rarity on most starships, even a Destroyer. They'd be ready, physically at least, for what was going to happen over the next day and a half. The Captain had ordered Master Sergeant Hallis to his ready room two hours earlier to brief him on new orders. He came out of the room with two things to do: One was to inform his Sergeant's of the new orders given to the Horatio, while keeping quiet about them until the Captain made the announcement later in the day. The second was to make sure every soldier on board was ready for extended combat manuevers within 20 hours.
The first was carried out within minutes of leaving the Captain's ready room, when he ordered his three Sergeant's and Lena to his quarters for new assignments. Despite her rank, she had taken over for Sergeant Trevor Ferris when an anti-piracy mission on Janus II went south. When she'd entered Hallis' room she saw in his facial expression that whatever he was going to tell them wasn't that shore leave was going to be sooner than expected. Instead she was told the full-story, Reach's destruction earlier that month, and the small attack force that struck Earth yesterday. She left the room with one order from Hallis: Make everyone under her command ready for pushing against the Covenant they'd encounter harder than they'd ever pushed before. "Make them strike fear into those bastards," were the actual words he'd used.
She snapped to, and watched the final men and women under her command leave the gym, vowing to make sure they went into combat as calm, collected, and destructive as anyone the Covenant had faced.
"...We're going to need a larger amount of explosives to pierce the hull."
Lena turned around and saw three soldiers working out on a set of bench presses nearby. "People, I said, "Hit. The. Showers."
The one spotting both of them looked at her, "Ma'am, we're not part of your squad."
"Who's command are you under?" Lena replied, slightly taken aback by the quick, unemotional reply.
"They're under my command, Corporal" said the one lifting weights closest to her, setting the bar down in the process.
"And you are?" Lena replied with a hint of amusement in her voice.
As he sat up she instantly realized he was Spartan-113. "Sir, my appologies", she stood straigther and saluted, "running drills with a group of Marines first time out is tough business, you understand."
He stood and returned the salute, "No appologies necessary Corporal, given our new orders."
She looked at him with confusion in her eyes as he and the two other spartans walked towards her.
"The Captain informed us at 0400 this morning, he said not to speak to anyone except the Master Sergeant, his Sergeant's, yourself, and the Captain's senior staff in regards to the attack on Earth."
"This may be a breach of orders, but since you're in the "know", did he also tell you about Reach?" she replied.
"He mentioned it to us on the first of the month." Sean replied.
"But, that was before he'd told the Master..." Lena bit her tongue as her mouth caught up with her brain. Despite his equivalent rank to Spartan 113, the Captain clearly put more "stock" in the Spartan's than the Marine leadership on-board.
"Well, I worked up quite a sweat sir, I've got to get to the showers before our firing exercises" she blurted out, wishing she'd never said her previous half-statement.
The Spartan simply nodded and saluted.
Lena returned the salute, turned and double-timed it to the showers, wondering why she felt like such a greenhorn when speaking with the Senior Chief Petty Officer. Something about them forced a fear of inadequacy in her, she thought about the feeling some more and realized next time she spoke with him that wouldn't be the case.
_____________
0548 Hours, UNSC Horatio
"Sir, the transmission isn't originating from the Sol System. I've been working on pinpointing it and the best I've done so far is a scatter trace back to the dust cloud around Alpha Centauri." Cdr. McKenzie said.
"And you're positive it's not Human, or a trap?" the Captain said looking at the display with the deep-radar data on it.
"Sir, I'm as sure as I can be, we use completely different systems to transmit orders through slipspace, along with continuously varying encryption. The Covenant know some of the encryption forms, but nothing remotely as recent as a year ago. Which means if they were false orders, they wouldn't be using our current encryption systems. It'd be clear as day if it was a trap."
"And the actual transmission? Any idea what it says?" the Captain replied.
"Well, I've got Dorthy working on it right now. So far the transmission seems to indicate coordinates, at least the one's we've got now. They're definitely in the Alpha Centauri system, and we're almost positive it's the western edge of it. Beyond that, nothing in regards to what's there." Cdr. McKenzie said.
"How long until you figure it out?" Charles asked, thinking about why the Covenant would want to go to Alpha Centauri.
"Well, we've gotten about two-thirds of the message cleared up. It shouldn't be much longer, say an hour or so?" the Cdr. replied.
"Alright, when you find out what it is, send your findings to me. I've got to go inform Master Sergeant Hallis of our new orders."
"Yes sir" Commander Douglas McKenzie replied. He watched the Captain leave the bridge on a mission that would no doubt make Dwayne Hallis sick to his stomach. Doug himself had gotten to the ready room after being woken from a great dream, only to be met with a real-life nightmare. When he got back to his quarters he threw up his dinner from hours earlier. After he'd controlled his stomach and washed his face, he thought of his Lieutenants and the role he'd play to them in the coming days. He found a strength in him, a strength that gave him the drive to protect them. And a new found admiration of the Captain, who no was no doubt scared, yet projected an air of confidence in the face of a "no retreat" scenario.
The AI Dorothy broke his train of thought, "Commander, I have completed my decryption of the transmission."
"Already? I just told the Captain it'd take an hour." he replied into the microphone attached to his earpiece.
"That was my error sir, the transmission appeared to have more data, requiring an hour to decrypt and file. As I continued working I found the data to be a copy, encrypted differently."
He sighed, "So what's the gist of it?"
Dorothy replied with a hint of excitement in her voice, "It's a Covenant repair station. As soon as the attack on Earth was repelled yesterday the Covenant must have ordered a repair station into the Alpha Centauri system. The ship that escaped would have sent a summary of our defense systems to the Covenant leaders. The transmission we intercepted was from the repair stations' Commander. It says the facility is operational and that there was no hint of being detected en-route. Furthermore, the station appears to be considerably smaller when compared to the reported size of the Unyielding Hierophant."
Douglas McKenzie immediately realized the gravity of the situation. He spoke into his microphone to Dorothy, "They're nervous."
"Exactly sir, which means if they are worried enough to send in a repair station prior to a second attack, they might not attack if it wasn't there."
Commander McKenzie allowed a small smile to form on his lips, "Alright, compile the data and your summary, send it to my PDA. I've got to go talk to the Captain."
_____________
Lena was about to turn on the shower when she heard her intercom system turn on, "Corporal, report to Captain Yasakawi's ready room on the double."
She recognized the voice of the Master Sergeant, and picked up the small communication device, "Yes sir". She quickly got dressed into the clothes she brought with her, "Oh well, at least these aren't covered in grime."
_____________
The door to the ready room opened to a small room with three figures inside, Captain Yasakawi, Spartan-113, and Master Sergeant Hallis. "That was quick, Lena." Hallis said, smiling slightly. "Thank you, sir." she replied.
"Dwayne, Lena,..." he paused, "You know, Senior Chief Petty Officer, I don't think you've ever told me your name, assuming it's not "113"." the Captain said while chuckling slightly.
"My name's Sean, sir."
"Well, in that case...Dwayne, Lena, Sean, have a seat" Charles said, motioning towards the three chairs in his room.
They sat, probably wondering why they'd been called into his room after all the news he'd broken to them lately. He spoke, "We've got a change of plans, we're not heading to Earth, instead we're heading to the Alpha Centauri system. About two hours ago Commader McKenzie informed me that he and Dorothy had intercepted and decrypted a Covenant communique. Apparently they sent a repair station "Light and Virtue", which seems to be about the size of one of their carriers, to the outer edges of the system, probably in preparation for a second attack on Earth. As of roughly four hours ago it became fully-operational. The station's Commander thinks his position, according to the message, is a secret." He paused, looking each of them in the eyes, and smiled. "In about 24 hours we're going to prove him dead wrong."
_________________
**End of Part II**
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