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Metrilo: Chapter 1
Posted By: Ryan Lee<warrior387@gmail.com>
Date: 2 August 2007, 5:31 am
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On the UNSC Phoenix-class cruiser-carrier ship Okinawa, it was quiet. The only noises that could be heard were the soft beeps of consoles and the quiet murmurs of all crew members not placed in cryo as they worked to navigate the massive ship and steer her to her preliminary destination.
The Okinawa's mission was to locate the five remaining Halo constructs and destroy them. The UNSC would have preferred to send a larger fleet, but the Covenant loyalists had anticipated them and were launching heavy assaults on Earth to keep the humans occupied. Thus, only ship that could be spared, the Okinawa, was heavily modified, armed, and expanded for its new mission. The ship carried three squadrons of C709 Longsword fighters, two squadrons of shortsword bombers, forty D77H-TCI Pelican drop ships, fifteen Albatross Heavy Drop ships, 20 Scorpion M808 Main Battle Tanks, a fleet of 700 M12 warthogs of assorted variants and nearly two thousand Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. In addition, it had been outfitted with twin Magnetic Accelerator Cannons, each equipped with the same magnetic field recyclers and the booster capacitors of the Pillar of Autumn to fire three shots with one charge. It had nearly eighty 50-mm point defense auto cannons covering all inbound vectors, and five dozen Archer Missile pods on each side, each containing five hundred missiles, six Shiva Nuclear Warheads, and the newest trifusion reactor and laser coolant systems, only the second ship to posses them. As a result of these new upgrades and modifications, the Okinawa was almost twice the size of its sister ship, the Spirit of Fire. But even with its increased armaments, equipment, and troops, the cruiser still stood very little chance of accomplishing its mission alone. Thus the UNSC had authorized the assignment of their best assets to the mission.
Enter the Master Chief, SPARTAN-117.
* * * * *
Master Chief walked down the corridor leading to the cryo bay. The recommisioned cruiser-carrier would soon jump to Slipspace, and it was necessary to place all non-essential personnel in cryo sleep.
The cryo bay was huge, having enough space for about half of the Okinawa's Marine complement and its fighter crew. The specially commissioned cryo tube for the Chief sat right in the middle of the bay. However, there were two others right beside it.
With a start, the Chief saw two other MJOLNIR-armored figures walk into the bay. They spotted him immediately and saluted. The Chief returned their salutes, and looked over the newcomers.
He didn't recognize either of the two, which was strange. He knew all the other Spartans in the UNSC.
As if he had read his thoughts, the shorter of the two spoke up.
"Sir, this is Chief Petty Officer Tim-077. I'm Chief Petty Officer Ryan-060. Pleasure to meet you."
The Chief simply nodded. "I don't recognize you two from the Spartan class."
"We're from the second class. Dr. Halsey found a couple of suitable candidates; the rest of us are back at Earth keeping the Covenant occupied."
"I was under the impression the second class was postponed."
"It was, but only due to a lack of suitable candidates. Dr. Halsey found enough of us to justify the augmentations."
The Chief nodded again, and stepped into the cryo tube. He saw the other two Spartans step into theirs before the cryo gases put him to sleep.
Chapter 1: Two Months Later
The Okinawa's engines flared as it turned and accelerated away from the remains of Installation 01. The nuclear mines, planted at strategic points across the ring by Marine fire-teams and the three Spartans, had done their work when detonated. The explosions tore the ring apart and destroyed everything on it including the vile parasite known as the Flood.
The same process had been repeated three times before, at the other three constructs. The ODSTs and the three Spartans had landed first in their drop pods to clear and secure an LZ, then the vehicles had been delivered to the surface of each construct via Pelican drop ships and Albatross heavy drop ships. In some cases, the fire-teams had been able to land directly at the spots where they would plant their mines. In others, Flood resistance had been heavy and the Marines had been forced to fight their way through the parasites. After planting the mines, they had been extracted and flown back to the Okinawa, at which they had detonated the mines and watched each installation's destruction.
Now, there was only one ring left, and morale among the soldiers had skyrocketed. Soon, there would be no way for the Covenant to annihilate humanity, and the parasitic Flood would also be gone. Captain Actuan had ordered best speed to the final construct, hoping to quickly destroy the last ring and get back to earth where they were needed.
Now, as the soldiers prepared to endure cryo sleep for the fifth time, the captain surveyed the bridge from his command chair.
"Lieutenant Lee, are the soldiers in cryo?"
"Yes, sir,"
The captain nodded.
"Lieutenant Dutton, are we clear to jump?"
"Aye, sir. Navicomputer locked on coordinates. We jump when you're ready, sir."
"Punch it, lieutenant."
"Yes, sir!"
The young officer punched a button, and the cruiser-carrier shuddered, then the stars in the viewport elongated to long streaks.
Actuan turned to screen number two. "Cortana, ship status?"
The tank flickered to life, showing a purple-colored woman. Data scrolled across her body in streams.
"The engines are at fifty percent, MAC capacitors at zero percent each, all Archer Missile pods have full capacity, and every one of our nukes is there. In short," she concluded with a coy smile on her face, "everything is the same as it was last time you asked me."
"ETA to construct?"
"Approximately two weeks."
"Alright, then, we can get some rest. Tell maintenance and all other personnel not in cryo to take shifts and ensure everyone gets some rest, be it cryo or natural. That goes for the bridge crew too."
"Aye, sir." Cortana's image disappeared.
* * * * *
He was walking through a forest, alone. He enjoyed the quiet. It was fulfilling, and he liked it. He preferred not to be around large numbers of people, and when he had to, wearing his MJOLNIR armor. It isolated him from the world, made him feel alone, which suited him.
He heard a fsss sound and looked around. There was nothing in a forest that would make that kind of sound. It happened again.
"Sir, can you hear me?"
Oh, it was them. Don't they realize he didn't want to hear them? He just wanted to be left in peace.
"Sir, can you hear me?"
Instantly the forest faded away to be replaced with the cryo bay
He sighed and answered, "Yes, I can hear you."
Ryan-060 climbed out of his tube. He heard plenty of hissing sounds and realized that the rest of the Okinawa's soldier complement was being woken as well. It didn't take a genius to guess why, though Ryan thought he was very close to one.
"We're almost to the last ring, aren't we?"
The crewman looked up from the cryo panel.
"Yes, sir. The captain says ETA is forty-five minutes."
Tim-077 jumped out of his tube and hit the deck with a clang. He had also heard the tech, and nudged his brother. "We might as well prepare. You know, get weapons and stuff ?"
Ryan perked up. "I call the shotgun!"
"No, I call the shotgun!"
"I called it first!!"
"Well, I'm…um…cooler!! Yeah!"
The two brothers continued arguing as they proceeded to the armory.
Master Chief sighed. He didn't see how they fit the criteria for the Spartan program. They were both so childish… But seeing as the idea was a good one, he followed them to the armory, while wishing he could manually activate his suit's sound dampener.
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