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Another ONI Black File: Halo – We Got There First: Part 6
Posted By: Arthur Wellesly<arthur_wellesly@hotmail.com>
Date: 23 August 2003, 1:51 PM
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Note from the author: I feel my long absence needs to be explained. I went to Italy just before school ended, which made my last days at the cursed place total hell. Then I went on another vacation in the summer, but I must confess that a large chunk of my inactivity has been due to pure laziness. I hope people will still read my stories and subsequently comment on them.
Oh, and also, if you haven't read the rest of my series thus far, I suggest you do so. To really understand the story you'd have to read the series A Single Motion as well. It's definitely a lot of reading, so if you don't like it, don't bother.
Enjoy the read.
1600 Hours, September 23, 2525 (Military Calendar)/
Onboard Silent Night - Conference Room
"You're all probably wondering why I called you here today," Captain Young said to her assembled bridge officers. She didn't say anything for many moments, but instead leaned heavily on the oak table before her with her head down. The obvious sense of unease and perhaps fear emanating from their captain was evident to everyone in the room, and many shifted uncomfortably in their seats. So far the Silent Night's crew had seen only two emotions from Young: anger and a cold sense of confidence. To see here like this was highly unusual.
"It is very difficult for me to relate this disaster to you all," she continued slowly, at last raising here head and looking at them all. "Before we left, I'm sure you all heard about the tenth fleet heading out to investigate the lost contact with Harvest and the disappearance of the Argo?" Everyone in the room nodded. It had been all over the news. '...the largest assembled fleet for the purpose of warfare since the "Watts Crisis"', the news had said. "We all assumed it was pirates, or insurrection. We were wrong."
"As of 0800 this morning, I received a coded message from Admiral Stanforth basically stating that the Harvest Crisis was caused by some sort of alien vessel, equipped with technology far in advance to our own." Everyone gasped. They had all undergone "First Contact" training and heard the rumours of extremely odd transmissions being picked up from the outer rim, but they thought it was all ludicrous. "ONI has decreed we are to remain here until the UNSC has dealt with these recent developments. They feel it would be too dangerous for us to head back to human space now, and in addition they fear we might lead these aliens here." She sat down and folded her hands on the table, signaling that it was now an open forum.
Instead there was silence. They first had to take in the sheer enormity of the news. At last it was weapons officer Karen Caladon who voiced everyone's concern. "What if the UNSC can't deal with the crisis?"
"How the hell should I know?" she snapped impatiently at her. Caladon instinctively recoiled back in her chair in the face of her captain's anger. Young was well known to be surly, but usually her anger was of a condescending nature, whether it was dealing with the incompetence of a crewman or with the ship's impudent AI, Vulcan. But this was different; it was the irrational anger of one who is in a predicament she can't comprehend and cannot confront. "The UNSC has proven themselves capable in the past," she continued, her surly tone still clear in her voice. "The crisis will be resolved." She looked around the table at all the officers. "Any other questions?" she asked.
Everyone remained silent, though Young guessed their minds were teeming with questions and the only reason they did not voice them was because they did not want to fuel their Captain's bad mood. Young did not particularly care. They could probably not ask her anything she had not already asked Stanforth.
Young did not tell them that Harvest had been destroyed, rendered uninhabitable by orbital bombardment, and not one of its three million citizens had been spared. It was part of the reason that she was so angry, and she did not see the need in telling her crew just how superior these aliens were.
After the silence endured, they all expected to be dismissed, and were vaguely surprised when Young declared she had more bad news. "Our expedition of the ring's surface has been encountering some problems. Two of the Marines exploring another structure were killed, their corpses mutilated." The only one present who did not express their shock was Colonel, who had heard about the incident earlier.
At once the conference room erupted into questions, speculations, and exclamations of horror, the fear of their captain forgotten. Young swiftly brought her fist down on the table and demanded order. "You're doubtless all wondering who committed this atrocity, though it may shock you to know the truth. At 1100 hours, Dr. Lewis had Vulcan analyze all of the Marines' CNI transponder chips, and he found that the closest Marine to the sight of the deaths was over five thousands kilometers away. No human committed this act." Young knew this was a lot to tell hers senior officers in a single conference, though she also knew the need for these men and women to be briefed on recent developments.
Again the room descended into chaos, everyone asking their questions and voicing their opinions. Young once again called for order. "Speculation at this time is pointless," she said coldly, regaining her composure from her previous outbreak. "However for now, we can assume that we are not alone on the ring down there. Which is hardly surprising," she added, "as so many of you were quite adamant that the construct is not of human origin." She smirked absurdly at their chagrin. "We will reconvene pending additional information. Everyone will now return to their station."
The room quickly emptied, some angry at their captain, all knowing questioning her was pointless. Young followed her senior officers out of the conference room and walked her way down the hall to the bridge. She entered the bridge and demagnetized her boots, for the spinning bridge had close to earth normal gravity. Strapping herself into the captain's seat, she ordered her navigational officer Richard Smith to maintain normal orbit around Threshold.
"Uh, ma'am," her sensors officers, Daniel Ford, said hesitantly, "I'm getting some very strange readings."
"What do you mean, Mr. Ford?" Young asked.
"A moment ago, ships sensors detected a large collection of small objects heading our way at a rapid speed... wait, there they are again! Now they're gone..." He looked thoroughly confused and embarrassed at apparently wasting his captain's time.
"What the hell is going on here, lieutenant?" Young asked impatiently.
While the communications officer stumbled for a response, Vulcan flickered up from his pedestal next to the main screen. "I feel he must verify Mr. Fords report, captain," he said coolly, directing her anger away from the yellow navigational officer. "I have had time to analyze the reports. The first consisted of sixty-five objects approximately one meter cubed. The second detected seventy-three such objects and the third counted eighty-four. All were going faster than our orbiting speed of ninety-thousand kilometers per hour, and seemed to be closing on us."
Before Young could say anything, Ford quickly said, "They're here again, ma'am, three kilometers off our starboard side and closing."
Young said nothing for a moment, but just waited, for three kilometers could be covered in mere moments. When nothing happened, she asked Ford to report.
"Sensors are no longer picking up the anomalies, but I am detecting a slight external hull temperature increase on deck eight, sector three."
"Vulcan?" Young asked slowly, wondering if the AI had additional information.
Whether he did at that time Young would never know, for suddenly the whole ship rocked violently, and though everyone was strapped in their seats, they were still considerably jarred. Young pushed her disheveled hair out of her face and pulled herself back upright in her chair. She noticed gradually that the warning sirens were blaring, and the bridge was filled with flickering red light. "Report!" she shouted over the din.
Vulcan, the only one who had not been affected by the sudden movement, was the first to respond. "Hull breach on deck on, origination: sector three. Blast doors closing."
"What the hell is happening to my ship, Vulcan?" she asked the AI accusingly, as if he were somehow to blame.
"I believe, captain," he said coolly, "that we are under attack.
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