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First Contact: The Expedition
Posted By: Commander Demitri Wolf<evo_343@hotmail.com>
Date: 3 March 2005, 2:11 AM
Read/Post Comments
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2349 Hours, January 1, 2440 (Military Calendar) /
Epsilon Eridani System, Reach UNSC Military Complex,
planet Reach, Camp Hathcock
Corporal Fredrick Taper, an ONI Sector Three Commander, sat at his desk with his head in his shaking hands. As much as he didn't like what he was about to do he knew it had to happen.
A small select group of ONI spooks knew of the existence of the aliens, along with a tech, a quick response unit, an Admiral and three ONI officers now on their way to where the alien was found.
It was his job to make sure that they never returned.
The quick response team would meet an unfortunate demise when their dropship explodes, the tech would be meet his demise along with them. The officers would be dealt with later but that left one other person, Vice Admiral Samuel Howe, Head of ONI Medical Facility-003.
He took one hand off his head and opened his top drawer, the small pistol gleamed and sone in his eye by reflecting the light from the desk lamp. He grabbing the gun he switched off the lamp, shoved it in his black cloak pocket and got to his feet. He made his way to the door and left the room in darkness and silence, this is one job he wasn't going to enjoy.
Howe was still in his office, asleep on the sofa in the office's conference area. A knock at the door made him shift over in his sleep but he didn't wake up, another few knocks however and he was looking over at his clock with extremely tired eyes.
01:10 AM
"Jesus, what now." He muttered and got up, "I'm coming, hang on."
He straightened the tie that hung loose around his neck and buttoned up his cuffs. Before going to the door he hit the button on his computer keypad and the temperature rose a few degrees, much better.
"Good morning Corporal, can I help you?" he asked when the door opened to reveal his guest.
"Yes I believe you can sir, may I come in?" the Corporal asked, his voice showing no sign of the panic he was feeling.
Howe stepped aside and Taper entered and looked around the room, no one else here, good.
"Would you car for some scotch Corporal?" the Vice Admiral asked looking up from his small bar fridge.
"Ah, yes please." Taper replied in his heavily German accented voice as he slid the gun out of his pocket and quickly twisted the silencer on.
Howe approached with two glasses and set them down on the table in between two armchairs, he sat in one and gestured for the Corporal to take the other.
"What exactly is it that you need to talk to me at ten past one in the morning Taper?"
The Corporal watched him drink the scotch, the last you'll ever have, he thought as he brought his up to his lips and downed most of it in a single gulp. He set the glass down, raised a hand to his mouth and wiped the drops of alcohol away,
"This."
As the Corporal dug his hand into his pocket Howe took another sip of the scotch and tilted his head back trying to get the last drips from the glass. Bringing out the pistol, Taper raised it and fired a shot at his exposed throat; he was a professional marksman, it would look like suicide.
The glass dropped to the ground and spilt its contents as Howe slumped backwards and lay still and blood trickled down his forehead. Fredrick took a cloth dipped it in his scotch and rubbed it over the handle and trigger before placing it in Howe's right hand.
He rubbed a bit more of the scotch into Howe's other hand and around his feet and took the glass over to the bar fridge.
He poured a glass of scotch and raised it to the dead man, "Danke." He drunk it in one swig and then cleaned the glass in the sink, being careful only to touch the tap with the cloth.
He pocketed the damp cloth and took out a pair of gloves that he put on and ejected the AI system.
He left the room with the lights dimmed, a gun and an AI's processor cube in his pocket as well as a laptop computer under his arm.
He turned back towards his dead superior and saluted him, "Farewell Admiral."
Tech Officer (2nd Class) Marko Carlson ran down the long metal corridor to the sound of clicking boots and blaring sirens. The quick response team attached their crash helmets and cocked their weapons as they headed for the dropship bay.
The blast doors retracted as they got closer, they exited into an open hanger, the sun shone down and bounced off their reflective visors.
"Come on get in, get in!" Flight Lieutenant Jonas Harrison bellowed from the cockpit and the team leapt into the back strapping themselves into the seat harnesses.
"What's the brief Jonas?" Commander Douglas Shanley called over the noise of the new dropship prototype.
"There's a suspected terrorist situation at UNSC HQ, that's where he comes in," he yelled back, nodding in the direction of Carlson, "the whole place is in lockdown, there's no communication in or out, he's gonna have to hack into the system."
The Pelican lifted off the ground and stalled before the thrusters charged to 100% and powered the craft forwards into the sky. At a thousand feet the craft shook and then had a series of violent spasms while it shot upwards.
"I've lost control, get outta the ship, its gonna blow!" Harrison hollered and pulled at the joystick, beads of sweat forming on his face as he realised that while the others might survive, he was dead. He tried to get the ship back up but it wouldn't move, it kept on its upward slope.
Shanley and his men unstrapped their restraints and rushed for the exit, "Thankyou Jonas, I'll be seeing you later." Shanley called with a smile as he dropped out of the back of the dropship.
The ship veered sharply to the right as the Marine plunged downwards, suddenly a low rumble sounded and an explosion tore through the ship, disintegrating everything inside it and engulfing the Commander in its fiery grip.
Inside the complex the team had just left, Corporal Taper smiled and re-entered the building through the large bulkhead, the personnel he passed noticed him as he walked down the long corridor tossing and catching a small metal object.
Though none of them recognised it as a key component in a Pelican's engine.
0335 Hours, January 2, 2440 (Military Calendar) /
narrow-band point-to-point transmission: origin
UNKNOWN; termination: Omega secure
antenna array, Reach Military Complex
Planet Reach, Camp Hathcock
PLNB Priority Transmission XX089Z-XX
Encryption Code: GAMMA
Public Key: N/A
From: CODENAME: PROMETHEUS
To: CODENAME: ZEUS
Subject: NONE
Classification: EYES ONLY TOP SECRET (SECTION III
X-RAY DIRECTIVE)
/file extraction-reconstitution complete/
/start file/
Zeus,
My work is done, there was an accident with a prototype model, will be at briefing at 0700.
Prometheus
/end file/
/scramble-destruction process enabled/
Press ENTER to continue.
"You will be dispatched at 0100 Hours on the seventeenth of this month, any more questions?" Admiral O'Neill briefed the three people, the members of Top Secret Project: Trinity.
A man sitting in the corner was the room's only other occupant and while the group couldn't see his face the insignia on his uniform revealed his rank; he was a Corporal.
There was silence. "Good, then that is all. Arrive back here at 1200." The three officers filed out of the room and Taylor shut the door behind them. Muffled sounds of talking came from the room but the group were soon out of earshot down the corridor.
The VTOL Jump Jet known as the SkyTiger II looked impressive in the otherwise dull, empty hanger, at its controls was Lieutenant Commander Corbett who was issuing commands on the buttons with her fingers.
The sleek black jet was equipped with heat seeking Stinger missiles and quad 50mm rotary cannons as well as dual 102mm cannons.
The roof of the hanger slid away and revealed the vacuum of space; a grin appeared on Corbett's face as the engines of the craft roared in anticipation.
Corbett hit a button and the jets propelled the craft up higher until it was clear of the hanger, the jets swung around and the Tiger shot off, heading towards the large jungle-desert mix planet a dozen kilometres away.
It had been just over two weeks since she had sat in Admiral O'Neill's office with the unknown Corporal, and now she was on her way to Athens.
She heard a familiar sound and took a glance at the radar, two other jets, identical in shape to hers; Taylor and Forbes. Smiling again she keyed the intercom, "Ah, decided to show up ey? Thought you'd never get here."
"Trouble with the fuselage, had to get it checked Corbett." Taylor replied to the joke.
"Of course Sir, nothing to do with the fact that I'm a better pilot than you."
"After Luna I was a Navy pilot for five years, and I got the skills to prove it, would you two care for a race? First one to Athens wins, the other two concede defeat."
"What do we get if we win?" Forbes asked.
"Team leader for the mission." Came the crackly reply over the COM system.
"Your on."
It was Commander Forbes who landed first, "Right then, Joe, set some markers around here so we know where we started, Lauren, contact O'Neill, tell him were in." she radioed over the COM channel.
She started the engine back up and was followed by the others shortly after. "I'll go Northward, Joe-East and Lauren-South, we'll rendezvous here," She said pointing out an area on the map on the HUD "and head West. Maintain radio silence unless necessary. Alpha, out."
While on the mission the three officers referred to themselves and each other by their SkyTiger's names; Anna was Alpha, Joseph-Delta and Lauren-Zulu.
"This is Delta, I think we got something, Grid 14 by 26, it looks like a...a city," Joseph stuttered, " Except its purple, and swollen, get over here, Delta out."
"Roger that Delta, Alpha on the way, out." Anna replied over the COM as she rotated the thrusters and gunner the Tiger off towards the rally point.
Supreme Commander Bora 'Nekalee looked at the display screen and snarled, he would get revenge.
The thing shot across the sky and then came to a stop, "Is it in position?" Bora asked.
"Yes Excellency, on your command." The other Sangheili replied, his lanky fingers danced across the keypad, feeling the slightest resistance as he pushed against its seemingly transparent buttons.
'Nekalee took a moment to think and then issued a one word command, "Fire."
0131 Hours, January 17, 2440 (Military Calendar) /
Planet Athens, Samna Aurelius System
At the helm of SkyTiger Delta, Joseph stared in awe at the alien city in the distance. Alpha and Zulu were on their way and he was sure that the aliens didn't know of their presence.
He switched a control and the thrusters powered down, the Tiger declined in altitude and nestled among the thick grass in the field.
Joe would be waiting at least ten minutes for the others; he killed the engine and slipped a hand into his rucksack on the floor emerging with a small chip.
He popped it into the receiver on the dashboard and started his playlist up in random order, how he loved the early twenty-first century's taste in music.
"Ah." he sighed, a favourite of his. He settled back into the seat and hummed along with the music.
All of a sudden he heard a crackling noise, one that could be likened to static. An alarm blared and the display screen shone a warning: Incoming Projectile.
"Shit!" He yelled and restarted the thrusters which shot him up into the air, the screen showed a ball that looked like a shining blue meteor; one heading right for him.
He set the jets to full but knew he couldn't escape, the crackling noise got louder and moments before impact his mind wandered back to his son and wife on Earth, theirs was the last image Joseph Taylor ever saw.
He heard the music playing and the tune relaxed him, he embraced the moment and welcomed death.
The fireball hit the Tiger and it burst into flame before crashing into the ground and exploding in a brilliant shower of sparks.
Alpha keyed the frequency, "Joe what was that? Joe, Joe!" she cried out in vain before hitting the command freq, "Lauren, get the hell out of here, call for recon, Joe's dead." She killed the connection and hit the thrusters.
Bora 'Nekalee laughed and commended the other Sangheili, "Brilliant. Wait, what's this?" he pointed to another object.
"There's one more on approach, another torpedo Excellency?" he suggested.
"Do it, do it quick. I don't want any of them to survive after what they did to my son."
Anna squinted and held back tears as she released safeties on the Stinger missiles and primed the 102mm's.
The purple city loomed closer and she saluted Taylor as the Tiger shot past the flaming wreckage.
"You ready for this bastards?" she punched the missile release and gripped the controls, her fingers poised over the triggers for the dual 102's. "You bloody well better be."
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