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Defense of Fire Base Epsilon Ch. 1
Posted By: S7NN3R<janet.johnson8@comcast.net>
Date: 19 February 2005, 2:16 AM
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Defense of Fire Base Epsilon
Chapter 1: System Error
SYSTEM ERROR
"Huh? What the...Hey, boss, we've got a problem."
"What is it this time, Sergeant?" 2nd Lieutenant Craig Commenus asked sternly.
"I uh, don't know. The terminal just says SYSTEM ERROR. I tried to re-boot it, but the things frozen," Gunnery Sergeant Dan Corisca said.
This was the fifth time today the computers had screwed up. He was getting sick of all these damned malfunctions. First the ventilation system to E-barracks screwed up and everyone there had to be evacuated. Then power went down in the armory, and that had to be fixed. The complex had been needing to be re-supplied for months, and it was no wonder it was falling apart.
The Zama Military Complex was one of the oldest known UNSC colonies in existence. A collection of moons and large asteroids that orbited around each other, the Zama Complex was on the border between Sol and the Epsilon Eridani system.
Established shortly after the Jovian Moons Campaign, the complex had been in existence almost two hundred years. All the moons and most of the large asteroids had been terra-formed and made into a livable set of colonies.
However, time takes its tolls on everything, and after the centuries, the colonies were slowly starting to break down.
Sergeant Corisca, as well as an additional five thousand Marines were stationed on the largest of the moons, Zephyrus. Zephyrus was roughly thirty thousand kilometers high and wide. It also was home to about two million civilians.
And now, like all the other colonies, it was falling apart. Thankfully, the Covenant hadn't yet attacked it.
Gunnery Sergeant Corisca had been stationed there for two years. He was of a medium build, 6'5", one hundred and eighty pounds, brown hair, dark, almost black eyes. He hated being on the station, and wished he had his old station back aboard the destroyer Vanquisher.
"Did you try the emergency back-up code yet?" Lieutenant Commenus asked.
"Yeah, I did, and still no response. I'll call command post and see what the problem." Corisca replied. He walked over to a wall mounted COM system, and selected the Command station, three floors above them. There was static, followed by a male voice.
"Command station, what's the problem?"
"Command station, this is Computer station Alpha, we've got a problem with the terminal that monitors the power generators, can you get us back up?" Corisca asked.
"Hmm, well I'll see what we can do," the man at Command station asked. "Uh, nope, seems that there's something wrong. I'll send a man down there to see what the problem is. Command station out."
"Over and out," Corisca said.
"Hey, Corisca," Lieutenant Commenus said. "The monitor to E-barracks is down."
"E-barracks again? I'll go down there and take a look."
"I better go with you, this shit is just getting ridiculous."
After taking the elevator down to the personnel level, Sergeant Corisca and Lieutenant Commenus personally inspected E-barracks.
"Nothing here. Son of a bitch!" Commenus exclaimed. The pair started to walk back towards the elevator back up to Computer station Alpha.
"Hey, you two, wait up!" someone shouted from behind them. Corisca turned and saw that it was Private first class Manuel Delgado. He was one of the newest recruits to Zama complex, born and raised on the colonies. He was tall, 6'9", and light, only a hundred and fifty pounds. He had black hair with brown eyes, and had an SMG slung to his hip.
"What is it, Private?" Commenus asked.
"I need a ride up to Command post, can I get in with you guys?" he asked.
"Sure, whatever," Commenus said, and hit the 'door open' button. The doors opened silently, and in a flash, Commenus was cut in half. His eyes widened in shock, and the top of his torso slid off the bottom half, and plopped to the ground on top of a pile of his own entrails.
Floating in the air, as if by magic, was a glowing blue plasma sword.
"Holy shit, man!" Corisca shouted, shocked.
"What the fuck! Oh my god! Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" Private Delgado yelled. He hopped back and grabbed for his SMG. "Get down, Sarge!" he yelled, and opened fire on the invisible object.
Corisca through himself to the ground. Delgado emptied the SMG clip, and reloaded. A Covenant Elite materialized out of thin air, holding a sword. It had been filled full of bullet holes and fell to the ground, dead.
"What the hell was that!?" Delgado exclaimed. "Jesus Christ man! Jesus Christ!"
Corisca slapped him across the face. "For God's sakes, shut up!" Corisca shouted. "Listen, we've got to get up to the Command post and tell them that the Covenant are here, that we need help."
"The Covenant? Here? B-But why?"
"I don't know, but we've got to warn them, warn everyone. But first..." Corisca walked off towards A-barracks. He opened one of the doors to the weapons locker and took out two shotguns and a pair of Magnum pistols.
"Here," he said and handed the shaking private a shotgun. "Take these. Now let's go."
The pair of Marines stepped into the elevator, but not before kicking the remains of the dead Elite out. Delgado made the Sign of the Cross before hitting the 'up' button.
After a few minutes of silence riding up the elevator, it stopped at Command station. The elevator doors opened with a silent snik, revealing the horrors that lie beyond.
"Oh, my God..." Corisca muttered as he looked at the Command station. There were dead bodies everywhere. Most were missing appendages, some entire sections of their bodies. Blood pooled everywhere on the floor. Entrails were strewn about like Christmas lights. Decapitated heads stared blindly up at the roof.
"Damn..." Corisca murmured. "We're too late."
A door opened at the far end of the room, and three black armored Elites came through, energy swords shimmering.
"Infidels!" the lead Elite shouted. "Your blood shall wash away the taint you've left on this Holy Land!" The Elites charged towards them, yelling alien battle cries.
"Open fire, Private!" Corisca shouted. He grabbed his shotgun and aimed it at the lead Elite. He squeezed the trigger and his arm flew back. The lead Elite dropped dead. Delgado fired his shotgun twice, and a second Elite fell down. The third Elite came rushing towards him. Corisca fired his shotgun and it fell down a foot from him.
Corisca walked over to the nearest console. He pushed the dead body of an Ensign off of it, and tapped a few controls.
"Attention: To all remaining UNSC personnel. This complex, Fire base Epsilon, has been taken over by Covenant forces, all personnel should report to the main armory. Gunnery Sergeant Dan Corisca out." He tapped several more buttons. "There," he said to Delgado. "I set it in an encryption key, so that it only used UNSC codewords. Now let's go."
The pair exited out of the room the way that the Elites had came in. They headed down several flights of stairs before they came to the sub-basement. The armory was just down two levels which could be reached by an elevator at the far end.
"Come on, let's go," Corisca said. The elevator doors at the far end opened and five Elites came running out.
"Open fire!" Corisca shouted. He squeezed the trigger a half dozen times, and two Elites hit the floor. Delgado fired four shots and another one fell down. One of the Elites that was still standing fired its plasma rifle before falling over. A shot strayed and hit Corisca in the leg. He fell over, screaming.
"Damn!" Delgado shouted. "You all right Sarge?"
"Yeah, now keep firing!" He fired off another pair of shots, and the last Elite hit the ground. Blood pooled from Corisca's leg onto the floor. He moaned in agony, clutching the wound.
"Damn, that looks bad, can you make it, Sarge?" Delgado asked.
"No, go on, get the others," he said. He dragged himself over to a nearby supply closet. "I'll be all right," he set down a box of shotgun ammo. "Now go." Delgado stood there, looking concerned, but then turned and ran down the corridor towards the elevator.
"Better get comfy," he said to himself. He took out a cigarette from his pocket, put it in his mouth and lit it.
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