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Halo Cataclysm: The Nexus (Chapter 001)
Posted By: Snake Solid 117<Snakesolid117@Yahoo.com>
Date: 11 June 2004, 5:47 AM
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-Chapter 001-
-The Nexus-
1304 Hours, September 16, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Long Sword Interceptor, Location Unknown.
John lay asleep, his right hand firmly holding his M6D pistol. He swiftly rolled onto his left side, his armor clanking as he moved.
"Time to wake up." Seconds later the Long Sword's alarms began to wail. The Master Chief, startled from the sudden commotion, jumped up and instinctively whipped his pistol around. He checked the back of the interceptor, then checked his right and left as he cautiously backed into the cockpit, quickly shutting the doors.
"Cortana, Covenant?" Asked John as he sat in the pilot's chair. He re-ignited the crafts engines, and armed the twin, nose mounted 100mm chain cannons. Soon after he brought up the tactical radar display, but there area was clear. "Cortana, what is this, I've got nothing."
A faint giggle could be heard as Cortana popped up on the ships HUD (Heads Up Display). "Nothing, Chief," she said playfully, "I had been trying to wake you for the past 5 minutes, so I decided to use the only alarm clock on board," She rolled her eyes, smiled and looked back at chief, "Obviously it did the job."
Master Chief glared at Cortana, for her tactless approach to wakening him, "What did you wake me up for then?" He asked as he undid the seats safety harness and powered down the engines.
Cortana disappeared, a model of a UNSC looking Destroyer taking her place. "I picked this wreckage up a few minutes ago as I was scanning for Covenant." The ship shrank, and slid over to the upper left-hand corner of the pilot interface. Cortana re-appeared. "I thought that this was a UNSC ship until I did a more detailed scan. The ship is very similar except for the weapons, armor, and minute differences in hull design and construction, but from just taking a look at it, you wouldn't be able tell the difference."
Master Chief stood looking at the small model on the Interceptors HUD. "Are you sure it's not UNSC," He asked touching the screen, "It could just be a new design."
An annoyed look overcame Cortana's usually calm face and her data lines coursed Crimson instead of the usual, calm, Blue Violet. "Yes, I'm sure." she said, "This ship has different markings too." Cortana pulled down the model in front of her, enlarging it again, focusing mainly on the area around the bridge. "This ship is the Destroyer Nexus of the UPDI."
Master Chief looked over large hologram model. "So then," He said as he sat back down in pilot's chair, "What's our E.T.A.?"
Cortana pushed the model back into the corner of the interface again, "Twenty minutes and thirty-eight seconds." She smiled, placing her hands on her hips. She reminded him of Dr. Halsey, "but I could make it quicker." She said, winking.
John just looked at her and cracked a rare smile. "No that's fine, just get us as close to that ship as possible without firing the engines. I need time to prep my armor, weapons, and the rest of my gear."
Cortana cocked her head, "Are you going to board it?"
John turned and raised his right hand to grip the edge of the doorway as he turned back facing Cortana, "You wanted me too, right?" John said as he looked towards the back of the ship, "Anyway, I need too. I need to restock my supplies if possible, and I need to get a little exercise."
Cortana Smiled, "You do that. I need to find out our location if possible. Something tells me we're not in UNSC space anymore."
"Sir, we have located the Nexus, she's badly damaged but there is a good chance that there are survivors on board." A dark man in black held out a data pad, "Admiral Skye has already sent out the Deliverance to investigate."
A man in all black reached out a grasped the pad, "Thank you Colonel, that will be all, you are dismissed."
The man saluted. He stepped back and spun on his heals, facing the rooms door, "Sir, I do have one question though."
The man in black looked up from the data pad that was on his desk, "Yes?"
The man turned around, "What did that to the Nexus? I know of no weapon that can do damage like that." The Colonel moved his hands, trying to think, "It looked as is she was burned or melted down."
The man in black turned slightly to his right, his rank insignia catching the light, "The Covenant, Colonel?"
"Covenant, you mean a pact with god?"
"Not exactly."
"Then what-."
"That is all I can tell you Colonel." Answered the General as he lowered his gaze back too his desk, "I trust that you will keep this information to yourself."
"Yes, sir, of course." The Colonel saluted, then left the room.
The doors shut quickly, and the lights in the room dimmed. The only illumination in the whole room was from the data pad on the general's desk and a window behind him. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes, turning in his chair. He came to a stop, looking out the his window; a nearby star showing the worry on his face. He closed his eyes and looked down at his lap, "They're back. I just hope to God we are ready."
"Chief, we're here."
The Master Chief stood from his seat, and walked to the back of the spacecraft, "Cortana," He said as he made his way to the rear door of the Long Sword, checking his helmets locks to make sure they where air tight, "Ready?"
"Of course." She replied coolly.
Cortana opened the bay doors, "Now please, don't miss."
"I won't." replied John as he pushed off the floor, propelling himself towards the Nexus. He glided gracefully towards the derelict ship, leaving the safe confines of the Long Sword Interceptor.
"Careful, there is a lot of debris."
John acknowledged with a nod, keeping his attention on the ship. He threw his upper body back, and swung his feet around.
"Easy."
John hit the ship, and quickly grabbed the hull with his free hand, "Now what?" He asked, as he pulled himself in. A piece of the ships armor plating quickly floated passed, parts of it melted and charred. John secured his rifle behind his back, and grabbed the ship's hull with both hands
Cortana sighed, "I'm trying to get into the ships security systems."
John held tightly on to the ships hull, keeping a close eye out for danger, He was about to ask about her progress, when the ship suddenly shuddered. The violent quake caused him to lose his grip. John quickly seized a handle on the side of the ship, near a door. There was a long pause. The Master Chief waited, keeping a close watch on his suits O2 gauge."
"Ha, there." Said Cortana. "I'm in."
"Now would be a good time." Said John.
"Just give me a sec." Cortana hummed as she worked. The tune seemed familiar, but John couldn't finger it.
As John looked around, a flashing green button caught his eye. John began to reach for it, then stopped short, "Are you sure it's safe?"
"Why, are you scared?" Asked Cortana, surprised.
John shook his head, "I just don't want to take stupid risks, not now."
Cortana agreed silently, "Well, it's safe."
John tapped the button quickly, but nothing happened, "Broken?"
He waited in silence. He was about to press the button again when his COM clicked, "This area is currently pressurized, but no personnel are located within this section. Do you wish to depressurize?"
"Amazing, the ships backup A.I. is still operational," Cortana paused for a moment, "And it speaks English too." she said quietly.
"Awaiting order." Toned the ship's A.I.
John pulled himself over to the right of the door, "Open it."
"Affirmative, emergency opening of Airlock 38E. Atmospheric purge initiated."
John's eyes widened, "Purge?"
The door's lights started flashed between red and green, "All personnel, stand clear." The door's light locked on green, then opened. The atmosphere exploded out of the ship's airlock, slamming into John.
John swung his left arm into the door, just barely getting a grip on the edge as a large container flew past.
"Chief, hurry, get us in!" Yelled Cortana.
The Master Chief grabbed the upper section of the door; the pressure of the airlock was whipping against the chief, making maneuvering in zero gravity almost impossible. He grabbed at a bar on the halls wall, and was able to pull himself in.
"Atmosphere levels at critical, emergency closure of airlock 38E, all personnel stand clear." Lights on the doors flashed between green to red, then locked on red. The door flew closed, sealing it off from the vacuum of space.
The sudden lack of suction, placed the Master Chief under the power of the ship's artificial gravity. "Damn." Was all John muttered before he dropped 2 meters to the deck below.
"It wasn't my fault this time." Said Cortana, trying to keep from laughing.
John stood up and shook his head, "That's twice".
The ship's voice popped back into the Chief's headset, "The atmosphere in this area is at 25%, if you wish to access other areas safely, you must first re-pressurize this area."
"Do it." Said Cortana.
"Affirmative." Responded the ship.
The Master Chief could hear the atmosphere being vented in. He watched as a gauge on his HUD read the level rise: 40%,78%. In a matter of seconds. It finally came to a rest at 89%.
"Area re-pressurized to maximum capability, you may now safely access the adjacent sections."
John walked over to the nearest blast door, "Cortana, is it locked?"
"No, just press the buttons I have highlighted on your HUD."
John reached out and depressed the button.
Another voice echoed in his helmet, this one was a deeper male sounding voice, "Opening emergency blast door 40E. All personnel stand clear."
The Master Chief stepped back, and raised his rifle butt to his shoulder and leveled it at the height of an Elites chest.
"Blast door, clear. Opening." With that the black door opened. John watched as the door sections parted. There was a slight rush of air as the door opened. One part of the door opened into the left wall, another into the right and a third into the ceiling. On the other side was another door composed of a clear ceramic composite. The large door then rose into the ceiling, giving the Chief access to the hall.
"That look familiar?" Asked John.
"The doors off of the halo. They ran at the same speed, exact same design, but these doors ran smoother than the ones on the ring." Cortana gasped, "Do you think?"
"Can't be. I think we're probably jumping to conclusions" Responded John as the trisection and ceramic doors locked into the ships hull, exposing a long hall around a right hand turn. John jumped out from around the corner, scanning for movement, "Besides, even If these where the same people, they would be far more advanced than this, right?"
"I suppose so." Responded Cortana, "But there could be reasons. Maybe they know where other rings are, they could have taken the tech."
"Probably, Guilty Spark said that he was monitoring the fourth installation." Added John as he came to the end of the hall, "Cortana, are you picking up any movement, any at all?" John listened as 2 clicks happened in quick succession.
"I'm having trouble getting into the ships Computer Core, whatever defenses they've got up; it's anticipating everything I do." Cortana grumbled, "It has to be some form of highly advanced A.I., that's the only explanation."
John sighed slightly and looked around the hallway, examining his surroundings, "It looks so much like a UNSC ship."
"I know, very..." Cortana searched for the appropriate word, "Creepy." The door before John suddenly clicked, the slid open, "There you go."
John quickly moved through the doorway and followed the hall to a small turn. Around the corner John looked to his left, watching a nearby Nebula spin lazily in the space, "So many windows for a war ship."
"Access Granted, you are now clear to access any and all of the ship's data and systems." Announced the ships cool voice.
"Got the damned thing. It took longer than I anticipated but I got it. I'll pull up the ship wide heat and motion trackers." Seconds later a 3-D model blinked onto John's HUD, "There, the sensors should be relaying you data...now." Suddenly the diagram was filled with red and yellow areas, "The yellow sections are areas with movements, and the red are heat."
"Good." Said John as he looked closely at the model, "See if you can find out where we are?"
Cortana laughed, "Hold on." Said Cortana as she worked, "You wouldn't believe the size of this ship's core, massive is an understatement."
"Now all I need are rations." John said to himself. He watched the model very closely and a bright red area near him caught his eye, "Cortana."
"Yes, what do you need?"
"Can you only show signatures for living objects?"
"Let us see." Cortana hummed as she worked through the computer, "There." More than half of the red areas blinked off, as did many of the motions sensors pings, "I got rid of what I could, but you have to admit, that is really going narrow your search."
John nodded, "Just close in on my location though."
"No problem." Cortana quickly did so. The diagram grew and zoomed in on the lower decks and the Chief. John suddenly stopped walking, and looked over his right shoulder. "Something wrong?" Asked Cortana.
"I thought I saw something, on the tracker." John's left hand raised as he pointed to a set of double doors, above which read, Mess Hall.
"Are you sure, I didn't detect anything," replied Cortana.
"It wouldn't hurt to check." said John as he neared the doors.
"Careful though, it might be an ambush."
"I know." He replied as he closed on the doors. John stopped a meter form the door, "Cortana, is it locked down?" He asked as he pushed on the door.
"No. The system shows it unlocked and green." Cortana paused for a moment, "They should have opened."
John stepped back from the doors and leveled his rifle at the doors center. John rushed towards the door and kicked open the small door with relative ease. He stepped in quickly and scanned the room, "Nothing." John stood in the doorway momentarily, making a final check.
"Wait, listen." Said Cortana as she raised the sensitivity of the armor's audio detection gear.
A subtle shaking of metal, and series of quick breaths could be heard resonating from behind the messes buffet bar.
"That is definitely not Covenant," said Cortana.
"Stay away!" Yelled the man from behind bar. He jumped up and leveled his assault rifle at John's chest, "Don't come any closer!" The man hand's had a death grip on his rifle; his knuckles were white. After a moment, the man's eyes turned from fear and hatred to happiness. He lowered his weapon, and stared at John,
John lowered his weapon as well and cocked his head at the man, "Who are you, and what happened here?"
A nervous laughed escaped the man's lips. He cautiously looked around the room, then back to the Chief. He drew in a deep breath then snapped to attention, accompanied with a clean, crisp salute, from a very shaky hand, "Lieutenant Garland, Sir." His stance eased as he lowered his hand, "It's so good to see another face," He paused, "Erm, person." The man looked around nervously "You didn't see any more of them did you?"
John cocked his head, "Any what?"
"Boarding troops. One of the attacking cruisers launched about twenty to thirty of these 'U' shaped transports." Garland looked around, "I killed a bunch of these little orange and blue things," Said Garland, holding his hand about a meter and a half above the deck, "but there was this tall one, wearing all gold armor. I emptied an entire clip at the damned thing and it just wouldn't die; I think it had some sort of energy shield." Garland looked over his left shoulder and sat down on one of the benches to one of the many tables in the room, "So, I brandished an empty rocket casing and scared it into an airlock down the hall." He pointed to the direction the Chief came from, "I secured the bastard in there and blew the room," Garland smiled, "The only pieces left are no larger than my head."
"How many of those tall ones did you encounter?" Asked John.
"Two. A blue one, it wasn't easy but it went down. It was that damned Gold thing, that fucking thing just laughed at me."
John looked at his radar, more motion pings appeared in a small storage room down the hall. John's eyes moved back over to the man, "What's in that room down the hall?" He motioned to the room with his head.
Garland looked up from the floor, "I locked it, I heard some noises in their, but all attempts at communication where met with scratching and yelling." He shook his head, "Either the person in there is mad, or it's the last of the boarding troops."
John turned and looked over his left shoulder, towards the airlock. John slid back the bolt to his chamber slightly, to confirm a bullet was loaded, "Can you unlock it?"
Garland shook his head, "Why, are you going in?"
John looked over at Garland and nodded.
"Great." Said Garland as he stood. He grabbed his rifle and fed it a new clip.
"No, you stay here." Said John, as he pushed the man down into his seat.
"What? Hey, I watched these ass holes drop out of nowhere, board this ship and slaughter anybody they could find. Hell, I watched one of my friends get gutted by those damned midget...things." The man jumped up into John's face, "I going."
John placed his hand on the man's shoulder and pushed him back into his seat, "No."
Garland just stared at the chief as he left the room, "Sir, what the hell should I do then?"
John turned his head slightly as he walked, "Stay alive."
"What...what the hell kind of order is that?" Yelled Garland. He looked around the room and kicked the adjacent table, "Goddamn it. I hate these special forces guys."
"Chief, do you really think that that was a good idea?" Asked Cortana as John proceeded down the hall.
"He should be safe there." He responded. As he walked down the corridor, the ship shuddered violently, nearly knocking him to the floor. "Cortana?"
"That wasn't me, something outside, something big."
John pushed off of the wall he was using for support, "Any idea..."John paused for a second, "Maybe the Covenant came back?"
"No, the signature resembles nothing that I have seen before." Cortana lay silent for a moment, "Impossible."
"Sir, what the hell was that?" Yelled Garland from the Mess hall.
"I don't know, check it out." Yelled back John as he motioned towards a window.
Garland walked out of the Mess hall and over to a huge window; armored shutters half closed over it.
"What is it?" Asked John.
Garland looked over at the chief, a wide smile on his face, "The Deliverance."
A man in all black stood near the center of a dark, circular room. The wall before him displayed the Nexus, via cameras on the exterior of the ship. The solitary figure coughed, then crossed his arms over his chest, "Well, she looks to be in good shape, considering what she has been through."
"The info from the scan is now on screen Captain Grieves." Announced a disembodied voice.
A large, 3-D holographic diagram blinked up in front of the Captain, light showered onto his impassive face and graying hair. His uniforms front now coated in an iridescent blue-green glow. The man uncrossed his arms, and placed them behind his back. Letters began to scroll across the screen, each grouped to a certain location on the holographic model of the Nexus.
"It's her alright" Said the voice, "However, that was not all I found."
The man looked over his left shoulder, "What else did you find Ava?"
A woman stepped out of the shadows. She walked over, and stopped next to the Captain. She paused, then raised her hand to and brushed some hair out of her face, "Maybe nothing, but,"
"The man looked at her, his eyes narrowed, 'But', what?"
The Nexus quickly disintegrated. A small dot floated in the middle of the room, "This." The dot expanded, a hologram of the Long Sword defined itself.
"A bomber?" Asked Grieves.
"It is similar to our heavy bomber, but it's engines are underpowered, the armor is of inferior quality, and the weapons onboard are not in commercial use anymore."
"In other words, it's useless."
"A little."
Grieves turned to face Ava, his Captain's insignia catching what little light it could, "Then why show me?"
"I figured maybe it was a terrorist's?"
He looked down at the floor, then back over to the Nexus, "Not even the terrorists would use equipment of that quality." He said pointing to the Long Sword.
"You make it sound as though it is completely useless."
"For any practical military purpose, it is." The Captain brought his arms back up, and crossed them over his chest, "Show me the Nexus again."
The Nexus blinked up again, and began to spin lazily in the middle of the room.
"Are the boarding teams ready?"
Ava nodded, "Yes, Captain. The Marines have five, six man teams standing by."
"Good, good." Said Grieves to him self, "What about Master Sergeant Hayter?"
Ava looked over at the Captain, "You mean the Sentinel?"
"Yes." Responded Grieves
"He just finished getting suited up and checking his equipment, he should be in the hangar in about five minutes."
Grieves nodded.
Suddenly the Nexus dissipated and a man's face appeared, "Sir, this is Major Spiegel, I'm ready. The Master Sergeant has just arrived, permission to proceed with the boarding?"
"Yes Major, permission granted." Said Grieves, as he quickly raised his hand to a salute, "Good luck Major."
"Thank you, sir."
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