Chapter 1
MarkWarrior
Well-known member
Chapter 1
United Nations Space Command Reactivation
Artificial Intelligence Service Number: SNA 1292-4 Codenamed Serina
Directive: Reach UNSC Space
Status… Unknown
Sensor logs… Inhabited system ahead…
Engaging listed protocols…
Awakening all crew…
Reactors spinning up…
Resurrecting the dead…
"Welcome to the land of the living, captain," Serina's voice greeted Captain Cutter as he stepped out of the cryo pod, his naked flesh shivering in the cold as he stumbled into the nearby showers, a hacking cough erupting as he coughed up the bronchial surfactant before swallowing it back down.
"Serina, give me a status report," Cutter stepped into the shower and quickly scrubbed and rinsed before grabbing a towel and opening a nearby footlocker.
"You have all been asleep for approximately one year. The current date is January 5, 2532. We have not made contact with any UNSC forces."
Cutter listened as Serina continued to expand on their current situation, the UNSC Marines, Soldiers, and Sailors around him in a calm but steady pacing as they went through the normal procedures.
"Red Team, report to Cryo Chamber Foxtrot 7, Hellbringers, prepare for backup."
"Serina, what the hell is going on?"
Captain, it seems the infection followed us, I've sealed off Foxtrot 7 and ensured that the cryo pods remained sealed while Red Team and the Hellbringers burn them out."
Cutter swore and opened his mouth to bark out an order, and then paused. Spartans were already on the way. There simply wasn't anything better he could throw at the problem. "Keep me posted," he ordered and then finished up his routine. Securing his cap on his head and locking his sidearm in its holster before making his way to the bridge, his crew taking up their stations as the holo pedestal glowed with light as Serina appeared.
"Captain, Red Team is currently clearing out the infection pods. Hellbringer Teams Alpha Seven through Bravo Nine are on standby to burn out any potential pockets that remain."
"Captain, we've cleared out the infection. Requesting permission to open up the cryo pods to make sure.'
"Permission granted," Cutter grunted as he looked out at the solar system set before them. "Serina, where are we?"
"System appears to have been cataloged by UNSC probes as an alpha-numeric string. No efforts were made to attempt colonization."
"Then what am I looking at?" Cutter circled a pair of ships that were hanging out near the edge of the solar system.
"Unknown, Captain, they're not responding to hails and the designs don't match anything within my databanks."
"Then let's get closer, see if they respond then. But keep our weapons hot, I'm not taking any chances."
"Closing to handshake distance with potential alien menace, aye sir!" Serina's hologram disappeared as the Spirit of Fire's engines kicked in, the retrofitted colony ship moving ever closer.
"Captain," A trio of Spartans entered the Bridge.
"Red Team," Cutter nodded at them. "Standby for further orders, we're going to see who and what these people are. Then we'll move on from there."
–
–
Two jumpships waited at the zenith point of Alphard, their Jumpsails had just been extended before warning claxons sounded on the only two jumpships that were owned by the Marian Hegemony.
As the Warship neared them, the twin Invader class jumpships attempted to hot charge their K-F drives, one of them failing and spiking the Fusion reactor, rendering them dead in space while the other barely succeeded, and as the Spirit of Fire got close enough to launch boarding actions, disappeared from the larger ship's sensors.
"Captain, one of the ships just vanished, I'm detecting a small burst of Cherenkov radiation, but nothing else. Whatever it was, it wasn't slipspace."
"We'll get to that in a moment," Cutter turned to Red Team. "Take a squad of ODSTs, board the ship. I want everything they have on local space."
"Copy that sir," Jerome nodded, his faceplate reflecting the Captain's own face. "We'll get it done."
A pelican detached from the Spirit of Fire, the 'Blood tray' filled with a trio of Spartans with ODSTs flanking them. Jetpacks and EVA gear were attached and triple-checked as the Pelican spun around and eased down, locking its thrusters down as it vented the atmosphere from the main cargo area and moved as close as was safe for the dropship.
"This is where we drop you off, we'll remain on standby for evac or support as needed."
The ODSTs looked at Red Team as they grabbed a long tether, the trio of Spartans jumping over to and anchoring the magnetic points to the outside of the unknown ship as the ODSTs waited in the Blood tray. The magnetic seals on the boots held them to the Pelican until the Spartans signaled for them to begin transitioning over.
The group then attached their boots to the outside of the other ship and began walking until they paused at something that was labeled in clear English.
"I thought these were supposed to be aliens. Not humans. Now, I know that we just got out of Cryo, and I could be dreaming. But I'm pretty sure that says 'Airlock.'
"It does," Alice agreed. "Which means that if we cycle it, we can get in."
Alice shifted over and grabbed what appeared to be a manual override on the outside of the ship, the handle causing an internal door to seal as the external ones opened up and gave them a peek at the inside of the ship.
"Looks like some of those scavenger ships," an ODST muttered. "I don't think I've seen something this wrecked in years."
They all crammed into the airlock, barely fitting as Alice hit the next manual switch, the external doors closing as the bay pressurized again.
The internal doors opened, revealing a series of passages lit with the red glow of emergency lights, a body lay next to a sparking panel just inside the ship.
"This isn't a uniform I recognize," An ODST crouched over the corpse, flipping the body over to reveal a bearded face and a triangle on the collar and shoulders of the uniform. "Anyone else seen this rank insignia before?"
"Odd sidearm too," another one grabbed the handgun out of the holster. "I haven't seen a 10mm in a decade. He's got a nice blade though. I'll be grabbing that."
Slipping the knife and sheath out of the man's belt, the ODST attached it to the magnetic seal on his left hip while another one tucked the handgun and magazine into a backpack.
"What next, Senior Chief?" the squad leader asked Jerome.
"We follow the signs."
"Copy that."
The dark passages felt like something out of an ancient horror film, the red glow only illuminating a few places along the ship.
The Spartans and ODSTs walked through in silence, the flashlights flicking on and off as they carefully cleared each room they came across before finally reaching a section marked as 'Engineering.'
Then they reached the engine room and paused as they heard voices.
"Flashbangs and nonlethal only," Jerome whispered over the comms channels his hand grabbing one of said grenades off of his belt along with Alice and an ODST. "Breach and clear on my mark."
The two Spartans and ODST chucked the grenades in and waited for the detonation before moving in, the Spartans shoving the door open as the ODSTs went in.
"Drop your weapons and show your hands!"
"Show your fucking hands!"
The people in the engine room weren't anchored to the floor like the UNSC forces were, when they were hit by the flashbangs, they were completely disoriented.
"Secure them," Jerome ordered as he glanced around the reactor room.
"Two of you stay here, the rest of us will move to the bridge."
The Squad leader pointed to two ODSTs and indicated for them to remain here and hold this room.
"I don't want anything that's not us getting in here," The Sergeant ordered. "This place stays ours."
"Yes sir!"
And then they were moving, the Spartans taking point while the ODSTs followed once again, securing each room along with another dozen crew members in the mess hall and what was called a 'grav deck'.
With each secured group of prisoners they left an ODST or two behind to watch over the group before the remainder moved on, eventually reaching the bridge.
Settling into the routine, they once again tossed the flashbangs in, the nonlethal's floating in as the ODST and Spartan's helmets polarized and deafened the sound.
Jerome pushed into the bridge, aiming for what appeared to be the commanding officer, he grabbed the much smaller man and pinned him to the ground, his hands reaching for restraints as he removed any weapons from the man's body.
"Clear!"
"Good work," Jerome changed frequencies to FleetCom.
"Spirit of Fire we have secured the ship. It's not alien. There are humans onboard, I repeat, Humans are on board. We have prisoners for extraction."
"Copy that, Red Team, standby for teams to board and begin inspections. We need to find out just how far away from home we are."
United Nations Space Command Reactivation
Artificial Intelligence Service Number: SNA 1292-4 Codenamed Serina
Directive: Reach UNSC Space
Status… Unknown
Sensor logs… Inhabited system ahead…
Engaging listed protocols…
Awakening all crew…
Reactors spinning up…
Resurrecting the dead…
"Welcome to the land of the living, captain," Serina's voice greeted Captain Cutter as he stepped out of the cryo pod, his naked flesh shivering in the cold as he stumbled into the nearby showers, a hacking cough erupting as he coughed up the bronchial surfactant before swallowing it back down.
"Serina, give me a status report," Cutter stepped into the shower and quickly scrubbed and rinsed before grabbing a towel and opening a nearby footlocker.
"You have all been asleep for approximately one year. The current date is January 5, 2532. We have not made contact with any UNSC forces."
Cutter listened as Serina continued to expand on their current situation, the UNSC Marines, Soldiers, and Sailors around him in a calm but steady pacing as they went through the normal procedures.
"Red Team, report to Cryo Chamber Foxtrot 7, Hellbringers, prepare for backup."
"Serina, what the hell is going on?"
Captain, it seems the infection followed us, I've sealed off Foxtrot 7 and ensured that the cryo pods remained sealed while Red Team and the Hellbringers burn them out."
Cutter swore and opened his mouth to bark out an order, and then paused. Spartans were already on the way. There simply wasn't anything better he could throw at the problem. "Keep me posted," he ordered and then finished up his routine. Securing his cap on his head and locking his sidearm in its holster before making his way to the bridge, his crew taking up their stations as the holo pedestal glowed with light as Serina appeared.
"Captain, Red Team is currently clearing out the infection pods. Hellbringer Teams Alpha Seven through Bravo Nine are on standby to burn out any potential pockets that remain."
"Captain, we've cleared out the infection. Requesting permission to open up the cryo pods to make sure.'
"Permission granted," Cutter grunted as he looked out at the solar system set before them. "Serina, where are we?"
"System appears to have been cataloged by UNSC probes as an alpha-numeric string. No efforts were made to attempt colonization."
"Then what am I looking at?" Cutter circled a pair of ships that were hanging out near the edge of the solar system.
"Unknown, Captain, they're not responding to hails and the designs don't match anything within my databanks."
"Then let's get closer, see if they respond then. But keep our weapons hot, I'm not taking any chances."
"Closing to handshake distance with potential alien menace, aye sir!" Serina's hologram disappeared as the Spirit of Fire's engines kicked in, the retrofitted colony ship moving ever closer.
"Captain," A trio of Spartans entered the Bridge.
"Red Team," Cutter nodded at them. "Standby for further orders, we're going to see who and what these people are. Then we'll move on from there."
–
–
Two jumpships waited at the zenith point of Alphard, their Jumpsails had just been extended before warning claxons sounded on the only two jumpships that were owned by the Marian Hegemony.
As the Warship neared them, the twin Invader class jumpships attempted to hot charge their K-F drives, one of them failing and spiking the Fusion reactor, rendering them dead in space while the other barely succeeded, and as the Spirit of Fire got close enough to launch boarding actions, disappeared from the larger ship's sensors.
"Captain, one of the ships just vanished, I'm detecting a small burst of Cherenkov radiation, but nothing else. Whatever it was, it wasn't slipspace."
"We'll get to that in a moment," Cutter turned to Red Team. "Take a squad of ODSTs, board the ship. I want everything they have on local space."
"Copy that sir," Jerome nodded, his faceplate reflecting the Captain's own face. "We'll get it done."
A pelican detached from the Spirit of Fire, the 'Blood tray' filled with a trio of Spartans with ODSTs flanking them. Jetpacks and EVA gear were attached and triple-checked as the Pelican spun around and eased down, locking its thrusters down as it vented the atmosphere from the main cargo area and moved as close as was safe for the dropship.
"This is where we drop you off, we'll remain on standby for evac or support as needed."
The ODSTs looked at Red Team as they grabbed a long tether, the trio of Spartans jumping over to and anchoring the magnetic points to the outside of the unknown ship as the ODSTs waited in the Blood tray. The magnetic seals on the boots held them to the Pelican until the Spartans signaled for them to begin transitioning over.
The group then attached their boots to the outside of the other ship and began walking until they paused at something that was labeled in clear English.
"I thought these were supposed to be aliens. Not humans. Now, I know that we just got out of Cryo, and I could be dreaming. But I'm pretty sure that says 'Airlock.'
"It does," Alice agreed. "Which means that if we cycle it, we can get in."
Alice shifted over and grabbed what appeared to be a manual override on the outside of the ship, the handle causing an internal door to seal as the external ones opened up and gave them a peek at the inside of the ship.
"Looks like some of those scavenger ships," an ODST muttered. "I don't think I've seen something this wrecked in years."
They all crammed into the airlock, barely fitting as Alice hit the next manual switch, the external doors closing as the bay pressurized again.
The internal doors opened, revealing a series of passages lit with the red glow of emergency lights, a body lay next to a sparking panel just inside the ship.
"This isn't a uniform I recognize," An ODST crouched over the corpse, flipping the body over to reveal a bearded face and a triangle on the collar and shoulders of the uniform. "Anyone else seen this rank insignia before?"
"Odd sidearm too," another one grabbed the handgun out of the holster. "I haven't seen a 10mm in a decade. He's got a nice blade though. I'll be grabbing that."
Slipping the knife and sheath out of the man's belt, the ODST attached it to the magnetic seal on his left hip while another one tucked the handgun and magazine into a backpack.
"What next, Senior Chief?" the squad leader asked Jerome.
"We follow the signs."
"Copy that."
The dark passages felt like something out of an ancient horror film, the red glow only illuminating a few places along the ship.
The Spartans and ODSTs walked through in silence, the flashlights flicking on and off as they carefully cleared each room they came across before finally reaching a section marked as 'Engineering.'
Then they reached the engine room and paused as they heard voices.
"Flashbangs and nonlethal only," Jerome whispered over the comms channels his hand grabbing one of said grenades off of his belt along with Alice and an ODST. "Breach and clear on my mark."
The two Spartans and ODST chucked the grenades in and waited for the detonation before moving in, the Spartans shoving the door open as the ODSTs went in.
"Drop your weapons and show your hands!"
"Show your fucking hands!"
The people in the engine room weren't anchored to the floor like the UNSC forces were, when they were hit by the flashbangs, they were completely disoriented.
"Secure them," Jerome ordered as he glanced around the reactor room.
"Two of you stay here, the rest of us will move to the bridge."
The Squad leader pointed to two ODSTs and indicated for them to remain here and hold this room.
"I don't want anything that's not us getting in here," The Sergeant ordered. "This place stays ours."
"Yes sir!"
And then they were moving, the Spartans taking point while the ODSTs followed once again, securing each room along with another dozen crew members in the mess hall and what was called a 'grav deck'.
With each secured group of prisoners they left an ODST or two behind to watch over the group before the remainder moved on, eventually reaching the bridge.
Settling into the routine, they once again tossed the flashbangs in, the nonlethal's floating in as the ODST and Spartan's helmets polarized and deafened the sound.
Jerome pushed into the bridge, aiming for what appeared to be the commanding officer, he grabbed the much smaller man and pinned him to the ground, his hands reaching for restraints as he removed any weapons from the man's body.
"Clear!"
"Good work," Jerome changed frequencies to FleetCom.
"Spirit of Fire we have secured the ship. It's not alien. There are humans onboard, I repeat, Humans are on board. We have prisoners for extraction."
"Copy that, Red Team, standby for teams to board and begin inspections. We need to find out just how far away from home we are."
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