Prologue
All across the ship alarms blared, with crew and soldiers alike scrambling for the cryopods as the klaxons sang out, the shipboard AI warning about multiple hull breaches across multiple decks. A surprise meteor storm had caught UNSC frigate Idaho unawares and had torn holes through it's hull without remorse, damaging many of the key systems, including the life support and slip space jump drive. In response, the ship's captain, with his dying breath as most of the bridge crew had been killed in the storm, told all hands to report for cryo and hope for rescue. Little else could be done with the slip space drive so damaged and the result of the announcement had been chaos.
Amongst all the chaos, a lone SPARTAN-IV was already reporting to cryopods, having received special orders directly from the captain shortly before his ship-wide announcement. "Spartan Ryker, if no one else makes it out of this alive, you need to. The Master Chief must be found and the only other person to know what our mission was is you." Spartan Lucas Ryker steamed as he waited for the OK to climb into his pod. Standing to the side during a time of crisis was something his old captain in the ODST had done or a scared child did. Not a SPARTAN, and sure as hell not the Lone Wolf. Ryker had a habit of getting up in the middle of things and getting them done. But now, he had no choice.
Hearing his name, he took a step towards the pod, already removing his M395B DMR from his back, when another impact, this much heavier than those caused by the meteors, shook the ship. His radio crackled to life as the defensive gunners came through. "Son of a BITCH! It's a Brute raiding party, I repeat, it's a Brute raiding party! All military personnel not yet in their pods report to the airlock to repel, they're moving to board! I say again, move to repel boarders!"
The radio fell silent again, but the sound of the anti-ship guns could be heard all the same and already Lucas was moving to exit the room. The ODST captain caught his shoulder as he reached the door. "You're flagged VIP for the cryos, Spartan. I can't rightly let you leave this room." The polarized sunspot visor of the pathfinder helmet turned towards the captain, the brown eyes behind it appraising the man.
"With all due respect, Captain Volosky, I still have a job to do before I go into cryo. If those brutes manage to breach the pods, then it will have been a waste of time to get into one." The ODST didn't let go and after a moment's silence, didn't relent.
"Spartan, I'm going to count to three and you're going to turn around and get in your pod. You have mission critical information and you're going to be carrying the shipboard AI. Can't risk it falling into enemy hands." This caused Ryker to bring his whole body around to face Volosky and utter a single word.
"What?!"
"Veronica requested specifically that she be placed with you until you come out of cryo. I don't know why and I don't care. Her AI core's already on it's way here and once we have it, you are getting into a pod." Well shit. Lucas knew that at that point, arguing with the ODST captain was a moot point and resigned himself to waiting, once more removing his DMR from its place on his back and actually setting it on the weapons rack to his pod's immediate left. He kept his M6H2 tactical magnum with him, knowing it was better to wake up with a handgun than nothing.
Another impact rocked the ship and several more marines and ODST ran by, heading for another section of the ship as Veronica's voice came on through the radios this time. "This is UNSC AI 44857, but you can call me Veronica. That impact was a Brute boarding pod, but we are fortunate it was the ONLY boarding pod. The rest of the raiding party is in full retreat thanks to our fine gunners." This was greeted with cheers and hoots across the ship, everyone sure they were in the clear until the AI cleared her throat. "And now the bad news. I've finished my diagnostics and the ship's life support was damaged far worse than I had thought initially. Decks four through ten have already gone silent and I've sealed them off in an attempt to buy us more time. But, most of you won't make it. I estimate three days for the skeleton crew we'll need to keep sending out an SOS for the UNSC to find. Those who are to stay out of cryo have already received their orders. Everyone else, report to cryo as the late Captain ordered."
Suddenly the cryopod room became a flurry of activity with a layer of somberness, as people were rushed to their pods in an effort to buy the assigned skeleton crew more time than four days. Lucas could stand in stunned silence at first as the deck moved in a blur around him. Decks four through ten...so many people⦠And the pods weren't even half full on this level, which begged the question as he stepped into his own. What if everyone isn't in their pods in time?
Before he could finish, Captain Volosky tapped his shoulder, holding a small chip. "This is your passenger. She'll integrate with your armor systems and help monitor you through cryo." Lucas nodded and took the chip, inserting it in the back of his helmet in the slot designed for it. After a moment, Veronica's youthful face appeared in a small window in the top right corner of his HUD.
"Well Spartan Ryker, seems we're going to be bunking together. No peeking, OK?" With a giggle that reminded the Spartan of a flirtatious young woman, the window disappeared and he approached his pod. Turning back to the ODST captain, he saluted.
"See you on the other side, Captain." The captain returned it.
"Sleep tight, Spartan." Climbing into the large mechanical sleeping tube, the last thing Ryker remembered before the pod's effects kicked in was the Captain's face as he turned to leave the room.
