Hey guys, I'm back. Just like I promised, here is the first chapter to my new story. The original challenge proposition was made by Twisted Fate Mk.2 so go check out his stuff. Anyways enjoy.

Ch.1: A Day with the Admiral

FEBRUARY 9TH, 2547. 1000 HOURS (STANDARD UNSC MILITARY CALENDAR)

UNSC CHARON CLASS LIGHT FRIGATE TWISTED FATE

IN HIGH ORBIT AROUND UNSC FORTRESS WORLD: REACH

CAPTAIN DAVID RECKER

Captain David Recker did not like this one bit.

He was standing aboard his ship, the UNSC Twisted Fate. He waited anxiously for a transmission form UNSC High Command. He was never told about what it was about or who exactly will contact him, but it seemed important enough.

'Important enough to ruin my day of R&R with a pot of coffee' Recker thought to himself angrily.

He scanned the bridge as the crew ran through the bland routines of maintenance and scanning for hostiles. He noticed that the crew was starting to become bored of the simple routine. However, being one of the fastest ships in the UNSC fleet, the crew of the Twisted Fate had to be ready at a moments notice. Many of the supplies on the ship have started to run dry, from cleaning supplies to toilet paper to food. David couldn't even begin to imagine how much longer he could take the filthy look and stench of his ship.

He wished that something could be done. However, the platform that housed Reach's Orbital Elevator has been busy for the past week and a half; taking in colonist refugees from glassed worlds was a large order to process. Even the MAC Platforms weren't able to help them in this regard either, as they had more important jobs to do rather than hand over rudimentary supplies such as cleaning chemicals and food over to a single Marine Frigate.

However, it wasn't just the ship's interior that needed cleaning, the exterior of the ship needed refit. Both sides of the frigate had burn marks from fore to aft. Most of the exterior armor was either dented to hell or not even on the ship anymore. The MAC gun was also damaged beyond use. Recker wasn't even sure if half the turrets worked on the ship let alone have ammo for them. Similar to the requests for more supplies, UNSC dry-docks couldn't even acknowledge Recker's requests for repairs to his ship as they either had to keep highly powerful ships, such as heavy frigates and cruisers, combat-ready or were working on some type of new ship that he didn't even know about.

A sudden bleeping noise quickly interrupted his thoughts. He turned to the view screen that stood in front of him. The forward view screen came to life with the words INCOMING TRANSMISSION flashing bright red. Recker reluctantly let the transmission through, letting out a sigh as he pressed the appropriate keys on the command console.

A young, tan face appeared on the screen. He looked to be somewhere in his mid 30s. He had a. what looked to be, composed, calm face. A few specks of beard hair could be seen along his cheekbones and chin.

"Who am I speaking to?" Captain Recker began.

"Hello Captain, I am Lieutenant Mathew Jones of Bravo-6." The man replied.

'Bravo-6? This must be some important shit then' The captain thought to himself.

"What can I do for you, Lieutenant?" Recker asked without missing a beat.

"I have orders to bring you in for your next assignment Captain Recker." Lieutenant Jones replied with no joy in his voice what so ever.

"Sounds like you had a bad day Lieutenant." David joked.

"I don't even want to talk about it." Jones said.

"So, when do I have to go in?" David asked.

"You are to report to Earth immediately. You will dock with Cairo Station and will be transported to Bravo-6 via shuttle."

"Ok, but there is one thing that I need in return." the Captain replied sternly.

"And what might that be?"

"I want my ship refitted and restocked." The Captain answered quickly.

"Very well, that can be arranged."

"Good. I will set course for Earth immediately." Recker responded with delight.

"Affirmative. Be as quick as possible. Don't want to keep us waiting now do we?" The Lieutenant smirked.

"Agreed." The Captain said as the transmission ended.

"Clyde!" The Captain commanded.

A small orange figure came to life on the side of the view screen. The figure looked similarly to a 21st century mathematics professor, complete with a long trench coat and rounded glasses. He even had little to no hair on his head.

"What can I do for you captain?" the AI asked.

"Set a course for Earth immediately. Tell Reach that we're leaving and prepare the crew for Slipspace jump." The captain commanded.

"Sir, wouldn't activating a slipspace course for Earth violate the Cole Protocol? " The AI questioned.

"Although I do understand your concern Clyde, that section of the Cole Protocol only applies to UNSC Ships outside of Human-controlled space that are trying to flee from the Covenant." The Captain responded.

"Understood." The AI said after a moment of thought." Setting course for Earth. Approximate ETA: 14 hours."

"Alright, I'm getting some shut eye. Wake me up once we get to the Cairo." the Captain said as he left the bridge.

FEBRUARY 10TH, 2547. 1200 HOURS (STANDARD UNSC CALENDAR)

ONI FACILITY: BRAVO-6

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

CAPTAIN DAVID RECKER

Captain David Recker walked down a hallway of white. He never really understood why ONI officials always had their buildings' main color be white. Any other color could have been nice.

'How about blending in some blue, green, or hell even orange would look better than this white crap you call practical.' David raged in his mind.

Ahead of him stood a small lobby with the first change of color scheme ever since Recker walked trough the main lobby. A small woman was sitting at the reception desk in business attire. The Captain quickly scurried over to the desk.

"Hello." he started," I'm Captain David Recker. I have a meeting with ONI officials."

"One moment please." the woman said with a thoughtful tone as she searched the computer database for any record of the Captain's meeting. The Captain also picked up an Irish accent in the receptionist's voice. He always liked the sound of an Irish accent.

"Ah yes." she began again, "Your meeting will be in conference room B7, which is down the hall on your left."

"Thank you." David replied before hurrying down the hallway.

It took him no time at all to find the room before opening it, only to freeze in the doorway. It wasn't the look of the conference room that shocked him, though he though that it was real nice, it was the fact that the head of ONI, Admiral Parangosky, was sitting in the same conference room. Captain Recker had heard many things about this woman, such as the one that she could kill anyone with only a cold stare. He shuddered at the thought of it, but shrugged it away as he edged his way into the conference room.

"Am I in the wrong room?" the Captain asked with a scared look in his eyes.

"No, please sit down Captain." Parangosky answered with no character in her voice.

Recker did as he was told and sat in one of the many chairs that lined the conference table.

"So, what's this new 'assignment' that you want me to go on?" The Captain asked, in hopes of starting a conversation that wouldn't get him imprisoned.

"Let me show you." The Admiral replied as she pressed a button on the conference table.

The surface of the table suddenly darkened as the lights in the conference room dimmed to pure black. David could hear the small click of the door locking behind him as a small, transparent monitor rose in front of David. The screen flickered to life with a single Covenant CAR-class frigate hovering over a planet.

"As you can see," the Admiral started, "there is a single CAR-class Frigate hovering over the surface of Aleria, a lawless planet abandoned by the UNSC."

"So, what does this have to do with me and my ship?" David asked.

"I'm getting to that." The Admiral replied sternly. "We have reason to believe that the people of Aleria might try to hand over vital UNSC information over to the Covenant. This can not occur. If the Covenant find the location of Reach, or even Earth for that matter, humanity will be extinguished."

The Captain sat still in his chair and thought in horror what would happen if something like this would occur. He could imagine Assault Carriers and Cruisers in the Australian sky, glassing everything that humanity built over the centuries. He couldn't even begin to think about the Orbital Defense Grid and the UNSC Home Fleet being trashed by the Covenant's superior firepower.

"Alright, what's my mission then?" The Captain quietly asked.

The room suddenly brightened again and the monitor slowly descended back into the table.

"Your mission," the Admiral said turning to him, "will be to take a squad of ODSTs and head to Aleria. They are to drop into the frigate and purge any information the Covenant might have retrieved on the UNSC, Earth, or Humanity. You are to then pick them up and return to UNSC-controlled space, while following the Cole Protocol of course."

The Captain thought about this too, wondering if he and his crew will even be able to return to the UNSC. Then, a concern popped into his head.

"What about the reports of ships vanishing into nothing? Are those rumors true?"

"We have had a few incidents of such events occurring, but not on a wide scale." the Admiral replied with a smile on her face that simply gave the Captain chills down his spine.

"When do I depart?" the Captain asked with a sigh.

"The ODSTs will arrive sometime within the next few weeks. As for departure, I believe that your frigate will be complete with refit by the end of the month. I have made sure that your request was expedited to fit the timeframe. So, expect to leave around that time." the Admiral replied as she stood up and walked out of the room.

"You are free to go, Captain." she added.

Thanks for reading the first chapter.

RNG OUT!