Severed Wings
A story of a couple's fight through the Human-Covenant war.
Based on the Halo universe created by Bungie Studios (and soon to be 343 Industries)
I do not own Bungie or 343 Industries, and I did not crate the Halo universe. This content is merely my own interpritation, following the already written events from another perspective.
A Halo story by Sebastian Avery (C) Copyright 2011
Chapter 1
06:40 October 20th 2552 (Military calendar)
Aboard Longsword fighter Bravo 4
In high orbit above Earth
Harper stood to the rear of the cabin. Coffee breaks were an essential part of her routine, and she had been without one for the past three hours. The built in machine filled her mug and offered her sugar. Harper pushed the button 'x2' and waited a few seconds more. The sluggish machine dropped two cubes before dispensing a small wooden stirrer, along with the message 'Have a pleasant day'. Harper took her coffee and began stirring it on her way back to her chair. She sat down in front of the pilot's console, and picked up a manuscript from the co-pilots chair. As she held it, she scrolled through its electronic pages with her thumb, frowning in thought about their orders. The usual, everyday information was displayed; Flight plans, patrol routes, docking times, inventory listings.
"Nothing changes." She thought. Harper placed the manuscript device in the pocket between the two chairs and sunk back in her own chair. She sipped on her coffee and stared at the view screen ahead of her. It displayed earth to the left, and all the orbital defence platforms that blanketed her with three hundred MAC cannons. A handful of ships dotted the vacuum, mainly frigates and carriers, yet more and more kept arriving. The right hand side of the screen showed the depth of space, complete with all the stars that it holds. Cairo station lazily drifted past to her left -her home for the past seven months. Only one vessel was docked to Cairo; The InAmber Clad, that belonged to Captain Keyes. Harper rolled her head to her right and looked up to check the ship's status on the monitors. All was within acceptable limits. She sighed happily, everything was calm and normal, and the covenant, were far, far away.
Harper took another sip of her coffee and casually hit a com button on the control panel in front of her.
"How's it going Mike?" She said, speaking into the air around her. A few moments passed as she waited for a reply.
"Checks are nearly done back here." Spoke a young mans voice through the overhead speakers. "I'll be up in a mo."
"Roger." She lazily replied. She pushed the same button again to cut the comms. All was silent again. Only the faint hum of the ships engines and the occasional beep of computers could be heard. Harper drank her coffee and closed her eyes. She felt a bit guilty, relaxing on duty, but there wasn't much else to do. Within seconds of that thought, the radar picked up a contact and gave a small alarm. Harper opened her eyes to the sound and studied the view screen. The starboard camera snapped into view to show a small object heading towards them. Harper instantly set down her coffee in the allocated space to her right and keyed in a couple of commands. The camera zoomed in to reveal the objects identity. It was a lone asteroid. Although it was only about a hundred yards wide, it could still do some damage. She keyed in more commands and the computer calculated the objects trajectory and course. It was on an intercept course with Cairo station. Harper changed the view screen to the front and took control of the sticks. She spun her craft right and locked on to the asteroid, a few hundred feet away. Without hesitating, she thumbed the button on top of the right stick. One of her ASGM-10 missiles raced out to greet the asteroid. Harper watched it on the screen as it impacted and detonated into a beautiful white ball of energy. Once the light diminished, only fragments of rock remained.
"What the hell was that!" Asked Mike over the intercom.
"An asteroid heading for Cairo." She replied. "I had to intercept."
"A little warning might have been nice! I was checking over the missiles when they fired!"
"Sorry Mike, I didn't think." As she said this, the top left corner of the view screen suddenly displayed an incoming transmission.
"Well next time, use your bloody hea-"
"Cairo's calling Mike, gotta take this." She cut him off and switched the com channels over.
"Bravo Zero-four, please report on weapons discharge." Asked a stern, female voice.
"An asteroid was on an intercept course to your location, I didn't think twice about removing it Ma'am."
"Lieutenant, be advised, you're not doing dog fights anymore. Cairo has its own defences against debris. Keep you munitions to yourself, and in the future, report any dangers – DO NOT engage without authorisation. Do you understand?"
"Yes Ma'am, It won't happen again."
"Glad to hear it. Now continue your patrol and increase your speed to compensate for the delay. Cairo out."
Harper quickly turned off the comms and keyed in commands to the auto pilot to boost speed and get them back on track. She was angry at the comm.-tech. She had acted on instinct. No one was hurt. Why did she have to get grilled for that?
The maintenance doors opened, and moments later, Mike was standing in front of the coffee machine at the back of the cabin. Harper leaned round in her seat to face him.
"Are you alright?" She asked. "I didn't mean any harm, I forgot you were there." Mike pushed a few buttons on the machine before answering.
"I'm alright. But like I said before you cut me off; use your head next time." He removed the mug and tasted its contents. "Thankfully," He said as he walked to join her. "I was on the other side of the bay when the missile entered the tube. Had you fired both sets, I think I might have lost my hand."
He sat down next to her and studied her face.
Harper bit her lower lip with concern, and looked at him with guilt. The computer bleeped a notification to let them know they were back on course. "Anyway," Continued Mike. "It's in the past now. Let's focus on our patrol." He picked up the electronic manuscript and scrolled through it in fine detail.
Mike was of the same rank as Harper. Lieutenant M. Bowski. Despite having a Russian surname, he was born in Norfolk, England. Trained more in engineering than flying, his job was to keep everything running as smooth as possible, and to let Harper do the flying and fighting.
The Longsword they were aboard, belonged to Harper, and had done a two year service with her. When she was called to join the ranks of Cairo station, she specifically requested that she keep her original Longsword. It was part of her, something that she had grown very much attached to.
Harper's full name was Nicole Amanda Harper. Daughter of Fleet Admiral Jason Harper; she was born in Kent, England. She signed up to be part of the UNSC at the age of twenty-one, graduated in flight school, and served aboard her fathers Marathon-class cruiser Wishful Thinking. Now being twenty-four, Nicole had been in sixteen dog fights with the covenant. Her courage and exceptional skill had awarded her numerous medals and rise in ranks. She hoped one day to command a squadron of her own. But because of the increasing danger the covenant posed, Fleet Admiral Harper persuaded Nicole to leave Wishful Thinking, and to join Cairo station in the defence of Earth. Admiral Harper's fleet would be the first to engage the covenant fleet when they attacked Earth, and he didn't want Nicole to be part of that first wave.
"Did you know the master chief is aboard Cairo?" Asked Mike without looking up.
"There are still Spartans left?" Nicole said in disbelief. "I thought they all died on Reach."
Mike laughed and looked at her. "You don't like to keep up with the times do you Nicki? When Reach fell –God bless her soul, The Pillar of Autumn fled and found itself next to an alien ring world crawling with covenant. Well, would you believe it; the master chief blew it up! He found his way back home, and now they are soon to do a commemorative service to congratulate him." He pointed at the view screen. "They will be airing it at 08:00." He checked his watch. "That'll be in just over an hour."
"No harm in tuning in I suppose." Nicole remarked. She picked up her coffee and took a sip, only to realise that it had gone cold. She winched at the taste and stood up to get another. "Is he the last one?" She asked on her way to the coffee machine.
"As far as anyone knows." Mike replied. "At least we still have one though eh?"
"Yeah, but he can't defend Earth all by himself." She chucked the contents of her mug down the small sink and started to make herself another. "I don't know what good he's going to be in space."
"We'll see soon enough I guess. The covenant's only got Earth left to find. And I doubt that'll happen for a long time."
Nicole took her fresh coffee and stood in front of the starboard console. She scanned the displays out of habit; she liked to keep an eye on her ships systems, noting even the smallest fluctuations.
"Hey, which one of these belongs to your father?" Asked Mike as he looked out the port-side windows. Nicole turned to see a large cluster of cruisers and frigates grouping together. She spotted her fathers Marathon-class cruiser at the front of the formation.
"It's the big one leading them. The one with the three vertical blue stripes on it's middle."
"Jesus," Spoke Mike in awe as he got up to take a closer look. "That thing's huge!"
Nicole smiled. Her father's ship was impressive. Weighing in at 100,000 tons, with a length of nearly 1,200 meters. All the admirals' ships in the UNSC were of the same class. Big, powerful, and near impossible to destroy.
"It's got two MAC cannons on the front, two oversized Archer missile pods, one on each side. A vast array of 50mm- automatic point defence cannons, and a handful of fusion rockets." Nicole stated proudly.
Mike whistled long and low, impressed with the armament.
"What about crew and vehicles?" Mike asked, eager to know more.
"I think he has about three hundred staff." She said as she walked over to the same window. "I know there are a few ODST squads that permanently reside there. As for vehicles, He'll have about ten scorpion tanks, a few dozen warthogs, hornets, pelicans. You know; the usual."
"Longswords?" He enquired.
"Twenty-three. There would normally be twenty-four, but we are currently standing in that one."
"Your father let you take it?" Mike looked at her puzzled.
"He's an admiral, and I'm his daughter." She replied with a smirk.
"Your a lucky bitch is what you are." Laughed Mike.
The two of them watched the remaining fleet drift slowly by, until Earth could once again be clearly seen behind them. Nicole set down her mug and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She pulled out two and offered one to Mike. He looked at her puzzled, wondering if she was joking about. Smoking aboard UNSC vessels was strictly forbidden.
"I know you smoke Mr Bowski," She said with a smile. "As soon as you set foot in the mess hall your straight on one."
"Well yeah, but..."
"No buts'. My ship, my rules." She stated, jabbing the cigarette in the air. Mike cautiously took it and put it in his mouth. "I won't tell if you don't." She added. Mike grinned with the cigarette between his teeth.
"I'm so glad I got paired up with you." He laughed.
Nicole tapped a few buttons on the console infront of her, disableing the smoke alarms and polarizing the windows so that no one outside could see in. Afterwards, she withdrew a small silver lighter from her pocket and lit her cigarette. Mike followed, taking the lighter Nicole offered. The two of them stood for a while and watched thier planet, each of them thinking about home and how the war brought them to where they were now. The viewscreen casualy bleeped and displayed a message in the top right;
Incomming transmission:
Rachel Cota- A1C 1429-34
Cairo Staiton ODA-142
Naval Channel 12.08
Nicole walked over to her seat, leant over the controls and hit the accept key. Rachel's face popped into view in a seperate window. She was a young woman, the same age as Nicole. She was wearing her pilots uniform with her red wavey hair tied back into a standard bun. In the background, it appeared that she was in their quarters as their bunk bed was visible behind her.
"Morning Nicki." She said with a smile.
Nicole smiled happily back. "Morning Rachel, good to see you. I take it you've only just arrived back at Ciaro?"
"Yeah, not ten minuets ago. Missed this place. Missed you! How's it going?"
Nicole and Rachel had not seen eachother for a week. Rachel was called to ground to help run shipments of men and supplies to and from barracks, while Nicole stayed in space. They talked about the time that had passed, the massing fleet and increased security around Earth, and how those in charge were saying little about it and of what was to come next. Occasionally Mike engaged in the conversations while doing routine checks every now and then. The three of them watched the awards ceremony, and whitnessed the master chief, Avery Johnson and Amanda Keyes recieve their medals.
Half way through the broadcast, Lord Hood recieved an urgent message regarding an aproaching covenant fleet. On Rachels screen, red lights flashed around her and orders could be heard over the staions speakers.
"I have to go Nicki! Shits hit the fan! You take care out there, see you soon!"
"You take care too Rachel!" Pleaded Nicole. "I love you!" As she said that, Rachel's transmission ended, and NAVCOM could be heard over her ships audio.
"All ships fall back to defensive possitions around your stations! Covenant fleet sighted and is en route to Earth. This is not a drill! I repeat; Covenant forces en route to Earth. Fall back to defensive postitions immediatly!"
Mike and Nicole strapped into thier seats and started flipping switches and pushing buttons. Mike restored the alarms, depolarized the windows and primed their weapons. Nicole shut down the auto piolt and hastily turned her Longsword fighter around and headed back towards Cairo station. Hundreds of other Longswords, Pelicans, and other small craft wizzed about in different directions. All heading to their arranged points. Mike and Nicole approached Cairo station and could see pelicans and Longswords launching from the hangar bays. Some entered Earth's orbit and headed to ground, while others proceeded towards bigger vessels. Nicole knew that one of those Pelicans belonged to Rachel, and that she would be sent back to the surface.
They spotted their squadron and took up possistion next to their partner, Bravo 3. Mike opened a channel to them and signed in.
"Hey guys, you ready for this?" He Asked.
A young man by the name of George Bishop answered him. "Me and Will are ready here, good to have you two with us on this one."
There were twelve Longswords asigned to Cairo station, four on alpha team, four on Bravo team, and four on Charlie team. They flew in pairs to help keep eachother covered while fighting. Cairo's Longswords floated around the station, covering all sides. About twenety kilometers ahead sat the Home fleet, ready to take on the first wave. Cairo soon spoke through the audio to all it's defending ships, ordering them to await the signal before engaging any hostiles. Mike pointed to the viewscreen.
"There they are." He said.
In the distance could be seen dozens of ships, only specks at this range, but definatley Covenant. They just held there, not moving.
"What are they doing?" Asked Nicole in fustration.
"Looks like they're just out of range of the MAC platforms." Responded Mike as he checked the scanners. The entire UNSC home defence sat and waited for the Covenant to make the first move. Minuets slowly ticked by, and Nicole's hands gripped the controls tightly. She was nervous, like the rest of the human race, yet eager to get stuck in and take revenge for all the lives the Covenant had taken. NAVCOM updated them on their enemies movements, informing them that small craft have been detected on fast approach to the Orbital defence platforms. Before long, the Home fleet opened fire. Admiral Harper's cruiser, along with six others, opened fire with their MAC cannons and point defence turrets. Longswords; Some of which were Nicoles old squadron could be seen beginning their attacks.
A few more minuets ticked by as the Covenant craft continued their assault towards the ODPs'. Cairo soon gave the order to engage and destroy all hostiles. Nicole kicked the sticks forward and their ship leaped to life. The Longswords were always the first into battle, and the first point of defence. They were quick, nimble and had the best weaponry suited to dogfights -Nicoles speciality. Her squad flew together until the Covenant craft were just out of weapons range, before they picked their targets and broke formation. Nicole took the first craft she could see; a pair of Seraph fighters, the Covenat equivelant to her Longsword.
"Bravo 3, on me." Nicole spoke over the radio.
"Roger Bravo 4, we're right with you." Responded Will from the other ship. Hundreds of Longswords and Sreaph fighters opened fire on eachother. Plasma and missiles streaked accross space and raced past one another. Early casualties exploded within seconds, and many ships viered off in all directions, giving chase to their targets. Nicole locked onto a Seraph fighter to the right and fired two of her ASGM-10 missiles at it, while Bravo 3 fired its missiles at the other. Nicoles target returned fire for a second before banking sharply upwards. Her missiles lazily followed it, and She rolled her ship to starboard to avoid the plasma. The second Seraph banked left, but was not quick enough to esacpe one of Bravo 3's shots. It's port side exploded and it tumbled out of control. Nicole looped her ship upwards and tracked down her target. Her Missiles had missed. It weaved from left to right and tried to skim past other ships and running rings around their station. Nicole's flying kept pace, and every free shot she took advantage of with her machine guns. A few rounds here and there nipped at the back end of the Covenant vessel. The chase lasted a few minuets as ships blew up all aound her. She was a confident and talented fighter, in a sense, becomming the Longsword herself. Bravo 3 terrorised any other Covenant ship that came into range, and kept a close eye on their team mate's six. Nicole destroyed the Seraph fighter and the pair tracked down one target after the next.
Before long, Cairo's MAC cannon opened fire, along with Athens and Malta's. The Covenant fleet was advancing.