Disclaimer: I do not own Halo
0900 Hous, September 25th 2555 AD (Military Calendar)
Sol System, UNSC Repair/Refit station Anchor 12, planet Earth.
Within a large grey room, hundreds of men and women wearing the black naval dress uniforms of the UNSC Navy stood before a large steel podium, behind which was a large holoscreen, currently displaying in blue lights the new emblem of the United Nations Space Command, with a great eagle, its wings outstretched with the planet of earth underneath and the banner of the UNSC below.
"Attention!" A booming voice shouted, before all of the UNSC men and women stood at attention, before a new figure stepped in. An elderly man, looking to be in his late 60's, clad in the same dress uniform, an M6H Magnum sidearm strapped to his hip, multiple awards on his chest, and the rank pin of a Commander placed proudly on his uniform.
The man gave a short nod, before the men and women stood at ease. He gave a brief moment as he looked over them all, so many of them young, and many more older. In some he saw the eyes of wishful youths hoping to prove themselves, who believe being in the UNSC means playing a larger role within the UEG. And he also saw the steel-hard eyes of veterans, soldiers who fought, and by some miracle survived the most bloody and longest war in human history, who knew very well where their place was.
The man let out a tired sigh, before he spoke. "In war... The first thing lost is time." He said, "The hours become days. The days, years. And the years turn into decades."
Behind the Commander, the holoscreen changed its image, as it began to show footage directly from the Human-Covenant war. Showing battlefields as UNSC Marines battled against the hoards of Covenant aliens, and most prominent of all SPARTAN's such as 117, Blue TEam, and Noble Team. "Some of us can't remember a time before the Covenant. War is all we know," The Commander continued, "And in our ongoing conflict, we've lost more than our sense of time..."
As the screen continued to display battlefield after battlefield, near the bottom of the screen names began to appear. PVT Jeremy O'Hara, CPL Leonard Churchill, SGT Bryan B. Mudrock, MSgt Avery J. Johnson, PFC Wallace A. Jenkins. "We've lost loved ones, planets, and entire civilizations." The Commander said, "To think there was once a time of peace is almost unimaginable. But we were courageous; we fought back. In our battle for humanity we have lost so much, but we've been given heroes - heroes who fought tirelessly to defend us: at Harvest; at Reach; at New Mombasa... Brave soldiers who sacrificed everything to eliminate the Flood. They didn't fight for glory. Nonetheless, it's there for all to see."
The Commander paused for a moment, before he glanced to the side as the windows of the room opened, revealing the wide open space outside, the planet earth below them. Africa could be seen, its northern half still showing the scars of the Glassing which occurred to stop the Flood from consuming their entire planet. However, almost right next to the station was a single vessel, a single Cruiser-type warship which dwarfed roughly anything else present nearby, where tugs, fighters and dropships flew across, docking and taking off of the vessel.
"Today, we launch the living monument." He said, as the massive UNSC Cruiser began to move forward. "To those who continue to fight and asked for nothing in return."
He and the others within the room watched as the vessel soared by, ready to begin its first in what will soon become many, many missions to protect and defend humanity. "War takes." The Commander said, "But it leaves us with legends; it leaves us with heroes…"
As it passed by, its name engraved along the hull in bold white letters, and upon that ship, was engraved a name... UNSC Pillar of Autumn II.
"...and heroes never die!"
HALO: Pillar of Autumn
Coming Soon...
117Jorn: ...Well, what do you guys think? Go or no Go?