Universal Journey Chapter 1 Prolog

Summery: A new version of "Destiny trapped". The USS Aleppo and five Ha'tak under Bra'tac was flung into an alternative universe when pulled into a wormhole. They found themselves in the middle of a major conflict and Lt. Colonel Adriana Callahan, Doctor Rodney McKay and Richard Wolsey had to try getting her crew home in one piece. (AU)

Hollow faith, orbit, Covenant Heavy Carrier Break of dawn

Fleet master Ktel Selumee looked intensely at the screen. He narrowed his eyes on the Covenant Heavy Cruiser with three Light Cruisers and a Corvette around it. That wasn't actually too strange. Not a bit. But sense they arrived with five human ships. That made it extremely strange. It was one Battlecruiser, one Light Carrier and two Destroyers.

What was the meaning of this? The humans could not have captured this many of their ships. Furthermore, they could not know the coordinates to Hollow faith. Also, this did not explain why they did not detect any slipspace windows. This fleet had appeared out of know where.

He turned to a Sangheili officer.

"Explain this!" He demanded.

The Sangheili seemed to try figure out something to say, but had no explanation to give.

"Where did they come from?!" Ktel Selumee snapped.

"We didn't detect any slipspace activity," he explain quickly. "It seems they didn't use slipspace. Furthermore. We detect no life signs on board any of the ships."

Ktel frowned. "What?" He turned back to the screen. "How is that possible? Someone must have flown them here idiot. Clearly there is something wrong with our sensors."

"The other ships in the fleet have had the same results Fleet master," another Sangheili interjected.

Ktel growled. "All ships open fire! We'll figure it out after we wipe them out. Tell the Faith Injustice to prepare a boarding party for one of those ships after one has been disabled.

All twenty-two ships in Ktel's fleet opened fire with a barrage of plasma. The ten ships on approach was hit straight on, but the attack was stopped in its tracks by shields. Ktel was shocked. The human ships had shields too?

"Report damage," he ordered.

"None," a shocked Sangheili responded.

"What! No damage at all?"

"No Fleetmaster."

For several minutes the fleet poured fire onto the supposedly lifeless flotilla without much progress. They were first just sitting there with no reaction then shields activated.

As Ktel ordered fighters launched they got a reaction.

"The Heavy Cruiser is firing at us!"

"Finally something," Ktel chuckled. He was a second away from regretting those words.

The Heavy Carrier shook violently and Ktel had to grab a console to remain standing.

"What did they shot us this?" he exclaimed.

"Fleet master, there weapons are three-hundred percent above normal power."

Ktel blinked. Who or what were they fighting who could do that. The next moment the Corvette fired. It targeted a Light Cruiser and Ktel stared in utter shock as the Light Cruiser was utterly obliterated in seconds by one single hit. How was he supposed to fight this?

"Fleet master, a few systems has gone dark."

"Fix them!"

"We don't know what's wrong yet. Sending a team to repair them."

Ktel could do little but watch as his fleet was slowly obliterated or put out of action. Three had been disabled this far. Several minutes went by with no progress. The fighters were completely ignored by the enemy.

A Sangheili turned to him.

"Fleet master."

"Yes?"

"The teams sent to repair the downed systems is no longer responding. We have lost contact with both teams."

…

Yorktown, Covenant Cruiser

"There's gotta be more coming," Gate said. "Let's move out quickly."

"Hmph," Fox muttered. "I didn't even get to use my new pistol on him."

"Fox, grab that new pistol. We need to get it back for analyzing. See what capabilities these guys have."

She shined up. "Gladly, sir!"

"Now, we need to move."

On that they started moving quickly. Around the corner they ran into a mask breather. It looked utterly terrified and fumbled to drew its weapon. Fox was faster and fired the first pistol. The energy blast smashed through its head and killed it instantly. She squealed excitedly. It was an energy gun!

"Awesome!"

Gate hushed her.

"Sorry. But it was just sooooo awesome," she whispered. "Can I have the other too?" She asked, referring to the needle thing.

"No," Wolf said firmly.

Fox pouted slightly.

The next few seconds went by extremely fast. First screaming echoed before six of those mask breathers appeared with plasma pistols and those needle firing pistols and one was armed with some type of shoulder fired mortar weapon. Behind them came one of those large aliens but this time in orange armor instead of blue. The mask breathers fired widely at the team as they screamed and rushed at them.

"Kill the human filth!" The larger alien screamed as he fired a type of plasma rifle.

Gate leaped into cover behind a console along the wall and got out a grenade. Fox and Porter took cover around the corners in the four way junction and Stahl jumped into the opening into the storage room for cover. Wolf fired six rounds as she back tracked to the junction and screamed at the aliens with narrowed black eyes. She took down four of the mask breathers. Porter fired his P90 at the larger alien who obviously commanded the smaller soldiers. His slugs smashed into the large aliens shields and left him unharmed, although slightly staggered. He ducked to cover when purple needles were fired at him.

A gel projectile from the shoulder mounted mortar hit the floor and exploded, tearing the particular section up. it was just barely out of range from Gate. He pulled the pin of his grenade and threw it.

"Cover!" He warned his men.

"Look out!" One of the mask breathers screamed in panic. "Run a-way!"

The explosion killed both remaining mask breathers and left the large alien superior injured and with his personal shields disabled.

"Wolf, Porter, now!"

Porter and Wolf came out of cover slightly and fired several rounds into the alien. He cried out and dropped his rifle before falling backwards, dead.

"Tough bastard," Stahl breathed. She turned and took cover on the other edge of the door. "Behind us!"

Gate spotted another unit of aliens. Five mask breathers and one larger with mandibles in an orange badass looking armor. he roared and the smaller screamed some kind of pathetic war cry. Several shots went passed them from the right. Three aliens in blue armor were firing at Porter. From the left a strange third alien appeared. Two of them actually.

The aliens had both reptilian and bird-like features. The teeth were razor sharp and the jaw appeared shaped like that of a carnivore. They stood similarly to a digitigrade fashion. Both held shields and a plasma pistol in the other hand.

"Fox grenade to the right!" Gate yelled orders. "Wolf fall back to me and give Stahl covering fire! Porter fall back to me and cover the left corridor!" he hopes that the split second decision was the right one.

Fox lobbed a grenade at the blue armored aliens. "Take this assholes!"

She managed to kill one with the grenade but the other two made it into cover in time. Wolf stood against the wall, firing at the squad advancing on Stahl. She took down a mask breather with the first shot. Gate fired several rounds at the squad leaders head, getting his attention.

"Move!" Wolf cried out.

Stahl came out firing. She hit a mask breather and he went down. As she hurried backward to Gate and the others, Porter emptied his remaining half clip into the shield that the bird-like aliens held. It staggered. The other aimed and fired the plasma pistol at him. he dodged into cover. He quickly reloaded. Fox got down on one knee and put a slug through the skull of the staggered birdbrain.

Stahl felt immense pain when a plasma blast from the squads leader hit her chest. Her vest took the grunt of it but it still hurt like hell. She lost her footing and fell backwards. Given the pain she wagered it went through the vest to whatever extent.

"Maddie!" Fox cried out, horrified to see her fall.

Both sisters got up and emptied their clips into the squad. They took out the last three mask breathers and staggered the leader. He was critically injured and fell to one knee, dropping his rifle. He growled and drew a plasma pistol. Fox reloaded her assault rifle. unlike the others, she used a modified assault rifle that she had customized. It could easily be turned into a sniper rifle in seconds. While she reloaded Wolf pulled up a knife and threw it. It hit in the center of the aliens creepy-looking face. He collapsed into a dead pile.

Gate counted fifteen mask breathers and six birdbrains in total both in front and to the left appearing. Three more large aliens joined the two on the right.

Gate reached for his ear piece.

"Colonel Callahan, we need to get out of here, now!" He exclaimed. "Beam us to the infirmary we have a man down!"

The aliens were shocked when the human intruders disappeared in beams of light at the last moment. They had been close to overrunning them.

…

Covenant Assault Carrier Sword of Serpents

Rtas Demmuda looked at the female standing in front of him. The major and minors on the bridge continued working, but they were obviously interested in hearing the conversation as much as anyone. Rtas wasn't comfortable working with the female. Heck, he didn't even know which species she was. She certainly looked human in shape, but he hadn't seen any human wearing that mask and those robes. No human he had ever met wore a silver mask over her face and black robes. She had a black chest plate and the edges of the robes were dark red. She wore a black hood over her head, making only the mask visible. His men was slightly anxious about her, which he understood. No Sangheili females served in the military. Plus, she looked damned human in shape, but no human apart from those blasted super soldiers could do what she did. No common human filth could take down six Stealth Sangheili in hand-to-hand combat. Definitely not in ten seconds.

"The Hierarchs are…" he chose his words carefully. "…quite, interested in this technology. This hyperdrive technology. If it is true, that it isn't a human technology, it would be acceptable to them." He took a step closer to her. "I don't know what you told them during that meeting they allowed you, but you convinced them. The Prophets allow the upgrade to our fleet, but it'll take time."

She rolled her eyes behind her mask.

"Obviously Fleetmaster. There is nothing human about the hyperdrive. It was constructed by my people, not humans. But remember, you'll be taking one month trip in minutes. Imagine taking a year's trip in below half an hour." She looked around the bridge for a moment. "I assume this means I get what I want."

Rtas nodded.

"Yes. The commission is your," he growled. He didn't like it one bit, but it was the Prophets will. "But, you spoke of a second demand, clarify it for me, now."

She shrugged.

"It's pretty damn simple, Fleetmaster. I want to kill the man to trapped me in the Augum galaxy seventy years ago," she said in her soft, but raspy voice. "I want to kill the love of my life once and for all." She turned around. "We've played this game for far too long. Someone has to die. And very soon. I'm aching to put him down first."

Rtas scoffed.

"Sure, sure. As long as you assist us in constructing one of these, hyperdrives. Just remember that Azzadira." He narrowed his eyes.

She simply responded with a casual nod. "Don't worry too much. When I'm done, the UNSC will be so technologically inferior they'll have no chance."

Rtas imagined it. With this technology they could put an army on one-hundred-thousand on any human world, and leave for reinforcements and be back in a few hours. The war would end far quicker than he or anyone anticipated. Finally. Given how long they war had been going on, he expected another decade or two, but it might be a few short years with hyperdrive engines.

"Do…" Rtas sighed. "…do you have any advice about the assault, concerning this ship to say aided in the defeat at the human colony?" He didn't like asking her, but she was his second in command now. The Prophets believed her military skill and tactical usefulness. They also bought into this different reality theory. He wasn't sure if he did, though. But…he had to trust in their judgement.

"You need a lot of heavy firepower to disable the Aleppo. Their weaponry makes them almost invincible if you run in blindly. If you know what you're doing, it's not that hard to take them down." She raised a finger. "But, you'll need to watch out for their tactics and weapons. They don't fight or act like you expect the UNSC forces to do. They are human, but not UNSC. Remember that and you'll win. DO not, underestimate them or Jovakhin. Especially, Jovakhin. You'll regret it."

Rtas snorted. "We can beat the filthy humans."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Then why haven't you won yet?" Her voice was sardonic. "Besides. He isn't human, like me."

He narrowed his eyes on her, but she didn't seem to care.

I have heavily edited this recently-2016-06-04. I think its a great improvement.

One of the reasons behidn this, is because I made a recent change to the storyarc. Nothnig you'll feel, but I just wanna let you know about all the same.

If you found it disjointed, it was suppose to be.