The Eagle
"He clasps the crag with crooked hands
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the world he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls"
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Chapter 1
Nov. 2, 2552 (military calendar)
Aboard UNSC Titan-class cruiser Warhawk
"Is he awake?"
"I'm bringing him out of cryo sleep right now sir". A voice said as I heard the chamber locks moving and unlocking.
"Alright, soldier, nap time's over. Come on out!" another voice said as I was getting out of the chamber. "Welcome aboard the Warhawk, the best damn Titan-class cruiser in the fleet. And I might add that it's the fastest and quietest ship out there right now. It's a prototype cruiser and the only one until the tech guys down on Earth give the go-ahead on mass production. You can get an in-depth look into the ship by talking to the crew. If you have any questions, just ask. Forgive me, where are my manners? I am Admiral Hawk, Captain of the Warhawk. I custom built and named this cruiser myself," the uniformed man stated.
He was telling me all this while we were walking up to the bridge from the cryo chambers. When we reached the bridge we could hear people hollering and screaming. We pulled our side arms out and got ready to bust down the door. Just before we kicked the door in, a lieutenant came running out and was nearly flattened like a pancake when he slammed into me.
"Admiral Hawk," stated the lieutenant as he saluted, "Sorry, sir. We were just having some fun watching the game and…"
"It's alright lieutenant, you'll just have to let me know next time a party of some sort will be going on so that I don't fill you with lead by accident" the admiral replied.
"Yes sir. I'm Lieutenant Sanders" he said as he was shaking my hand, "the navigator for the Warhawk. I'm sorry about running into you, soldier. I wasn't looking where I was going. I'll be more careful next time. And if you don't mind me asking, why are you partially transparent?"
"It's alright and I'm Gunnery Sergeant 'Mako', sometimes called the 'Golden Spartan' and I'm here to accompany you guys to Chi Cheti 4 which concerns my mission. As for why I'm transparent? I'm in my MJOLNIR Mk VI armor. I'm never out of it unless I have to be, including my personal hygiene, of course."
"Ah, I see. Well, I'll be getting back to my station now. Excuse me," Sanders said as he was turning around to walk off. "If you wouldn't mind, Mako, can you run down to the hangar bay and tell the Pelican's to get ready and hand these files out to the squad leaders. You might want to do it secretly because I don't want any of the Marines getting over cocky knowing that we've got a Spartan on board."
"Of course sir, I'll go down right now and I just might have a way to stay silent," I replied.
As I headed down to the hangar bay to hand off the files to the pilots and squad leaders, a group of Marines came running down the hallway. To avoid them and not be seen, I went into active camouflage. The Marines stopped dead in their tracks because they knew something was there but wasn't sure what it was. Once those Marines stopped, their eyes became as wide as basketballs. So I said to myself, Mako you just put yourself into a very good position, you can scare the crap out of these guys with little effort. So I proceeded to set up some sort of scary creature and once I had that set, I jumped out of my little hiding spot. While projecting the creature I chose, I scared the stuffing out of those 'big' Marines and they took flight like nobody's business. After that little ordeal was over I resumed my trek to the hangar bay. Once I reached the hangar I moved into the shadows to cross the bay.
I saw the squad leaders and pilots in a group, so I made a whistling noise and threw the files to them. They caught them and kept on scratching their heads because they couldn't figure out where they had come from. After I dropped off the mission files, I headed back up to the bridge. I arrived just in time to hear Lt. Sanders say to Admiral Hawk, "Sir we're coming out of Slipspace in 5..4..3..2..1…entering normal space… now."
"Good timing Mako, we've just entered normal space. Are the birds ready?" Admiral Hawk asked.
"Yes sir they are. Should I get ready?" I replied.
"Yes. I'm sending you on the first bird in. You'll receive updates once you're on the ground."
"Yes, sir. I'm going to need a moment to get ready then I'll be good to go."
"Attention all personnel, prepare for ground assault. Mission updates will be given to your squad leaders. Helljumpers, get to your pods. Marines grab a rifle and ammo, then jump in a Pelican and get set for combat."
When the announcement was made, I was in my quarters grabbing an MA5B Assault Rifle along with a few grenades, my M6 pistol and my BR55 Battle Rifle; and of course, extra ammo. After grabbing my supplies, I headed to the hangar. I arrived just in time for a personal message from Admiral Hawk telling me if I didn't get on that bird within thirty seconds, I'd be sucked into space. I jumped into the Pelican right as the door was closing. Luckily no one saw me get on, but the pilot knew from the sound of footsteps.
"Echo 319, releasing locks in 4…3…2…1…" the chief engineer announced.
"Hang on to something back there Spartan, it's going to be a straight drop for most of the way," War Hammer said to me as I was getting strapped into a seat. War Hammer is Echo 319's call sign. So with that we plunged into the dead of space where no sound is heard, no engine rumblings not even the sound of your beating heart.