Welcome to Nyko

Camp Eagle

PFC. John Cussler awoke just before the morning reveille. Cussler groaned and climbed down off his top cot, scratching his head of dark brown hair. "Just another morning on planet Nyko," he thought to himself. Wake-up at 0600hrs, morning PT until 0730hrs and then breakfast at 0800.

Two hours and a hundred push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and a 3-mile run later he John was sitting in the mess hall looking at the so-called food dumped onto his tray. The only thing that looked edible was the two slices of bread resting on top. "This is bullshit," he muttered as he poked at it.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food," Tommy Dixon told him moving around the table and sitting down across from him. Like himself, Dixon was also a PFC.

"Look at this, what is it?"

"Does it matter, you ain't got to eat it," L/Cpl. Michael Fraizer, his fire team leader, said coming down beside him.

John slowly began to eat.

A Marine sat down at the end of the table and began to eat. The trio stared at him. He noticed their shoulder patches. That and the tattoo are their arms showed who they were. The Marine quickly got up and left.

"Oh that was cold," PFC Jessica Grover said joining them, seeing what they did. "So what is this so called food?"

"See," Cussler said louder than he wanted.

"Shut it," Fraizer growled.

"What seems to be the problem here?" Sergeant Edwards, the squad leader, asked coming over to them.

"Just the usual bitching Sarge," Fraizer replied.

"The food again, ey?"

The three privates nodded.

"Ya it's to bad they cant make a meal everyday like they do at Christmas. Oh well what can you do?"

"Grab our –55s and force them to eat it," Cussler muttered. Dixon grinned.

PFCs Alyssa Cole and Tim Gierlowski sat down next to them. Gierlowski was different from everybody else, he was a Mormon. Everyone thought he was strange because he didn't curse, didn't drink, didn't gamble, didn't complain and wasn't out to sleep with every women. When the Covenant attacked, he felt it his duty to enlist.

"How can you eat that shit and not complain Tim?"

"If the good lord provides it then we should be kind enough to eat it." Seeing that it

didn't satisfy him he continued. "This stuff was food at one time, the cooks just can't cook."

"So you're saying we should pray for some new cooks."

"I agree, you should," Tim said grinning.

"Good Morning men," Lt. DiSopa announced as sat down next to Fraizer. "Are we enjoying ourselves today?"

"As much as we can, el-tee" Cussler replied.

"Can it smart ass," Fraizer told him.

"It's alright Fraizer. They're having eggs and bacon over at division headquarters, but I figured I'd come and eat this…"

"Shit, sir" Dixon finished.

"… with you men."

"El-tee, believe me we wouldn't have thought any less of you if you would've went," Cussler told him. "At least you would've gotten to eat."

Division Headquarters

Camp Eagle

0903hrs

Brigadier General Kirkus, commander of the 147th Marine Division sighed and pushed his empty plate away. An orderly picked it up and disappeared into another room. Kirkus was the commander of Camp Eagle, the Marine base housed the 20,000 men of the 147th Marine Division.

"So gentlemen what it our current situation?"

"General, the men are getting lazy, we gotta have more exercises," Col. Reynolds, commander of the 82nd Regiment pointed out.

"I concur sir," the commander of the 24th Regiment, Col. Jones said.

"Same," Colonel Nadal of the 54th told him.

"Sir my men are slipping into the routine also, if something should happen, that could be a problem," Major Jackson, commander of the attached 2nd Battalion, 105th ODSTs announced.

"I agree General, I'm beginning to see it in my men as well," Sergeant Major Hazner commander of the division's Recon platoon agreed.

"Captain Perry status of your men?"

"Same General," Captain Perry, commander of the division's air support added.

"Same thing here as well sir," Captain Robinson, commander of the divisions ground support said.

"Ok start performing emergency air raids and deployment drills and increase the live fire testing."

"Yes sir," the group chorused.

"As you know we have not received any orders and transmissions from Reach since we lost contact with the Sensing Station Fermion last month. If we do not receive our resupply ships we may face a problem."

"Sir we have a year's supply of food and water here," Major Jackson pointed out.

"Yes but what about ammo, ordnance and fuel for the ground and air vehicles, clothes, small arms munitions."

"The Remington does have extra supplies for us if needed," Perry announced.

Kirkus stood and faced the window staring at his men shuffling about.

"Gentlemen I think that maybe we should presume that Reach has been attacked and glassed."

"Sir," Perry chuckled. "Reach has twenty orbital MAC guns, along with a major fleet. They would surely decimate any Covenant fleet."

"Then why haven't we had contact with them."

"Maybe the Sensing Station was destroyed?" Jackson pointed out.

"Possibly," Kirkus mumbled still looking out the window.

"Sir may I suggest something?" Hazner asked.

"Go ahead."

"Maybe we send the Remington to Reach to recon?"

Kirkus turned and sat back down. "Ok, Captain Perry, notify the Remington. They are to jump to Reach and see why we haven't received any orders. If they sense a bit of trouble they are to get out and report back to us."

"Yes sir." Perry stood, saluted, and left.

Delta Company Barracks

Camp Eagle

0100hrs

Cussler took another sip from his beer.

"John, she's checking you out again," Dixon told him nodding to the woman at the end of the bar.

Cussler turned to his left, a pretty woman with blond hair smiled at him. He smiled back. She stood and began to walk towards him.

"Good luck man," Dixon whispered and went to sit with the rest of the squad.

"Hi," the women said. "May I sit here?"

"Sure," Cussler told her. She sat down, slowly crossing her legs and smiled at him again.

"May I buy you a drink?" he asked.

Just then a siren blared outside the bar.

"What is that?" he muttered, looking at the door.

"Get your sorry ass up Cussler!" the woman's voice told him.

He turned back to the woman. She was gone.

"What…?"

"I said, get your sorry ass up!"

Cussler's eyes jerked open and he rolled out of his top cot, slamming onto the concrete floor. Edwards hauled him to his feet.

"We're under attack, weapons and ammo!" he shouted.

Cussler threw his boots on grabbed his vest and BR55 and followed the panicked line out the door.

"All personnel, Covenant forces are inbound. Man you positions!" a voice blared over the loudspeaker.

The base was in chaos. Marines were running about, scrambling to get weapons and ammo. Spotlights crisscrossed across the night sky. In the towers men were loading ammo into their M247s. A Skyhawk was scrambling at the airfield in the distance and several Pelicans gunships were preparing to lift off, men rushing to get in, the pilots lifting off, Marines falling out the back. Tankers were running for their tanks, the Scorpions rumbling to life. One crushing the front of a Warthog as it pulled out its spot. John was near the trench when a pair of Warthogs thundered past, horns blazing, spraying mud all over them. He caught a glimpse of a gunner flying out the back. Several men running over to him.

Cussler jumped down into the perimeter trench and raked the charging handle on his –55. Dixon came down next to him, slamming a mag into his battle rifle.

"What the hell?" he shouted. Cussler shrugged.

Fraizer came running up the trench towards them, gripping his M7 submachine gun in his right hand and a M41 rocket launcher in his left, Grover following him.

"Cussler here," Fraizer said tossing him the launcher.

"Stay alert men, keep watching the wire, if you see an ugly multicolored mother-fucker put two in his chest and one in his eyes," Staff Sergeant Edwards shouted moving down along the trench, feeding shells into his M90.

"Mike?" somebody shouted.

"Over here!" Fraizer replied.

Cpl. Justin Acker jumped down into the trench, his fire team following.

"Cole, scan the wire," he ordered.

"Yes Corporal," Alyssa replied. She flipped down the bipod on her M99SRS and activated the night scope.

"Attention all personnel, attention all personnel. This has been an Emergency Attack Drill. All personnel are to stand down."

"What the fuck!" Cussler shouted spinning to look at the loudspeaker, as if it'll give him the answer.

"Dammit Cuss," Fraizer yelled at him. "Watch where you're swinging that damned thing."

John slung the M41 over his shoulder and safed his battle rifle.

"Come on, let's get some sleep," Edwards told them. "They'll be hell to pay, tomorrow."

Delta Company Barracks

Camp Eagle

0755hrs

"THAT WAS THE SORRIEST DISPLAY OF SOLDIERING I HAVE EVER SEEN!" Gunnery Sergeant Sykes screamed as he thundered down the aisle. "And you call your sorry asses Marines!"

Gunny stopped and picked up a footlocker. He slammed it against a wall. Sykes had been screaming at them for the past 5 minutes.

"Three men are dead and dozens in the hospital," Sykes growled. "You're a bigger threat to each other than you are to the damn Covenant!"

Sykes glared at them.

"There's going to be a regimental exercise two days from now. You better get your fucking acts together before then or I'm going to skin every man in this goddamn platoon!"

He stormed out, slamming the door behind him. The whole barracks shook.

Cussler exhaled feeling his ass to make sure there was something left.

"Come on Cuss," Dixon said walking past. "Lets get some coffee before he decides to come back."

UNSC Destroyer Remington

In orbit over Nyko

Captain Doherty stepped onto the bridge, returning the salutes of his bridge officers as he moved to his seat as Commander Ford came up to him.

"Captain," Ford said saluting.

"XO."

"Lieutenant Bedlow lets prepare to jump," he told the officer that manned Navigation.

"Aye Captain," Bedlow replied.

Doherty sighed and leaned back in his seat. The Remington was old, one of the many outdated vessels pressed back into service. But it was still a destroyer, which meant it could take and dish out a lot of damage. Two MAC guns, twenty-six oversized Archer pods, and three Shiva nukes. Unfortunately the ship had no AI.

"It would be nice to see Reach again," he though to himself.

"Captain!" Lieutenant Rio, manning Ops, called out. "Slipspace rupture to our stern!"

"What?"

"Profile matches that of a Covenant Frigate."

"Cancel the jump, bring us about course one niner zero, ready the MAC guns."

The bridge officers snapped to and furiously began to work.

"Lieutenant Rio sound general quarters."

"Aye sir."

Red lights began to flash followed by a siren. The bridge doors sealed shut, the doors locking.

"Covenant ship entering normal space," Bedlow announced.

On the view screen the space in front of them boiled green. A Covenant Frigate emerged from Slipspace. The sleek, whale-like Frigate appeared on the screen.

"Lieutenant Stenson, get us a firing solution."

"Aye sir, MAC guns are still hot."

Red molts of light appeared along the frigate.

"They're getting ready to fire Captain."

The red glow became one solid band.

"Keep moving at this speed Lieutenant Bedlow."

"Aye sir, reactors are at one hundred percent.

"Push them to one-fifty!"

"Aye, Aye Captain," Bedlow replied. "Meltdown in one minute."

"Firing solution is online sir," Stenson announced. "Ready to fire."

"Fire!"

Two thumps echoed throughout the Remington. On the view screen two white lines streaked towards the Covenant frigate. The Covenant ship fired as well.

"Hold this course."

"Aye sir," Bedlow replied.

"MAC round striking in 5," Rio announced. "4…3…2…1."

The frigate's shield flickered and died as the first MAC round struck it. The second impacted punching a hole just in front of the ship's engines.

"Sir plasma collision in ten seconds!"

"Emergency thrusters to port, then gives us one hundred percent!"

A loud bang echoed throughout the ship. Doherty gripped his command chair tightly as the Remington rolled.

"Arm Archer pods A through D, load the MAC guns, one heavy round apiece."

"Aye, aye Captain!"

"Lieutenant Rio, show aft cameras."

Two plasma torpedoes appeared on the screen, they slowly turned and continued tracking them.

"Sir, they're preparing to fire again!" Rio called out.

"MAC guns charging," Stenson told him. "Fully charged in ten seconds."

"Sir, Covenant ship is preparing to jump."

The space in front of the frigate began to twist, green lights appearing on its bow.

"Fire the cannons!" Doherty shouted.

"Sir, without a firing…"

"We cannot let them jump!" Doherty cut him off. "Fire the cannons."

"Aye Captain."

Two streaks if rocketed towards the Covenant Frigate. The Covenant ship fired again. Two more bolts of plasma began towards the Remington. Then it was gone.

"Covenant ship has jumped sir," Rio announced. "Four plasma torpedoes tracking us."

Doherty bald his hand into a fist. The view screen showed empty space.

"Bring us in high orbit around Nyko, the planet's gravity should pull in the plasma."

"Yes Captain," Bedlow replied.

"Rio, contact Camp Eagle," Doherty ordered. "Tell them we engaged a Covenant Frigate, damaged it but it has fled. Tell them to expect an attack soon. I'll come down to meet with the General later today."

Division Headquarters

Camp Eagle

0911hrs

"Then it jumped sir," Doherty finished.

"You suspect the more will be coming?" Kirkus asked.

"No, sir I know that more will be coming," Doherty replied. "It'll be just like Sigma Octanus IV, they know we're here and they'll want to kill us.

Kirkus sighed and bowed his head.

"Doherty send your Marines down hear, along with your Warthogs and Scorpions, we'll need them more."

"Yes sir."

"Then jump to Earth, try and get us some help."

"I understand sir, good luck."

Doherty stood, saluted and left.

"Lieutenant," Kirkus told his aide. "Get Colonels Reynolds, Nadal, and Jones here now.

Five minutes later the three Colonels entered his office.

"Gentlemen we may have a problem," he told them. "The Remington engaged a Covenant Frigate this morning. It fled before it could be destroyed. I believe that we should expect a full attack before the end of the week.

The trio stood silent.

"I'm sending the Remington back to Earth to try and get us support. I want you to put listening posts around the base, nearby cities, and any nearby areas that would make a good staging area. Put the base on fifty percent alert and keep it that way until we get attacked or Doherty comes back with a fleet."

"Sir, maybe we should consider evacuating," Jones suggested.

"Pack twenty thousand men on the Remington and abandoned our equipment and five million civilians?"

Jones found it better not to reply.

"Reynolds and Nadal, I want you to move your men outta the Camp and into the surrounding hills. If we get attacked I don't want to lose every regiment. Also tell Jackson and Hazner to move their men outta the base also.

Delta Company Barracks

Camp Eagle

1545hrs

"Listen up men," Gunny Sykes announced. "I got something important to tell you."

Cussler sat on the edge of his cot, his BR55 next to him. Word has spread throughout the base fast that the Remington engaged a Covenant ship. From what they heard, when the Covenant start something they see it through to the end or die trying.

"The UNSC Remington, earlier today, engaged a Covenant frigate," Sykes told them. "It fled before it could be destroyed. The General is sending the Remington to Earth to try and get us support. The battalion is moving. We're moving to the old fort, we've used for training purposes. The 24th will hold the base. The rest of us are moving."

"Gunny what about Reach?" Grover asked.

"If the Covenant found us then they found Reach. I want you all to get as much gear as you can into a duffel and load it into you assigned Warthogs. Then armor up and stuff all the ammo you can carry into pockets, pouches, bags, whatever can hold it. Be packed and ready to move by this evening."

Sykes left them in silence.

"Alright ladies, you heard the gunny," Edwards told them standing up.

Cussler jumped up off his cot and moved to his locker. He stuffed his extra pair of camo BDUs, socks, and a cover inside. He grabbed other assorted gear. He zipped up the bag and closed his locker heading for the door.

"Everybody get their armor on now," Edwards ordered.

Cussler sighed and reopened his locker.

UNSC High Command Facility Bravo-6

Earth

2 days later

"Captain Doherty, UNSC Remington, reporting sir."

Doherty saluted Admiral Hood, General Strauss, Colonel Ackerson, and the half dozen other men in the room.

"Please proceed Captain," the Admiral told him.

"Sir, my destroyer was providing support for the Marines down on Nyko," Doherty began. "Two days ago a Covenant frigate jumped in-system. He engaged it and damaged it, but if fled before we could finish it off. General Kirkus ordered me to report back here and request reinforcements."

"General Strauss, how many of our people our on Nyko?" Hood asked.

Strauss hesitated for a moment checking a book on the desk.

"Twenty thousand UNSC personnel and five million civilians," he told Hood.

"General would it be possible to evacuate?"

"Sir with all do respect," Ackerson cut in. "Five million is a small price to pay. We lost an entire fleet at Reach and thousands of Marines. Our remaining ships should be pulled back to protect the inner colonies."

"Colonel we have twenty thousand men on Nyko," Doherty told him.

"How do you know the Covenant haven't already glassed the planet Captain?" Ackerson snapped.

Doherty said nothing staring straight ahead.

"We do not know they are dead Colonel," Hood interjected calmly.

"They will be soon," Ackerson countered.

"Captain could you please leave us for a moment, we'll get back to you," Strauss told him.

Doherty saluted, spun on his heels and walked out, taking in a deep breath. He sat down on the couch outside and stared at the ceiling. It felt like an hour until the MP told him they were ready.

Doherty quickly stood and reentered the room.

"Captain, we have discussed the situation and that attempting to rescue our men would be impossible," Admiral Hood told him. "It would take more ships than we have available at this time and the fact is that you don't know if they are alive still. I'm sorry Captain, I know you had friends down on the planet."

Doherty stood silent, a little shocked that they were willing to write off twenty thousand Marines and five million civilians. He slowly saluted and walked out.

A Lieutenant walking towards him saluted as he past, his tag read Wagner. The emblem next to his name showed Naval Intelligence: Section Three.

"Fucking spooks," Doherty thought returning the salute.

He entered the elevator and several minutes later stepped out into fresh air.

"Doherty that you?" someone asked from behind.

"Closson, you son-of-a-bitch," Doherty said turning and seeing the face. "How ya doing?"

"Hanging in man," Commander Closson replied. "You?"

"Been better," Doherty replied. "You got some time I need to talk to you?"

"Sure, lets walk."

They slowly began to walk away from HighCom, moving up the street towards a small park.

"So what's up?" Closson asked.

"You still command the Frigate National right?"

"Ya."

"Ok well I'll start from the beginning."

Doherty explained the how he was assigned to Nyko, the quick engagement, and what just happened at Command. By the time he finished they reached the park and sat down on a bench.

"Look can you schedule a training thing or something and come with me to go back to Nyko."

"I don't know James, the Covenant may have glassed the planet already," Closson pointed out.

"Well we'll jump out at the first sign of trouble. We can jump straight there, it'll only take twelve or so hours. We'll be back in two days."

"If you do this you'll lose command of the Remington."

"I'll say that I wanted to make sure nothing got damaged in the fight. If we find something we'll report it. Your on a training exercise remember?"

"I guess," Closson replied hesitantly.

"Thank you I'll owe you for this one."

"You're damn right you will."

Doherty grinned.

"Meet me at the port in an hour."

Thank you for reading my first chapter. The rest will be along eventually.