Date: January 9th, 2559, 0900 hours
Location: Kepler 186F, Jericho Region, Outpost Ottawa Firing Range
Event: New Weapons Testing
After a few days of training exercises and simulations, it was time for the new recruits to familiarize themselves with new weapons that were designed just for Project Omega. Ivan and Dave had the new weapons placed on a table right next to the firing range. The other Spartans all gathered around the table to study the new weaponry. Most of the weapons they saw were almost identical to the weapons they've already seen, however they had assorted paint jobs that stood out from the factory default color scheme. On the other hand, there were three weapons that none of them have ever seen before, although they shared some resemblance from the others.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," Dave announced. "Today, you will all be testing out new weaponry. ONI was considerate enough to lend us some of their latest and greatest weapons."Spartan Bishop of Fireteam Foresight raised his hand slightly. Dave noticed his hand pointed a finger at him. "Yeah, Bishop?"
Bishop pointed at the three newest weapons on the table. "Those three weapons. They look like variants from those very old guns that the USCM used a couple hundred years ago."
His comment impressed Dave. He assumed that no one would be know the origins of these weapons. "You seem to know your shit, Bishop. How would you know that?"
Bishop crossed his arms and shrugged. "Well," he huffed, "I'm kind of a history nut. Especially with guns."
Dave shrugged and glanced at Ivan, who also had an impressed expression across his face. "You should talk to Bame about guns. He's quite the gun nut himself." He pulled out his data pad and unlocked the screen. "Magnus, you there?"
Magnus's hologram popped out of the data pad with an annoyed expression across his face. "Yes, Dave. I always will be. I'd rather be in my own little world blowing up Sherman and Easy 8 tanks with my Tiger tank, but sadly, I have to obey protocol. What can I do for you, Dave?"
Dave rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Thanks for the lovely comment, Magnus, but I don't give a shit about your little world of tanks that you love to play in."
"That's a demerit," Magnus said with a smirk across his face. A few of the Spartans giggled at the AI's joke.
That was a comment that Magnus loved to say since Dave and a few of the other higher ups said it many times to the new recruits. Mainly to the same recruits. Dave smirked at the joke and was about to share another smartass comment with the AI, but remembered that this was a training exercise.
"Yeah, whatever, Magnus. Do me a favor and tell these Spartans about these three weapons," Dave ordered pointing at the three weapons. He set the data pad on the table, then crossed his fingers.
Magnus turned his gaze and studied the three weapons for a couple seconds. At the snap of his fingers, a holographic screen popped out of the data pad showing descriptive files about the three new weapons.
"Well, let's go down the list, shall we?" He turned and pointed at Dave. "Would be so kind to pick up that rifle, sir?"
Dave smiled and went to pick the rifle. "So you had to make me do some work, eh?"
"Just trying to keep you on your feet, sir," Magnus replied. He turned to the Spartans. "This is the M44AE4 Pulse Rifle. It is the remastered version of the primitive, yet effective version of the M41A Pulse Rifle that the Colonial Marines once used almost four hundred years ago. The reason ONI redesigned this weapon, rather than just letting you guys use your regular AR's, was because this weapon proved to be extremely effective against Xenomorphs according to what Corporal Hicks informed the Weyland-Yutani Corporation after his tour on LV-426. Anyways, the Pulse Rifle has an electronic pulse action that fires 10x24mm high explosive light-armor piercing rounds at an effective range up to 500 meters, with a normal ammo capacity of sixty rounds. It's much more lethal than your MA5D Assault Rifles. The only problem with these weapons is that the cost of the ammunition is significantly higher compared to the other weapons you are familiar with. Also, it takes much more time to manufacture the rounds. So as a result, there will only be a handful of these guns in Omega's arsenal meaning that only one person per Fireteam will be able to use the rifle. Spartan Wolf, would you be so kind to demonstrate the lethal force of the Pulse Rifle?"
"I'd be glad to," Dave replied with a smile. It was without a doubt that the Pulse Rifle was his new favorite weapon of choice. "Observe, Spartans," he ordered.
He picked up the large magazine and slapped it into the rifle, causing the ammo count meter to fly up to sixty rounds. He pulled the bolt back, then let go, placing a round in the chamber. He stepped up to the firing range and aimed down the sights. He took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. The report of the strange higher pitched gunshots echoed through the firing range, almost sounding like a laser gun more so than a slug based weapon. The metallic target at the end of the range was being torn up by each round until it completely disintegrated into scrap. The Spartans were fairly impressed with the weapon's performance.
Spartan Frost of Fireteam Jaeger raised his hand. "So why would ONI development a new version of this primitive weapon when we already have that," he asked, pointing at the explosive variant of the SAW that was more commonly known as The Answer. "I mean, The Answer also fires explosive rounds and has an ammo capacity of seventy-two. It's just as, if not, more useful than the Pulse Rifle."
"I see your point, Spartan Frost," Magnus replied. "The Answer deals much more stopping power than the Pulse Rifle, and indeed, it does have a higher ammo capacity. However, The Answer is not as accurate and it's much heavier. It's categorized as a light machine gun, whereas the Pulse Rifle is classified as an assault rifle. Both weapons have their purposes. Pulse rifles are much more customizable as well as being more portable than The Answer."
Frost nodded his head. He'd have to test the weapon out for himself at some point.
"Alright, let's move onto the next," said Magnus. He pointed to Ivan. "Would you, fine sir, please pick up this bad boy?" He asked Ivan.
"Yeah, sure," Ivan replied as put his helmet on. He lifted up the giant heavy machine gun and strapped the mounting bracket around his Spartan armor, keeping the weapon in place.
The length of the weapon was nearly as tall as the Spartan! Ivan held it at his hip, with his left hand gripping a handle on top of the weapon and his right hand gripping the rear of the weapon. It lacked a stock at the rear, but the mounting bracket seemed like it would compensate for the recoil. The machine gun consisted of a giant drum magazine on the left side and a large cocking handle on the right side.
The sheer beauty of the weapon seemed to really catch the attention of a few of the larger Spartans, especially Justin Dukes and James Regendorf of Fireteam Foresight. They both gave each other small smirks and continued to behold the demonstration.
Ivan pulled the cocking handle back and forth and positioned himself in front of the firing range. Dave stood next to the buttons that activated targets. He pressed the button and Ivan immediately opened fire. The thunderous report of the heavy weapon shook the ground and caused giant sonic waves at the end of the barrel, slightly obscuring the air around it. The rate of fire was possibly higher than the other machine gun turrets that the Spartans were familiar with.
Dave pressed another button that activated a few moving targets. In a matter of seconds, those targets were torn to scrap metal which, needless to say, astonished all of the Spartans. The flashes and the sheer power of the weapon were absolutely beautiful and frightening. Finally, Ivan seized fire, then turned around to look at the Spartans. Despite having his face blocked by his visor, the Spartans all saw the smile across his face.
"That, my friends," Magnus announced with a smirk across his face, "is the latest and greatest M56 Gen 2 Smartgun. Isn't she beautiful?"
"Damn," Dukes commented. The other Spartans were more than impressed by its sheer beauty.
Magnus continued on about the Smartgun. "This weapon was the pride and jewel of the USCM back in the good ol' days. An instant morale booster on the battlefield, or a morale destroyer for the enemy."
"No kidding," Spartan Regendorf commented with a smirk.
"Yeah. Anyways, the Smartgun is now considered the State of the Art of weaponry of the UNSC. ONI designed the second generation of Smartguns to be one hundred percent compatible with your Smart Links in your HUD's. It's awesome ability, that you guys witnessed when Ivan tore apart those moving targets in an instant, is that it locks onto a target through your HUD and the Smart rounds are homed onto that target. There was an aim assist program installed within the weapon where it end of the barrel automatically guides itself to the locked on target, hence its name: the Smartgun. The ammo capacity in each magazine is five-hundred Smart rounds. It shoots at 1200 RPM, and its effective range is up to fifteen-hundred meters. Yeah it goes pretty far. The farther the target is, the more effective the Smartgun is."
Magnus continued on about the weapon. "There are some problems with this weapon. It is not very effective at super close range, but you can easily spray the rounds around you if you ever get in that situation. Also, the cost and time to manufacture this weapon is surprisingly much more than that of the Scorpion Tank." Many eyes among the Spartans were opened much wider at that comment. "Yes, it cost more money to make and it takes much longer to manufacture than the tank. So obviously, we won't have many in our disposal. Right now, we only have ten of them in our armory on Kepler."
"Geez," Tyler commented in shock.
"Yeah. Well anyways," said Magnus. "The last weapon here is one that you all can probably guess. Take a guess, Spartans."
"Looks like a flamethrower," Bishop commented.
Magnus nodded. "Good guess. Yes it is. It's a much more portable version than the variant that you are all probably familiar with. This one here," he pointed at the flamethrower," is called the M280B Flamethrower. Like the other two weapons, it is an updated design that was taken from the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Now, it's pretty straightforward as you all would expect. It's fueled by a small canister of napalm. They are extremely effective against Xenomorphs, especially in confined environments." He looked back at the Spartans and smiled. "If any of you have one of these in combat, have fun burning those bugs like they are Jews."
Many of Spartans laughed at the joke, including Dave. Ivan just shook his head.
"As for the rest of the weapons, I'm sure you are pretty familiar with them. The Lawgiver, the Typhon, The Answer, and so on. If you have any questions, just ask Dave. I believe my job here is done," Magnus said as he looked at Dave.
"Alright, Magnus. You can go play in your little world of tanks now," he joked.
"I will," he simply replied then disappearing from the data pad.
"Alright Spartans," Dave announced. "I'll let you boys take these weapons to the firing range." He pointed at Spartans Regendorf, Dukes, and Spade. "You three, you'll take turns using the Smartgun."
The three Spartans were visibly pleased when they were picked to use the weapon. Some of the other Spartans gave those three Spartans some pretty jealous and envious looks, except for Kait. She gave him a flirtatious expression, looking at him and the Smartgun, insinuating the gun's size. He caught on with her implication and merely shrugged with a small smirk across his face. A sudden sense of excitement and anticipation rushed through Kait's veins and she shifted her body.
Jonah noticed Kait's visible flirtatious display towards Spade and he rolled his eyes. It was fairly obvious to him that Kait was attempting to get a particular reaction from Matt by glancing at him and the Smartgun. A smile formed across his face and he took a step away from Kait, knowing that his next comment was going to earn him a punch in the face.
"My god, just a get room already and find out for sure!" He said trying to keep a straight expression, but he couldn't help the smile forming across face. A few of the Spartans heard his comment and chuckled.
Kait instantly turned her gaze towards Jonah with an expression of sheer rage and anger. If he were any closer, she would punch him square in the face. Thankfully, she managed to compose herself and managed to form a smirk, then shrugged in agreement. She had to admit to herself that she was fairly curious of the innuendo. Jonah's smile was instantly changed to a look of disgust.
"Alright, that's just nasty," he commented which made Kait giggle.
The nasty image of his two friends going hot and heavy invaded his mind and he attempted really hard to get the image out of his head, but he failed miserably. Without thinking, he grabbed a Pulse Rifle and started to fire down the range. The rest of the Spartans began to take turns using each of the weapons that were displayed on the table.
Date: January 9th, 2559, 1130 hours
Location: Kepler 186F, Jericho Region, Outpost Ottawa Briefing Room
Event: Operation Debriefing from FLEETCOM
Thunderous echoes of gunfire were heard inside the briefing room where Commander Bame and Lieutenant Commander Snow stood at attention in front of the live monitor which showed Rear Admiral Thomas Lasky on the other end. Eric was very surprised and pleased to hear about Lasky's promotion. It was well deserved. He was worried that FLEETCOM was going to terminate his rank after Wildfire, but this was a very pleasant surprise. Well, somewhat after he thought about it. Thomas Lasky did have a way with words and he is a very likable guy and leader. His outgoing and optimistic charisma allowed him to talk himself into and through anything.
Lasky greeted them with a smile and a nod. "At ease, Spartans." Both Eric and Mario eased to a more comfortable stance. Lasky overheard the thunderous reports of gunfire in the background and he smirked. "I assume that your Spartans are enjoying their new toys."
Bame slightly turned head towards the window, listening to the undeniable roar of the Smartgun in the distance which made him smile and nod. "It's safe to assume that, sir. That Smartgun is pretty attractive."
"Yeah, she's really pretty, ain't she?" Lasky replied. "I wish we had those in the war, but I guess we turned out alright without them." Lasky cleared his throat and his expression changed into a more professional tone.
"Alright, down to business, Spartans. As you both know, the UNSC and ONI, for that matter, basically have almost zero intel on the Meta Division. They are very good at hiding themselves. All we know is that they are a secret Insurrectionist Weapons Research Division that captured Xenomorph and Yautja specimens during Operation Wildfire. And then, of course, there's their leader that goes by the alias, 'Blackwater'. We simply do not know where any of their bases of operations are. Furthermore, the regular Insurrectionist soldiers that we've taken prisoner also have no idea where they are. Actually, they never even heard of Meta Division. Which leads us to almost nothing to work with."
Snow spoke up. "Sir, if I may."
"Go ahead, Snow," Lasky granted.
"The way I see it, if they are as secret as they are said to be, why would they suddenly make an appearance during Wildfire," he asked. "In the middle of battle?" He added.
Lasky lowered his eyebrows. "That's what we were wondering too. Obviously, they had enough motivation to come out of hiding just to get capture those bugs and predators."
Bame spoke up. "Maybe it was because it was the only chance they had to capture those specimens. They obviously had prior knowledge about the Xenomorphs and the Yautja, otherwise they wouldn't have even showed up. But my question is, why wouldn't they go to that planet before or after Wildfire?"
"Well, the planet was uncharted, right?" Mario asked.
"Yeah," Eric replied. He rubbed his chin and glanced back at Lasky, who was also fairly puzzled. Suddenly, a theory popped up into Eric's head. "Maybe this is how it went down: The Meta Division must have had no prior knowledge about this planet, which is fair to assume since there wasn't any proof that the planet existed. However, maybe they acted fast since they figured there would be nothing left after the battle because of maybe," he paused and cleared his throat. "Well, the planet would have been glassed by the Storm Covenant if they reached orbit."
Lasky nodded. "That's a fair assumption."
"Or," Eric continued. "Or maybe a similar situation would happen with the Yautja ships. Or if we nuked it from orbit. They had a small gap to grab what they could."
"This is a valid theory and all, Spartan," Lasky commented. "But how does this help us find where they are right now?"
Eric pondered on that question for a moment. "Well," he said. "Like I said, they had prior knowledge about the Xenomorphs and Yautja. Is there any intel on either species?"
"What kind of intel?"
"Intel that would tell us where we ran into them in the past."
Lasky pondered on the comment. He looked to his left at the hologram pad. "Roland?"
Roland's avatar popped out of the hologram. "Yes, Rear Admiral?"
"What was the planet you mentioned where we first encountered the Xenomorphs?"
"LV-426, designated Acheron."
Lasky nodded. "Alright, when was the last time we were there?"
Roland searched the records for a few moments. "Well, as far as I know, we haven't been there since the thermonuclear explosion."
A lightbulb lit up over Bame's head. "If we haven't been there since then, it's very possible that the Meta Division landed there at some time, assuming that the UNSC or ONI haven't monitored that system since that incident."
"As far as I know, Spartan," Roland said. "We haven't even thought about going there again. In our minds, it was just a rock in the middle of space."
Lasky looked over to Bame and Snow. "Maybe we should scout that moon. It's possible that Meta has landed there before. That would explain why they had prior knowledge on the Xenomorphs."
Both Bame and Snow nodded. "Agreed, sir."
"Alright, I'll notify Captain Duran about this. Your Spartans are ready, right?"
Bame glanced at Snow, who nodded back. "Ready as they will ever be, sir."
"Sounds good. I'll order Captain Duran to take Omega Division to LV-426 for a scouting mission in two days. Do you think you'll need any assistance from any marine battalions?"
Bame shook his head. "I don't think we do, sir. However, we should have one battalion on standby if there is a Meta base on LV-426."
"Understood, Commander. Good luck out there and stay safe," Lasky said with a half smile.
"We will sir," Bame replied. He and Mario both soluted Lasky and the screen went blank.
Mario and Eric exchanged curious looks. "Let's hope our Spartans are ready."
Date: January 11th, 2559, 0625 hours
Location: Calpamos' Moon, designated Acheron, in Orbit aboard The Brigadier
Event: Scouting Mission near the blast sight of Hadley's Hope
It didn't take long for The Brigadier to arrive to LV-426 via slipspace. The Spartans were in the mess hall getting something to eat. There was an uneasy tension hidden within all of them. They heard all of the horror stories about what happened in Wildfire, but they knew they more trained for this sort of thing. Commander Bame ordered two Fireteams to be dropped down onto the rock to scout out the primitive colony called Hadley's Hope. The two Fireteams chosen for the scouting mission were Fireteams Jaeger and Foresight. The rest of the Fireteams along with the marine battalion will be on standby in case anything were to happened. As far as they knew, there weren't any Meta bases on the rock. However, looks can be deceiving.
Bishop and Porsche both sat at the same table with their Fireteams discussing about how they were going to go about this scouting mission. Porsche volunteered to have his Fireteam to take point which would leave Foresight to cover the rear.
"Did Dave say what weapons you guys will be using?" Porsche asked Bishop.
"Well, we will have some heavy ordinance. Dukes and Regendorf are manning Smartguns. They will hold two drums each. That'll give us two-thousand rounds on backup," Bishop said glancing at Dukes and Regendorf. Porsche nodded in acknowledgment. The heavy ordinance eased a little bit of stress in his gut.
Dukes and Regendorf fist bumped and continued eating. They both were eager to fight and show just how lethal they are with those Smart Guns.
"Anyways," Bishop continued. "Their Smart Guns are all they are gonna have. As for myself and Ocean, well," he paused and glanced at Spartan Volodymyr Ocean, the youngest Spartan in the division at age twenty. A clear sense of eagerness was all over his face, hoping to prove himself to his Fireteam. Bishop placed a hand on Ocean's shoulder with a small smile. "Junior here will be making sure nothing gets close to those Smartgunners, right Ocean?"
Ocean smiled widely and nodded his head, but failed to compose his excitement. Porsche huffed at his excitement. "You got it, boss," Ocean enthusiastically replied.
"I'll be watching you, bud." He looked back to Porsche and continued on. "Anyways, he'll be bringing a shotgun and a SMG." Ocean nodded in agreement. "As for me, I'll just have a BR and an AR. Dave gave me a few data chips if we came across any Innie terminals."
Ben nodded his head. Foresight seemed to be pretty set, in terms of weapons. The two Smartgunners definitely compensate for the security of the unit. He glanced over to his team. They didn't seem to have any problem with Foresight's loadouts.
"What about you boys?" Bishop asked Porsche.
Porsche shrugged. "Well, nothing as hot rod as you all," he said pointing at Dukes and Regendorf. "Both Frost and Spade will be carrying a flamethrower and an AR."
Frost simply nodded then took sip from his cup. He knew his role. Not much really scared him. Spade merely shrugged. A small sense of anxiety was stirring in his stomach followed by a faint rotating ball in his gut that he couldn't pinpoint. It was either anticipation or fear. Either way, he knew to not allow that feeling interfere with his choices.
Porsche continued on. "I'll be bringing a DMR, my energy wakizashi, and an SMG. My DMR will be mounted with a COG sight. Carboni will be bringing a Pulse Rifle and a shotgun. So in my opinion, we should be all set up front. I'm sure of it. Hopefully we don't run into any Xenomorphs."
Bishop only shrugged. He was slightly skeptical with how dangerous the Xenomorphs were made out to be. Granted, the stories about them were pretty gruesome, but he heard worse ones about the Flood. The Flood took over your body the moment an infection form entered it. From what he was told, the Xenomorphs were similar to the Flood, but not as dangerous. They aren't a parasitic spacefaring species like the Flood. They acted more on animalistic instincts, and barely on any logic. Except for the Queen Xenomorph. Even so, she was definitely not as dangerous as the Gravemind. She couldn't be.
Dave suddenly approached the table with his armor on. He snapped Bishop out of his thought by dropping his helmet onto the table. "You guys ready for this?"
Porsche nodded. "Yes sir, we were just discussing what we were going to do when we landed."
Dave raised an eyebrow. "You do know that it's just a scouting mission, right? It shouldn't be that big of deal."
"Doesn't hurt to be safe, sir," Porsche replied flatly as he took a sip from his glass.
Dave shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Even so, we haven't been on this rock in almost four-hundred years which just means we will be scouting out unfamiliar territory."
"Four-hundred years is a long time," Bishop commented. "It's possible that all we will see is rusted out metal and unstable structures. I assume the radiation from that nuclear blast should have subsided by now, right?"
"Oh, definitely by now," Dave replied seeming to be very sure about himself. "Yeah I think this op is going to be a waste of our time, but Bame wants it to happen, so I guess we'll have to follow through. And like you said, Bishop. Four-hundred is a long ass time. Those Xenomorphs, even if they survived the blast, are most likely dead."
"I hope your right," Porsche whispered.
"Alright, get your shit together. Bame wants you on the ground in forty-five minutes," Dave ordered. The eight Spartans all got their feet and quickly went the armory.
Accompanied by the sound of depressurizing air pistons, the doors of the armory slid open, revealing all of the toys it possessed. Nearly the entire UNSC arsenal was lining the walls of the moderately sized room. The eight Spartans entered and were immediately approached by several UNSC technicians. One of them stepped forward from the cluster, tapping sporadically on a data pad.
"Identification?" He asked blatantly, without removing his eyes from the device.
"Fireteams Foresight and Jaeger checking in for armor assembling and weapon retrieval." Bishop replied.
The technician paused, looked up and scanned the party of Spartans, then immediately began tapping once more. "No-can-do, sir. You have to have tier-4 clearance for that kind of request."
Ocean replied, "But we are SPARTANS. By this point, we've gotta have that clearance." He looked to his comrades for support. "...Right?" He received no response.
Either the technician didn't hear Ocean, or simply ignored him, due to the absence of a response or acknowledgement of any kind. He was wasting precious time. Apparently, some of his comrades were seemingly annoyed by his lack of respect and time management as well. Unexpectedly, Porsche broke away from the group, walked up to the technician, and tore the tablet out of his hands.
"HEY! That is priceless equipment filled with classified viewer sensitive inform-" his outburst was cut short when Porsche proceeded to slam the device onto the polished granite floor, reducing the tablet to silicon dust.
"Now, if you're done looking up furry porn," Porsche said, "I suggest you allow us to acquire our gear. Unless you would rather report to Commander Bame himself. Your call."
The technician swallowed hard. "Y-yes, sir!" He proceeded to yell at one of his compatriots, "Rogers! Stop sitting around and show these men to the armor nodes!"
Another technician stepped forward and addressed Bishop and Porsche, "Right this way, gentlemen." In lower tone, he continued , "And I apologize for the inconvenience. Sergeant Gregor has been… on edge as of late. No idea why, but his displeasing attitude seems to originate from that tablet. So, thank you for so effectively… getting rid of it, one could say." He smiled.
Sergeant Gregor's voice echoed from the other side of the room. "So what are you guys gonna do about my tablet, eh? Do you have any idea how much money I invested in that thing?!" He shouted.
Dukes looked over his shoulder and snapped back, "Do you have any idea how much we don't care?"
The red-faced sergeant stormed off, somewhat out of rage, mostly out of embarrassment. He lost this fight, and he decided he had done enough work for the day. Within a few minutes, all eight Spartans were geared up in the Mjolnir GEN-II Spartan-IV armor. Individual armor sets hadn't been assigned yet, but the order request sent to ONI for the new prototypes had been placed and should arrive shortly. Until then, the common, yet equally as lethal, Recruit variant would have to do.
The sound of metal sliding against metal radiated throughout the armory, as weapons were retrieved from their racks, rounds being loaded into magazines, slugs being chambered, and frags magnetizing to waist plates. Each spartan had located and prepped their assigned weapons and were armed to the teeth with equipment. Helmet under the nook of his arm, Porsche observed the Spartans before him. He noticed a sense of overconfidence.
"Gents, may I ask you a brief question if I may?" He asked. At this point, all eyes were fixated on him. Porsche took a deep breath, and continued. "Do any of you have a clue what we are going up against in this operation?" He received blank stares. "While there is no guarantee that we will encounter any of those xenomorphs, there is also no guarantee that we won't. Yes, this may be just a scouting mission, and we can handle some innies, but if we do so happen to go toe-to-toe with one of those buzzards, it'll be an engagement none of us will forget. What I ask for is simply this: stay focused, don't try anything stupid, and don't be a hero. Stick to the plan, and if anything goes wrong… well, improvise. We've got seven minutes until deployment. Take the remainder of that time to get your shields charged if you haven't yet."
Porsche then magnetized his DMR and SMG to his back, and left the room, walking to Jaeger's designated pelican. The rest of the Spartans followed suite, except for Matthew Spade. He sat on a bench next to the weapon lockers, mulling over a picture he and Kaitlyn had taken with each other just a few days ago. Bishop popped his head back into the armory, "You coming Spade? Everyone is waiting on you for departure."
"Oh, Yeah. Sorry, man. I'm on my way." Spade replied. Bishop nodded and ran back to Foresight's pelican. Spade let out a deep sigh, folded the photo into a small square, and tucked it into the inside of his breastplate. He picked up his weapons, grabbed his helmet, and walked out to the pelican.
Time: 0701 hours
Location: Hangar Bay 2 of The Brigadier
Commander Bame observed the two Fireteams geared up and entering their designated pelicans. Suddenly, a flashback of when he and his old Crimson team entered the pelican to invade the uncharted planet during Wildfire. He remembered listening to Danny, Dylan, and Jon make bets on who was going to get more kills. He slowly closed his eyes and bowed his head in sadness. He and his team were both overconfident in their abilities and he was seeing the same thing from these new Spartans. If only they knew what they were getting into.
The members of Jaeger entered their pelican and sat down. Bame noticed Spade making a couple non-military hand gestures to someone to his right. He slowly turned his head spotted Spartan Rene waving to him with a worried expression. Bame glanced back to Spade who was trying to reassure her with a genuine smile. He tapped his chest and pointed back at Rene. She nodded back still with a worried expression.
"She should be worried," Bame whispered to himself. He took a deep breath and lightly shook his head.
The pelican's bay doors finally closed up airtight and the two dropships lifted off the ground, then exited the hangar bay. They both flew towards the surface of the lifeless moon. Destination: Hadley's Hope.
Porsche glanced around his teammates as the dropship entered the moon's airspace. They were all strapped into their seats. There were things that he needed to know before the back gate opened up. He brought two fingers up to the side of his helmet, activating the communications network.
"Gipsy 015, do you copy? Radio test," he called out.
"Gipsy 015 on station, five by five. Go ahead Jaeger leader," the female pilot called back.
"What's the condition of the atmosphere? Is it breathable?"
"One moment, Jaeger," the pilot called back. A few moments passed by and the members of Jaeger team exchange glances. Suddenly, the pilot called back. "It should be breathable. Our diagnostics tell us that the air is fairly breathable. However, it'll be like climbing Mount Everest, so I suggest you keep your helmets on unless you have no other choice."
"Acknowledged, Gipsy," Porsche called back. He tapped a button on his wrist device that connected with Foresight's leader. "Bishop, you hear that?"
"Yeah I did, we will be careful. Hopefully nothing out of the ordinary happens down there," Bishop replied.
"Agreed." Porsche then glanced around at his team. "You guys ready?"
"Yes sir," Frost replied. The other two members both nodded.
"Foresight and Jaeger, we are coming to our LZ, get ready to pile out," the pilot of Gipsy announced through the com network.
"Alright, people. Let's get ready," Porsche ordered as he unhinged the straps and got to his feet. He pulled out his DMR and held on to a bar on the ceiling. "Gipsy, what's the weather status?"
"Quite windy and light rain. Not very hazardous," the pilot called back.
"Thanks, Gipsy," Porsche replied.
"We arrived at the landing zone, Spartans. Be careful out there."
The back gate opened up and the four Spartans piled out to secure the LZ. It was a little rainy and the wind whistled through the air. There was scrap metal and debris laying all across the ground. The giant structure in the distance was dark and obviously out of commission due to the explosion that happened hundreds of years ago.
"That must have been the atmosphere processor that blew up," Bishop commented.
"It must have been an extremely efficient machine considering the air is still somewhat breathable to this day," Porsche replied. "Alright, Spartans, let's make our way through this graveyard."
"Dukes, Regendorf, keep your eyes peeled for any movement," Bishop called out.
The entire complex was completely dark. The power must have been off since the detonation, which seemed obvious. Porsche studied the structures on each side of the road. Many of the structures seemed like old shops with primitive neon signs outside. One of them said 'Bar'. The road was littered by primitive designed vehicles and other debris. Porsche looked up and saw a complex just above all of the shops and structures that must have been the main control center. That was where they had to go to at least get an idea of what the aftermath was.
The two Fireteams approached a very rusted out metallic door that was halfway open. The entrance lead to the inside of the main complex. Porsche snapped his fingers at Spade and Carboni. The two Spartans stopped in their tracks and looked at their Fireteam leader. Porsche pointed through the door, implying that he wanted them to take point. Both Spartans nodded and slowly entered the complex with their weapons up and ready.
Porsche noticed that the wires were hanging out of the door's system controls. He grabbed ahold of the wires and quickly snapped them off, then brought them closer to his helmet for a better look. They appeared to be cut fairly recently, considering that the copper wires weren't very eroded. It was still fairly sharp. Porsche threw the wires on the ground and continued into the main complex.
It was nearly pitch black in the corridors. Each Spartan activated their flashlights on their weapons and studied the aftermath of the explosion. Despite the the wires hanging from the ceiling and multiple holes on each surface, the hallway was still fairly intact, all things considered. The floor was still sturdy enough to walk on.
Spade and Frost came across a large hole and pointed their AR's inside of it. It was large enough where both Spade and Frost could fit inside of it. Spade crouched down and studied the metal along the perimeter of the hole. The metal wasn't rusted out. It was still fairly shiny. This type metal was a very primitive type that, after all these centuries, should be rusting out quickly. The metal floor around him was clearly rusted out as expected, but not around the perimeter of the whole, which made no sense to him. He looked back his leader.
"Sir, you should look at this," he said.
Porsche approached his teammate and crouched down. Spade showed him the the color of the metal along the hole's perimeter. It was obvious that this hole was created long after the detonation of this facility.
"Spartans, listen up," Porsche called out through the com network. Each Spartan stopped in their tracks and held their position. "This facility has had visitors long after the explosion. There are some holes with metal that hasn't had enough time to rust out. They must have been created by the Xenomorph's acidic blood. I'm betting that there are still some Xenos lurking in the shadows. Keep your guards up and watch that motion tracker."
"If they bled on the ground," Bishop added. "That must mean that whoever made them bleed could still be around, keep your eyes out for anything else. I'm betting the innies made an appearance here not long ago."
The two Fireteams closely examined their surroundings as they made their way to the control center. Many more clues of recent activity were found. Acid holes, bullet holes that weren't quite rusted out yet, and brass cartridges that were still intact. Finally, the two Fireteams reached it and they slowly made their way in.
The control room looked like a fire storm warped around. The metallic ceiling panels were blown down with wires hanging down from them. The floor panels were also compromised. Some had large acid holes and the others seemed to have bursted from beneath. Most of the panels and the acid holes were very rusted out which meant that whatever happened here happened centuries ago.
"Must have been a hell of a last stand," Dukes commented.
Frost glanced down and noticed a rusted out Pulse rifle. He picked it up and took a better look at it. There was an emblem of a skull on the left side where the magazine was with a knife penetrating the top of it. Then on the top where the iron sights were, the name "Hudson" was written out along the plastic. Frost smiled and placed the rifle on his back. "Pretty cool souvenir."
Dukes, Ocean, and Bishop moved to the next room and discovered what seemed to be a medical laboratory. The glass window to the laboratory was blasted open. Bishop looked around at the primitive computers. He noticed a small device next to the machines that was very out of place. It was much newer device around the size of a small trash can. He crouched down to it and noticed a small emblem on the side of a red fist.
"Innies," Bishop muttered. The device was hooked up to the computer system just next to it. "Porsche, we found a innie device in the next room. Get in here."
Not a minute later, Porsche quickly made his way into the room where the device was. Bishop simply pointed at the emblem on the device. "They were definitely here."
"At least we have proof," Porsche replied flatly. He took a better look at the device. "It looks like a small generator. See if it has anymore power."
Bishop searched for the power button and then turned it on. The device still had some power left. The computer monitor that was hooked up to the device suddenly powered up to its standby state. It started to automatically boot up to its main screen. The screen seemed to relocate where it was previously opened due to a random shutdown. Both Fireteam leaders saw a few strangely labeled files.
Bishop snapped his fingers at Ocean. "Ocean, come over here and see what you can find."
Ocean quickly made his way to the monitor and sat down in the chair. Dukes stood behind him, still on guard with his massive Smart Gun. He watched Ocean get himself situated with the primitive computer. Ocean scanned through the computer's database and found countless files that were opened almost a year ago.
"Well, take a look at these files," he said, pointing at the screen.
Bishop placed his battle rifle on his back and leaned down on the metallic desk to get a better look. "They were opened last February. The innies must have extracted this data." He pulled out a data chip and plugged it into the monitor. "It's gotta be valuable data. Ocean, extract all that data."
Ocean nodded and dragged the files on the monitor into the empty data chip's file. A notification popped up that caused Ocean to let out an annoyed huff. "It's going to take roughly three hours to extract all of this data, sir."
Both Bishop and Porsche let out an annoyed exhale. "Looks like we are going to be here for a while," Bishop commented. He brought his finger to the side of his helmet. "Listen up Spartans, we're going to be here for a while. Keep your guards up and sit tight."
"I'll radio The Brigadier," Porsche told the Spartans around him. He tapped a command on his wrist pad, selecting the commander's main communications channel. "Commander Bame, come in," he called out. A few seconds passed by.
"We read you, Spartan. What do you got for me?" Bame called back.
"We came across a small Insurrectionist generator in the main control center that was connected to a computer system in the medical laboratory. It still had power and we powered up the computer system. Ocean, here, checked out which files were last opened. Some of them were opened in February, 2558."
On the other end of the com's network aboard The Brigadier, Bame, Snow, Wolf, and Morales were gathered around the briefing table that showed a holographic map of Hadley's Hope that Magnus was able to provide. Commander Bame and Lieutenant Commander Snow glanced at each other. Snow looked back at the briefing table with a stern expression.
"Does it look like the Insurrectionist made that control room a base of operations?" Snow questioned.
"No, sir. This is only innie device we came across in here. The control room is a wreck and it doesn't look like anyone has been here since the explosion," Porsche replied flatly.
Suddenly, Spartan Ocean interrupted the communications network. "Sirs, I'm sorry for interrupting, but I found something in one of these files that you boys might want to hear." Bishop smacked Ocean across his helmet lightly.
"Go ahead, Ocean," Bame replied back.
"Well, um," he hesitated. "Well, Bishop is having me download all the files which is going to take three hours, so I decided to go through a few of the files while they transfer into the data chip-"
"What do you need to tell us, Spartan?" Snow impatiently ordered the young Spartan.
"Well, I found a file that gave me a location to something called The Derelict," he replied. Both Bame and Snow exchanged curious expressions.
"Go on," Bame replied.
"It's about five miles northwest of Hadley's Hope," Ocean said.
Bame looked back at the briefing table. "Magnus, move the map five miles, northwest of this position."
"Alright," the AI replied. The holographic map then rapidly moved northwest, showing unrendered terrain with a large bump on the surface that looked too symmetrical to be a natural formation.
"Stop here, render this area, Magnus," Bame ordered the AI.
The screen went through a few rendering processes and a clearer 3-D picture of a C-shaped ship and a small square building. The C-shaped ship looked extremely familiar. The other building was no doubt a human building. In addition, it also had a more contemporary design. It wasn't an old building. It was definitely built recently.
"Spartans, can you scout out that Derelict anytime soon?" Bame asked.
"Well, this data extraction is going to take three hours, sir. Unless you want us to split up," Porsche replied back.
Bame really didn't want split the Fireteams apart. They still didn't know if they were alone there yet. He looked over to Spartan Morales and Wolf. "I want you two to get Fireteams Creedance and Cerulean prepped as soon as possible. Have them scout out the Derelict."
"Got it," Dave replied. Ivan nodded with him and the two left the room.
Bame looked back at the briefing table. "No need, Porsche. Hold your position. We are sending two other Spartan teams to scout out the Derelict."
"Acknowledged, sir. Anything else?"
"Not right now. Radio in if you find anything else."
"Understood," Porsche called back. He looked back at Bishop. "You heard all that?"
"Yep."
"Well, looks like we are going to sit tight for a while," Porsche comment as he took a seat.