AN: Sorry for the bit of a wait between chapters, guys. I had a bit of writer's block and then finally thought of some stuff for upcoming chapters.

The remainder of Spartan Team Blue sat in the passenger area of an Albatross heavy transport on the way to the Enterprise. On the way, John got his first glimpse of the giant carrier ship. It was just as Fred described it: Fifteen kilometers long, and a few kilometers wide and tall. The name and Naval Registration number, NCC, or Naval Command Carrier, 1701 were emblazoned along the hull. The ship was commanded by Admiral Lord Hood and crewed by over 700,000 men and women. As the Albatross neared one of the many hundreds of launch bays that lined Enterprise's equator, a message was sent on a hailing frequency to lower the new shield doors of the bay. The shield was lowered and the heavy dropship entered the massive expanse of the launch bay. The quartet of super-soldiers then filed out of the dropship and walked through the hallways of the carrier to the enormous bridge, located at the bow of the ship. It was there that they were told why they were aboard the ship.

"You were called to the Enterprise because there has been a new discovery in regions that none have ever set foot in before," said Lord Hood. "A science team led by Dr. Halsey has picked up what appears to be comms chatter in the galaxy Messier 33, Triangulum."

No one spoke across the bridge, and the silence was broken only by beeping equipment and whirring internal fans. Fred spoke up,

"Sir, if this is really radio or some other signals that aren't natural, we may have a new civilization on our hands." The stone-faced admiral nodded in agreement.

"That is why, Spartan, that we have organized an expedition codenamed Operation: ODYSSEUS to jump 3 million light-years and find the source of the signal." The old man turned to face the viewport.

"ODYSSEUS has been prepared and ships have been gathered. The convoy will include Enterprise, the heavy cruiser Eridanus, the technology demonstrator Infinity, and four destroyers: Heartland, Plataea, Romulus, and Caesar. We leave for a new horizon in three days."

Date: November 1, 2558

Blue Team reported to their assigned cryotubes to be frozen for seven months during the ODYSSEUS main jump. Linda was the only one to speak.

As the pod lids were closing, she said, "Night everyone. See you next year." John closed his eyes and, under his helmet, smiled.