Man's True Best Friend
Rated M (Language, Blood, Gore, Etc.)
By Casey Riffel
Chapter 9
Gimme Shelter
The Hanger
"This thing is huge!"
Link said as he and the other Agents followed Adam through the many different corridors of the ship. Adam was trying to keep in front of the Agents, but due to his height, he kept getting passed.
"Of course its huge, ya foking idiot! This ship was designed and created by yours truly. I wouldn't stand for a scrawny ship that wouldn't hold its weight in battle."
Adam adjusted his suit. He seemed to be quiet proud of his creation. Link then returned on his comment as a few of the crewmen saluted as they passed.
"I thought that this ship was already made and you bought it from the UNMC?"
Adam chuckled at Link's question in an uncomplimentary manner and turned to Link, keeping his step as he walked backwards.
"Ya see, I made this ship from the original designs, with some of me own lil' additions as well."
The group passed a huge area on the port side of the ship. It was bustling with crewmen getting Warthogs, Cyclops', Pelicans, Albatrosses and Scorpions in working order. The room was at least two hundred meters long and fifty meters wide. There were three monstrous rectangular doors that lined the outer wall of the ship that were open to the outside; letting Pelicans in and out with some supplies and the remaining crew. Some even looked like Marines and ODST's. The room was large enough that it fit a small attacking force within it.
"A garage? I thought that Destroyers couldn't have them."
Link asked in a confused tone. Adam chuckled again and walked out onto the catwalk that went around the entire ceiling of the room. He signaled Link and the others to follow.
"See, I figured, a ship needs a hanger. Especially one that will be doing a lot of work like this bird."
Adam said in a suggestive tone as he patted a girder as it passed. Link was following along and glanced to General who was down at his side. Although Link hadn't quiet perfected Generals facial expressions, he knew what his face he had on at the moment from the many times Link himself had gotten it. Uninterested.
"Having a hanger allows a more versatile battle strategy. Only a dope would disagree."
Link nodded to himself while looking at the people below as they worked on the vehicles below. They were strapping down the vehicles, getting ready for leaving Reach's atmosphere. The Pelicans that were already inside began hooking up to the ceiling system, which held the Pelicans in place when not needed. A crewman slowly guided the hovering bulk backward as it made its way back and with a clack, the clamps grabbed onto the rear and front engines. With a slow whirl, the engines stopped and began to cool.
"Getting rid of half of the Port-side Battleplate and half of the Archer weaponry was a necessary sacrifice for this advancement. This entire hanger is complemented with six Pelicans, four Albatrosses, ten M-eight-oh-eight-B tanks, twenty-five warthogs of different variations, and ten of my own designed Cyclops power units! It gives me chills."
Adam jumped a little while looking down at the garage below. A Cyclops unit approached the catwalk and then twisted around, its movements were very human in a sense. The way it moved its arms in accordance to each step was fluid like a human. The unit's hatch swung open and revealed a pilot, wearing most a usual pilots fatigues; he unbuckled himself from the combat harness and took a step out of the cockpit. His attention was brought to the group and he waved in a polite manner, his smirk covered by his facemask. The man then pushed a set of buttons on the dashboard and with a jolt the unit began to situate itself against the wall where many cufflinks held it in place while it powered down. Kenny laughed to himself with a stupefied look on his face.
"That was cool."
"I know! Brilliant concept, while they sit there they are getting the charge they need from the reactors."
Link was impressed but concerned. The idea of having a Hanger and garage was important, but having a fully defendable hull was most important, especially when in a full ship engagement.
"What about if we were to be engaged by an enemy ship? Having half of the armor and weaponry on the Port-side would be a weakness."
"Don't be shook. Those doors are one and a half meter think Titanium doors, capable of taking a MAC round and still be smilin'! It also helps that there is two doors instead if just one."
Adam pointed to the doors as they began to close; red lights began to flash above the doors signaling they were closing and a siren began to blare, making sure that no one was near the opening. The first set of doors was on the outer walls that closed first and then there was a medium where there was enough space for a Pelican to land in. Then the second set of doors, which lined the inner walls of the ship, began to close as well. Once closed, a sound came from the sides of the doors as they pressurized which gave off a burst of air. The sound resembled a hydraulic piston compressing. Like a drawbridge, the locking mechanisms moved into place where they latched the door shut completely.
"Interesting. Would that allow for ships to come in and out when in a vacuum?"
"Yes, actually. That's what I intended. The double doors allow the squawkers to enter and exit the hanger while in the abyss. I love that!"
Adam said as he stopped walking, he just hovered over the entire hanger with his eyes before turning to the group and smiling.
"How 'bout we see the other stuff!"
The Engine Room ~ The ER
The inner bowls of the ship proved to be more like a maze than a ship. The crew that worked in "the dungeon", as Adam put it, were like rats. They constantly would appear from around a dark corner then disappear into another corner of the ship. Kenny tired to catch one of them but was unable to follow the squirming individual as vanished between more piping. Kenny and his Cerberi were intrigued, wanting to follow the mousy individual and stayed behind as Adam continued his tour.
"As you can see-"
Adam was cut off as he knelt down to dodge a low hanging girder. Link didn't see it until he walked directly into it, his armor clanking against the flimsy alloy, causing Gem to jump. Link stuck his tongue out at Gem and she just poked Link in the side with her index finger. General did nothing but ignore Link and Gem as he followed Adam further in.
"This place is kinda foked up. Its still a work in progress, HEY!-"
Adam interrupted himself as he grabbed a woman engineer as she passed, her hair was tied in a tight bun and her face was covered with grease. Her eyes were covered by what looked like slime covered engineer goggles to block the intense steam that would sometimes spout out of the pipes. She didn't really expect a sudden change in her stride and stumbled backwards. The first image that popped in his head that reminded him of that girl was a mole; blind due to lack of sun exposure and mostly led by memory.
"SIR!"
The girl responded in a frightened tone. She was mostly a scrawny individual and her jumpsuit gave made her body look much bigger than it would be.
"How come you haven't finished calibratin' the reactors yet?"
The girl tensed up as she held her work tablet close to her face while she squinted over the top, using it as a flimsy shield. Her frail body would be able to withstand any kind of punishment, especially that of a harsh verbal kind.
"HUH!"
Adam seemed to be really laying into her. Their combined body languages made it obvious that this was not the first time he yelled at the crew. Link didn't like how he was treating her and stepped in.
"Hey Adam, leave the girl alone, whatever she did or didn't do its not worth scaring her like this."
Link said rationally as he walked over to the girl and patted her shoulder. At first she jumped, not seeing the massive hand coming towards her, with a scared and shaking hand. She took her goggles over her eyes and placed them on her forehead, her deep green eyes were something to be behold. The emerald green color shimmered in the darkness of the facility. The way her face was constructed didn't show that of an engineer. The grease covered the soft curves of her face that lead up to her chin, but they could still be made out. Link smiled big, letting the girl know she was okay. The girl didn't smile back, all she did was nod quickly and scamper away with her tablet tight on her chest. Link didn't know what to make of what just happened and looked down at General. One eyebrow was lifted higher than the other and his head was tilted in a slight angel, watching what Link just tried to do.
"That was a useless approach."
General said coldly. Link had a sudden urge to kick the condescending dog, but kept it to himself. Gem rubbed Links shoulder, supporting what he had done.
"EXACLTY! I cant foking believe it takes a mutt to understand proper employee-employer educate."
Adam kept ranting over how he treated the crew the way they were supposed to be treated the entire rest of the way to the Engine Control Room. The area of the ship that held the reactor covered the entire rear of the ship and by the time they reached the well lite facility, Link and Gem felt like strangling him.
"Ah! Yes. Here it is. The reactor."
The room was quiet small, not what Link was expecting. White walls made the room entirely different from the rest of the facility and everything had been recently cleaned as well. Link could smell the cleaning products in the air.
The room only had one control panel and one operator. The panel sat directly in front of a glass window that overlooked the actual reactor core room. The reactor was on the opposite side of the room and it was a cylinder in shape. Pipes wrapped around it looking as if they were holding it in place, but they were had a different purpose. The cooling fluids that circulated through the tubes were injected directly from the pipes at the top then exited the reactor at the bottom where the pipes then circled around the base of the reactor and into the units on both sides. Directly behind the reactor were the engines, which looked more up to date that the reactor itself. They were being feed energy from the reactor then used it to propel the ship foreword, but even they seemed to be having some trouble as steam kept spouting out of crevasses. People in the room below worked on the many different parts of the core as the group looked down upon them. From what it looked like, they had it mostly under control.
"This is not exactly the newest version, but it gets the job done."
The newest version was far from what that reactor was. The reactor that sat in the ship was at least six years old and it looked as if it was salvaged from an older ship that had met its demise. The crews down below were still working on fixing the minute problems it kept having like pressure leaks and unstable coolant chambers that didn't want to stay in place.
"I could kill them all."
The man at the control panel said silently. Link thought at first he was just imagining it, but Gem also had the same expression on her face. Link stepped away from the window and turned, the man at the control panel had his head buried deep into the screens. Adam stood just next to him, glancing at what he was doing every few seconds.
"I could kill us all."
The man said slightly louder. That was disturbing Link and he decided to make slow movements from that point on. General did the same as they got closer to the control panel.
"What do you mean?"
"ONE. One slip. One algorithm funk and the reactor will blow like a FIRECRACKER!"
The man said, his eyes darting between screen to screen, typing furiously. His mannerisms showed he had not moved in a while. What was left of his hair made a sweaty ring from one temple to the other with a shinny bald spot in the middle. The glasses he wore were splattered with coffee from at least three days earlier and his eyes ere bloodshot like nothing Link had ever seen before.
"I see you've met Kevin. He's put reactor operator."
"ABABA! Thermonuclear Generator Technician!"
Kevin said as he stuck his finger out at Adam, still not moving his gaze from the screens. Link didn't know what else to say at that point accept the obvious.
"What's your full name?"
"Kevin Geneon Travis the Fifth, I-R-C serial number zero-zero-three-eight-nine dash B dash seven, master of this domain and the dominion of this facility."
Kevin had a lisp that sounded as if he had food caught between his teeth, one of the most irritating things Link had ever heard. Link just nodded politely and singled Adam to come closer. Adam went to him after nodding to Kevin, knowing what to expect. Adam got close to Link to make sure Kevin didn't overhear.
"What the hell is this?"
Link said with strain in his voice. Adam went closer trying to make sure Kevin wouldn't hear.
"Listen, okay. He's the best damn reactor tech we could find. This reactor is so goddamn old that we needed someone with his skills to keep it from FOKING KILLING US ALL!"
Adam was successful at keeping his voice low as he restrained the rage he almost unleashed. It sounded as if he was squeaking instead of actually talking. Link crossed his arms and looked at Kevin, his gaze still attached to the screens.
"I just don't know how to feel about a lunatic in control of the reactor, that's all."
With a jolt Kevin looked up, his eyes on Link.
"I was kidding about that whole algorithm thing. The reactor isn't that sensitive."
Kevin exploded into laughter, his oversized belly jiggled as he leaned backwards. Link didn't really know what to say, so he awkwardly laughed along with him. Gem, who was watching the conversation from the window, raised her eyebrow clueless about what was funny. But as fast as he began laughing, Kevin took a very serious look on his face.
"It takes two slips for a meltdown."
Link stopped laughing. He figured that Kevin would surprise him once more. Link raised an eyebrow and approached him at his terminal. Link just looked at Kevin, his eyes not moving.
"Just tell me you can operate this clunker."
Kevin sat back in his reclining seat, scratching his belly.
"Oh please. I know this system like I know your mother."
Link growled under his breath, sending Kevin a message he obviously didn't get.
"Intimately."
Kevin said slow and disgustingly. Afterwards he licked his lips with his slobbering tongue. Link could barley hold himself back from taking him up by the neck and strangling him. But it wasn't worth it, Link thought as he straightened his back looking down at Kevin with his own blue eyes that glowed red with anger. General also began to feel anger. Although he didn't see eye to eye with Link, no one insults the leader, even more so their mother.
"Just do your fucking job, slob."
Link grunted as he began for the exit.
"Come on, guys. Lets check out the rest of the ship."
The others began to flow Link as he left the room. Trying not to get caught in the anger fumes. Kenny and his partner were running down the small hallway, the dog carrying an engineer by the collar, the engineer was frozen with fear but the two agents were electrified with their find.
"We caught one! YES! That is badass, buddy."
The Bloodhound dribbled his slobber on the engineers' jumpsuit and he just shivered in fear from the massive dog that pried him from his hole. Link and the others had just left the room and the white light flowed into the rest of the dank and gloomy facility. Link just sighed as he worked the engineer from the dogs' mouth. Once free, the engineer sprang for the nearest cove and disappeared.
"Damnit, Link! It took Conrad and me twenty minutes to catch that little bastard. Hmph."
Kenny said as he placed his hands on his sides. After venting for a couple of seconds, he noticed the white room.
"What's in there?"
Link was about to answer as Adam went between the two.
"Nothing! Lets move –"
"Oh! Just to let you know, this is a no bad word zone. I like to keep my dominion clean, thank you very much."
Kevin yelled back at the group. Link clenched his fists, restraining himself.
"You're right, nothing is in there."
Link said subtly. Although Kevin had already gotten off to a bad start with him, Link didn't want there to be any turmoil between them. But just as with General, it wasn't going to come easy.
"Wait, you named your Cerberi Conrad?"
Link asked in a surprised tone, thinking that the name was a little unbecoming.
"Yeah… I had no idea what else to call him so I went with the first name I could think of."
Kenny then looked at Conrad; he was sitting politely next to him waging his tale. Kenny than placed his hand on his chin and thought for a couple of seconds. Then he looked back at Link, shrugging his shoulders.
"What, you think it doesn't fit him or something?"
Link rubbed the bridge of his nose and squinted his eyes shut. It was going to be a long day.
The Living Quarters
"Don't get your bullocks in a twist. Once I get some more bread and honey I'll get a new reactor."
Adam said to finish the argument him and Link were having right before entering a new area of the ship. This area was located directly between the engine room and the hanger and the noises of the clanking reactor could be heard through the walls. The noise was at a considerable level that it was noticeable but still easy to avoid it.
The living quarters were like the barracks of the ODST's back on Reach. The ceiling was at about four meters off the ground giving just enough room for a two level bunk to sit comfortably. The room was extremely long on the other hand, at about one hundred meters. The first thing that Link saw was the amount of bunks that had been placed in the room, which was an astronomical amount. The rows of bunks seemed to stop half way down the room, in which tube like object lined the rest of the walls. Adam took a few steps in front of the group and started to show off the rooms' features.
"This is living block A. Enough to house seven hundred crewmen. Another block is located directly above this one."
Link looked around and noticed hammocks hanging around the bunks. Link raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.
"What's up with the hammocks?"
Link asked accusingly. Adam just rubbed the back of his head and cleared his throat.
"Well. When I was completing the ship the amount of crewmen on the ship was about three hundred, and I figured there would only be about… A good thousand Marines coming aboard…"
Link thought his eyes were going to go raw from rubbing them so much.
"How many Marines have we taken up?"
Adam took a look in the air, calculating the amount.
"Ah… Uh-m… I don't have a good estimate. But I would guess including the Agents, ODST squads, and the second IRC unit we took on, about two thousand five hundred."
Link face scrunched inward. That was a lot of Marines to take on board, especially seeing that there was only one other living quarter above them. That meant that at least a thousand Marines or Agents would need to be sleeping in a hammock.
"This was horribly planned, you know that?"
Adam just chuckled trying to seem as prepared as possible.
"I did what I could."
"AND, you said we took on another unit of the IRC?"
"Ah! Yes. Unit Omicron. I was going to tell ya earlier. They were, from what mama Halsey said, the second best unit."
"Hm."
Gem said as she saw the Marines and Agents settling into their bunks.
"Wait, why did she pair us up with another unit?"
Link asked.
"Well, she said after losing half your unit, the unit was underpowered. So, to bolster up the strength, she attached Omicron to the unit."
"Okay."
Link said, he was fine with his unit gaining some much-needed strength.
"How many were in Omicron?"
"About a hundred. They said they would follow your command."
Link nodded, feeling pretty good about having another unit coming along. Adam then directed them to continue the tour.
"Anyway, the living quarters are equipped with two fully operational armories, a med bay, and a mess hall."
Adam said as the team eventually got to the other end of the rows of bunks. What sat on the other side of the bunks, the cylinder like tubes, was even more rows of cryo-chambers. About seven hundred filled the two walls and they were all ready to use. They were positioned so that one line of cryo-chambers sat against the wall, then another row was sitting right in front of it facing the same direction. The same process was on the other wall. That utilized the small space to its fullest.
"Okay, at least you didn't skimp out on the cryo-tanks."
Link said sarcastically. Then behind Link, he could hear some one calling his name.
"Lincoln?"
The voice sounded familiar. A voice he had heard many times over the comms as an ODST. The voice of an older man, one that was that of a parent, and one of an old friend. Could it be? Could it really be them, Link thought.
"Captain?"
Link pivoted on his heal to see his old team. Jack, Collins, Jenkins, and the Captain. It hadn't been that long since he said goodbye, but it was different seeing them with his new eyes. They were all walking up to the group, unsure they were going to find Link in the crowd. Link stepped towards them, the reaction they first had was of shock, unlike them, Link had totally changed.
"Hey kid."
The Captain said with his usually manner. It took him a couple of seconds to recognize Link, the height, the armor. But the way he carried himself stayed the same.
"Captain."
Link said casually. Trying not to lunge at him and kill him with a killer hug. But when he stuck out his hand, there was no real point in shaking his hand, Link thought. Instead he went for the real deal and gave his former Captain a hug. Link didn't really know what to expect, but the fact that the Captain hugged him back made him happy.
"Germaine?"
Jenkins said as he saw Gem standing next to Link. At first, her mind went blank. Her brother who she had not seen for years was standing in front of her. With a jolt of energy, she went to him. Her eyes filled with tears and in a moment, she had her family back.
Jenkins gave his sister a hug, her hands engulfed him and he didn't bother thinking about how she changed. It was just amazing they were together again.
"Jenkie! I missed you so much!"
Gem managed to say through her bellowing.
"I know. I'm sorry."
Jenkins said quietly. That worried Gem and she quickly let go of her brother, who now was dwarfed by her height.
"What's wrong?"
Gem asked, worried by the change.
"Nothing."
Link finished his hug with the Captain with a pat on his shoulder. With a big smile, Link greeted Jack and Collins the same, it was great to see them. Then he gave a look at Jenkins; he was holding his right arm behind his back while talking to Germaine. He was hiding something. Link then approached him, giving him a small smile.
"Good to see you bud."
Link said quietly.
"I'm good."
Link smiled big now. It was nice to see his attitude had died down.
"What happened? You have changed a little bit, not the same Jenkins I remember."
Link said jokingly. But then it got quiet. The team looked down at their feet, not saying a word.
"What?"
Link said to the team, but then changed his view to Jenkins. He sighed slowly and took his arm from behind him. What he lifted up to show was a metallic shell of an arm. What was supposed to be a normal arm was replaced by a synthetic one. Gem gasped, taken back by the sight. The arm was shaped like a normal arm, five fingers, rotating elbow, the works. But the fact that he lost his arm was disturbing.
"Oh my god."
Link said with his mouth covered by his hand. General just looked at the arm from his position on the floor, gazing at the device.
"That is unfortunate."
General said in his usual to the point tone. Jenkins rubbed his attachment with his other hand, ashamed.
"It happened when we went on a mission."
Jenkins said trying not to make much of a scene.
"Yeah. The mission was to disable a anti aircraft battery on New Jerusalem."
Collins said as he recalled the mission. That got Links attention.
"Wait, you were on New Jerusalem during the campaign?"
The Captain nodded then shrugged.
"It was supposed to be a simple unplug OP. But it was completely FUBAR when we hit the ground."
The Captain said as he showed bandages on his arm from the mission.
"We're lucky we got out in time."
Jack said in his deep tone. Gem didn't know what to do, so she turned and walked away still holding her mouth. Jenkins reached out right before she walked away, holding out his synthetic attachment. Jenkins then just put his arm down and covered his face with his real hand. The Captain then rubbed his back, trying to make him feel better.
"She'll come around. It's just going to take some time for her to get used to it. Go get some rest."
The Captain then gave Jenkins a little shove to his bunk. Jenkins didn't refuse and made his way back.
"Its still good to see you."
Link said to Jenkins before he got out of ear shot range.
"Thanks, its good to see you too."
Jenkins said under his breath, his voice was constant and cold. He had changed a lot. Link didn't know what to think, but it was even more reason to find Hendrix.
The meeting had become stagnant, cold. So Link wanted to ask some much needed questions.
"So. What brought you here?"
The Captain waved Jack and Collins to go back to their bunks. They nodded and headed back to their bunks after giving Link a nod of acknowledgement.
"I saw that mission as a sign. That sign told me that we had two options. One, join the IRC that my squad had been chosen for, or two, get involved in more political bullshit and die for it. I did what was best for my team. I got us the hell out of there."
Link sighed and chuckled a little.
"You made a good choice."
Link said in an excited manner.
"Yeah, and now we are stationed this… Thing."
The Captain raised his arms and looked around the crowded room.
"Its better than being thrown to your death for nothing, that's for sure."
The Captain said with a breath of relief.
"It is."
Link smiled at him.
"Just don't kill us. Okay?"
The Captain said in a joking tone, but his face showed he meant it.
"I wont."
Link said as he stuck out his hand for a handshake. The Captain grabbed his hand, putting his trust into Link completely.
"Once we get moving, we need to catch up."
"For sure."
Link said as he let go of the Captains hand. With a wink, the Captain turned and walked away, back to his team. Adam poked his head around Links shoulder and grunted seeing that the conversation was over.
"Welp, that was interesting."
"Yeah."
Link said happily under his breath as he turned to Adam. Adam was tapping his shoe on the floor, annoyed at having to wait. Link glanced down at Adams foot and shrugged in a questioning manner.
"What?"
"We have one more stop to see before the Bridge. All ya can stay behind and set up your new digs. Oh, and it's not assigned so first come first serve!"
Adam announced as he threw his arms at the bunks. The Agents all looked at each other, everyone wanted a bunk and now a fight to the death to get one. The group dispersed, pushing and showing to get a good spot. Kenny was one of the first to grab a bunk, celebrating his minute victory with Conrad.
"Come, Commander."
Adam said to Link, insisting Link to follow him.
"Where we going now?"
Link asked as the two entered a service elevator on the far end of the room. The doors began to shut and Adam swiped his hand on the elevator terminal, staring it up.
"We're headed to the main event."
The Main Armament
"Welcome, to the room o' champions!"
Adam announced into the small room. Link and General stepped out of the elevator and into the room. The only light that filled the room was from the primary observation window at the front that was squeezed between the vertically stacked MAC weapons. One man at the front of the room stood, hearing the voice of Adam and came walking up to the three onlookers.
"Ohhohoho! Look who decided to show their fat face!"
The man said as he gave Adam a manly one-armed hug.
"Fok you! Ya foking arsehole! Its great to see ya as always!"
Link and General waited until the two were done getting reacquainted before approaching.
"This must be the Commander!"
The man who they approached was average height, five foot seven but muscular. His facial structure was broad, like that of a Spartan with dark hazel eyes that peered through the light. His accent seemed to be reminiscent of old New York City on Earth. His dark brown skin stood out from the light that flowed into the room.
"I'm Staff Sargent Tim Philips. Good to meet you Commander."
Tim stuck out his hand and Link shook it, pleased that he wasn't going to be like Kevin.
"Likewise."
Link said as he took a look around the room. Lights lined the ceiling but they weren't turned on. The room was lined with tech, empty chairs sitting in front of each terminal.
"What is this room, Phillips?"
Tim walked over to the main terminal and sat down. Tim's hand swiped over the controls and like city restored with power, the room lite up. Each monitor began to hum and blink, awaiting commands.
"Come here."
Phillips said as he began computing codes into the command terminal. When Link reached the terminal, he realized what the room was. A target illuminated itself in the center of the glass and then status screens appeared, showing the power level of the MAC's, the ammunition amount, and the current heat level. There were many other minute screens that were flashing on the glass, but none that made sense to Link.
"So, you're the MAC operator."
Link said as he looked out the window to see the massive MAC barrels adjusting themselves according to the codes Tim was typing.
"Yup! Best. Job. Ever. I work one of the strongest weapons man has ever made. The cool thing is that the noise these beasts make is muffled in the loading room, I don't hear a thing!"
Tim said with joy in his voice. Link took a look around the room; the other seats were vacant.
"Wait, you can operate the MAC's all by yourself? I thought it took a team?"
Link said confused. Tim just looked u at Link with a cocked eyebrow and General shook his head.
"Obviously, Master Henderson, the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon operating team has not yet arrived."
General said cuttingly. Link looked down at General who had a satisfied look on his face.
"Thank you."
Link said in a pissed off tone. Link then turned back to Tim who was staring at General with a look of terror.
"Am I just imagining things, or did that dog just talk?"
Link laughed in his mind, Tim must have been having a miniature heart attack.
"It's a long story, but yes."
Adam said as he rubbed General's head. General didn't really know what Adam was doing, since his armor was covering his head.
"Well. That's new."
Tim said as he looked back at Link.
"So I gotta get back to this coding, if you need anything, don't be shy."
Time smiled at Link and shook Links hand one more time.
"Alright. Good to have you aboard."
Link said as he walked away with Adam and General. The terminals still enticed Link and it was hard to leave.
"We ship out in five minutes buddy!"
Adam yelled to Tim across the room, making sure he knew what was happening.
"Got it!"
Tim yelled back. Adam smiled as he hailed the elevator. The elevator door slid open and the rest of the MAC crew came walking out, saluting Link and Adam as they passed.
"Good timing fellas! Our commander here thought Tim was the only operator."
The crewmen chuckled a little, trying to laugh at their superior officer. Link just ignored Adam, which was getting easier with time. The crew left the elevator and the three stepped in, and the door slid shut.
"Okay, what's next?"
Adam smiled and pressed the top floor.
"Your speech."
The Bridge
The elevator stopped on the command floor, the top floor. On that level was an array of information and support type systems. Each room had a specific purpose, for example, the two rooms next to then bridge were filled with sensor equipment that was used to locate or track enemies on or off a planet. Then there were rooms that had more basic functions, damage control, life support controls, and what not. But the Bridge was where all the commands came from, where all the decisions were made.
Link, General and Adam all walked into the Bridge where a welcoming of saluting high-ranking staff came to greet them. Link was beginning to like the idea of being a Commander, still unsteady but liking the idea.
The Bridge was shaped like an oval. The main entrance way was at one end of the oval, where a wall that forced the entering crew to go left or right blocked it. When the wall was passed, there was briefing table directly in the center of a sunken floor. Chairs surrounded the square hologram projector and many crewmen were chatting beside it. On the walls of the bridge were twenty terminals for Comms officials, those stations were mostly for sending orders to ground units from the safety of the bridge. Directly after the hologram table was the Captain and Commander station. The station was comprised mostly of a data screen, ten feet long and ten feet tall. One man stood just in front of the screen, his arms crossed behind his back. The man was dressed in the IRC's official's fatigues, which were dark green and dark blue. The style was about the same as the UNSC's officials including the peaked cap, except the IRC emblem was on the back.
The man then slowly turned, his face showed many years of war in the grains of his face. Scars covered his face and some went under his dark gray beard that fluffed all the way around his chin to both ears. He was about six foot and his stature was straight as a needle. His light complexion showed he was all about command now instead of being on the field.
"Commander. Pleasure to meet you."
The man did not stick out his hand for a handshake, but Link was all right. From the first word the man said, Link noticed his intense German accent.
"I am Zelig von Eisenhauer. The Captain of this vessel."
Link nodded then figured it was worth a shot to shake his hand. So with vigor, Link stuck his hand out hoping Zelig would accept the act of allegiance. Zelig glanced down at Links hand and gripped it tightly. Although Link was much larger than him, his grip was so tight Link cringed in pain. Zelig didn't move the shake, but instead kept it still and sent Link a visual message, one that could be interpreted through his eyes.
"It will be a pleasure, working with you."
Zelig let go of Links hand and squinted at Link. His voice was so deep that Link almost had a hard time hearing him. The tension rose as Zelig began to walk closer.
"Commander."
Nudging past Links shoulder, Zelig walked out of the Bridge. General glanced up at Link and sniffed the air. Link took off his helmet and rubbed his temples vigorously. Then Link looked down at General who looked pleased with himself.
"What?"
Link asked accusingly.
"He doesn't like you."
General said in his uncaring tone. Link let his arms drop to his sides and his head slumped.
"Really? I hadn't noticed."
It was defiantly going to take some time to get the allegiance of the ship, Link though. Adam stood next to Link where he patted him on the shoulder. Link hadn't noticed but the main observatory overlooked the entire tarmac. The clouds had just rolled away to show the sunlight that shined down upon the blackened spaceport. Adam then pressed the Comm's device on the screen and whispered into Links ear.
"Time to shine."
Adam said. Link sighed, as he hadn't thought about what to say. But he knew if he just let it flow, let it come out truthfully, he would say the right thing.
"Crew. This is your Commander… Lincoln Henderson."
Link realized he paused and now felt like the eyes of the ship were upon him. General was shaking his head at the floor, watching his master fail on the speech so far. Adam was making circles with his hands to Link, insisting he continue.
"I've never done this so humor me. We have been given a massive opportunity. One that not all of our could join us."
Link paused to think about what he would say next. The ship was still, listening to the speakers. Kenny and Conrad sat on their shared bunk; Kenny smirked listening to Link while Conrad began to doze off.
"The way we repay them is to stop the war, end it."
Gem who had hid her self in the armory, trying to have some space, looked up from her crying state. With a sniff she saw Joana, her partner, sitting next to her. Joana whimpered along with Gems crying. The floor was cold and unforgiving but that didn't stop Joana from lying next to her master. Gem sighed and rested her arm on top of Joana's back.
"We will be what the colonies need us to be. We will be what the Insurrectionists' fear most. They will dread the day they killed our family."
Adam perked up; his ears caught onto what Link said like a fly on sticky paper. It reminded him of a long lost love, one that had been removed from his life. The cracking of his knuckles cracked in the room, which General heard easily. Adam found it hard to restrain himself as the image of revenge swirled through his mind, and it was going to happen soon.
"On this ship, we will change the face of human history forever. We must work together to ruin the Insurrectionists. But even if we don't succeed at killing it completely, we will know that we at least hit them hard!"
Link began to raise his voice, feeling a rush of adrenaline making his mind clearer. The ODST's had finally stopped rummaging through their supplies to listen. Collins crossed his arms and leaned on his bunk, enjoying the talk while Jack chuckled deeply to himself.
"The kid has changed a lot. Hasn't he."
Jack said to the Captain, who was sitting on his bunk. What went through his mind was how Link was not the same eighteen-year-old recruit anymore. Link was now in charge and doing it well.
Jenkins was lying in his bunk, facing the wall. The stare he gave it was blank, showing absolutely no emotion. Like a black hole, his eyes drew in all of the light around it, but they themselves gained no light.
"From what I have seen, this ship will devastate anything put in its path."
Tim let out a chuckle as he too, looked up to the speakers. It seemed as though everyone, except Kevin, was listening.
"Now, we have our mission. It is time we made things right."
Link smiled as he went to the Comms device.
"Commander Henderson, out."
With a solid press, Link turned off the speakers. Link stood, looking at the massive screen, mindless. The feeling he had gotten was more than he had imagined. He then turned to General who was wearing a face Link had never seen before. General's mouth was ajar, eyes wide and ears up. Link laughed in his mind seeing what he could guess was Generals impressed face. General quickly caught his slip in mental judgment and darted his head away.
"Decent."
General grunted as he got up and turned his back completely to Link. Even Generals attitude could bring Link down and he went over to his partner, rubbing his ears back and forth. The gesture made General sink his head down into his shoulders.
"Thanks bud."
Link said in a low voice, and with a grin he began to plan their adventure together.
END
A/N: Sorry about this chapter coming out late. My dog had another seizure/stroke yesterday. So I was literally about where Link was ending his speech when my dog decided to do a back flip off the couch. -_- Way to go, pug. But he is perfect now. Like it never even happened. I have come to the conclusion that it's going to happen a lot more. Which brings me to my next point. If I don't come out with a chapter directly on Sunday, that doesn't mean I wont write one. It just means I have stuff that is complicating it. :P but im thinking about taking next week off from writing. I have been pretty glued to my laptop as of late and im looking quiet pale. But I will let y'all know what I plan on doing. So if u don't remember, COMMENT and SUBSCRIBE! That's it for this week; see ya later, my little bear cubs! x3
Casey (Bearmaster)