I'm on a roll, people! Here's chapter 21 for you guys, and thank you for all the wonderful reviews!
Chapter 21
Location: UNSC Defense Platform Babylon Station
Admiral Bradley King gave a fierce growl and rubbed his temple with two fingers. A wicked headache was forming in his head, and it felt god awful. He certainly didn't need all of the problems that he had to deal with this morning.
First, there came the report from the Vega that a UNSC patrol group out in some of the rebuilding Outer Colonies had been granted permission to fire on a planet-bound URF frigate. When he had asked about who had sent the message, the commander of the Vega had responded with a shrug and a bat of the eyes. Needless to say, King had not taken this lack of communication well.
Then came the message from the Babylon's "smart" AI, Achilles, that the orders had been scrambled to have a UNSC frequency, but had actually belonged to the Insurrectionists. The URF ship that they had been given permission to fire on was actually a ship belonging to the Independent Alliance of Outer Colonies who, as he repeatedly explained to the generals on his command station, were NOT Insurrectionists and were NOT to be treated as a threat. The Vega had reported to the nearest command outpost and its crew placed under quarantine until this whole mess could be straightened out.
One last message from the area where the IAOC ship, the Nagasaki had been attacked, detailed that there had been some casualties but that his correspondents in the IAOC had survived.
That was one of the only good pieces of information to have happened all day.
The part of the message that had come to him directly about the attack was that a trio of soldiers, known as 'Freelancers', had been on board at the time the Nagasaki had been shot down. With a sneaking suspicion, King had sent a message over to his correspondent over at Section III, Admiral Miranda "Mia" Tyette for some insight into one of ONI's projects. The response was that he would be debriefed about the project in the morning.
King tried to recompose himself as he straightened out folders on his desk to appear more organized then, for lack of anything else to do, spun around in his rolling office chair like he used to do in his father's study when he was a child. He let his chocolate hair fling about his face and giggled softly like a little boy as he continued to spin while he waited for Mia.
"Sir, there are two people outside waiting for you," the red projection of Achilles, in ancient Greek armor with a plumed helmet that obscured his face, appeared on the pedestal on King's desk. The Admiral immediately stopped and straightened himself out. He was not expecting TWO people.
"Let them in, Achilles," he commanded the AI, rising from his seat to greet the visitors. He gave a respectful nod to the fair-haired, blue eyed Admiral Tyette…then gave a jump and a smart salute to who was accompanying her: a grey haired, older man who looked as if he had traveled to hell and back several times with that haunted look in his eyes.
Considering the recent wars and the stress of billions of lives on his shoulders, Bradley could not blame his superior, Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood for his faded appearance.
"At ease, Admiral King," Lord Hood spoke tiredly, waving aside the formal salute. King offered Mia and Lord Hood a seat across his desk, which they gratefully accepted.
"Sir, I never expected you to come aboard the station for something like this," King expressed his surprise.
"I never expected that I'd have to, Bradley, but desperate times call for desperate measures, as they say," Lord Hood gave a thick sigh. King reached into a drawer and drew out a tray of Swiss chocolate and a flask of brandy.
"With your permission, sir," Bradley offered the refreshments to his two visitors. "I know it's still on-duty hours, but you look like you could use it." Lord Hood grabbed the offered glass as King put in a legal amount of brandy, then poured the same amount for himself and Admiral Tyette.
"I've been informed by Ms. Tyette," Admiral Hood started, "that you were inquiring into the Section III classified projects for some research into a report you received?"
"Yes sir, though I feel that I may have intruded on something I shouldn't have."
"It depends on the situation," the older man responded, coaxing Bradley and Mia to explain about their correspondence with the Outer Colonies and the IAOC, and about the problems with the Insurrectionists.
"I've heard about Terra Beta and this IAOC," Hood mused as he took a sip of liquor. "It's run by those five Operators, correct?"
"Codenames Blue Andromeda, Green Solitude, White Dragon, Yellow Jacket, Red Stallion, and Black Phoenix," Mia explained. "Red Stallion and Black Phoenix are both former UNSC personnel."
"I mainly took interest because of your intelligence report on Red Stallion," Lord Hood addressed Tyette casually. "Admiral King, what prompted you to look into the Freelancer project?"
So, King explained about how the report came in from the Vega and the mixed up message, and how the IAOC frigate had been shot down technically on UNSC orders. Lord Hood seemed to muse for a second.
"That is quite disturbing that it happened. I'm a bit reluctant to recognize the IAOC, but they have shown that they will work with us if we need it. For example, isn't Black Phoenix a Freelancer agent?" he asked Admiral Tyette.
"WAS a Freelancer agent. She sent in her resignation because of problems with the Insurrectionists."
"Project Freelancer is an ONI sanctioned project modeled partially on the Spartan program," Lord Hood explained, "with the intent of testing out a soldier's capabilities with an AI in the battlefield."
"The Project is run by Doctor Leonard Church," Admiral Tyette included, showing the personnel file from the large stack in front of her. A solemn man with graying hair and glasses stared out of the photograph at Bradley, causing a shiver to go up his spine. "The Project's subjects are a series of military and civilian volunteers that are designated by the names of the United States."
"There must be some purpose for sending the Freelancers out to Terra Beta along with Black Phoenix aside from just stopping an Insurrectionist uprising, and I want you two to find out what it is," Lord Hood spoke firmly and with the conviction of a much younger man. "You may designate a crew to go and assist the IAOC as you may, as wel as investigate what's going on within this alliance."
"Sir, I also found a report from several years ago that might pique your interest," Bradley interjected, drawing out an aged piece of paper. "It was reported by a UNSC military outpost on a nearby moon that a Halo, classified as "Alpha Halo", was in orbit around Terra Beta."
Hood's face, by some miracle, grew paler. "Another Halo? You may want to choose carefully as to who goes on that mission for or with you," he advised hoarsely, spooked by the report from years ago. The number of Halos now in their system could increase to nine. Just another worry on his soldiers and his shoulders. He stood up abruptly, returned the salute that the two Admirals gave him, and left to think on the situation.
"Does the Lord Admiral seem a little distracted to you?" Bradley leaned in close to whisper to Mia. "Speaking in confidence, of course."
Mia shrugged her shoulders in her crisp white uniform. "He's had his hand in ONI from the start, and he gets concerned when one of the projects gets attacked. No, he has a right to be worried, as do we."
"You mean with that Halo above Terra Beta?" King asked, and the platinum-blonde woman nodded.
"Halos usually orbit above planets with that Forerunner technology, and you remember the attack by the Didact a few months back?"
"How could I forget?" he retorted. "That was a mess."
"We need to send in some experienced people to handle this one," Mia mused, leaning back in her chair. "People that have had experience with Forerunner technology before. Achilles, bring up personnel files on all past and current enlisted people that have had direct experience with the Forerunners."
"I thought that you'd never ask," the Greek warrior AI quipped back, and a myriad of tiny squares appeared around him, revolving in circles around his body. "I already went through and selected a few personnel that might be able fitted for the job." Most of the squares disappeared, save for a select few that expanded and showed their details along with photos.
"I think that this could work," Bradley reviewed over the files Achilles had selected. "Strong team, lots of experience and energy. This will work quite nicely."
"I'd better go with this one, I think," Mia stood up, and King snapped his head up in surprise.
"Why?" he asked. "You haven't been on the battlefield in a decade."
"In case you haven't noticed," Mia replied icily, "this is not a battlefield. It's simple reconnaissance. And honestly," she added on an afterthought as she made her way to the door, "I'm still kind of uneasy letting that Halsey woman near any sort of Forerunner technology without supervision. Good day, Bradley." She saluted, and was off before another word could be exchanged.
Location: Eastern Swamplands, Terra Beta, Gamma-52 Solar System
North gave a choked cough as he pulled himself free from his protective harness, though held on because of the steep angle of the wrecked Pelican. The others on the Pelican that he could see were either unconscious or just beginning to revive. However, looking to the front of the ship, he saw that the cockpit's glass had cracked on impact with the hard earth below, the metal was bent inwards, and the two pilots lay limp in their harnesses, heads at skewed angles. The poor men were both dead, dying almost instantly on impact. North hoped that it had been painless, at least.
Groaning, the purple-armored Freelancer tugged himself free and landed in a small puddle of water that had accumulated on the bottom of the Pelican. The ship was tilted at a near-ninety degree angle in a swampy environment. The gangway had been bent almost in half from the impact, but it allowed for a few people to get out of the ship at a time. Already, the survivors were clambering out onto some nearby mangroves.
Shakily, North steadied himself and trudged through the water to where Dawn was holding her head in her hand, slowly coming back to the land of the living. "Are you alright?" he asked her as he detached her karabiner from the railing that it was connected to.
"Yeah, fine. And you?" Dawn asked as he righted herself on the tilted floor and started detaching other soldiers' karabiners form the ship. North gives a nod.
"Who got me drunk and hit me on the head with a sledgehammer?" York groaned as he unsteadily regained consciousness, then gave a low grumble of pain, holding his leg. North made his way over and saw that a large piece of fractured metal had driven itself through part of York's thigh when they had crashed, and a thin trail of blood oozed from the crack in York's armor.
"Tex, can you give me a hand with this?" North beckoned the black Freelancer over, and they took up respective positions. North held York steadily at an angle that wouldn't aggravate the wound, while Texas gave a decisive yank and drew the metal from York's leg.
"SON OF A BITCH!" York screamed out, then slumped in North's arms and began taking heaving breaths.
"Let's get him outside," Tex said to North, and the two of them supported York on their way out of the wrecked Pelican and onto a strong set of mangrove roots.
The air was hazy with fog, and a thick layer of dark green leaves concealed much of the fading sunlight trying to get into the swamp. A myriad of birdsong and insect buzzing rang through the air, though it was not enough to disguise the sounds of the surviving soldiers keeping their balance on other root systems or standing warily in the water, rescuing supplies from the ship.
"Lay him down here," Julius instructed, and York was set on his back with North, Tex, and Dawn surrounding him. They carefully took off his helmet, and York gave a gasp of air. He was unhealthily pale, even in the fading light. "Delta, can you give me a report?"
The hologram came forward, but Delta's form was laced with small amounts of static as he readjusted himself. "York's self-healing unit was damaged in the crash, before he was impaled by the metal," the AI reported, staring down at his host's tired face. "The unit cannot be repaired with the damage inflicted to York's armor."
"Just a scratch," York hissed as he tried to sit up, but North pushed him back down to keep the tan Freelancer from sitting up.
"Men," Tex groaned as she shook her head.
"If we want to save York's leg, I need better medical supplies than what we've got on us," Julius said to Dawn. "We couldn't save much of the supplies from the Nagasaki before it blew up, so I'm left with only some aspirin and a few bandages. It's not gonna be enough to hold up against large-scale wounds like this, and especially if we run into Insurrectionists."
"Is there any place near here that we can go for some sort of medical care?" Tex asked Dawn.
"There are a few smaller towns nearby," Dawn mused aloud, "but our best bet is to get to one of the Operator cities. We have two options for that."
"The best place to get medical treatment on this side of the planet is at New Kyoto, the city that I operate. Unfortunately, we don't have any vehicles, so we have to travel on foot. From the swamps, the trip should be about three days if we don't stop."
"He won't make it until then!" North protested. "What's the other option?"
"The nearest place where we can at least get some temporary treatment for York is in New Taipei, which is Red Stallion's city," Dawn explained further. "To get there by the most direct route, the trip would only take a day and a half if we don't stop."
"That seems like the logical choice with that," Tex agreed.
"What's the catch?" Theta asked, and Dawn gave him a wry smile in return.
"We'd have to go through Insurrectionist territory to get there. The risk is much higher, but we'd have a better chance to grab some supplies and a vehicle, maybe some weapons, that would speed up our journey."
"If it helps save York and his leg, I'd be willing to take on any Insurrectionist that gets in our way," North responded vehemently.
"Count me in," Tex added in her support. York gave a weak nod.
"Julius, rally the troops," Dawn ordered her second in command, helping York to his feet. "We're heading northeast. Let's go take out some Innies."
I have to say, it was quite funny to read your guys' reactions to the last chapter's little "surprise." I have more like that in the future. Much is not what it seems in here.
Until next time,
anna1795