Man's True Best Friend
Rated M (Language, Blood, Gore, ETC.)
By Casey Riffel
Chapter 13
First Blood
Link and General stood and stared intently on the enemy warship. Adam and Zelig too stood looking at the enemy vessel. Adam, still slightly inebriated from his night of drinking, maintained his footing. The Cascades alert sirens still blaring. The frigates girth had exited Slipspace moments before, presenting its heavy armament of a MAC and PDG's (Point Defense Gun's).
It seemed as if it was heading for the planet's surface, but then stopped with its port side facing the Cascade. The shape of the ship gave away its allegiance. The main body and what most called the "main gun" of this ship had become one mass, without the gap most UNSC frigates had on their front most side separating their communications equipment. Where the MAC barrel should have been was a large rounded face, almost like a modified Battleplate that covered the entire front. Although it was only a frigate, the size was still foreboding with its advancements. On its port side, the UNSC symbol was scraped away and the fist of the Insurrection was put in its place. It was a slap in the face to the Marines. The Kilgore, as its name on its plates suggested, was a newer UNSC vessel that had undergone extreme refurbishing after its defeat a few months back. Now it was being used for the wrong purposes.
"Get me a line to that ship. I want to talk to it in person."
Link said to one of the communication crewmen that typed away on his console.
"Aye."
It only took the crewmen a few moments to connect to the opposing ships com-net and instantly Link was face to face with the ships Captain, or whatever his position happened to be. Links command screen that he used daily turned into a large screen for the call. With a push off the console, Link stood with his arms crossed with a look of stone walled seriousness. General, too, sat next to Link, watching the screen intently.
"Unknown craft please identify."
Link said sternly. Everyone knew what the ship was but it was protocol to ask that. It would give the opposing side to flee if they felt it deemed necessary. The face on the other end of the call scrunched his brow and he growled at the image of Link.
"Motherless pig! You don't get to ask questions. Give us the Black Box and leave. If you do, we wont decimate your ship."
The command deck became quiet, as it was now getting serious. The eyes of the crew were focused on Link and his next steps he would take. Link rubbed his chin as he debated his options.
"The Box is ours."
Link said holding his courage to his chest tightly.
"Hmph. I'm giving you and your ship a chance to escape our guns. I suggest you take it."
The man said as he leaned in closer to the screen.
"Why do you want the Box in the first place? Tell me that at least."
"I have nothing to say to you, you motherless punk."
Link rolled his head back and chuckled a little. That was not the answer he was thinking, but the one he hoped for.
"Then I suggest you arm you ship then. Prepare the MAC's!"
Link yelled to the ballistics targeting crew that sat in sunken seats behind the com-screen. Link winked at the man on the opposite end of the screen before ending the call. The look in the man's face showed rage in the purest form, and Link was excited to see it evaporate by the MAC's.
"Aye, Commander. Cannons at ten percent charge."
"Good, keep charging them. Rotate the ship ninety degrees and keep us moving. Prepare all damage control teams. All PDG's and Archer defense systems get ready for engagement."
Link recalled the talk his father had with him before entering the ODST's. Links father was very wise for a Marine. He had seen some stuff many would rather wipe from their mind with a bullet.
"My father used to say, if you mean business, hit them hard the first time and make them think twice."
The ship was ready and had its stern side facing the Insurrection vessel. For the size and handicaps of the Cascade, it moved quickly. In position, they were ready to fight.
"Sir, the enemy vessel is charging its secondary weapons, at seventy six percent now."
Link smirked as he clenched his fist. It was time for some vengeance.
"Lets get some payback for those who couldn't be here! FIRE EVERYTHING!"
Link roared over the battle-net. No time elapsed as the PDG's began firing rounds of hot shells into the opposing ships direction. Space is an empty void and the rounds flew through the nothing with grace. In seconds they began spewing onto the Kilgore's Battleplate, shredding it to bits. The Archer missiles came soon after the first volleys of PDG rounds. The missiles were very slow, but when they connected, they caused massive damage. Unfortunately, due to their speed, only a few missiles made it past their PGD light defense. Once the surviving missiles clashed into the vessel, a glow of red and orange flames spat into space. Chunks instead of bits of armor now were coming off the hull in droves.
"They have their secondary weapons online."
One of the crew announced.
"Okay, make sure that we keep the heat on them. What other weaponry do they have?"
"Mostly PDG's. No Archers."
Link smiled hearing the good news.
"Great! Keep them busy. What's our MAC status?"
"Thirty percent."
Link nodded.
"Keep shelling them. Make them shake a little."
Link smiled as the rounds from the PDG's shredded the Insurrectionist's armor, leaving a trail of broken Battleplate in its wake. But something didn't feel right, a ship of that size had MAC's, but why wasn't it equipped with it? Link thought.
"Master, they have something planed. A ship with a mission of importance like that wouldn't be ill-equipped."
General added as he stood, squinting his eyes at the Innie frigate as it started to turn, its bow coming into view. Link, too, began to feel a suspicion of the craft. As the ship made its turn full, it was looking directly at the Cascade. Its front was completely different from the original design; it was rounded at the front, the PDG shells hitting the rounded plating. The bullets seemed to deflect off the heavier armor.
"What are they planning…"
Link said to himself. Then it hit him, the frigate was charging at full speed toward the Cascade, the heavy armored hull was taking almost no damage from the PGD's and the Archer missiles that only caused burn marks. The Insurrectionist had made some interesting modifications to the armor of the frigate.
"Sir! The vessel is charging!"
"Wha?"
Link said in shock. No captain of a ship in their right mind would ram another in combat. It was unethical and insane. But they were coming at full force through the void, nothing stopping them.
"Sir, orders?"
The ordinance crews frenziedly probed bellow the com-terminal.
"Ffff… MAC status, now!"
Link barked.
"Eighty-nine percent. Both cannons are about ready."
"Connect me to Philips down in MAC control. Turn us so we're facing it. We need to get a clear shot at it!"
"Aye."
Without hesitation, the crewmen connected Link to Tim who had been keeping a close eye on the oncoming frigate from the central firing deck, where Link met him a few days ago. The ship jiggled as the engines flared to move the ships bow to go head on with the frigate. It was like they were staring each other down now.
"Tim, you got the target?"
The video of Tim at the MAC operator's desk popped up with him focused on his controls. The view of the ship was getting more and more intimidating as its size grew with every second.
"Just a little- Got it! The enemy ship is in range and we have to use both MAC's. We did an analysis on the armor; a precise PinPoint shot from both cannons will puncture the plating. But we only have one shot once we fire the reactor will have to cool down."
Tim said as he kept his eyes on the ship as it deflected the rounds like flies.
"Damnit!"
Link said as he slammed his fist down onto the terminal's main panel. Then he turned his head to his right, the bones cracking as it brought his focus to Adam.
"What?"
Adam said, clueless.
"You had to get a bargain, didn't you?"
Adam didn't answer; he just looked down at his shoes.
"Master, we are running out of time! The Magnetic Accelerator Cannons wont be able to fire quick enough for us to get out of its way once it is destroyed!"
Link growled as he held the terminal.
"What do you mean?"
"Even if we destroy the ship, it has too much momentum to be stopped with just two tungsten rounds, we'll be in its path still!"
"MAC's at ninety-nine percent!"
The ordinance crewmen yelled out as he could sense the moment of truth coming.
"Brace for impact!"
Link howled over the coms. Every station knew what that meant. The people down in the Halls and garage all hunkered down, holding onto whatever they could find to keep them stable. The new addition to the crew in the tech labs locked down their work before grabbing a hold of the bulkhead.
"MAC's charged!"
"Tim, let 'em have it!"
With only twenty kilometers of space between the craft, Tim finished the calculations for the MAC's and set the gears in motion. With a small adjustment of the targeting, the colossal barrels shifted down and aimed precisely at the bow of the behemoth, both barrels aiming for the same location to improve damage. A sound filled the halls of the ship that Link recognized, the sound of the magnets charging and reverberating together, the sound that reminded him of thunder about to be unleashed upon its target. The sound came, the shrill clash of the MAC's unloading their punishment and the recoil from it. The entire ship convulsed as the rounds blew out of the barrels at breakneck speed and came into contact with the Innie ship.
The force of the rounds easily pierced the armor, making a violent shockwave pulse through the entire hull. Anyone on the front most part of the ship was vaporized instantly. With the shockwave came the ejecting of many pieces of armor along the sides, any armor that was left flung off the ship and into space. Then the second and most destructive part of the MAC filled the halls of the ship; fire ravaged the remaining forces in an instant with swift acceleration. They didn't even have enough time to block off any bulkheads before the fire blew major hull breaches all over the surface. Nothing inside was left alive.
"Take evasive maneuvers!"
Link said in fear as General was correct. The bulk of a flaming ship was now heading at now uncontrolled speeds at the Cascade. It would only take moments before it connected.
"AYE!"
The manual control was given to Link, the manual control looked similar to a twentieth century pilot's throttle. He quickly swerved downward. It was the only direction that could get them away from the juggernaut of a dead ship. The Cascade, with its remarkable speed, dove to the request of Link. The bulkheads creaked as the ship struggled with the task of a sudden G-force acceleration. Although there was artificial gravity, the force of the decent caused people to feel a surge of vertigo and weightlessness, which picked them off the floor by a couple of feet.
"Come on…"
Link said to himself as he watched the flaming wreckage of the frigate cruise overhead and mostly out of sight. Now Link was trying to focus his hearing on any noise that sounded irregular, that of the frigate colliding with the hull. Link gritted his teeth, as did the entire crew. Then a screeching sound could be heard overhead of the bridge, the underbelly of the frigate was dragging along the top of the Cascade and was causing minor damage, but the front of the ship was not what Link was worried about.
The angle the Cascade was going and how the frigate was drifting was bringing the Kilgore's cargo and hanger bay directly to the Cascade's main upper communications array. There was no way to avoid it.
"Fuck! Hold on!"
Link said again over the intercom. The scraping got louder as the frigate got more surface area on the Cascade and then a massive collision caused the ship to jerk downward. The crew and objects that weren't strapped down regained their gravity in a violent and sudden jam, the force of the ship slamming the people onto the floor with tremendous pressure. Then darkness filled the ship. The noises that could be heard were the sound of people chattering and coughing, crewmen running back and forth to restore power and provide assistance. Damage control was lacking as people were still getting back on their feet.
"ArgAH!... What the fuck happened?"
Link grunted to his crew. He had smacked his face on the com-terminal, causing some minor head trauma. As for the others, they had taken a stumble a couple of feet back, but no real damage. A buzz could be heard from the walls as the temporary lighting turned on, providing a gray and dull light.
"Sir. Ouch… it seems the collision caused the reactor to short. We have critical damage to the upper most deck and upper coms array."
"Dammit!"
Link said as he rubbed his forehead, he could feel it bruising.
"Do we have temporary power?"
"Aye, sir."
"Okay, first priority, get everyone who needs help to the infirmaries, second, get the power restored, and third, keep the ship from falling to the planet. Got it?"
Link said demandingly, but he felt that the battle went better than expected.
"Aye. Sir."
The crew said as they began operating on their terminals and announcing damage control advice to the crew who were in darkness.
"Commander, where are you going?"
Asked the same crewmen as he saw Link trudging his way out of the bridge. Links personal objective was to make sure his close crew was okay, starting with General.
"General? Can you hear me?"
Link ignored the crewmen as he found General near the entrance of the bridge, knocked out cold. Link skidded on his knees to his side and checked his vital signs. General was fine but received a nasty head wound during the collision. He was unconscious and bleeding profusely from the head, mainly the nose and forehead.
"I won't leave you here, so you're going to come with me."
Link said, he thought he was talking to General, but he was talking to himself. Link scooped Generals mass off the cold floor; his weight was much less than Link had anticipated. Whether it was from the adrenaline of the moment or just the fact that Link had gained muscle-mass from the day of searching for the Black Box was unclear. Link stabilized himself with his partner in his arms, and he gripped the fur down at Generals hips and up near his neck to get a better grip.
"Zelig!"
Link roared back to the captain, who was just getting off the floor.
"Commander?"
Zelig asked in a low tone as his legs wobbled to keep him steady.
"You got the bridge."
"Aye, Commander."
Zelig answered confidently as he worked his way to his feet.
"Oh, make sure Adam is okay."
Link didn't have time to see if everyone was okay, he had to prioritize. It was a sick way of thinking, but in order to save the ship it had to be done.
"Come on buddy."
Link said into Generals unhearing ears as he began running to the service elevator at the rear most area of the bridge. Once there, Link and a few other crewmen realized that since the power was out, they would need to take the stairs. Link sighed as the infirmary and the other levels were a good five levels down. General's weight started to take effect was Link held his limp body at a ninety-degree angle.
With a jerk, Link made a dash for the stairs, moving past the darkness and crewmen who occupied the corridors. The armament chambers, where the PDG's and Archer command stations were, had been locked down; a self defense mechanism in case of hull breach. The darkness was unsettling, as only a few feet could be seen with the emergency lighting. A loud and constant tone range over the coms channels, Link remembered what it meant; Slow tone, low pitch, hull breach in lower sectors (unimportant sectors). Link began hating the fact he wasn't in his armor. It would have given him some additional leverage in the darkness.
The stairs were barely lite with light as the secondary power began to dwindle. The floor lights twitched and flickered in the response to low power. It would only be moments until they too lost all power.
Link rushed down the stairs at fast speeds, rounding the corners tightly to get a minor edge on time. His eyes were as wide as they could be. They felt as his eye libs were splitting at the corners to get wider. The last thing Link wanted was to fall down the stairs, but it happened anyway. Links foot caught the other, causing a stall in his step. With tremendous force, Link lunged off the last step of the stairs. In the moment he fell, Link forced his legs out in front of his crashing body. The attempt turned into a metal skid for a couple of feet. Sliding on his knees like a twentieth century rock star.
Links heart pounded from the experience and he was surprised he pulled off such a feat. But he had to keep going, he thought. Link had conveniently skidded into the correct floor he was looking for, Barracks and Med-Bay Two that was the top most floor with such accommodations.
The Marines worked along side the damage control teams to restore order in the blacked out vessel. Link darted in between Marines with General close to his chest. It was only a few more meters before Link reached the med-bay. People gathered around the entrance, looking for medical assistance. As Link focused on the path ahead, General began to regain consciousness. His eyes, although tired and weak, opened just enough to see Links face.
General tried to move but his injuries made him lethargic. All that he could force out of his mouth to say was a miniscule and muffled thank you that never made it to Links ears. Although General had been stubborn against Link and his advances to make some sort of friendship or even a cooperative relationship, General's attitude began to fade with how hard Link was trying to keep him alive. For the longest time General had felt alone and abandoned by mankind ever since his creation and training, being made as a weapon, a tool. His only motive for fighting being survival. But now seeing that Link, a human that risking his own safety for his survival, to gain nothing in return, it changed General that exact moment. General let his eyes shit and his eyes to roll back, giving into his exhaustion.
Link was able to force his way into the infirmary where he saw many of his close friends. The captain and the other ODST's were organizing the flow of crew and getting them the assistance they needed. Kenny and Conrad were helping patch a water line that had broke and was spewing water in a spiral effect. It was madness but the crew seemed to have everything under control. Link found one of many Veterinarians, who were assigned to the Cascade as the equivalent of doctors for the Cerberi.
"Take care of him, please!"
Link said as he placed General's limp body on a med-cart. As he did so, he gave General a rub on the head. But as he looked on his partners face, he had a smile that seemed to be peeking through the blood stained fur. The Vet's began to do what they did best and wheeled General away. As they did so, they hooked General up to an array of machines and IV's. Link put his hands on his sides wondering if General would pull through, but he recalled how General was. Strong and stubborn. Link found comfort in knowing he would pull through.
"Commander!"
Link heard from behind him. Link turned to see Joana, Gem's partner limping into the infirmary; a Vet who immediately began scanning her injured leg greeted her.
The sight was bad. In times of emergencies, Cerberi always stay besides their master unless their master is injured. Then they would separate to go find help. Or it was even worse than that.
"Joana?"
"Commander, Gem's needs you! Now!"
END
A/N: Sorry about no chapter last week but I have started school and its really hectic. The chapter updates are going to come around every other week on Sunday instead of every week. I know some of you are going to be pissed. But I have figured I will sacrifice that extra week to give a much better chapter the week after. Quality over Quantity kind of thing. Chapters will be much longer, like this plus a half and much more will be happening. And again, I know I have let some of you down with the failures of planning and stuff but please, PLEASE, don't loose faith cause I am planning on going some awesome places with this story! ^ u ^ And once the school is over for the breaks I will do once a week submissions. But yeah, tell me what you think of this new plan and this chapter by leavin a COMMENT. See everyone next update! Lates.
Casey (Bearmaster)