1200 hours, September 17th, 2542
ONI/STG Joint Operated Prowler Circumference
Uncharted Brown Dwarf, Interstellar Medium, twenty-three years behind Coalition/Covenant frontline.
"Captain. We are FTL. Prepare maneuvering thrusters for full turn." First, Officer Kirrahe said. The Salarian STG officer who had been one of several Salarians that had been seconded to the Prowler Corps to oversee the new Eezo-based FTL drives the Salarian Union had provided to ONI's Prowler fleets. There had been some hesitancy over the Salarians being allowed aboard UNSC Prowlers, but the benefits were considered worth it. With the new drives, Prowlers were finally able to transport nuclear ordinance without giving off massive blooms of Cherenkov radiation upon leaving slipspace. The prospect of a fleet of Prowlers hunting for Covenant shipping was too valuable. And it also gave ONI a more thorough look at Salarian operational procedures.
Captain Exaviel nodded. "Excellent. Take us into the Brown Dwarf for immediate discharge. Then launch all probes to determine if we can establish a Slipspace monitoring beacon inside the atmosphere."
Exaviel was ecstatic about the new initiatives launched by ONI against the Covenant. While the Coalition navy engaged the Covenant across the front, ONI and the STG had been setting up remotely operated slipspace monitoring stations behind Covenant lines, as well as charting for holes in the Covenant defense to penetrate with raiding fleets. He lifted his right hand from his chair, smiling at the four notches on it. Each for a Covenant supply ship ambushed by his crew.
There was none of the uneasy feeling of leaving Slipspace as the transit lights on the bridge turned from red to green, and the view screens turned on to show the stars outside. Exaviel missed the transition from Slipspace, as it had always psyched him up for action. But he was not bothered by it. Exaviel noticed that they had left FTL just above the atmosphere of the Brown Dwarf. The main engine switched off, and the maneuvering thrusters turned the ship around to face the failed star. All in all, the maneuver took just under a minute.
The holographic emitter to his left suddenly lit up, revealing a Tibetan monk in meditation. The AI's blue body had turned red. It was Leng, the new AI assigned to the Circumference. "Covenant signature detected in orbit of the Brown Dwarf. It has not detected us yet."
"All hands to battle stations," Exaviel stated confidently. "Engine power to fifty percent under stealth line, warm up magnetic launch tubes and arm two Shiva warheads. Leng, analysis."
The AI paused for a moment, its body turning green, yellow, red, and then blue again. A holographic representation of the ship appeared on the main viewscreen. The craft looked familiar to most Covenant designs. It was a ship appearing to be made of a shining purple material, without a single straight line to be found. The front and rear of the ship were both much smaller, however, with a sizeable bulky center that looked like an inflatable balloon, held in place by wires. It was also quite dirty, with large parts of the ship having lost their sheen, or even being replaced with oddly colored panels.
There was muttering from the bridge crew at the sight. The ship did not appear to be a threat, but the design did not fit in with what the Coalition had faced so far. "The ship design does not match any known Covenant ship classifications. The only armament I can detect are two pulse laser batteries. It is a hundred meters long. No energy shields detected. The ship's reactor is running at minimal power."
There was a confused silence aboard the ship, crewmembers looking back and forth at each other in confusion. They hadn't expected a Covenant ship transmitting a distress signal. What could have disabled it? Exaviel felt uneasy at what they had found. A cold chill went up his spine.
"Leng. Are the engines damaged?" Exaviel asked. The UNSC had never found an already crippled Covenant ship before, certainly not a small cargo ship like this one.
The AI flashed green. "The ship is dead in space. I can't see more."
Exaviel thought about what options he had at his disposal. If it was a Covenant ghost ship, boarding it was feasible.
Forty marines could board a small Covenant ship, couldn't they?
"Order our marine contingent to suit up for a boarding action." He ordered. "They are to board the ship. Lieutenant, find us a spot on the hull we can burn through."
His second in command, Lieutenant Tambudzai turned around to look at him. A young African woman from New Mombassa, with short-cropped hair, striking green eyes, and an incredibly firm jawline. "Boarding, sir? We don't have boarding craft. We just have our two transport Pelicans, and no dedicated breaching equipment. We'll need to blast our way through the hull of that ship to get inside."
Kirrahe spoke up. "I have an idea. The new GARDIAN array could burn a hole in the hole that your marines could enter through. It is a defense against fighters, but when all arrays are focused, the combined firepower could burn through the Hangr.I've done such things before. Forwarding the correct array settings to Leng." The Salarian's fingers raced across the keys of his station.
Exaviel nodded. Weighing the risks and the odds. It was worth a look at the very least. "We'll use our GARDIAN to cripple its weapons and maneuvering, then we'll board it with our Pelicans."
The AI nodded. "Kirrahe's data is correct. I am preparing a firing solution. I can fire when ready."
"Push engines to ten percent under stealth capacity. Fire the GARDIANS, and commence boarding the moment we get within range."
Every second felt like an eternity as Exaviel felt the soft acceleration of the Prowler's engine bring him closer and closer towards the Covenant ship. His mind raced as he tried to find out why there was a Covenant ghost ship here. He looked towards the Brown Dwarf. What if something else had been hiding there, the way the UNSC planned to hide a Slipspace monitoring station. He shrugged the idea off as raw paranoia.
"We have approached optimal firing range." Lee said, the lights on the bridge turning a darker shade of red. The entire bridge crew was silent, eyes locked on the viewscreen.
The Pelicans were ejected from their hangars, heading towards the Covenant ship at full burn. As they did, the ultraviolet GARDIAN arrays jury-rigged onto the Circumference opened fire at their designated targets. On the viewscreen, Exaviel could see the Covenant pulse laser battery melting away under ultraviolet rays, and boiling off into space. He smiled at the sight.
Leng's hologram turned bright red. "Weapons systems disabled. I am jamming all communications and burning a hole through the hangar now.."
The metal hangar door failed, revealing the transparent energy fields used by the Covenant to keep air inside of their hangars. At least those were still active. It also meant the ship still had some semblance of power. If the marines could capture it, perhaps Exaviel could transfer some crew aboard, and the stolen ship could be flown away by itself.
The viewscreen showed the Pelican unloading missiles onto the weakened metal and then flying into the hanger, passing through the field, and landing in the hanger.
"Boarding team inserted." Leng nodded.
-
Sergeant Zaeed stepped off the ramp of the Pelican, his Phaeston rifle at the ready. It had been about damn time he and his squad got to kill something. Being stationed about a Prowler was nothing less than torture for soldiers like him. But perhaps that had been the intention.
He looked at his rifle. He hated the damn thing, the near-infinite ammo was nice, but he did not like the design. Hopefully the UNSC would design some better-looking rifles soon. He swept his rifle back and forth, the lights on his armor and weapon lighting up the dark hangar. The green Hardsuits of the UNSC marines clashed horribly with the purple of the Covenant ship. The only thing he could see was dozens of large containers which his thermal scanners could not see through. There was no sign of life anywhere in the ship.
But the atmospherics were still enabled. The footsteps of the marines echoed through the quiet hanger, the only other sound being the soft hum of the energy field keeping air in the hangar.
"No split-lipped bastards in the hanger," Zaeed said, making a hand signal for his squad to advance behind him. "Search and clear the hangar."
Something metallic hit the ground.
Zaeed immediately turned to face the noise, as did the rest of his squad. The marines from the other Pelican did the same. It sounded like it had come from behind one of the larger purple cargo containers in the hanger. Zaeed glanced towards where the noise had come from. It looked like a crate of some kind had fallen over.
"Bastard behind that container, no confirmation on what kind," Zaeed said. He rechecked his thermals. Nothing.
Something blue and metallic skid across the ground from behind the purple container. Zaeed took aim, then looked at what it was. It was a plasma rifle. He looked back at where the sound had come from, where he saw a hand gripping the side of the container. It was fleshy, with some blue from the armor. The head of an Elite poked out, mandibles wide, and eyes looking directly at him. Zaeed took aim.
The Elite stepped out from behind the container and went on his knees, putting his hands behind his head.