Before I start, I admit I made a stupid mistake. The year was suppose to
be 2553 not 2526. But don't worry I've been punished when my cat attacked
me. Now on with the show.
Chapter 3.
STOLEN COVENANT SHUTTLE QX-449: HYPERSPACE. FEBRUARY 5, 2553.
Will was seated at the rear of the shuttle performing a final weapons check. Everything seemed to be in order--and it had better be he thought to himself. He looked at the crew he was given for the mission. In the last two hours he was able to learn about them and they were mostly good. First was Delsoul. The mechanic was a jerk--plain and simple. He was mildly drunk having taken several swigs from a flask containing something that could possibly peal paint. If he didn't curb his obsession with the liquid, Will thought, he would have to have an "accident" with the airlock. He could not be allowed to jeopardize the mission or the rest of the crew. The only weapon Delsoul carried was a simple combat knife and something called a shrapnel pistol. Will asked about it. Quite basically it fired a metal slug the size of a 12mm. Bullet and when it got within a foot of the target it would explode releasing nearly microscopic shrapnel capable of tearing apart a persons face. Will now wished he had selected one back in the armory.
Retler wasn't as bad as Despoil, but he seemed a bit cocky. Will thought he reminded him of himself when he was younger. The guy carried a sniper rifle that was designed to fire poison tipped darts up to a hundred plus yards. He also had a heavy blaster pistol and because he specialized in demolitions, in his backpack were enough charges to level a Covenant cruiser.
Tao was sitting near the cockpit. He was fiddling with an electronic lock breaker running final checks on it with a data pad. He was probably the most professional in the crew, but whenever the Covenant were mentioned he had a look of pure blood lust in his eyes. Will was shocked to learn that he was one of the last survivors of his planet's militia before the Covenant glassed it. Weapon wise he was also carrying a shrapnel pistol and a modified E-11 rifle. Unlike Wills it was modified to deal the maximum amount of damage possible. This meant, however, that 25% of the ammo capacity was lost.
Finally, there was Regar. The wolf like alien was piloting the ship since he was also a fighter pilot. Will learned he joined after he learned his uncle was a fighter pilot as well. It seemed that he had died many years ago in this galaxy's legendary second death star battle and he was fighting to honor his memory. For weapons he choose a normal run of the mill blaster pistol, an unmodified E-11 and since he preferred close combat a high tech axe. Will learned it was some sort of power blade. When the axe was activated the blade would vibrate allowing it to cut through enemy armor like it was butter. Will also took note that all the combat knives carried also had the same ability.
Regar suddenly growled, "We're transitioning out of hyperspace." Will walked up to the cockpit and watched as the brilliant colors of hyperspace faded away. Will let out a low whistle. The planet before him was pretty big by galactic standards, about 50% larger than the planet Earth. It also had a ring around it slanted at a perfect 45% angle. It seemed to be colored blood red. It reminded him a an evil version of the rings of the planet Saturn. Of course the rings were probably red due to their high iron content. Similar to the soil on Mars. Will said to Regar, "Do you think you can fly us through the rings and into the atmosphere without being detected?" Regar simply grunted, "Sure. Dam Covenant Sob's. If there is one thing I have to give them credit for, its building extremely agile ships. This should be a piece of cake." Delsoul yelled from the back, "Quit boasting then and hurry your ass up!" Will said under his breath to Regar "If it wasn't against military law I'd blow his ass out of the air lock." Regar just gave a wicked look and chuckled.
Suddenly there was a ping on the scope. Regar and Will looked at it thankful that the technicians managed to translate everything in the shuttle to English. The scope said: Target X1--ID: Phantom HF. Will cursed under his breath. Unlike the Covenant's Banshee Fighters, the Phantom was a heavy fighter type with a secondary ground attack capacity. According to intelligence they were armed with four pulse projectors and a twin fuel rod gun. The fighter flew past and Will sighed in relief. Obviously the idiot flying the Phantom probably thought they were one of the regular shuttles. Good thing too, those fuel rod guns they carried could fire a plasma coated rod of uranium clear through an opposing ship. Even with shields up the radiation emitted would fry the ships circuits.
With that problem eliminated they began to descend through the planets atmosphere having moments ago cleared the rings. Descending Will could now make out the fine features of the planet. Besides mountains the planet was laced with hundreds upon hundreds of rivers and there were a couple of extremely large inland seas. Even more unusual all the rivers connected the seas to each other. From above it actually was beautiful looking like a enormous glistening spider web.
The shuttle began to slow. Eventually it touched down untouched and unnoticed on a small plateau next to one of the rivers. The dropship main door opened and the crew cautiously stepped onto the planets surface. Retler commented, "Dam it's cold. What's with all this weird fog?" Tao simply and quietly said, "Maybe its because this planet consists of mostly surface mountains and rivers." Will stated, "Tao can you pick up any Covenant signals?" Tao entered information into his data pad and replied, "Scan complete. No Covenant signals detected. That pilot we saw earlier did not report our ship entering the atmosphere. Most likely due to the fact that shuttles come and go with probably little communication due to the secret aspect of this base." Delsoul chimed in "either that or the pilot was as blind as a bat and as dumb as a post." Will sighed and said, "I think Tao is correct in his assessment." Will then thought to himself, "Screw military law I should have blown him out the airlock."
Will said, "Team we better get moving, it's only a few hours to nightfall and we have to cover 3 miles in this freezing fog."
Please read, review, and recommend.
Next Chapter: Waterworks
Rave Drifter.
Chapter 3.
STOLEN COVENANT SHUTTLE QX-449: HYPERSPACE. FEBRUARY 5, 2553.
Will was seated at the rear of the shuttle performing a final weapons check. Everything seemed to be in order--and it had better be he thought to himself. He looked at the crew he was given for the mission. In the last two hours he was able to learn about them and they were mostly good. First was Delsoul. The mechanic was a jerk--plain and simple. He was mildly drunk having taken several swigs from a flask containing something that could possibly peal paint. If he didn't curb his obsession with the liquid, Will thought, he would have to have an "accident" with the airlock. He could not be allowed to jeopardize the mission or the rest of the crew. The only weapon Delsoul carried was a simple combat knife and something called a shrapnel pistol. Will asked about it. Quite basically it fired a metal slug the size of a 12mm. Bullet and when it got within a foot of the target it would explode releasing nearly microscopic shrapnel capable of tearing apart a persons face. Will now wished he had selected one back in the armory.
Retler wasn't as bad as Despoil, but he seemed a bit cocky. Will thought he reminded him of himself when he was younger. The guy carried a sniper rifle that was designed to fire poison tipped darts up to a hundred plus yards. He also had a heavy blaster pistol and because he specialized in demolitions, in his backpack were enough charges to level a Covenant cruiser.
Tao was sitting near the cockpit. He was fiddling with an electronic lock breaker running final checks on it with a data pad. He was probably the most professional in the crew, but whenever the Covenant were mentioned he had a look of pure blood lust in his eyes. Will was shocked to learn that he was one of the last survivors of his planet's militia before the Covenant glassed it. Weapon wise he was also carrying a shrapnel pistol and a modified E-11 rifle. Unlike Wills it was modified to deal the maximum amount of damage possible. This meant, however, that 25% of the ammo capacity was lost.
Finally, there was Regar. The wolf like alien was piloting the ship since he was also a fighter pilot. Will learned he joined after he learned his uncle was a fighter pilot as well. It seemed that he had died many years ago in this galaxy's legendary second death star battle and he was fighting to honor his memory. For weapons he choose a normal run of the mill blaster pistol, an unmodified E-11 and since he preferred close combat a high tech axe. Will learned it was some sort of power blade. When the axe was activated the blade would vibrate allowing it to cut through enemy armor like it was butter. Will also took note that all the combat knives carried also had the same ability.
Regar suddenly growled, "We're transitioning out of hyperspace." Will walked up to the cockpit and watched as the brilliant colors of hyperspace faded away. Will let out a low whistle. The planet before him was pretty big by galactic standards, about 50% larger than the planet Earth. It also had a ring around it slanted at a perfect 45% angle. It seemed to be colored blood red. It reminded him a an evil version of the rings of the planet Saturn. Of course the rings were probably red due to their high iron content. Similar to the soil on Mars. Will said to Regar, "Do you think you can fly us through the rings and into the atmosphere without being detected?" Regar simply grunted, "Sure. Dam Covenant Sob's. If there is one thing I have to give them credit for, its building extremely agile ships. This should be a piece of cake." Delsoul yelled from the back, "Quit boasting then and hurry your ass up!" Will said under his breath to Regar "If it wasn't against military law I'd blow his ass out of the air lock." Regar just gave a wicked look and chuckled.
Suddenly there was a ping on the scope. Regar and Will looked at it thankful that the technicians managed to translate everything in the shuttle to English. The scope said: Target X1--ID: Phantom HF. Will cursed under his breath. Unlike the Covenant's Banshee Fighters, the Phantom was a heavy fighter type with a secondary ground attack capacity. According to intelligence they were armed with four pulse projectors and a twin fuel rod gun. The fighter flew past and Will sighed in relief. Obviously the idiot flying the Phantom probably thought they were one of the regular shuttles. Good thing too, those fuel rod guns they carried could fire a plasma coated rod of uranium clear through an opposing ship. Even with shields up the radiation emitted would fry the ships circuits.
With that problem eliminated they began to descend through the planets atmosphere having moments ago cleared the rings. Descending Will could now make out the fine features of the planet. Besides mountains the planet was laced with hundreds upon hundreds of rivers and there were a couple of extremely large inland seas. Even more unusual all the rivers connected the seas to each other. From above it actually was beautiful looking like a enormous glistening spider web.
The shuttle began to slow. Eventually it touched down untouched and unnoticed on a small plateau next to one of the rivers. The dropship main door opened and the crew cautiously stepped onto the planets surface. Retler commented, "Dam it's cold. What's with all this weird fog?" Tao simply and quietly said, "Maybe its because this planet consists of mostly surface mountains and rivers." Will stated, "Tao can you pick up any Covenant signals?" Tao entered information into his data pad and replied, "Scan complete. No Covenant signals detected. That pilot we saw earlier did not report our ship entering the atmosphere. Most likely due to the fact that shuttles come and go with probably little communication due to the secret aspect of this base." Delsoul chimed in "either that or the pilot was as blind as a bat and as dumb as a post." Will sighed and said, "I think Tao is correct in his assessment." Will then thought to himself, "Screw military law I should have blown him out the airlock."
Will said, "Team we better get moving, it's only a few hours to nightfall and we have to cover 3 miles in this freezing fog."
Please read, review, and recommend.
Next Chapter: Waterworks
Rave Drifter.