RIS Cruiser Curacao
Flagship Worm Expeditionary Force, over Raleigh V
22.1.2551
I leave home for a few days, get involved in a foreign war, and now here I am in the middle of nowhere running errands for a guy I've never heard of…
Dirt quickly snapped out of it. It wasn't the time to dwell on the past, especially not since the secret of his arrival was no longer so secret. He turned back to his communique.
United Nations Space Command Priority Order 8-216B
From: UNSC FleetComm, planet Reach
To: Rear Admiral Wantillese, Dirt. RIS Navy
Encryption Code: Red
Subject: Transit Instructions, Worm Expeditionary Force
1. UNSC believes attack on New Raleigh system imminent.
2. WEF is to travel into system, examine defenses, and report back to FleetComm via secure channels.
3. If attack occurs during inspection, WEF is to coordinate resistance.
4. Do NOT under any circumstances retreat, or return without transmitting relevent data.
"Sir." Dirt looked up and found Captain Custard.
"Yes Captain?" he asked.
"We are entering the New Raleigh system, dropping out of hyperspace in three minutes."
"Thank you."
Dirt walked up to a window on the bridge of the Curacao, he could see nothing. After a few minutes, six green and blue orbs appeared. One of them was their destination, Raleigh V.
The Curacaoentered orbit of the fifth planet from the system's star, Raleigh Solari. Four grey ships approached Dirt's taskforce cautisously.
"Sir," the communications officer of the Curacaosaid to Dirt's left. "We're being hailed."
"Patch it into my command station, Lieutenant."
"Aye sir, patching now."
"Admiral Wantillese sir." An image of a man in his early to mid thirties, with tar black hair and discontent in his eyes appeared. "Captain Ronald Avery, destroyer San Jacinto. I was sent here to defend New Raleigh."
"Thank you Captain," Dirt growled. At least it was nice to have a human call him "sir" once in a while. But anyway, duty called.
Dirt turned to Captain Lightoller. "I'm going planetside, ready my shuttle."
"Yes sir," came the reply.
An Assault Shuttle carrying Dirt, Chief Petty Officer Micheal Casey, Cryptogrophy and Communications Specialist, and two dozen Worm Troopers brandishing their Energy Assault Rifles, an energy weapon containing enough energy for one hundred shots between recharge. The shuttl burst through the clouds, revealing a fertile landscape, spotted by farms and villages. After a few minutes of atmospheric flying, they settled down in a small clearing, a few dozen UNSC Marines greeted them.
"Welcome to Raleigh V," a particularly gruff one said. "CP's this way, follow me!" He ran off.
"Quite friendly aren't they?" Casey remarked.
The Worms followed, after a few hundred meters they came upon the Marine command post, not much more than a few tents and a field transmitter. A few men gathered around a small stove.
"Colonel Thomas Mallard, UNSC Marine Corps."
"Rear Admiral Dirt Wantillese."
"Ah, Admiral, we've been expecting you." Dirt lifted an eyebrow in interest.
"We have our ways, sir."
Another marine walked up to the Colonel and whispered into his ear. The Colonel quietly thanked him, then turned back to Dirt.
"Covenant, five of their Cruisers. They're coming to glass the planet."
"Glass?"
"First they destroy all our ships in orbit, then they fire their plasma at the surface, they boil the surface away, they literally melt the planet."
Casey and a few Worm Troopers grimaced at the thought. "Don't worry," Dirt assured them. "My boys are up there." It was a few seconds later that sound began coming from the field transmitter.
Admiral [static] are you there? We've [static] been engaged! Request permission to break and fire [static].
"Permission granted, we can't let those bastards glass the planet." A new voice soon broke in.
Admiral, Covenant dropships inbound to the planet, repeat, Covenant are landing!
"Commander Pine?"
Don't worry, my flyboys will take'em out fast.
"What if they land?"
They won't.