Stage 6: "Legendary"
Location: Unknown
Time: 02:58 October 21, 2552
Transmission Origin: Unknown
From:
ONI Section III; Research and Black Operations
Major Elizabeth Rawlings: Head of Artifacts and Forerunner Technology Research Committee
Recipient: Chief Petty Officer Spartan 043
Encryption: Level 9
"Surprisingly, they successfully infiltrated Port Said. If the traitors can acquire that ship then we may have the chance we were looking for.
"Spartan, take the AI program and use it to take over that ship. Red Squad will assist you once you arrive. When full control of the vessel is obtained you will return to this facility, we need you here. Eric Raynord is a skilled man, and he can lead this mission if he survives the assault. Where they're going, they may not return, so you must remain and protect that facility at all cost. Time is of the essence, Spartan. We can not afford to have you gone for too much time. If the Covenant find the location of your facility within Camp Eden… no telling what our fate may be.
"You have your orders Chief Petty Officers."
…End transmission
Northern Suez Canal;
Covenant Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice
07:33 October 21, 2552
Port Said, Egypt
Explosions rocked around Wesley and his fire team, as brutes and jackals converged on the primary cargo hold of the Life and Sacrifice. The ten marines were pinned down as plasma and grenades poured upon them.
"Wesley, what the…"
"Regroup!"
"Their all over us… there's no cover."
"Move to the wall!"
"Stupid ape bastards!"
"Regan fall in!"
"Regan get over here!"
Wesley's fire team managed to slip through a small gap in the brute's offensive and positioned themselves in a corner. But the group was still under heavy fire.
"Wesley, where's Brian?"
"Brian's dead! We're all going to die!"
"Shut up and shoot!"
Wesley was loosing control of his team; they were panicking. He tucked Rose's unconscious body into the corner behind him and blurted out orders as best he could.
"Fall back by pairs to the rear wall! Use the wraith as cover and take down any brute with a grenade in his hand!"
"Brian isn't dead! Look, he's moving!"
"He's cut off. Brian, over here!"
"OH god!"
"Jesus, that brute bit his head off…"
Wesley had to maintain some form of calm in his team. But the more he tried to gain control the more it seemed his team began to loose it. His fire team fired wildly into the brute and jackal advance as they tried to keep them at bay as best they could. But it was if they had stirred a hornet's nest.
"Sustain your fire and form up, damn it!"
"Take this you bastards!"
"Suppression fire, suppression fire!"
"Were the hell is the Serge and the rest of the squad? We're getting killed in here!"
"Shut up and fire!"
"Wesley, more incoming from the left… we're pinned down!"
Wesley turned and one of the doors in the cargo bay opened, and several more brutes and jackals raced in. The smell of burning metal from the sub machineguns and battle rifles was so thick that Wesley could taste it. He was running low on ideas.
"Give me some controlled grenade bursts to the left. Maintain heavy fire on the right!"
"Matt is dead! Damn you…"
"Gloria get back here! Gloria!"
"Shit, we're loosing it here!"
"I'm hit…"
"Incoming!"
"Where's the rest of the squad? Where is second team?"
The center of the massive cargo bay quickly began to glow with a purple haze, and a clear visual of the room was able to be seen. The ceiling rose nearly forty feet with a center doom. Tanks, Specters, and Ghosts cluttered the room as brutes and jackals took cover throughout. There were four visible doors into the room, and the Covenant forces were steadily flowing through them. The purple haze intensified and a formation of marines ascended through the circular gravity lift. A small bubble of intense purple light formed beneath the marines' feet and the metal doors of the lift sealed mere centimeters beneath them. The purple haze faded and marines all jolted the small distance to the floor.
The nine marines took a circular position around the gravity lift plate, all aiming outward, while Eric and the Spartan stood in the center.
"Fire at will!" Eric shouted. The marines all took aim and fired controlled bursts into the crowd of surrounding Covenant forces. But the sheer number of Covenant troops was overwhelming them. Eric's fire team was having a hard time holding the brutes at bay.
Eric took down several brutes with his battle rifle, looking constantly for his next target. He then spotted the torn remains of three marines scattered about the floor and then spotted Wesley's fire team. They were pinned down in a corner, and Rose seemed lifeless. Eric gathered his thoughts.
"Marines, hold formation, and move to the aft of this room." Eric ordered. Will quickly new what he was planning.
"Sergeant, move your men." Will stated. "I'll cover the left flank." The brutes were astonished to see the Spartan and the marines had the element of surprise on their side yet again. The Spartan tossed two grenades to the left side of the cargo bay, knocking three brutes off their feet. He then charged into a small group of dazed brutes as they slowly stood to their feet. The butt of the Spartan's riffle struck the back of one brute's head, another caught a short three round burst into his skull, and the third was impaled in the chest by his combat knife. The brute roared and grabbed Will by the shoulder. Will dragged the blade up the beast's massive chest and twisted the blade in its throat. The brute gargled as Will ripped his combat knife out of its neck and turned his attention elsewhere.
Eric and his squad swiftly, but cautiously, made their way to Wesley's fire team and cleared the right side of the room of enemy targets.
"Wesley, report." Eric stated.
"Thank God, Eric." Wesley moaned. "We're all pretty beat up. Gloria, Brian and Regan are dead. Several wounded. We couldn't form up in time. They were waiting for us to come up the lift."
"What happened to Rose?" Eric questioned. Several explosions rocked the room but Eric ignored it.
"Jesus, look at him go!" Marks shouted. Marks words got Eric's attention and he turned to see what was happening.
Will was going solo against what seemed to be an entire Covenant assault at his position. One by one brutes and jackals dropped lifeless to the ground. The Spartan took head shots, melee attacks and combat knife use to another level. Eric, and the marines, could only watch in awe. All the remaining Covenant forces in the room advanced toward the Spartan. The initial shock of seeing the Spartan had left the brutes, and now each of the beasts was determined to be known as the one which killed of the demon.
Plasma and brute shot grenades began to rain down toward the Spartan. Will took cover behind a Covenant ammo crate, knowing well that it could withstand the constant fire. He reloaded his rifle and held his combat knife in his free hand. He used the back of his left hand to support and balance the battle riffle and began to crouch-walk around the ammo crate. He twisted to his left as two plasma bursts seared over his head. He took aim and took down the two jackals with several shots from his rifle. He stood and relocated, but ran face first into a brute. The beast never had a chance to react as Will raised his knife and jammed it into its chin. Before the brute could scream, Will turned and fired controlled bursts into two more brutes. The last group of jackals was filled with terror as the last brute fell to the ground, and they quickly tried to run from the room.
"Wesley!" Eric shouted. Wesley had already pulled out his trusty sniper rifle, and he quickly put two rounds in the jackals' skulls. The room became deathly silent as Will's shields finally found the time to recharge. The golden static filled rings encircled him as he pulled the blade from the dead brute's chin.
"Salvage what you can." Eric shouted. "Marks, Melanie, Hicks, Belinski; cover those exits and make sure we don't have any uninvited guests before we can move out."
"Sir!" The four marines shouted. The marines quickly scattered throughout the room and began grabbing as much equipment as they could; refilling their gear or switching for Covenant weapons. The four marines that Eric had called out ran to the doors that outlined the corners of the cargo bay. They reached the doors and opened them, peering down the curving hallways of the cruisers interior.
"How's Rose?" Eric questioned as he turned back to Wesley.
"She passed out before we boarded." Wesley returned. "She was having a hard time getting her breathing under control." Wesley lifted Roses head and positioned her comfortably on her backpack.
"That run and sprint must have been too much for her." Eric stated. "She hasn't pushed herself this hard in a long time." Eric stood straight up and looked across the room to Rodney Hicks, one of the marines he had positioned at the door. "Hicks, get over here. Wesley, cover Hicks' post."
"But, Eric.." Wesley began to rebuke, but Eric gave him a sharp glare.
"You're not a medic, Private." Eric stated. "Move out." Wesley stood and ran off to the door. Hicks quickly ran over and looked over Rose.
"After you're done with her, check out any of the wounded." Eric stated as Hicks checked Rose's vitals.
"Will." Eric snapped toward the Spartan. "You're up. I hope that toy of yours works."
"Don't worry, she will." Will returned. He walked to a nearby control panel and the holographic display glowed to life.
"She?" Eric questioned as he walked to Will's side. Will placed his hand on a pad beneath the holographic image. A wave of static crossed his hand and Eric realized that he had just uploaded a program.
"Well now, looks like you got me here safely." A female voice stated through the terminal speaker. A tiny female face appeared on the display with long flowing blonde hair. "I had my doubts about this mission."
"You know what to do Siren." Will stated. Eric then realized that the she Will was referring too was an AI.
"Of course I do." Siren replied. "Security alarms are down. Security systems are down. On board weapons systems are down. The ship is now defenseless." There was a short pause and Siren stated, "Pathetic."
"What?" Eric and Will both questioned.
"The ships onboard AI is attempting to lock me out." Siren replied. "I wasn't expecting it to find me so soon. Cortana never said they could learn; she must have dumped that data or this AI is an upgrade. Spartan 043, you'll need to move me one more time. I don't plan to make the same mistake twice. Can't believe I miss calculated. Sorry for the delay in the mission, Sergeant."
"Fine." Will replied. "Where do you need to go?"
"The AI tried to lock me in the security and weapons subroutine." Siren Replied. "I have full control of security and ship wide weapons, but I'll need access to a secondary terminal in order to shut down that AI, and gain control of the ship."
"So what's going on here?" Eric questioned. "I wasn't told about an AI being involved."
"Sorry sergeant, we'll have to discuss it later." Siren stated. "Covenant patrols are checking in, and they're on their way here via the far right entrance. The left side entrance is clear."
"Let's roll marines." Eric shouted. He walked across the room to Hicks and Rose's position. "Hicks, wake her up."
"Roger that." Hicks stated. He opened a small container and placed it under Rose's nose. As she inhaled, the thick fumes from the container sent an instant shock into her system. Her nose felt as though it was on fire and her body instantly jolted awake. Rose rubbed her nose furiously and the sensation immediately vanished once Hicks pulled the container away.
"You're okay." Hicks calmly stated. "You're dehydrated, and slightly asphyxiated. Your body simply shut down to conserve energy to your vital systems."
"I … I know." Rose stuttered. She was finding it difficult to talk. "What's is the… the situation?"
"We made it inside." Eric quickly cut in. "But we have to move. Suck down some Prima and grip your rifle. Hicks, stay close to her."
"Yes sir." Hicks was already forcefully making Rose drink Prima, while at the same time he was tossing her arm onto his own shoulder.
Prima was a lifesaver for any marine on the battlefield. The red-pink liquid was an energy boost and re-hydrator substance that was given only to soldiers. Field medics carried it and were warned to only use it in extreme circumstance. The substance tasted horrible but would quickly nourish the body and one sip was equal to a full day's intake of water. But it could not be used as a commercial product, because if used improperly it could lead to immediate kidney failure; it would overload the body's ability to process fluids. However, for soldiers that were extremely exhausted and suffering from near death dehydration, one cup of Prima could save their lives.
Rose downed the small canister of Prima, and even though she felt the urge to vomit because of the taste, her body soaked up the thick liquid and she found that she didn't want to stop drinking it. Hicks stood Rose to her feet and carried her to the far side of the cargo bay where the majority of the marines were stationed. A small group of marines, including Eric, was pulling up the rear.
"Will, take that point." Eric shouted to the front of the squad. "Wesley, give the man some distance and follow his lead. Move it people, those apes are starting to sniff my ass." Eric looked back to the far side of the cargo bay and spotted a small group of brutes walk in. The Spartan was still getting use to being called by his name, but he found it better that they called him Will instead of William the way Dr. Halsey always addressed him. He was not happy about it, but the marines in this squad seemed to prefer calling him Will, perhaps because it made him feel more human to them. Will turned back to the holographic display and looked to Siren.
"I've already expanded most of my subroutines, so I will only upload my attack protocols into your suit." Siren stated softly to Will. "Don't worry, once you locate another command console, I can attack that Covenant AI and then release myself into the rest of the ship-wide systems. I'll make that AI regret …"
"Siren." Will stated sharply, realizing that time was crucial.
"Sorry." Siren girlishly chuckled. "Uploading attack program… done. Get out of here marines. I'll be with you shortly." Siren's image faded from the screen and Will felt the unusual fuzziness surge through his hand, then his armor and finally the cool sensation into his mind. He had already begun to exit the cargo bay with all of the marines fallowing behind him when he realized that Siren felt strange to him.
Will was just a carrier for the AI, but while she was sharing his head she seemed to move freely through his thoughts via his Neural Interface. Will noticed that Siren was not worming around his head like she was before. This was only a simple program that she had uploaded into him; Siren herself had become too large to return to the Spartan's armor.
Unlike Cortana, Siren was designed specifically to counter or adapt forerunner technology and take full control of Covenant systems. Her basic subroutines contained all the Covenant information that Cortana had taken and the forerunner knowledge she downloaded from Halo Instillation 04. However, her systems were dormant until she was uploaded into the Covenant ship. After entering the Covenant system, she had expanded her protocols and began to use the Covenant's mainframe to house herself and expand; in a controlled manner. She was a virus.
A navigation point appeared in Will's heads up display, and he realized that it was most likely the location of the nearest command console.
"She must have uploaded more then just her attack program." Will thought to himself. His motion tracker spiked as two red blips began to move ahead of him. They were close and coming straight at him. Will reached a corner and leaned against the smooth wall of the hallway. The corner was arched slightly which allowed him to cautiously look around the corner. Two jackals were approaching, clueless to the fact that there deaths were merely seconds away. A series of yellow blips began to dot Will's tracker and he quickly tossed up his fist in the direction of the yellow blips; never taking his eyes off of the two jackals. All the dots on his motion tracker vanished as their movements stopped. He then altered his fist into two raised fingers, then an open palm and slowly closed his hand back into fist.
Wesley read the hand signs and did as he was told. He and the marines would hold their position as the Spartan prepared to take down two enemy targets. They would assist only if the Spartan called for aid. Wesley watched from a distant corner, nearly forty feet away.
Will waited as the two jackals came closer. He unsheathed his trusty combat knife and quietly shouldered his battle riffle. He had to be silent and deadly. He knew that if he made too much noise the whole ship would bear down on them like a swarm of bees. He had been aboard Covenant ships before. The all too familiar feel of the Unyielding Hierophant quickly exploded from his memories. Back then he had other Spartans at his side, and the Master Chief's leadership, but now he had to go it alone. Just like then, this mission called for stealth. He brushed aside the memory and waited. Surprise was on his side. His motion tracker still only showed the two jackals. They were closer, and he could hear the scattered deep throated crackles of their speech. They were practically on top of him and he pounced from the corner. The jackals shrieked in terror, but their deep squeals wouldn't carry far in the echoless hallway. The first jackal's jaw was broken from a heavy left hook. It rocked backward as its companion fell to the sudden blow of the Spartan's combat knife. The other jackal stood and grabbed its bloody beak but quickly found its head in vice lock.
Will quickly twisted the jackals head with little effort, and heard the reassuring sound of tearing muscles and breaking bones in its neck. He then spotted his motion tracker in his HUD and realized that four red dots were coming around the corner at the end of the corridor. There was no time to take cover as the four brutes appeared in his eyes. He cursed to himself for not taking notice of the motion tracker sooner, but he was caught between eliminating the two jackal targets, and there was nothing he could do.
The first brute pair looked up and roared their fury.
"Demon!" The first brute roared as he pulled his brute plasma rifle from his belt.
The other brute tossed a plasma grenade down the hall. The grenade forced Will to dive behind the corner he had earlier used to conceal himself. He looked back to Wesley and cursed loudly inside his helmet, where only he could hear it, and the grenade thudded harmlessly at his side.
"Move up." Will stated to the squad of marines. "We're cut off, but we have to push through. The command counsel is on this deck." Wesley nodded his head as Eric ran to the corner beside Will.
"What do we got?" Eric questioned.
"A brute patrol." Will added. "They spotted me when I took down the jackals. It's four brutes and possibly more on the way."
"Damn, horrible position too." Eric cursed. "We need to take this hall?"
"Affirmative." Will stated as several more grenades thudded at the side of the corner.
"Wesley, can you make the shot?" Eric questioned. Wesley peeped around the corner and saw that the Brutes weren't hiding, but boldly standing at the end of the hallway tossing grenades.
"No problem, but the moment I step out they'll catch me with a brute shot or nade." Wesley added.
"If you can make the shot, I'll give you the diversion." Will stated. "We'll use the Hawk Maneuver."
"Sorry sir, I have no clue what that manuever is." Wesley nervously added. Will was too accustomed to having the Spartans in his squad and realized that the marines didn't know their tried and true battle tactics. He truly missed being with the Spartans.
Will looked to Wesley and stated, "I'll charge down the hall, dodging left to right every 5 steps. Remember that; five steps. I'd rather not get shot in the back." Wesley wasn't nervous till he said that. His reflection mirrored in the Spartan's mask as he shook his head with a firm yes.
Will took a deep breath and shouldered his sniper rifle. He primed a round in the chamber and made sure the clip was full. Four shots and four brutes, but he had to make sure not to hit the Spartan and he also had to make sure he killed the brutes before the brutes took down the Spartan's shields and killed him.
"Ready." Will stated. Wesley nodded and the Spartan turned the corner. His stride was slightly exaggerated because he didn't want to run at a full sprint. He had to give Wesley the time to line up the shots and fire. Once the Spartan started down the hallway, Wesley jumped out into the center of the hall and peered down his scope.
The brutes took aim and began to fire. Will could hear the plasma sear against his shields and a brute shot grenade explode only a few feet away. He started on the left side of the hall, firing his battle riffle into the group of brutes, but his vision was rocked by the grenades and constant fire. The all too familiar sound of an SRS99C sniper rifle reverberated behind Wesley and he barely made out the image of the far right brute dropping to the ground.
Five steps.
Will quickly cut to the right side of the hall, and two more brute shots exploded next to him. His shield alarm sounded and the heat of plasma surged up his leg. His armor absorbed most of it the heat, and overloaded the cooling gel layer inside his thigh armor plate. Two quick clicks roared in succession and two brutes tumbled to the ground. For a moment Will thought of Linda's skill with the sniper rifle, and thought that she might be impressed with this man's accuracy.
Five steps.
Will fought the pain in his leg and cut back to the left side of the hall, and before he could reach the other side, one more round exploded passed him, taking the last brutes life. Will stopped in the center of the hall and checked his HUD. His motion tracker was silent. He turned and looked as Wesley quickly began to trot towards him.
"You okay, Sir." Wesley questioned. Will nodded and heard the reassuring sound of his shield generator recharging. The fuzzy static glistened around him and his shield returned to one hundred percent. Wesley waved to the marines to follow as Will pushed ahead to the location that the brutes had occupied and Will pushed on to the next corner.
Will spotted a large blast door and approached. His motion tracker showed no activity as the door slid open and the navigation point dotted the command counsel. Will peeped into the room, and fully expected to see several sleeping grunts but the massive room was empty. Wesley crouched beside him and peered through his sniper rifle.
"Seems clear, sir." Wesley stated.
"Nice shooting back there, Private." Will stated, but he didn't give Wesley time to respond. "Hold the squad here, and maintain this corridor in case things get hot while I'm in there."
"Roger." Will replied. He felt a little inspired after the Spartans voice of approval but maintained his poise. Eric ran up to his side and nodded. "He said to hold here and cover this corridor."
"Got it." Eric replied. He then turned to the rest of the squad and passed the instructions. "Spread out. Hold this corridor and cover the rear hallway." The marines quickly dispersed from the door and covered every door and passage along the hallway.
Will cautiously walked into the grey silhouetted room and approached the powered down terminal. The room was impressively large with several decks along its spine. A small pedestal sat the center with a tall beam of light spiking through the darkness. Will placed his hand on the terminal and the counsel hummed to life. Will felt the cool sensation as the program vacated his mind and armor and uploaded itself into the computer. Before Will could pull his hand away, Siren's image quickly dawned on the screen.
"That was easy." Siren yawned. "Spartan 043, pull in the squad. This room is empty. It's a Prophets' chamber, but there isn't a prophet on this ship. We can hold up here while I do a little exterminating."
"Sergeant, all clear." Wesley shouted to the door. "Pull in the squad." Eric looked over the marines of Red Squad and spun his finger. He then quickly pointed into the room and the marines all ran in. Eric held his spot at the door until all the surviving marines had entered. After Rose and Hicks passed him by, he tapped Wesley on the shoulder and motioned him inside. This was too easy and Eric didn't like it. He walked into the room after Wesley had crossed the threshold, and the door quickly closed in front of him. Eric glared at the door for a moment, contemplating the battle outside, and realized that time was of the essence. He turned and walked toward the command counsel with Will and Siren. He quickly looked to Rose and she was fidgeting on the floor. Her energy had returned but now she was anxious to do something.
The Prophets' throne room was large and very highly decorated. The room lights slowly began to turn on but no light source was evident. The ambient lighting of the room seemed to almost radiate from nothing. The room itself contained nothing but a few wall terminals and the sole pedestal of light in the center.
"How much time are we going to sit here?" Eric questioned. "We've got soldiers dieing outside."
"Don't worry sergeant." Siren stated. "I'm creating ghosts all over the ship. I'm going to split up the brute and jackal patrols and lock them up in several sections of the ship. I just cleared the hanger." Sirens voice then pitched as she accessed the ships com system. Her words were broadcast on the terminal speaker as well.
"Platoon 3 and 6, Red Squad has gained control of the Covenant cruiser. Move in and assist Platoon 2 as ordered."
"Roger that." An elderly man on the channel stated. "Platoon 3 and 6 moving in."
"Juggernaut, the landing deck of the cruiser is clear." Siren stated into another channel. "You and your flyboys are clear to start dropping off reinforcements. Skyhawk fighters are in route to give you cover fire from those Banches. Once on board the ship, Sergeant Raynord will have command."
"Roger that." Juggernaut stated. "Who is this?"
"The name's Siren, Juggernaut."
"Roger that, Siren." Juggernaut replied. "Platoon 9 is inbound to the Landing deck. Damn good job Red Squad. Glad you guys pulled if off."
Sirens cut the com line and said, "Sergeant, Juggernaut and two other pelicans will be entering the landing deck soon. I have full control of this ship, and I can give you a clear line to the landing deck. I need you to meet them."
"I'm on it ma'am." Eric sighed. "Just make sure you keep one eye on me, and another eye on my squad till I get back."
"Will do sergeant." Siren replied.
"Peters, you're with me." Eric stated. "Will, you've got the squad."
"Understood." Will added. The door the throne room opened as Eric and chief Warrant officer Melanie Peters walked toward. Once they left the door closed behind them.
"Well, it appears this battle is over." Siren stated. "There are only a few hundred Covenant forces on board, but they are securely locked down. I didn't bother with locking away the Engineers… despite their ugliness, they're rather harmless. The marines and I can handle the clean up, Spartan 043, but you have other things to tend to."
"I do have my orders." Will returned. There was a quiet heaviness in his voice. Will partially wanted to maintain his closeness to Red Squad simply because he didn't want to return to his guard duty. "But I think I'll stick around until the clean up is complete. No telling what surprises the Covenant may have in store."
"I'm sure the marines won't be disappointed with heaving a Spartan around." Siren returned. "But are you sure? The ONI higher ups at Camp Eden may not be happy with you holding off your return."
"They'll be fine." Will returned.
"True, but I wouldn't want you to…" Siren began to state but she paused suddenly. "I've translated several Elite transmissions within the database, some of which were just received only moments ago. They were highly encrypted, but not very challenging to unlock. There are several references to a group of elites within the Covenant High Council; Mirratord. The word is used cautiously within the transmissions. But the important information is that the elite section of the high council doesn't appreciate the current actions of the hierarchs; seems to be bad blood between the prophets and elites. I also found a transmission from a prophet know as Truth. He sent a coded message to all brute captains within the fleet. It only says: begin."
"Begin?" Will questioned. "Perhaps the prophet meant 'begin' the attack on Earth."
"Perhaps, but the subspace time stamp is dated two days from now." Siren continued. "That means that whatever sparked this transmission hasn't happened within our local space time. And it was deliberately sent to the brute commanding officer. And seeing that the Covenant rarely takes prisoner, I didn't think to scan the brig. There are a lot of elites, hunters and grunts locked up. Judging by the evidence, I think something is foul within the Covenant."
"Really?" Wesley cut in. "I've been wondering where those elites were. Why lock them up?" Will was also curious. The elites, in his view, were the fiercest warriors the Covenant had. So why would they imprison them.
"I think you should find out." Siren stated. "Spartan 043; take Red Squad and begin to eliminate the brute threat on the brig level. Private Wesley Williams and Chief Warrant Roselyn Santos, I need you to go talk with the elites. Perhaps there's something we can learn here."
A burst of static echoed from the terminal speaker as Siren opened a marine com channel and stated, "Siren to Sergeant Raynord. I've scrambled all ship board com channels, so you and your marines don't have to worry about Covenant eaves droppers. All local com channels are clear."
"Good to hear, Siren." Eric replied over the channel. "Status report."
"I'm sending Spartan 043 and Red Squad to the brig to clean up the brutes I have locked on that deck:" Siren added. "I recommend that you and Platoon 9 clear out the upper decks and the command deck. I'm also sending Private Williams and Chief Warrant Santos to investigate something. I will keep you posted."
"Roger that, Siren." Eric replied. "Me and Platoon 9 will clean house. Out." The channel went silent and Wesley walked a little closer to the terminal.
"Why are you sending us to talk to the elites?" Wesley asked. "Why not Will? He's a Spartan and out he ranks me."
"You were a member of ONI Section III, Private." Siren returned. "And Roselyn. . ."
"Call me Rose." Rose cut in.
"…Rose…" Siren iterated. "…was the head designer of the Spartan body armor central processor. You two should know how to keep secrets, and if things are happening the way I think they are, there will be many secrets to keep." Will didn't like the tone Siren used and the Spartan was about to voice his concerns about letting the two marines go alone, but before he could say anything Rose voiced her concerns.
"Why would you need us to keep secrets, Siren?" Rose questioned. "What information are you looking for? And while I'm asking; what is the reason we had to take control of this ship?"
"Rose, since you're not really a soldier in the Marine Corps, I can tolerate your brutal lack of protocol and rank." Siren returned. "I gave you an order, that doesn't mean you ask questions. But since I like your spunk, I'll be blunt. Secrets are the reason the Covenant exists, secrets are the reason the Covenant and humanity are at war, and secrets are the reason why this war will end humanity if we don't take this ship. Any other information you want will have to wait until you see it for yourself."
Rose pondered the statement the AI had very loosely blurted out, but one thing stuck in her mind: "Secrets are the reason the Covenant and humanity are at war?" She questioned to herself. Rose wanted to know more, but new that arguing with a smart AI was useless.
"Sorry about that, Siren." Wesley chimed in. "Rose can be a little aggressive when she feels in the dark about information."
"Not my concern, Private." Siren stated coldly. "You all have your orders and time is critical. I suggest you get moving."
"Red Squad, form up." Will stated to the squad. "We're moving out. Wesley and Rose, follow our lead. We'll clear out the brutes first and then you two can slip into the brig."
To be continued…