Earth: Sol System
Onboard Thunderbolt: Preparing for departure to Aeola
"Leeds."
"Yes, Captain Wellings?"
"Has our contact arrived yet?"
"His shuttle is already en route and should be here in several minutes."
"Good. Once they're onboard. Get us out of Earths gravity well and plot a Slipspace course to Aeola. Also, raise battlestations to alert level 2."
"Sir? I thought we were just going to install a new governor on the planet, not invade it."
Captain Edward Wellings just took one look at the young officer.
"Leeds, currently, there is no official UNSC authority in Aeola, which means, none of its inhabitants are under UNSC law. Now, we've got rebels there who aren't too happy about the UNSC intruding on their business, pirates who enjoy using a planet with no law as a hideout, corporate factions who illegally exploit the planets resources, and a whole host of other groups who have their own agendas."
Our greatest enemies are coming from the most unexpected places.
"I'm sorry sir, I didn't realize."
"Not that you should. Now, lets get to the hangar bay."
The hangar bay of the Thunderbolt was what set the destroyer apart from most other UNSC ships. It was considerably larger than a standard hangar bay, and could hold two squadrons of Longswords and four Pelican dropships. Of course, the obvious tradeoff was ship space, and several missile pods had to be sacrificed, but having the long range striking power of the Longswords was a good trade. Most of the time, the hangar was busy with pilots and mechanics dashing around all over the place, checking up on their aircraft and the like, and the place always constantly reeked of oil, lubricants, fuel, and other smells you would commonly find in a hangar.
This time was different, though. The entire hangar was empty, save for the spacecraft safely locked up. Also, the only smell that could be detected was the faint trace of disinfectant cleaner. After all, for the next several weeks, this ship was going to be home, and Wellings wanted the ride to be as comfortable as possible. And because Thunderbolt and its crew were to become part of Aeola's permanent garrison, the governor wouldn't be the only person bringing his family along.
"Leeds, where is the Governor right now?"
"In his quarters, sir."
"Good, I don't want him to intrude. And the children?"
"Right here, sir!"
Captain Wellings turned to face the new voice. He saw one of his officers, Lieutenant Richards, and beside him, a massive, 7-foot tall man in a Navy Special Warfare uniform dragging two 8 year old children by the collar.
Captain Wellings raised an eyebrow.
"Something you should be telling me?"
Richards quickly saluted.
"Sir, we caught them gambling with the Longsword pilots.... Again."
"And how did they do?"
"They cleaned them out I'm afraid. The pilots showed a remarkable lack of skill in poker."
Suddenly, the other man, saluted and spoke.
"Sir! We also caught them trying to break into the ships fiscal office. Sir!"
Wellings smiled.
"So, Samantha, thought you needed some more spare change?"
"We were only going to borrow some money!"
"I didn't ask you, Leonardo."
"Sorry."
"You're not going to punish us, are you, Dad?"
Wellings smiled again.
"Not this time. But if I catch you again, I'll probably have to throw you two in the brig."
Leonardo's eyes widened with excitement.
"Cool!"
Wellings shook his head.
"Alright. Richards, take them back to their quarters. I want them out of the hangar before they decide to "borrow" a Longsword."
"Yes, Captain."
Captain Wellings smiled as he watched the officer leading the children away. Ever since those two kids met, they had been nothing but terrors. For the few short days they've spent here, a wave of pranks had hit the ship. Keycards and authorization codes would be switched around, things leaping out of lockers, and 'somebody' had even managed to sneak several pounds of pure salt into one of the meals. Wellings had never seen the beverage line fill up so fast. The two little pranksters were hardly UNSC Armed Forces material, but they were only eight. He would just wait and see.
As for his older daughter, Karla, at 13, she was already showing signs of being a magnificent officer, or maybe a Marine. Her excellence in academics and her aptitude for small-unit tactics and weaponry at such a young age surprised him, but it comforted him to know that the family tradition in the armed forces was in good hands. Wellings didn't even bother asking where Karla was. Karla was more quiet and reserved than Samantha, and often spent her time in the rec room, beating the other officers at wargame simulations.
Wellings sighed, and then turned to the NavSpecWar soldier.
"And your name-"
The man's, if you could call him that, reply came like lightning.
"117, sir!"
Wellings grimaced.
Whoever the hell made these people weren't even human enough to give them names!
"You had better go back and check on the Governor. I have a feeling that we'll be running into complications."
Wellings could have sworn that the Spartan was about to smile, but the emotionless mask the soldier put on hid it completely.
"Yes sir."
"Sir, permission to speak?"
"Go ahead."
"Are you sure it's safe to have kids around on the ship?"
"Leeds, even if those kids manage to cause any sort of damage, I'm sure that it will only be minimal."
"No, sir, I mean this is a UNSC warship-"
"And there is hardly any safer place in this galaxy. Everybody knew and understood the risks the moment they stepped on this ship, and as I recall, the Governor and I aren't the only ones who brought their families aboard. How's that girl of yours? Around Samantha's and Leonardo's age, right?"
Leeds gulped.
"That's right. Kumi's about eight."
Wellings nodded, but he was looking toward the hangar doors.
"Sir?"
Suddenly, the Captain's personal comm unit lit up.
"Sir, we've got a ONI Prowler IDed as the Meadow asking for docking clearance."
"That's right. Let it in."
Captain Wellings could hear the air in the hangar airlock being vented. The sound of it reminded Wellings of the tornadoes he had seen during his time on the Sara colony, where such weather conditions were common. Finally, the sound was replaced by the whine of countless gears and servomotors as they pulled the first set of airlock doors open. Once the first set of airlock doors closed again, the second set opened up, revealed the small, sleek, and stealthy Prowler, which reminded Wellings of the SR-71 Blackbird, a 20th century stealth and reconnaissance aircraft. It was painted black, in a shade that would have let the prowler disappear into the shadows, if it weren't for the seal of the Office of Naval Intelligence gracing both sides of the craft.
Somehow fitting.
Wellings glared at the somewhat smug looking man walking down the Prowler's landing ramp.
"Colonel Ackerson. Even a man of my stature has to wonder what ONI could possibly do with this mission."
"Now, Captain, people of your stature should know that ONI is connected with every UNSC mission, official or not."
Wellings narrowed his eyes.
"And just what is the ONI connection to this?"
"I'm not at liberty to tell you that, but I DO have something for you. In private, if you please."
Wellings turned and nodded at Leeds, who quickly understood and walked out of the hangar.
Unknown to both men, however, was that there was a small figure hidden away in one of the nearby Pelicans.
Karla was busy playing around and tweaking the Pelican's controls. She already had a rough idea on how to fly it, but never had much a chance to practice because there was almost always somebody in the hangar at any given time. She had never expected to see her father in the hangar at all, though.
Great, if he sees me, Dad is going to KILL me!
She quickly ducked down behind the Pelican's control console, but couldn't help but peek over it to see what her father was up to.
Still eyeing the ONI man carefully, Wellings continued.
"Go on. What do have that's so important?"
"My...superiors...are not exactly comfortable with the objectives of your mission, and they feel a need to intervene."
"Really?"
"ONI believes that Governor Carter is a security risk, and are taking steps to take care of it."
Wellings narrowed his eyes.
"What sort of steps?"
"Lets just say that ONI will be coming in several hours to detain Governor on charges of espionage. Now, we won't actually convict him of those charges, as we don't have any proof of them, but it will keep him from reaching his post on Aeola."
"And you expect me to just stand by and watch?"
"No, actually, I expect you to be the one to arrest him."
Wellings slowly turned his back to Ackerson.
"Really? Let me think about it..."
Like his ships namesake, it didn't take much time for Wellings to make up his mind, and even less for his fist to connect with Ackerson's stomach. Ackerson's eyes bulged in surprise and pain like balloons, and with a slight wheeze, collapsed to the deck. Wellings quickly picked him up, gave another punch just for good measure, dragged the Colonel across the deck and threw Ackerson at the foot of the Prowler's boarding ramp.
"Go back to your 'superiors' and tell them that it would be wise for them to call off this little mission, and if it still goes on, don't expect me to go down without a fight. Me and my crew won't be doing you or ONI's dirty work for them."
Ackerson coughed up some blood and slowly stood up.
"Captain, I think you misunderstand-"
"No, you're misunderstanding ME! Whenever I punch someone in the stomach, that means I don't like them, and when I toss them on the deck of my hangar, I want them to get their rotten carcass off my ship!"
"Captain-"
"Shut it, Ackerson! Don't think I'm the dumb Western cowboy type! I'm painfully aware of you and ONI's little black research and development projects Aeola! And with UNSC law coming to Aeola, I suggest you go find another planet to conduct your little god-forsaken science projects!"
Ackerson was now fully standing, with burning hate and a cold-calculating look in his eyes at the same time.
"Then I suppose there's no point in trying to convince you then."
Ackerson slowly turned and boarded the Prowler, but before he got in, he spoke up.
"Oh, and one more thing Captain, I would watch your back if I were you. ONI doesn't exactly like dumb Western cowboys knowing too much about their work. And I hope that beating was your worst, because I swear to God, when we meet again, I will do my worst!"
Wellings merely glared at the man.
"Then I'll be looking forward to that day, Colonel."
Wellings stood and stared at the Prowler, even long after it left the hangar and jumped into Slipspace. As he stood there, he could hear footsteps behind him.
"Captain!"
Wellings turned around to face the officer.
"Leeds. What are you doing here?"
"Sir! I saw everything on the surveillance cameras!"
Wellings nodded. It was a good thing that the cameras didn't record sound.
"Leeds, when you get back to Security, inform them that due to a system glitch, all footage in the last ten minutes in the hangar was deleted."
"Are you sure it's wise to cover this up?"
"If I know that glory-hound Ackerson, his pride is going to make him do that too. To everybody else, those last ten minutes never happened."
Leeds nodded, but before he left, he had something nagging in his mind.
"Sir? What about Ackerson? I've heard a lot of rumors about him. Make enemies with him, and he'll go after you, your friends, and even your friend's friends. Hell, I don't even think the kids who go the same school as your will be safe."
Wellings chuckled.
"Worried about your little Kumi? Don't worry. Ackerson may bark real loud, but when his prey fights back, he doesn't have a whole lot of bark."
"I hope you're right, sir."
Wellings sighed.
"Me too, Leeds. Now, lets get back to the bridge. We're due to go into Slipspace in fifteen minutes."
Before he exited the hangar, Captain Wellings stopped at the door and began to speak.
"Oh, and Karla, you can come out of that Pelican now."
Karla was surprised.
How did he know-?
"Come on, Karla! Better come out before I decide to vent the entire hangar!"Karla sighed and stepped out of the Pelican.
"Am I in trouble?"
Her father merely smiled.
"Nothing a couple hours in the brig can't cure."