Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech - Halo crossover redux.
Thank you all for your wonderful feedback and support. I deeply appreciate it.
Just so you know, one of my beta readers will be performing proofreading and beta reading of my chapters as I post them. That means that previously posted chapters will be receiving updates. As such, I've decided to announce which chapters have been updated so that you know which ones to check out. As of this chapter being posted, chapter 6 has been updated and chapter 7 will be receiving updates today.
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Disclaimer: I do not own the MechWarrior/BattleTech or Halo franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, WizKids, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
Mata Hari
Epsilon Eridani
October 5th, 2525
Captain Jared Henderson nervously drummed his fingers on his command chair's armrests. Captain Henderson's crew was anxious too, quietly but tensely working at their stations. Even the hum of computers felt shy and meek somehow.
Being nervous came with the job. Jared was one of a handful of men that were assigned to the Bug-Eyes the SLIC employed for espionage against the Insurrection and ONI. As an operative in the SLIC, it was his duty to sniff out any potential threats to the SLiE, so that those threats could be countered and, if necessary, terminated with extreme prejudice.
At least they gave us a ship that does the job, Henderson thought as he looked at the readouts. The Mata Hari was the oldest Bug-Eye in the SLIC's surveillance fleet, though that didn't mean that it was obsolete. In fact, the Mata Hari had completed a full refit about two months ago, granting the ship long range capabilities, as well as advanced stealth systems designed to make the ship practically invisible.
There was also another upgrade that was present, and one that Henderson needed to speak with. "Nyx, any indication that the UNSC or ONI have detected us?" he asked.
A moment later, the holographic projector built into the command chair activated. The image of a woman of Mediterranean descent appeared over the projector, a lady wearing ancient Greek garb. The woman, Nyx, was the first artificial intelligence that the SLDF had created. Named after the Grecian deity of the night, she was designed for espionage and infiltration, making her the perfect AI to be installed onto the Mata Hari. "Negative," she informed Henderson. "No indications that we have been detected."
"Good," Henderson sighed, somewhat relieved that they hadn't been found out, at least not yet. "How is the new Void Signature System?"
"Operating at optimal capacity," Nyx reported.
That was a relief as well. One of the refits that had been possible thanks to advances in technology was the installation of the Void Signature System. Designed as a hybrid combining the best of the Null Signature and Chameleon Light Polarization Shield systems, the Void Signature System was designed to hide a ship's thermal, sensor and electronics emissions from any detection systems.
What made it unique was that, thanks to the study of Forerunner technology, the SLIC had developed a series of meta-materials that were designed to bend light around the ship. This allowed any ship equipped with the VSS to literally vanish from visual observation. While this resulted in the ship running hotter, it was seen as an acceptable downside, given advances in cooling technology, as well as the fact that Bug-Eyes were meant to remain invisible. In short, the VSS allowed the Bug-Eye class of surveillance ships to equal, or even exceed, the Prowlers designed by ONI.
All these new systems made the Mata Hari invisible to the known universe, though that fact hardly comforted the crew. The smallest error could spell disaster, especially on an espionage mission involving ONI. We won't let that stop us though, Henderson growled with determination. If Kerensky needs us to spy on ONI, then that's what we'll do.
At that moment, the SIGINT/CAT Officer said, "Sir, I just received an encoded transmission from the surface of Reach. Our agent on the ground has intel to deliver to us. They're requesting that we disengage part of the VSS temporarily."
"Understood," Henderson said. "Inform the agent that they can begin the data transmission. Nyx, disengage the visual cloak for the Mata Hari, but keep the rest of the VSS operational. I don't want us to be broadcasting our thermal and electronics emissions to the UNSC or ONI."
"Understood," Nyx acknowledged. Looking at the heat meter for the ship, Henderson watched as the yellow-green bar became a nice forest green, indicating that the ship wasn't working as hard to eject excess heat into the vacuum of space. Around sixteen minutes later, she said, "Receiving transmission".
"Roger," the SIGINT/CAT Officer, known to the crew as Jordan, reported. "Signal's clean. No sign of any tampering. Nyx, screen the transmission for any spyware, malware and the like."
"Acknowledged," Nyx confirmed. With that, she began combing through the transmission for any ONI traps or sofware that might be in the data or the transmission itself. Ever since the SLIC had begn various operations against ONI, they had decided to screen any information they received for any traps ONI might've laid for the unwary or curious. It was a decision that had saved them many a headache, especially when more malware had been found inside of each transmission as time went on.
With an AI, finding any malware that ONI might've installed into any data they had was a piece of cake, as Nyx soon gave her report. "I've disarmed or destroyed a number of ONI computer viruses that attempted to infiltrate our systems. In addition, I've finished scrubbing the data for any more malware. We are good to go."
"Roger that," Henderson noted. "Is our agent's cover intact still?"
"Affirmative. I have screen ONI and UNSC communication channels. No unusual activity detected."
"Good," Henderson sighed, a smile on his face. "SIGINT/CAT, use the M-HPG to send this data back to Soell III for the others to mull over. They should also give us our newest assignment."
"Roger that," Jordan acknowledged. Activating the M-HPG with the push of a button, the officer typed out a message, then sent the scrubbed information into the message. Then, they pressed the send icon. Within a few seconds, the M-HPG on the ship activated, creating a hyperspace wormhole that allowed the signal to be quickly sent to Soell III. "Transmission sent."
A response wasn't long in coming, as the he said, "Sir, I've received a transmission from Soell III. Looks like we've got a new assignment."
"Send it to my screen," Henderson ordered. A moment later, the message appeared on one of the screens that were built into the chair that he was sitting in. Turning his eyes towards the screen, he saw the following message:
"Star League Intelligence Command Priority Order 05498B-2
"Encryption Code: Star-1
"SLIC Encryption Key: File/Sojourner
"From: SLDF HQ, N. Kerensky
"To: Cpt. Henderson, SLS Mata Hari
"Subject: Priority Order 05498B-2 (COM Blackout)
"Classification: Ultra Top Secret
"Intelligence received. Your new orders are to investigate the Epsilon Indi System COM Blackout. Suspected Insurrectionist activity. Investigate and report back to HQ. In the event of hostile forces, do not engage unless fired upon, and retreat to the coordinates attached to this message. SLDF HQ over and out."
Closing the information screen, Henderson rubbed his chin as he mulled over what he had just read. The destination wasn't unknown to Henderson; in fact, he had actually been there on an assignment before. From what he could recall, the Epsilon Indi system had a single habitable planet known as Harvest. Harvest was a fairly small planet, though its density meant that despite it being the size of Mars, it had a comfortable surface gravity of .998G. This, combined with its negligible seasonal tilt and large temperate and tropical bands, meant that it was an ideal world to grow food on.
Still, the fact that Insurrectionist activity is suspected is bad news, he knew deep down. If the Innies got their grimy hands on Harvest, it would not only provide them with a sizable population to recruit from, the planet's farms would provide a lot of food, and as everyone knew, an army marched on its stomach. With that in mind, he said, "Helm, power up the K-F Drive. We're heading to Harvest."
"New orders?" the helmsman asked.
"Yes," Henderson confirmed. "COM blackout at Harvest, and suspected Innie activity. We're to investigate and report back on what we find. Can you get us there?"
"That I can," the helmsman agreed. Turning back to his console, he punched in the coordinates. "K-F Drive and attached LFBs are online and ready to go."
"Coordinates uploaded," Nyx added. "K-F Drive activating in thirty seconds." That last part was broadcast all over the ship via the 'com, allowing the crew to get into position. "K-F Drive activating in five… four… three… two… one… zero."
The moment Nyx said the last word, the T-30 K-F Drive installed in the Mata Hari spun up. Within a few seconds, power flowed through the K-F coil, allowing it to generate a hyperspace field powerful enough to create a hyperspace wormhole 350 light years in length. A split-second later, the hyperspace field around the ship punched said ship through the wormhole, with the ship traveling through hyperspace at great speed.
Hnderson felt a slight compressing feeling, like he was getting a massage, before reality reasserted itself. Not everyone was so lucky, as Jordan immediately grabbed a bag and vomited into it. Retching loudly, he voided his stomach, coughing before dry heaving a few times. "You OK?" he asked.
"Yeah," Jordan croaked out. "Just the usual TDS. I'll be OK."
"If you need anything, I can get the Medical Officer here."
"No. I'm good." With that, he tied up the vomit bag before dumping it into a waste receptacle nearby. Making sure his mouth was clean, he turned back to his station, rubbing at his face.
With the safety and well being of their fellow crewman assured, Nyx said, "Sir, we have arrived roughly 300,000km from Harvest. Void Signature System has been re-engaged."
"Roger that," Henderson noted.
He would've continued, were it not for Jordan croaking out, "Sir, we've got a problem."
"What is it?" Henderson asked.
"I've just performed a scan of the radio frequencies used here. I'm not getting any activity at all."
"Did you check your instruments?"
"Affirmative. Diagnostics just finished. All sensors and communication systems are working properly. I'm not getting anything, and the K-F Drive doesn't generate enough energy to cause trouble with communications."
"Sir!" another officer shouted. "You should see this!"
"Show me what you have," Henderson inquired. "Let's not be too…" The words died in his throat as he saw the cause of the trouble.
It was Harvest, but it was not Harvest anymore. Henderson had expected to see a verdant green and blue orb floating in space around the distance Nyx had reported, a verdant jewel against the monotonous blackness of space. Instead, what he saw was something from a nightmare; the entire planet looked as though a massive asteroid had smashed into the planet. Where there was green, there was now ugly browns and blacks, and there were parts of the planet that were glowing so brightly he could see them from this distance. In addition, the oceans seemed to have been boiled away, and the atmosphere appeared choked with debris.
The crew fell into a stunned silence at the shocking, horrifying sight before them. "Oh shit," the helmsman gasped.
"What the hell happened?" Jordan whispered.
"I don't know," Henderson said softly, "but I intend to find out. Science Officer, can you see this?"
"Affirmative," came a deep, German accented voice. That was Dr. Reinhardt, the Science Officer for the Mata Hari. While he was typically assigned to other ships, he was serving aboard the Mata Hari as an advisor for when the crew came across Forerunner artifacts. Now, though, his expertise was invaluable, as he was the only one that could figure out what had happened. "I need you to send a probe to the planet. It should arrive within an hour or so."
"Roger that," Henderson agreed. "Nyx, launch a probe. We need to find out more."
"Understood," Nyx confirmed. The ship shuddered, then Henderson watched as the probe sailed away from the ship and headed directly towards the planet. "ETA: 30 minutes."
"Got it," Henderson noted. "SIGINT/CAT, try and see if you can locate any signals out here. In addition, work with Nyx and see if we're the only ones out here."
"Gotcha," Jordan agreed. For the next half-hour, they continued to hold their position, while the crew worked to find out what had happened.
Henderson jumped when Dr. Reinhardt suddenly spoke up. "Captain, I have just received telemetry from the probe we launched. The entire planet appears to have suffered a catastrophic weapons bombardment."
"Weapons bombardment?" Henderson asked, his eyes widening. "What makes you say that?"
"When the probe entered Harvest's atmosphere, it detected large flares of radiation from the surface," Reinhardt explained. "In addition, the radiation readings are consistent with those of nuclear weapons, only these are significantly higher. You would need a significant amount of heat in order to glass the surface of a planet, as the probe readings would seem to suggest."
"Are you saying that the Innies are using en masse nuclear bombardments now?"
"No," Reinhardt countered. "You would need thousands of nuclear weapons to destroy the surface of a planet like Harvest. In addition, they would need to be Enhanced Radiation Weapons to generate this level of radioactive activity, which would mean that their blast output would be significantly reduced. We might be facing something else entirely."
Hearing that, Henderson rested his chin on his right hand, propping his head up with his forearm. The facts that he had received seemed consistent with what he had seen, though he was still mystified as to what had actually happened. If the Innies don't use weapons capable of this kind of devastation, then who does, he asked himself, hoping that the question would jog his memory and provide some kind of answer.
That answer, though, came much faster than he had thought, and not from his memory. "Sir," Nyx reported, jarring his train of thought. "I've detected an unidentified contact that is roughly .15 light seconds away from our position."
"Confirmed," Jordan added. "Unknown contact bearing 3-4-0 mark 2-5-0."
"Is it close enough for visual confirmation?" Henderson asked.
Jordan shook his head. "Negative. Object is roughly 45,000 kilometers away. We'd never be able to see it unless we were eight kilometers away. Plus, with VSS engaged, we won't be able to get a LiDAR profile."
"Noted," Henderson decided. "Nyx, disengage the cloaking system, but keep the rest of the system engaged. SIGINT, send out a single LiDAR pulse. Nyx, when that is done, reengage the cloaking system."
"Roger that," Jordan confirmed. "LiDAR pulse emitted. We should get a return in a moment."
"Data received," Nyx added. "Displaying LiDAR image now. Reactivating visual cloak." A moment later, an image came up on the screen.
It was a ship, but it wasn't one that Henderson, or anyone on the Mata Hari, had ever seen before. For one thing, the ship was enormous compared to the Mata Hari, with the LiDAR pulse indicating that it was roughly 1.7 kilometers in length and roughly 850m in width, massive compared to most SLDF WarShips. For another, it was strangely shaped, with the ship having a rounded and curved hull profile. This gave it the appearance of having been grown, rather than being built.
Upon seeing the LiDAR profile of the ship, Henderson felt his gut clench, while a cold terror suffused his entire being. That is not any ship that I've ever seen or expected to be built, he thought to himself. He didn't chalk up the feelings of paranoia and terror to simple xenophobia. In fact, he knew that those feelings were because he didn't expect the unknown ship to be so alien in appearance.
"What the hell is that thing?" Jordan asked. "I've never seen a ship like it before."
"Me neither," Henderson said. "Nyx?"
"I do not have any records of this type of ship appearing in UNSC or SLDF ship designs," Nyx reported. "From what I can tell, sir, we may have encountered an entirely new species. That could explain why the ship's profile is so unique."
Henderson had to admit, he had to agree with Nyx on that one. Could they be responsible for what happened to Harvest, he wondered. If so, then that meant that Humanity had a major problem on its hands.
Any thoughts on whether or not the thing was a threat were interrupted when Jordan said, "Sir! The unknown contact is approaching us!"
"Confirmed," Nyx added. "Unknown contact is approaching. ETA: 5 minutes."
"Keep the VSS engaged," Henderson ordered. "As long as we don't drop those systems, and as long as they don't approach within 1 kilometer of our position, then we're going to be fine. If we are detected, we'll burn for the nearest stellar body and use it as a shield while we make an emergency jump." With that, the crew watched nervously as the unknown ship approached.
It wasn't long before the unknown ship was just over a thousand kilometers from their position. At that distance, the crew could see a magnified image of the ship. The ship seemed to be made from multiple ovoid sections, just as the LiDAR scan had indicated, though underneath, Henderson could see more geometric sections. The ship was also a deep blue-purple in color, making it nearly invisible in the blackness of space.
"Oh… shit…" Jordan whispered. "This is not good."
"I agree," Henderson added. "Reinhardt?"
"I'm seeing the ship as well," Reinhardt added. "It doesn't resemble anything that I've ever seen before. I can only begin to imagine the technology required to build a ship of that sophistication. I'm also detecting an energy field that is surrounding the ship."
"What, like an energy shield?" the helmsman asked.
Jordan shook his head. "That can't be right. That's like something out of a comic book"
"Well, that's what I'm seeing," Reinhardt reported from his station on the ship. "I noticed it when I checked the sensors. Given the electronics emissions for that ship, it likely has a highly sophisticated nuclear fusion reactor, or even an anti-matter/matter annihilation reactor for all I know. I'm grasping at straws here."
"Don't overwork your brain," Henderson cautioned Reinhardt. "We might need it if we're spotted."
"Roger that," Reinhardt remarked.
"Sir, orders?" Nyx asked.
Hearing this, Henderson considered his options: run away and risk being detected, or wait and see if they could gather more information on what they were looking at. The former certainly risks our destruction, and the latter a possible chance to get more information. "Hold position," he decided. "Keep the VSS active. If the unknown ship spots us and activates weapons, then we'll get out of here as fast as we can." With that, the crew remained at their ready stations and waited. For the next few minutes, nothing seemed to happen, with the ship passing by at just a thousand kilometers from their ship.
Just then, Jordan said, "Sir, I'm picking up an unknown signal coming from the ship. I think it might be scanning the local region."
"Remain calm," Henderson ordered. "If the ship turns to starboard and powers up weapons, then we'll make a break for it." Again, there was another bout of silence.
That was when disaster struck. As they waited, Hendricks noted that it was getting quite warm. Damn, it never gets this warm, he noted as he wiped his forehead with a small handkerchief. "Nyx, why's it getting warmer in here?"
"Scanning," Nyx replied. A moment later, she said, "Sir, there's a fault with the VSS. From what I can tell, a malfunction in one of the systems has resulted in the VSS putting out more heat than usual."
"Is it a dangerous fault?"
"Yes. In addition, if we keep the system powered for too long, the VSS will fail and we will have to replace the system. I estimate that the system will fail in T-Minus four minutes"
Damnit, Hendricks snarled internally. "Then that settles it," he said out loud. "Nyx, disengage the VSS just thirty seconds before failure. Helm, when the VSS fails, turn on bearing 3-5-0 mark 0-4-2 and get us behind Harvest as fast as possible. Maximum power."
"Roger that," the helmsman replied. Around three minutes and thirty seconds later, a patch of space seemed to shimmer, before the Mata Hari shimmered into existence. On Henderson's orders, the helmsman gunned the throttle, with the ship's engines reaching maximum power in just two seconds.
"Contact is turning hard to port," Jordan reported. "They definitely know we're here now!"
"Sir!" The Fire Control Officer shouted. "I'm reading thermal blooms on the sides of the contact! I think they're powering up weapons!"
"Helmsman, evasive maneuvers!" Henderson roared. With that, the Mata Hari immediately began performing a series of evasive maneuvers, even as the helmsman desperately burned for the other side of Harvest.
The unknown ship's powered-up weapons fired a broadside salvo. On the screen, Henderson watched as a bolus of what looked like plasma shot towards them, with the bolus arcing and moving around. It's tracking us, he realized with terror. The helmsman threw the ship into a high-g Chandelle, with RCS systems and thrust vectoring systems pulling the nose up and to the left. The engines howled as the ship turned as fast as it possibly could.
Apparently, the unknown attacker hadn't expected the Mata Hari to pull a defensive maneuver like that, as the plasma bolus promptly zipped past them. They were close enough, though, that Henderson saw a spike in the ship's heat management systems. That plasma's hot, he realized as the temperature climbed quite a few degrees. If it had been in atmosphere, the hull's armor would've melted. As it was, they were scorched, but otherwise unharmed.
"Nyx?!" Henderson shouted. "When can we make the jump?!"
"2 Minutes," Nyx replied. Her voice was calm, though she knew that, within those next two minutes, they might be nothing more than free floating atoms and molecules.
"We don't have two minutes!" the FC Officer shouted. "Get us the hell out of here!"
"Incoming!" Jordan shouted as another plasma bolus came directly at them. The helmsman, seeing this, threw the Mata Hari into a high-g barrel roll, causing the ship's structure to strain slightly as the ship rolled over the incoming bolus.
"Jump is now possible," Nyx added as the ship leveled out. "Activating K-F Drive."
"Hurry up!" Jordan shouted. "We've got another one incoming!" Just as he said this, the ship jumped.
One moment, they were facing down impending doom, the next, they had successfully escaped. "Whew!" Henderson whistled. "That was close! Jordan, send a message back to SLDF HQ. They need to know about this."
(Author's Q&A)
edboy4926: Thank you.
SulliMike23: Well... here's the chapter where that changes.
Danny79: Yep.
RoyalTwinFangs: It was partly inspired by StarCraft.
Krieger Techpriest: That it is.
Guest: Thank you.
Chronus1326: I know, I know. I wanted to try something different, though. Still, I appreciate your candor. Also, John already learned that lesson before any missions that he undertook, so there's no cop-out here.
galacticarmor2 Alt: Thank's for pointing that out.
Just a Crazy-Man: Yep.
Levitic: Thanks for the suggestions.