-1"We will begin the slip space jump." Garrett stood there for a moment, registering what she just said. He turned, and saw out of some sort of view screen, the outside space change to some sort of worm hole, and then they were in a new area. None of the fleet was seen anywhere. "Where are we? What did you do!" He asked a bit shocked, and somewhat annoyed, possibly hostile. "I-I protected you from t-that fleet behind you. We, we moved away from the area to a sub plane. Y-you are safe here." He looked around for anything he could read. Most of the labeling around the area was in English, that he could tell, but that might have been because Auron told her how to make the place translate. "Why did you do that? They weren't hostile. They were friendly." She stood there, interlacing her hands and fingers together in front of her, looking innocent. "I apologize, I did not know. They were moving in mass toward me and I didn't want them to try and attack. As you were much farther ahead, I thought you were running away from them."
Garrett sat down for a moment in a nearby seat.
"Can't you go back? Take us back." Ilana closed her eyes. "I can do that, but why would you want to? Your place is here on board this ship." Garrett gawked at her. "Hell no! My place is on board MY ship, with all the other marines and Spartans, defending human colonies against the covenant." She opened her eyes again. "Then why was that fleet moving toward me? They seemed quite intent on boarding." The captain reclipped his rifle to his side, and took his helmet off. He ruffled his hair a bit. "We weren't invading; we thought this ship was either a new covenant starship or a forerunner artifact. Either way, we were trying to take it away from the covenant or use the artifact for research. We need all the tech we can get." Ilana sat down on a counter panel. "W-well, regardless of how much assistance you, I mean you and your people need, I cannot let them on board this ship. I-I'm deeply sorry, but only similar people with your armor are allowed or registered personnel. Please forgive me."
Garrett scratched behind his left ear. "Well, so we won't board, but can we still have the ship assist us?" He asked. "Um, y-yes, yes I can assist, though you aren't allowed to take any technology from here for research. From the scan I did on the ships, the fleet was quite inferior to the Nexus. To give away technology would break the evolution directive issued. And also, they may want to dismantle objects here… and may try to dissect me…" He looked up, wondering what she just said. "Huh? What's the evolution directory thing?" he asked. "You, you don't know? I, I thought Auron had told you about it. The evolution directive keeps technologies created by our creators from falling into the wrong hands. It can't be allowed." So that must be why Auron had those no other pilot defenses on the frame.
"Well, still, take me back. That is my fleet and my duty." She sighed. "Are, are you going to come back? I know they will want to dissect me… I don't want that to happen." Garrett thought for a bit. "Well, we'll see how things go. The one side effect would be no other crew on board. As for taking you apart…" He asked Auron if she was an AI. "She is an organoid with an advanced AI. She is similar in action to a human being." She shifted slightly. "Well, well I'm on board, and then there is Auron, so, so you won't be entirely alone." "(Chuckle) I didn't mean that. I mean if there isn't any crew on board, if combat came along, how could you repair the ship? I can't help, as I don't have the training as an engineer. And what about supplies? You expect them to just grow on trees? And what if an evacuation of a colony was needed? Our ships double as transports for the civilians to get to a safe place. You just said you won't let anyone else on board." She sat there for a moment, slightly depressed in looks. "Well, well the supplies are not a problem. The replication systems could take care of that. T-the repairs, if any needed to take place, w-would be done by the maintenance robots and auto-repair units. The protection of civilians… hopefully I will not have to do that, b-but if needed I can have them stay in the landing bays if you needed them, though they wouldn't be allowed to leave there to go anywhere else in the ship." Garrett accepted what she said. "So you will come back?" She said hopefully. "Uh… well, that depends on what my superiors say and what I'm ordered to do. Sorry." The hope in her face slightly lowered. "I understand. Hopefully you will be able to be allowed to stay. It has been a very long time since I have seen anyone, save from sensors." Garrett looked at the view screen. "So, out of curiosity, is this a forerunner ship?" He asked. "Unfortunately, I cannot answer that question. I-I'm sorry that I can't, b-but you must understand it is not my fault. The production matrices and species verification data were not loaded. I'm very sorry." Same as Auron. For all we know, the frame and this ship might not be forerunner at all and might just be lost technology from some other alien race, or maybe a destroyed race that was attacked by the covenant.
"Can't we go back?" He asked. "I would take you back, but as it seems, the fleet is under attack." Garrett jumped up. "WHAT!" He yelled. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry, but it is the truth." She turned her head away, slightly scared, almost as if she was waiting for punishment. Garrett thought for a moment. "Go back now! They need help! How many covenant ships?" He said. "I, I believe 20 ships are there, but I cannot. The main systems on board are not fully online, so that is why I could only use the point defense systems against the transports behind you." That was point defense? Helluva long range for point defense he thought. "Can't you get back though?" He asked again. "N-no. I-I'm sorry. The main core and sub cores are not brought online. It will take some time to bring all systems to full status. I'm very sorry. I only awakened a few days ago." She awaited punishment again, closing her eyes. He couldn't figure out what was up with her. Did the creators of this ship get angry? Did they discipline her if she didn't meet up to expectations?
He felt guilty for yelling to her, but it wasn't in anger, but in desperation. He had to get back to the fleet and assist them. The group was only fourteen ships, and wouldn't last against a force of twenty battle cruisers. "Damn! Auron, is the frame capable of doing the worm hole thingy too?" He asked, checking his options. "Affirmative, although you are not yet trained in using it. It will be quite dangerous to use." He didn't have a choice. He was stuck in a pocket plane and it was the only way out. He started running for the door, and saw that Ilana seemed quite depressed. "Ilana. Are there any special com systems I should know about to contact the ship? Once things are sorted out and all…" She looked over, hope suddenly awakening in her eyes. "You may come back?" She asked. "Well, it's better than having this ship go to waste or get captured or destroyed by the covenant. Anything?" He asked again. "There is a subspace Tran communications unit that you can send to. Auron should have the signal codes. I will leave the pocket plane once you have sent a signal. How, how may I ask can I contact you? I, I don't have the production schematics for the battle frame, so I don't know what it has equipped." Auron sent a data connection to her with the communications status of the frame. "Thank you." Garrett opened the door to the lift, and before the door closed, heard "Good luck!" come from her.
He shot to the landing bay, and turned the armor on. The doors unlocked and opened, and he moved through some sort of energy field to keep the atmosphere in. He lifted off the ground and engaged all thrusters and Verne's. The boost pushed him away from the ship and out as far as he could go. He didn't want to do anything to the Nexus by using the slip gate too close. He activated the gate, and was flung through. He realized it wasn't such a good idea when he was moving through the hole and careened straight into the Resilience, and tried desperately to stop. He breached the hull of a bulkhead cargo door and slammed into the ground, bouncing along the way, moving at incredible speed. He busted through a tank and lifted a pelican onto its side, and brought all of his boosters into reverse. He crashed upside down into the next wall, and Dr. Halsey had been behind it. She dove out of the way in the hallway, seeing a giant imprint of a large humanoid figure. She ran out through a door into the bay and found the armored figure implant upside down in the titanium wall. "OW…" He said, still placed in the large body sized dent. "Auron… remind me not to do that again." "Noted" he said. Many other marines had dove out of the way along his destructive path, and were just noticing what he was. Just about everybody was staring at him. The metal frame of the wall eventually gave way, and the plates that held him in the wall broke, having him slide onto his back. "New feeling of pain. Yep, that's my new motto. 'I'm here to discover new ways of feeling pain.' That is why I was born." He got up, and felt the ship rock. The covenant was really wailing on the fleet, and the ship wouldn't last much longer. The door he had burst through had its emergency doors closed over it, and he had to get outside again. "Open that bay door!" He yelled at a tech near another sealed door, and made a beeline toward it. The tech was scared shitless, and smashed the emergency button for the door to open. The locks burst, the door blew open, and he flew out, the emergency doors for that opening closing behind it.
He boosted toward the back of the ship, seeing a seraph and a Long Sword battle it out nearby. Just as the little craft had hit its target, it was struck down by incoming laser fire from a battle cruiser, the blast trying to cut through the Resilience as well. The armor, however, was holding fairly well, far better than normal titanium A. Scorch marks were striping all along the outside of the ship, some damage in certain areas, but she was still hanging in there. He looked up, fired a barrage of missile fire toward a group of incoming assault transports, and then boosted toward the escape pod of a long sword, grabbing it and throwing it toward a cargo bay. He turned again to find twelve seraphs closing on him.
Plasma fire spewed from their ports, and he dodged quickly. He launched some MIST chaff and then boosted behind, allowing the super cooled bits of liquid helium to catch the plasma fire sent at him and provide an extra layer of defense against ship mounted weaponry. He saw how quickly three ships took away just 10 of his shields last time, and now he was going against 18 of them now. Two of the cruisers were blown away, the Excalibur pulling some really heavy maneuvers to bring two ships in line with each other to take maximum effect of its eight Super MAC guns. Four of the shots connected and punched through, taking on another ship on the other side, while the other four fired at will towards the other ships. The Resilience provided cover fire, why the Macantire strafed a few of the ships with its own laser weaponry. Gun fire was everywhere, as long fired bullets continued along their vector, and sometimes hitting an ally.
Garrett brought the cannon he used last time out, and with the "Panzer Faust" he nicknamed it, fire off a shot at two ships, and third actually missed. The third shot detonated behind the ship, and knocked its shields off. He continued in with the fusion rifle he was carrying, and pounded on the outer hull, blowing parts off everywhere. He noticed an odd looking bubble on one of the ships sides, and as he didn't know what it could do at the moment, seeing as it hadn't fired anything, it was definitely tracking him. He lobbed a grenade toward it, and although it would be slow moving, the grenade would eventually connect with something and most probably the engines. He fired a plasma torpedo at the little blister and saw the armor blow and the blister pop. Surrounding damage to the hull was also heavy. Com chatter was hitting like crazy, and he couldn't get any noticeable sense out of what people were saying. Auron cut out some talking, and he could hear the desperation. "Echo 6! Scissor right! Pull back to the main guns!" "Riker 2, cover the Aricus. Stop that seraph!" "All squads this freq, fall back to mobile position 3. Remodulate the streams of the energy weapons." "I'm hit! I'm hit! Blowing pod!" "Excalibur to Mirage. We need backup! I repeat we need backup! Their hitting from all sides!" Garrett blew the clip from the cannon and loaded another. He fired two more shots, and then as he fired the last, a seraph flew right in front of him, the shot blowing right at point blank range. He was flung straight back, and slammed hard into the armor of the Resilience. His hitting the armor made it buckle, and he heard the strain and creak as it shifted under the pressure he just caused.
"Shields down to 30. Do not do that again." Garrett raised an eye brow, and felt blood trickle down his forehead. He felt dizzy, and he was in a lot of pain. "Engaging emergency medical." A med hypo inserted into his arm, and the blood on his head started to stop, as he could feel the cut on his forehead start to close. A pain reliever was induced, followed by an adrenaline booster. His head hurt now, with a dull ache, and the aspirin in the pain reliever didn't help much. He blew the clip of the cannon again, and switched to the fusion rifle again, to continue to destroy smaller targets. He locked on a squad of Shadows, a new fighter that the covenant used for bombing runs, and fired his missile launchers. The streaks of the missile clusters arced away from him, the trails ending about ten feet from him. They continued on and met their targets, some of them doubling back for another pass if they missed.
The cruisers were now down to 9 ships, and the fleet was at twelve. The Nevada and Coruscant were destroyed, and the Excalibur had taken heavy damage, but still moving. The assault cruiser took out four of the damn cruisers by itself, while the Resilience took two. He knew he took five out, but that last shot was far too close. He nearly took himself out. The covenant ships jumped out, and escaped after one more ship was destroyed. They had won. "Resilience to Raven Leader. Good work out there, but try and not to help the enemy next time!" He grumbled. "The fighter came out of nowhere and bit my shell! It's not my fault!" He heard a chuckle on the other side. He flew to the landing bay on the right side of the ship and waited for the sixth door to open. He had damaged the first two, so the eight left in this bay were being used to bring fighters back in. He even saw some Albatrosses and pelicans out there dog fighting. He landed with a hard thump as his hydraulics and servos and whatnot counteracted his rather hard landing on the deck. The doors closed, and the area was pressurized again. "Nice job out there Raven" he heard a flight deck officer say over com channel 3. He shook his head to clear the ache, but to no avail. He stopped and turned the armor off.
As he walked toward the briefing room, he was stopped by Dr. Halsey. "Where did that ship go?" She asked. "It's in some sort of pocket plane. I don't know how to get back there. I think it's made by whoever made the battle frame." She stood there, staring at him. "Why did it leave?" She asked. "It thought you guys were hostile. Since we're sending in transports to board it, the ship thought you guys were either trying to invade or track me. It covered me, and then left." She then asked how he got back. "I did the same thing it did, except for I didn't get any training in it, so, hehe, I shot through the bulkhead door and made an impression of myself in the wall." She then asked if the ship had an AI in it like he said it moved on its own. "Um…" he thought about it for a moment. The fact that they were going to strip that ship apart and the fact that they would have probably cut Ilana into pieces for study showed that he probably should lie. "There is no AI per se on board, but a defense grid built to only allow things that were built by these tinker people. It won't let anyone else near it. Good news is, I got the thing to at least somewhat ally with us, but it still doesn't want anyone else to come close. It seems to be unmanned." She noted the information in a recorder, and placed it in her pocket. "Alright. Thank you for telling me. The Major and the rest of the combat group are in debriefing. You should hurry up there." He saluted, she eyed him a bit, and he stopped and smiled, then ran toward the briefing room door. She continued on, and turned the corner. The special mission seemed over, for now.