Chapter 16: Apocalypse Please, part 1
UNSC Cruiser Talon, Inbound Vector Towards Planet Gantrithos
11th Cycle, 5th Division, 3rd Stage, 9th Age of Reclamation (Covenant Holy Calendar)
2150 hours, October 30, 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar)
"Exiting Slipspace in ten seconds, sir," Franklin announced. "Prepare for anything."
Suddenly, the black void on the three forward viewscreens started to boil away as the Talon exited Slipspace. Several million kilometers away the large Earthlike planet of Gantrithos was a small dot centered on the main viewscreen, and off to the left was a binary star system. The defending Covenant was orbiting the large planet, seemingly unaware of the incoming threat. Several UNSC ships were already out of Slipspace when the Talon arrived, and the rest of the fleet was constantly appearing all around the Talon until the cruiser was completely surrounded. Also, mixed in with the UNSC ships was the entire Holy Crusader fleet. Both the Arbiter and Fleet Admiral Hood, who had tactical command over the entire operation, decided it would be best to mix the fleets. The Holy Crusader ships were obviously stronger than the UNSC's, and if the fleets were separate the Crusader ships would break through the Covenant defenses before the UNSC. Both fleets needed to reach the planet at the same time.
The allied fleet accelerated as one towards Gantrithos. They used the same conic formation the Crusaders used at the Battle for Earth to better split the Covenant fleet. It didn't take long before the Covenant realized the imminent danger and turned to attack. The two sides accelerated towards each other.
"Cortana," Commodore Schmidt called. For the moment, the Talon had two Artificial Intelligence constructs. Cortana had been installed in the ship's mainframe to help with ship operations during the battle until the Master Chief had to take her. Her violet holographic form replaced Franklin's as he faded away. "Can you estimate the size of the Covenant fleet?"
"One moment, sir," Cortana replied. Her color changed to a slightly blue hue and numbers and symbols started to scroll across her body as she calculated for several seconds. "I count five hundred eighty-three, plus or minus a couple ships. Compared to our combined fleet of six hundred sixty-eight, the odds are against us power-wise."
"Well, let's just hope our tactics are better than theirs," the Commodore said.
"Sir, incoming message from the Preston Cole, Priority Alpha," Lieutenant Maria Ramirez announced.
"Good, patch it through to my personal screen," Frank told her. Seconds later, the face of Lord Hood appeared on the small screen to his right.
"All ships listen up," Admiral Hood started. "You all know the plan, so stick to it. Keep this video feed up at all times. I will be giving and changing orders on the fly, and you don't want to miss anything. Good luck, everybody."
"Alright everyone, this is it," Schmidt tried to sound as in calm as possible. "Cortana, match the speed of the rest of the fleet."
"Aye, sir," Cortana said as the Talon's engines started to rumble. The cruiser slowly accelerated and kept pace with the entire fleet.
"Sir, Covenant ships are directly ahead at one million kilometers and closing fast," Lieutenant JG Justin Braxton said from the ops station.
"Prepare for first volley!" Hood said to the entire fleet.
"Arm both MAC guns and Inferno pods A through J," the Commodore ordered.
"Infernos armed, MACs at forty percent," said weapons officer Lieutenant Derek Rhodes.
"You will all receive firing solutions from the AI here in a few moments," Hood explained.
"MACs at eighty percent," Rhodes announced.
"Firing solution received," Lieutenant Ramirez said as she patched it through to the weapons station. At the same time, Cortana disappeared and was replaced by a three dimensional tactical map of the sector. A single red line connected two highlighted ships, which represented the Talon and it's Covenant target. A countdown timer flashed above the holographic Talon. Twenty-eight seconds.
"Set everything to remote firing," Hood said.
"MAC guns are hot, sir. Remote firing is in effect," said Lieutenant Rhodes.
There was a brief pause while the crew waited for their weapons to fire automatically. The bridge was absolutely silent during the short seconds, which increased the tension tenfold. Frank watched the timer as it reached zero. The bridge crew slightly jumped when the rapid fire thumps of the Inferno missiles launching began. Millions of exhaust plumes streaked across the black void towards the daunting Covenant fleet, and several times a bright purple beam could be seen as the Preston Cole fired its main weapon. Each Covenant ship hit with one of those beams subsequently exploded as their vital systems were destroyed. The bridge of the Talon then lapsed into silence again waiting for the MAC guns to fire. Only moments after the UNSC launched their missiles, the Holy Crusaders launched their Plasma torpedoes. Frank noticed a secondary timer counting down for the MACs. When it reached zero, the lights on the bridge dimmed and the entire ship shuddered as the cruiser fire its four massive slugs. Everything the allied fleet threw at the Covenant was concentrated at the center of their defense. They planned to blow a hole in the middle and charge right through.
"Sir, the Covenant are preparing to fire," Braxton said.
"Good, that will give us bigger targets," Schmidt smiled. The Covenant had just made their first mistake. To fire, they had to rotate their ships so their flanks faced the incoming fleet, thus making themselves easier to hit.
---------------
Admiral Hood had planned for the allied fleet to break through the Covenant before they were able to return fire. Unfortunately, he was wrong. As the Covenant fleet turned, he could see the telltale red blobs of plasma already collected and prepared to fire.
"Damn it, evasive maneuvers!" Hood yelled. The fleet was too close to the Covenant now. They wouldn't be able to evade the torpedoes in time, but they would have to try.
"Enemy torpedoes inbound, sir," said the Lieutenant from the ops station. "Impact in twenty seconds."
---------------
"Cortana, begin evasive maneuvers!" Frank shouted.
A few seconds after the Covenant had fired, the UNSC and Holy Crusader weapons impacted. The Covenant ships were still small purple blips on the main viewscreen when explosions started to replace the blips.
"We have contact, all weapons hit their intended targets," Cortana stated the good news. "The target area is clean. We can plow straight through the Covenant now."
"All we need to worry about are those—" Frank was cut off as the Talon suddenly jumped to the left almost throwing him out of his chair.
"Torpedoes clear," more good news came from Cortana. "Unfortunately the frigate behind us caught both torpedoes and is now out of commission."
"How many of our ships were hit?" Schmidt asked.
"About fifty, sir," Cortana said. "There are still a few loose torpedoes out there but we can lose them in the Covenant wreckage."
"Hang on everyone! We're going straight through that debris field!" Admiral Hood said as Frank saw him on his video screen tightly grip the arms of his chair. "Let's see if we can shake those torpedoes off us as we go through."
The Covenant fleet was rapidly increasing in size, and Frank could see they were charging up for a second salvo. But they wouldn't be able to get it off quick enough. The allied fleet was moving faster than the Covenant ships could turn and before the Covenant could even fire their maneuvering thrusters the UNSC and Holy Crusaders flashed through the debris left in the wake of their first volley. The plasma torpedoes still following the fleet slammed into the floating carcasses of the Covenant vessels.
"We're through!" exclaimed Lieutenant Tao Zheng from the navigations console.
"All vessel, full reverse!" Admiral Hood ordered. "We've got to slow down, launch the invasion and turn around all in less than five minutes."
"Cortana, go find the Master Chief. You're going with him to the surface," said the Commodore. "Braxton, you heard the Admiral. Engines at full reverse. Lieutenant Zheng, rotate this ship so our belly is facing the planet"
"Aye, sir," came the unison response from both junior officers.
A loud rumble was heard as the Talon's engines tried to slow the massive vessel down as quickly as they could. The planet Gantrithos started to rotate off the main viewscreen and appeared on the ventral screen.
Frank flipped a switch on the arm of his chair that said "1MC" and picked up the microphone on the side of the chair. "All invasion forces are to launch immediately!" he broadcasted to the entire ship. "I repeat: all invasion forces are to launch immediately!"
---------------
"Alright boys, this is it!" Staff Sergeant Shank tried to motivate his platoon. "It's time to kick some serious Covenant ass."
The ODSTs scrambled around their drop pods doing last minute checks before sealing themselves in. When everyone was secure, Jim ran up and down the aisle between the drop pods and slammed his fist onto the hatch of each pod before getting into his own. The soldiers had s much adrenaline that one could almost smell it. Sergeant Shank sealed the hatch on his pod and put his hand over the big red "drop" button. Once everyone's drop buttons were pushed, the entire platoon would begin their descent to the surface of the planet.
"Fasten your safety belts gentlemen, and please remain seated until your pod has come to a complete stop," Jim joked over the comm. link. He waited several seconds before pressing his drop button.
There was a loud clank as the clamp holding his pod in place opened. Jim felt a sudden feeling of weightlessness as his pod fell through space. The small viewscreen to his left showed the planet's surface racing towards him. He rotated the view to show the battle above him. The fleet was already turning back to engage the Covenant again. He saw tens of thousand Pelicans and Phantoms following a couple hundred kilometers behind the drop pods. The entire invasion force was over a half million soldiers strong. Jim turned the view back underneath him and watched the ground grow. About ninety seconds into the drop he entered the atmosphere and fire filled his viewscreen. He felt his pod jerk as the airbrake automatically deployed. The pod jolted again after fifteen seconds when the airbrake was released and the reverse thrusters ignited. The Staff Sergeant could see more and more details as he neared the ground. He checked his altimeter: one kilometer to go. No more than a few seconds after he braced himself for impact did his pod slam into the ground.
---------------
Holy Crusader Destroyer Radiant Essence, Near Planet Gantrithos
"All ships about face as soon as your invasion forces have launched," the image of Fleet Admiral Hood said on a secondary viewscreen on the bridge of the Radiant Essence.
"Master, all forces have been launched," announced the red armored Sangheili at the operations panel.
"Very well," Niko 'Gorlomee responded. He stood on the raised central platform of his ship intently monitoring the situation via the viewscreens and the data scrolling across the different officers' panels. "'Blarghomee, rotate the vessel to face two-four-zero marks,"
"Rotating vessel to two-four-zero marks," replied Torvo "Blarghomee, the Sangheili stationed at the navigations panel.
"'Ferukolee, push reactor five-fourths output," 'Gorlomee commanded. He grabbed a nearby railing with his mechanical left arm as the Radiant Essence turned to the right.
"Pushing reactor to five-fourths output," repeated Zork 'Ferukolee from the operations panel.
Being as far back as they were in the formation, 'Gorlomee watched as the entire fleet split in half as they turned around. One side veered off to the left as the other went right. The Covenant fleet came into view as 'Gorlomee's vessel turned and accelerated. The Ship Master saw that the Covenant had already turned around and fired.
"Prepare for second volley!" said the image of Admiral Hood. "Evade the torpedoes as best you can, but we need to get a second volley off quick."
"Torpedo impact in five fractions, Master," 'Ferukolee said.
"Charge all plasma turrets, and rotate to fire," 'Gorlomee ordered.
"Plasma turrets charging, collection at fifty percent," said the Sangheili at the weapons panel, Uhra 'Veriknee.
"Impact in three fractions, Master," came another warning from 'Ferukolee.
"Vessel is in firing position. Shall I switch to emergency thrusters?" 'Blarghomee asked.
"No, keep our course steady," the Ship Master answered. The Covenant fleet was now centered on the right hand viewscreen.
"Sending firing solutions now," Hood said. "Same deal as before."
"Target package received," Doru 'Forguemee said as he opened the transmission at his communications panel.
"One fraction, Master. Collision imminent," 'Ferukolee warned one last time.
"Keep our course steady!" 'Gorlomee almost yelled in response.
Suddenly warning klaxons blared on the bridge as the plasma torpedo smashed into the energy shield surrounding the Holy Crusader destroyer. For a split second, all the viewscreens on the bridge flashed bright silver from the shield.
"Energy shield is at thirty-four percent, beginning recharging process," 'Ferukolee quickly punched a few holobuttons.
"Plasma turrets are fully charged, setting system to automatic firing," 'Veriknee shouted over the sirens. "Torpedoes will fire in less than two fractions."
The bridge fell silent save for the klaxons while the crew waited for the torpedoes to fire.
"Torpedoes away, Master," announced 'Veriknee.
Niko "Gorlomee watched the right hand viewscreen as three balls of red fire issued forth from the destroyer's turrets. The Humans had already launched their missiles when the Crusader's fired their plasma torpedoes. And once again, the space above Gantrithos was filled with plumes of exhaust, plasma, and slugs of molten metal. The Covenant fleet in front of them began to scatter.
"Rotate to face," 'Gorlomee said to 'Blarghomee.
"Rotating vessel to face opponent," responded the navigator.
As the Radiant Essence swiveled around, Niko saw silver flashes envelope the Covenant vessels as they took hits from the allied weapons. The enemy ships were rapidly increasing in size.
"Break off, attack in groups," Admiral Hood quickly ordered. "Do not engage the enemy alone!"
---------------
UNSC Cruiser Talon, Near Planet Gantrithos
"All ships target the nearest flagship and fire on my mark," Commodore Schmidt said to the camera by his chair.
"MAC guns are hot and Infernos are armed, sir," Lieutenant Rhodes announced.
"Covenant flagship at eighty thousand kilometers, sir," Lieutenant Braxton said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Fire!" Frank shouted.
The all too familiar thumps of Inferno missiles firing sounded through the ship. Thousands of Infernos and Archers sped towards the massive Covenant flagship. The seven kilometer behemoth slowly rotated to fire, but suddenly a bright purple beam of light shot from a large rotating turret mounted on the top of the ship. The beam caught one of the frigates in the Commodore's flotilla, which subsequently exploded as the beam passed through the main reactor. Meanwhile, the remaining ships fired their MAC rounds at the flagship.
"Shit, Lord Hood warned us about those things," Frank muttered to himself. "All ships spread out! Let's not give that thing a bigger target than we have to. And prepare to fire at that thing again, it definitely won't go down easily."
"Already on it, sir. Same configuration?" Rhodes asked.
"Correct, Lieutenant," Schmidt replied
"Infernos are armed, and MACs are at fifty percent," Rhodes said.
"Franklin, you have control of the emergency thrusters," the Commodore turned to the holographic figure beside him. "If that thing so much as twitches our direction, I want you to be ready to jump this ship out of its line of fire."
"Will do, sir," Franklin said as he adjusted his holographic glasses.
On the main viewscreen, the Covenant flagship flared bright silver as the UNSC missiles exploded on its energy shield. Even though over a thousand missiles struck the flagship, it wasn't enough to cover the whole seven kilometer length of the monstrous warship. The shield around the flagship shone for several seconds as it absorbed the explosions, but when the MAC rounds hit it finally faded away.
"MACs are hot!" Rhodes shouted.
"All ships—" Frank began to give an order but was cut off when a loud bang resonated through the hull of the Talon and everyone was violently thrown to the left. Schmidt quickly regained his composure and continued, "Fire at will!"
Once again, the sound of launching Infernos echoed through the ship. Two hundred missiles sped towards the flagship and were joined by over a thousand other missiles from the rest of the flotilla.
"Sorry for the lack of notice, sir," Franklin apologized.
"It's ok, Franklin," Schmidt forgave the AI. "All that matters is that we're still alive."
"Sir, the flagship is charging its plasma turrets," Lieutenant Braxton swiveled in his chair to face the Commodore. His face was an advertisement for fear. Commodore Schmidt saw why when he looked at the main viewscreen. Seven glowing turrets dotted the side of the Covenant flagship.
Once the Talon's Magnetic Accelerator Cannons fired, the Commodore ordered, "Break formation! Do your best to evade those torpedoes. Lieutenant Zheng, change our course to one-one-seven degrees."
"Aye, sir. Course changed to one-one-seven degrees," Zheng said as the ship spun clockwise ninety degrees.
"Everyone might want to securely strap themselves in," Franklin announced.
Several clicks were heard as the bridge crew secured their safety belts. Suddenly another loud bang was heard as the emergency thrusters ignited and the ship was blasted downwards. Out of the corner of his eye on the starboard viewscreen, Frank saw a bright purple beam from the Covenant flagship pass directly over them.
"Good work, Franklin," Schmidt commended.
"Sir, we're getting a transmission from the destroyer Appalachia," Lieutenant Ramirez said.
"Torpedoes inbound, sir! Impact in thirty seconds" Braxton struggled to keep his anxiety under control.
"Put it through on my personal screen, Ramirez," said the Commodore.
"Aye, sir," Ramirez replied. She quickly typed a few commands and a young face appeared on the Commodore's personal viewscreen.
"What is it, Commander?" Frank asked.
"I have fired a Shiva warhead into the flagship, sir," the Commander explained. "I would advise a cease fire on the ship so its shield can regenerate and trap the explosion inside."
"Good work, son. You need to broadcast a cease fire and retreat to the rest of the flotilla, I'm occupied with several plasma torpedoes," Schmidt said. He switched the screen off and turned to his crew, "Lieutenant Zheng, new course bearing two-one-zero degrees. Braxton, I want one hundred thirty percent from the reactors."
"New course is two-one-zero degrees, sir," Zheng replied.
"Reactor is set for one-three-zero percent," came the response from Braxton. "Reactor red line in eight minutes, sir."
The Talon violently shook. If the crew hadn't been strapped into their chairs, they would've been sprawled out on the floor.
"Torpedo impact on decks fourteen through sixteen, starboard side, mid section!" Braxton shouted.
Frank rubbed the back of his neck. The force of the torpedo impact left him with whiplash. "Evacuate and vent atmosphere in compart—"
The ship was hit a second and third time in rapid succession. Warning klaxons blared as the hull was breached.
"Impact on decks four through nine, starboard side, aft section!" Lieutenant Braxton furiously typed away to get evacuation warnings to areas affected. "Hull breaches on decks six, seven, and fifteen!"
Loud thumps spontaneously echoed through the ship as compromised compartments explosively decompressed.
"Contain the plasma as quickly as you can, Braxton." Schmidt ordered.
"Hull breach on upper decks is contained," Braxton continued typing. "Breach on lower decks is still spreading."
"Approaching safe distance, sir," Franklin said.
"Thank you, Franklin. While Lieutenant Braxton is busy, I need you to slow us down," Schmidt ordered.
"Aye, sir," Franklin replied.
The Talon rotated a full one hundred eighty degrees and its engines roared. The Covenant flagship was now on the main viewscreen again.
"Hull breach has been contained, sir," Lieutenant Braxton announced.
"Have any major compartments been lost?" the Commodore asked.
"We've lost hangar A-4 and armory A-4," the young Lieutenant answered. "Other than that, nothing else major was lost, sir."
Frank would have replied, but he was glued to the main viewscreen. While Lieutenant Braxton was talking, a large fireball appeared in the middle of the flagship. An electromagnetic pulse emanated from the blast and was reflected back inwards. The flagship's shield was back online. The fireball kept growing. The Covenant's shield was working against them now. The hundred megaton nuclear explosion was contained inside the shield. After several seconds, the shield finally gave up and the explosion radiated outwards. Under such tremendous stress, the hull of the massive Covenant flagship shattered. Huge pieces of shrapnel, many the size of UNSC ships, flew in every direction. Some smashed into other Covenant vessels and even knocked them out of the battle.
A loud victory cheer sounded on the bridge of the Talon. However, the battle was far from over.
"Franklin, how many ships did my flotilla lose to that thing?" the Commodore inquired.
"Five, sir," Franklin replied. "However, this battle seems to be going our way so far."
They got lucky against that flagship. They should have lost more considering all the firepower that monster had. But still, five ships was a lot to lose against a single vessel.
"So be it," Frank said, still massaging his neck. "Let's get back in there. All ships change course to three-one-five degrees, delta formation. We ain't done yet, folks."