Transmission 2:
- Standard Transmission (Priority Code: Charlie) -
- Directed to UNSC-HCOM -
- Outer System Sector G6 -
- Initial Report: Haven (Destroyed/Occupied), Moon Alpha (Clear), Moon Beta (Clear), -
- UNSC Paris Class Frigate "Crusader" (Stealth) (Active) -
- Crew: UNSC Marine Platoons 1 through 25 (Active), ODST Fireteams 1 through 20 (Active), -
- Pilot Complement 1 through 60 (Active), Crewmen Complement 1 through 100 (Active) -
- Vehicles: Pelican Dropships 1 through 30 (Active), Scorpion Tanks 1 through 5 (Active), -
- Warthogs 1 through 25 (Active) -
- Armament: Archer Missile Pods 1 through 80 (Active), Fury Autocannons 1 through 20 (Active), -
- Magnetic Accelerator Cannon (Active), Shiva Nuclear Warheads 1 through 3 (Active) -
- Officers: Commander Long (Active), -
- Lieutenant Kelso (Weapons Officer) (Active), -
- Lieutenant Wilson (Navigations Officer) (Active), -
- Lieutenant Harley (Communications Officer) (Active), -
- Lieutenant Pine (Operations Officer) (Active) -
- Current Date: January 16th, 2529, 3:42 PM -
- Transmitted by Commander Long -
- Additional Note: I understand confidentiality H-COM, but what is my ship doing out here? -
- A standard ONI Prowler could fill the role my crew and I are playing. -
- I'd prefer to give the men something to prepare for. -
- Response -
- UNSC Paris Class Frigate "Crusader" (Stealth) Status: Acknowledged -
- Vice Admiral Cole and the Colony Battle-Fleet are inbound (ETA: 3 Standard Days) -
- Orders: Hold Position behind Moon Alpha -
- Current Date: January 18th, 2529, 4:00 AM -
- Transmitted by UNSC-HCOM -
- Additional Note: Tell your men that there are potential benefits of observation of our enemy. -
- Rest assured Commander Long the time for action will arrive, until then follow current orders. -
Recording Beta:
Commander Long stood resolutely behind the command console on the bridge of the Crusader and checked the date again. January 20th, 2529, 11:39 PM flashed his electronic watch dutifully. When he had received the message from H-COM he had kept it private and stuck to the instructions H-COM had given him. While his bridge crew managed their stations he subtly checked his reflection in the polished console. The same old wrinkles greeted him, the silver hair was no longer a stranger and the yellowing teeth were regulars. Long had even heard Lieutenant Kelso remark that his constant stony expression was the only way he could express himself because his face muscles had expired. Long had laughed and Kelso tired herself out with five laps around the Crusader.
Looking up from his console Long noted Kelso was currently calculating strategies that would allow for maximum devastation using the current weapons with Pine. While Kelso argued for deploying as much ordinance as possibly Pine argued it would be better to soften a potential target with Archer Missiles before firing a Shiva at it. While Pine kept his voice low Wilson and Harley were silent. Both men seemed completely absorbed by the readouts on their consoles, though Long knew that both men were doing their best to come up with potential ways to win a confrontation with the twenty or so vessels that comprised the Covenant fleet orbiting the destroyed colony of Haven. With a slight glare Long observed the readouts on the Covenant fleet. Eights corvettes, six cruisers, five destroyers and a what appeared to be a carrier, all clustered above where the alien ruin sites were reported to be. Each ship had the fire power to melt his frigate into slag in thirty seconds. While he had the firepower to destroy a corvette or two in the same time. Sighing inwardly Long looked at his watch, his ritual was interrupted by Lieutenant Pine.
"Commander, I'm detecting a massive radiation signature coming from Haven." Long looked at Pine and motioned for him to continue. "The profile of the radiation spike matches the signature of a Havok Tactical Nuke." Long allowed himself a smile and pressed the ship intercom, "All hands hear this, we are approaching Haven on full speed, ODST into your pods, marines get into your platoons and rally at your designated Pelican, pilots grab your co-pilot and warm up your ships, crewmen man your workstations. We're going down there." With his announcement the bridge crew loyally snapped into action. Lieutenant Kelso closed her calculations and began arming all archer missile pods and calculating the power consumption of the magnetic accelerator after deliberating with Long. Lieutenant Wilson began running calculations of the best flight path and uploaded them to Long's console. Lieutenant Harley began running over various frequencies and checking the status of all Pelican dropships. Lieutenant Pine began coordinating the ODST, marines and crewmen to formulate an assault plan and contingencies if the Crusader was boarded by enemy troops. After a beep from his console Harley forwarded a burst transmission he had found to Long's console. The transmission was from thirteen days ago and detailed the destruction of Haven, but the most interesting detail was that the only survivors were two Spartans and the Planetary AI.
Long checked his console again and analysed the possible courses available to him. Wilson had masterfully plotted three courses that allowed for different strategies, one suggested using the all weapons available to distract the enemy fleet allowing the Spartans and the AI a chance to slip away by hijacking a transport. Long dismissed this strategy as a waste of life and believed that the Spartans wouldn't be able to escape the rest of the fleet. The second course brought the Crusader past the fleet and to the other side of the planet where it could safely deploy dropships and hopefully escape undetected. Long considered this but considering the time he had and the fact that the two Spartans most likely had an entire Covenant army after them it was too slow. The third course was to use Moon Alpha's gravity to slingshot the Crusader over the ruins of Plentiful so that any troops deployed would be able to fortify and defend area around the surviving Spartans. Due to the speed they would reach the Crusader would only have time to deploy its ODST Drop Pods. The Crusader then would have to press its reactors passed the advised safety limits and accelerate so that it could use the gravity of the closer Moon Beta, so it could slow down but allow itself to loop around and approach at a speed that would allow for the deployment of the marines through the Pelican dropships along with the Scorpion tanks and the Warthogs.
With this deployment Long calculated that the city ruins would be a good location to defend due to the abundance of cover for infantry and serviceable roads allowing the vehicles to be used to maximum effect. The only downside of the course was that the stealth coating that covered the ship's hull would be burnt off by flying through Haven's atmosphere at that speed, Long then chuckled to himself as he realised that the Covenant were going to notice the Crusader anyway, at least at the speed it would be going it would be harder to destroy. Long then uploaded the course onto the consoles of his bridge crew and let the ship begin its almost suicidal journey. After a moment of deliberation with Wilson, Lieutenant Pine reported that it was possible the ODST could be dropping into an enemy fortified city rendering their chances of landing successfully quite minute. Not to mention the fact that the enemy fleet would surely begin chasing the Crusader as soon as she appeared in visual range. Long countered this by explaining that the Spartans on the ground had little time and if they had been hiding in Plentiful's ruins the enemy presence was likely to be minimal. With the issue of the enemy fleet Long wanted them to chase the Crusader because this means the enemy would not try to bombard the Spartans with plasma. Pine then nodded in understanding and began explaining operational objectives to all crew through his console.
Long nodded and then reassured his officers that they had served together for enough time to know he wasn't senile, but not wanting to pretend that the Crusader could survive the full attention of the Covenant fleet Long acknowledged that this might be their last flight with him. Kelso, Wilson, Harley and Pine, after a moment of silence nodded and after a quick salute each one turned back to their consoles with the full knowledge that they would most likely die above Haven. Yet none complained, they had served with Commander Long for most of their careers and understood when Long had certain tone of voice that he had a masterplan that would come to fruition and ensure victory. So, feeling secure with their leader the bridge crew of the Crusader resumed their duties as Commander Long kept an eye on the time.
