LOCATION: REMNANT – BEACON ACADEMY – GRAND DINING HALL
/JUN-19th-2533 SOL/ 1320 Universal Time/
Team RWBY had made it to the grand dining hall just before they stopped serving lunch thanks to a few detours they took to meet up with their friends in team JNPR. The walk had been less than eventful aside from Nora's constant and excited tangents. They were all happy when they finally arrived, and surprised to see that they weren't the only ones catching the late call for food. The dining hall was absolutely packed with their fellow students, most of whom being first years like themselves. The two teams parted ways temporarily to go and grab food, only to find that there was nowhere for their teams to sit together. As a result, they ended up sitting across from each other at two parallel tables. After a few minutes however, the teams between them got up and left leaving Nora to begin launching grapes into Yang's mouth in a little game.
Things were going peacefully until Ruby, team RWBYs leader, hefted a large white binder labeled 'BEST DAY EVER ACTIVITES' in bright red. Scratched out above the newly added label was the binders original label, 'Vytal Festival Activities, Property of Weiss Schnee'. Ruby's sudden and loud appearance followed by the clearing of her throat captured the attention of her team instantly. "Sisters, friends.. Weiss", she started.
"Hey" came the reply of a slightly off put Weiss. But she was given no time for words as Ruby continued to speak.
"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream".
"This oughta be good" said Yang nodding to Blake before turning back to her dear sister and catching another flying grape in her mouth.
"A dream that one day, the four of us would come together as a team and have the most fun anyone has ever had. Ever!" Ruby stated enthusiastically.
Weiss took a closer look at the binder suddenly recognizing the print on her lost property. "Did you steal my binder?"
"I am not a crook" Ruby replied as she bent over to look at Weiss, giving two victory signs with her fingers.
Blakes curiosity was piqued by Ruby's excitement, too much so to be concerned with Weiss's newly formed dilemma. "What are you talking about?"
Ruby seemed encouraged by Blakes question as she turned to point at her dramatically. "I'm talking about kicking the semester off with a bang!"
Yang looked back at the rest of the group sitting beside her, "I always kick my semesters with a Yang"! Yang looked between Ruby and the rest of her team, "eh, guys? Am I right?" Her efforts were rewarded with an apple that hit her square in the nose. The rest of the team shook their heads at her pun.
"Booooooooo" came the voice of Nora in response. Yang growled at her.
Ruby continued her speech, "Look guys, it's been a good two weeks and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year. Our second semester is going to be great! So, I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us."
"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store" Weiss stated matter-of-factly. As she said this, Yang returned fire at Nora with a green apple of her own.
Blake looked at Weiss as she spoke, "I don't know, I think I may sit this one out." Blake wasn't really in the mood to be going out.
"Sit out or not, I think however we spend today, we should do it as a team". Weiss said giving Ruby a small nod of acknowledgement. Weiss began to stand, not realizing Yang seemed to be frantically waving in warning to team JNPRs table. Nor did seem to notice as Nora let out a loud "I got it!"
Weiss continued talking as she stood, "I for one think that…" Her speech was cut short as a stray pie meant for Yang had flown completely off course and was speeding straight for Weiss's head. The pie smacked her head on in the face coating her completely. Weiss's arms dropped to her sides in defeat while the rest of team RWBY looked towards the assaulting pies origins. Team JNPR sat there with their heads in their hands as Nora pointed to Ren, trying to pin the blame on him. It was then, the chaos ensued. The rest of the students had seen the deed, and those wanting no involvement began clearing out of the hall. Those who remained were soon sorry that they did. Weiss wiped the pie cream from her face, a glare in her eyes. But it wasn't one of anger as everyone had expected. Weiss grabbed another students abandoned pie, and returned fire. Both teams scattered to either side of the hall, someone screamed food fight, and the battle began.
LOCATION: UNSC COLONY ON LUNA – O'Malley's Caffe
/JUN-19th-2533 SOL/ 1450 Universal Time/
Admiral Mitchell and the ONI agent didn't have to wait long for the agent's partner to arrive with the young Lieutenant Oliver. For much of the time they had waited however, silence ruled the air between the two. He didn't want to talk to the spook anymore than he had to. Upon their arrival, the two showed their I.D.s to the Private guarding the door before approaching closer. In that time, Mitchell studied the Lieutenant with an eagle eye. The kid definitely looked to be in his mid-thirties. He was well groomed, and was still in his Naval Work Uniform (NWU's). The LT had blue eyes that shown with the curiosity of a younger officer but were also made tempered and weary from years of war. His skin was lightly tanned, and he had neatly kept brown hair. He seemed to walk with confidence, and the Admiral had to admit that he liked that. LT Oliver and the second ONI agent, an odd one at that, stopped in front of their table. The LT stood at attention and rendered ADM Mitchell a salute to which he quickly returned without standing. "LT Oliver" the Admiral started, "I'm glad you could join us for lunch. Or at least what was lunch. Take a seat, order something. It seems we have a bit to discuss."
"Thank you, Sir" Oliver replied before pulling a chair from the table and sitting. The ONI agent that had brought him there did the same, nodding to his partner and receiving a nod in return. Oliver quickly ordered a sandwich, going for a Reuben since the agent that picked him up seemed to recommend it when they first met. Once he was done, he pushed the menu display back into its original spot. He wasn't exactly certain how to go about this situation. The man that sat before him, coffee in hand was none other than Admiral James Mitchell. He was not only the Commanding Officer of the 12th Strike Fleet, but also a highly decorated officer with years of dedication towards his service with the UNSC. Oliver had only seen pictures of the man in the quarters of his ships Commanding Officer, or caught glimpses at a distance during a routine visit. The Admiral was as awe inspiring to the young LT in real life as the man was in his mind. He wore his Naval Service Uniform (NSU's), and had greying hair with a clean-shaven face. He sat in his chair casually, seeming rather comfortable with the situation they were all in. This was more than he could say for himself. The Admiral had a medium sized build, but he seemed to fill out his uniform nicely even for a man of his age. And that was a detail he could only guess. Oliver ballparked it at around late fifties to early sixties. But what really made Oliver nervous was that it seemed the Admiral was studying him, judging his every move and even peering into his very soul. Oliver had half the mind to confess every wrong he had committed in his life. But he held his tongue, waiting to be addressed before speaking.
The Admiral continued to watch him for a few moments more before he spoke. "Do you know why you've been brought here Lieutenant?"
"No Sir" Oliver was quick with his reply.
"Relax son, you aren't in trouble." The Admiral let out a sigh. "We brought you here today…" The Admiral was interrupted with the arrival of Oliver's and his ONI escorts sandwiches. The waitress quickly departed with a few kind words. Then the Admiral continued, "We brought you here because we have an assignment for you. And before you say anything, I want you to hold questions until the end." The Admiral pulled out a small data pad from his chest pocket and passed it to Oliver. "You have been selected to take a command of your own in preparation for an Operation that the 12th Fleet will be conducting two years from now. The reason you've been selected is because you are an exceptional Lieutenant in my fleet, have a good standing record, as well as combat and operational experience with Cruisers."
"Sir, I.."
The Admiral raised his hand to silence to the LT, "Wait to the end". The Admiral looked over at the ONI agent in the black suit, who gave a small nod. Meanwhile, the other agent was stuffing his face with his own Reuben sandwich he had ordered. The Admiral continued with a sigh, "On that data pad is everything you'll need to know. You are to have everything on that pad memorized within the week. You will then return it to me. The pad is bio-metrically locked, meaning once you set the lock you will be the only one able to open it. Any questions about that?"
Oliver shook his head as he turned his attention to the data pad he had been given. The UNSC logo was gently gliding across the screen, bouncing off the edges and changing directions.
"Good" said the Admiral, happy that detail had been made clear. He gave the two marines guarding the roof a nod before they made their leave from the balcony and out of earshot. They stopped just outside the door however, so that they could still react quickly should something happen. "Now for us to move on with matters. The Operation in question has been designated Operation Indianapolis."
Immediately that didn't reassure the young LT, he remembered from history lessons that a ship by a similar name suffered a nasty fate while on a clandestine mission. And from the air of the situation around him, the people present, and the data pad in his hands this whole thing reeked of Top Secrecy. Apparently, the Admiral took notice of Oliver's sudden tension.
"I thought I told you to relax. Anyway, the Op consists of some pretty daring hit and run tactics that will target Covenant home worlds and outposts. You'll be given command of a heavily modified Marathon-Class Heavy Cruiser named the UNSC Forever Vigilant, and you will act as the hammer that hit's the nails in their coffin."
The more Oliver heard, the less of a fan he was becoming of this whole Operation. A command of his own was already a huge responsibility. But being the center piece of an entire Operation? It made no sense that they would choose him over a Commander, or a Captain, or anyone more experienced for that matter. He was just an Operations Specialist assigned to an older Halcyon Cruiser, a LT just now going up to his promotion board for the rank of Lieutenant Commander. This plan seemed risky as it stood, but to put him at the helm of it all? His thoughts were cut short as the Admiral continued.
"On to your ship. As you may have garnered from what I just said, the UNSC Forever Vigilant is a heavily modified Marathon-Class Heavy Cruiser currently undergoing construction here at the Luna Shipyards. She will be ready to fight within two years, but her first sea trial will occur in about a year or so. The specifications are on your data pad if you'd now open it to section 3.2. I'll let you read things over before we continue."
LT. Oliver did just that. He unlocked the screen on the pad and was immediately faced with a user warning. Tapping the 'Confirm' button, it led him to an index of different files relating to Operation Indianapolis. From a mission brief, to ship and weapons schematics, everything was in his hands. He selected the file labeled 3.2, and a 3D representation of a Marathon-Class Cruiser appeared on screen. Details about the ship appeared every time he tapped a part of it. The UNSC Forever Vigilant was one hell of a ship to say the least. To boot, she was being manufactured in near zero gravity making mass a much more minor concern. This allowed the shipyard to armor the ship with a solid 200 centimeters of Titanium-A battle plating as appose to the standard 191 centimeters for ships of its class. The ships missile launching platform had also been modified. Instead of the standard 75 Archer pods, each pod containing 24 missiles. This ship had 90 pods with each containing 20 missiles. This allowed for a more conservative fighting stile as the total number of 1800 total missiles had remained unchanged. Another slight upgrade was the ships M910 point defense system. The standard for most Marathon-Class Heavy Cruisers was six of the 50mm auto-cannons spread across the ship equally. This was used to protect the ship from oncoming missiles and small craft. The UNSC Forever Vigilant however, sported 8 of the turrets as well as an additional four M870 Rampart point defense guns that specialized in fending off small craft and plasma torpedoes that were commonly used by Covenant warships. The 5 fusion engine rockets remained the same as part of the standard. But what made Oliver's mouth open in surprise was the payload of four NOVA Class super weapons that were to be installed in addition. These weapons were planet crackers to say the least. From what Oliver knew of them, they consisted of four fusion based warheads per weapon. The explosion from one of these bombs could vaporize a fleet, crack a small planet, and permanently alter if not completely destroy the atmosphere of a large one. 'Holy shit' was the only thought that crossed his mind.
Oliver didn't know what else to think as he finished tapping and scrolling over the different features this new ship would have. It would be about twenty meters longer and ten meters wider than its sister ships. It maintained the Marathon standard of two Mark IX heavy coil Magnetic Accelerator Cannons. And the ship was being fitted to house a force of about seven hundred Marines and two hundred ODSTs, along with a compliment of ground armor and small craft. The hangars would be home to about fifteen D77-TC Pelican Gunships, and twenty-four GA-TL1 Longsword Strike Fighters. Besides that, the engines were standard with the only eye catcher being the Series V CODEN MKII, the experimental variant of the MKI Shaw-Fujikawa Trans Light Engine. Once the LT was done looking at the data pad, he put it in his own chest pocket.
"Do you have any questions" the Admiral asked, looking at him questioningly?
"Respectfully Sir, this is insane. Even if I did take command of this ship, I would still just be a Lieutenant."
"I understand that, which is why you will be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander exactly one year from now, just in time for your ship to begin sea trials. That way you will get the practice you need, and the experience to lead your sailors into battle. Upon completion of that, you will have the opportunity to be promoted to the rank of Commander. But in the meantime, you will be spending time with myself as my aid and unofficial executive officer aboard my ship so that you may learn the proper skills that you need within the year".
Oliver didn't know what to say. He was being promoted to the rank of Commander, and practically skimming over the rank of Lieutenant Commander. On top of that, he was about to be the Fleet Admirals right hand for the next year. The pressure couldn't get any higher for the young LT.
The tension was broken when a ringtone came from the ONI agent in the tan coat and slippers. The man in question let out a small burp, which he stifled with his hand and reached into his jacket to pull out a phone. When he answered, the conversation was short and one sided as all the man had said was a series of "yeps and Uhuhs". Once that was over, he hung up and put the phone away. "We need to wrap this up. Lieutenant, I'll take you back." He looked at his partner, "You can finish up here."
His partner in black acknowledged him with a nod of his head. "See you at the rendezvous."
The agent in tan got up from his chair, to which the Lieutenant did the same. Numerous questions still plagued Oliver's mind. 'Why was ONI so involved? Why do we have to end now? He still wanted to know why they chose him.' But it looks like he'd have to wait for answers. With a quick salute to the Admiral, Oliver reluctantly turned and followed the agent to the door.
Once the door closed behind the LT and his escort, the Admiral looked over at the ONI agent that remained. The man had started cleaning up his coffee cup so that he could leave without a trace. "Are you sure he will be ready?", the Admiral asked the agent. At the moment, he wasn't very hopeful of putting the fate of the entire Operation on the shoulders of a rising LT.
"He will be. Besides, you're a good officer. I'm sure he will learn well from you, and by the time the Operation starts he will be ready." The ONI agent threw away his trash after giving it a quick spray of a substance that quickly decomposed traces of biological evidence. They had to be ghosts after all. "See you in a year Admiral Mitchell". With that, the ONI agent made his leave and slipped out the door. The Admiral had finally been left to his thoughts in peace. A peace that was quickly disturbed moments later by the entrance of his two Marine detail. The Admiral let out a huff of annoyance. He needed to get back to work anyway.