UNSC Charon-Class Frigate: Twisted Fate
High Orbit above former UNSC colony: Aleria
March 19, 2547
0800 (Local Time)
Captain Recker sat calmly in his command chair on the bridge. Everything seemed to be going smoothly for him. ONI provided him with a way to bring back his squad from the abyss, and they provided protection from Covenant attack. Over the past few days, elements of the UNSC fleet that could be spared, though it wasn't much, came to the planet to provide aid. The aid came in the form of two Valiant-Class Super Heavy Cruisers, a pair of Charon Frigates, an old Phoenix-Class Support Cruiser, and even an old Halcyon-Class Cruiser Recker knew that this wasn't much to go by, but he couldn't complain; doing so might revoke him of this opportunity.
"Sir!" Clyde reported as he appeared on a nearby pedestal, "You have an incoming transmission from Admiral Carmichael. It's urgent."
"Take the call to my comm pad, Clyde." said the Captain, who then steadily rose from his chair.
"Yes sir."
Recker began to walk down the busy corridors of the ship as he waited for the Admiral to appear on the pad. Marines, crewmen, and even some scientists were walking around the ship like a normal Sunday stroll. Most were complaining about wanting to get some shore leave, while hearing an occasional comment to "can it". Recker smiled as he walked, remembering his early days in the Navy. He recalled saying similar comments when the days grew long.
'Although there wasn't any Covenant to worry about' his rational mind countered.
As he strolled into the elevator, his comm pad vibrated. Taking a glance at the screen once more, he spotted the words INCOMING TRANSMISSION flashing bright orange on the screen. After pressing a few icons, Admiral Carmichael's face appeared. The Admiral didn't look old for his age of fifty-five. His face showed only faint signs of age. However, his bright green eyes made him look much younger.
"Captain Recker." the Admiral greeted.
"Admiral." the Captain greeted back as he saluted.
"At ease." said Carmichael, at which Recker lowered his arm.
"You know that I don't appreciate you taking ships away from the front lines of the Covenant, Captain. But, in the circumstances that we're in, I will not let that hinder my judgement."
"What did you call me for, sir, besides to tell me something that I already know." Recker retorted.
"I just received intel from Spartan Team Gray. They were sent on a purging mission behind Covenant lines. During the operation, they happened to recover some valuable data."
"What kind of data, sir?" asked Recker, now becoming curious. Spartan teams were a big secret to many in the UNSC, or the UEG for that matter. However, from what little data that he could find from other officers, Spartan Team Gray was originally formed to enforce the Cole Protocol. They were involved in a battle in a rebel hideout known as The Rubble. They managed to fool a Covenant invasion force with nothing more than a few freighters, a rampant AI, and a few asteroids. Recker had to give them props, managing to kill a large force of Covenant without nuking the planet was a major accomplishment on its own.
The elevator dinged and opened to reveal another gun-metal gray corridor. Recker stepped out and casually looked around at the scene laid ahead of him. He happened to be in the Fate's garage. A few M12 Warthogs and Scorpion MBTs were scattered around the garage. Power tools and bits of burned scrap metal were strewn about the floor. The buzzing of a welding torch came from behind one of the Warthogs. Recker decided to remain by the elevator door to avoid all the noise coming from the garage.
"The data recovered," the Admiral continued, "provided some interesting data on a particular artifact brought in from the Penance of Betrayal on the day that your squad went missing. As a matter of fact, they even managed to recover it. I'm sending over a few images of the artifact, including a copy of the data that they recovered."
As he said that, a soft ding came from the device, meaning that the message that came through.
"Take a look at the data and let me know what you think, Captain. You're pretty much the on-site leader of this operation, so whatever you say goes. Carmichael, out."
The screen cut to darkness as the Admiral cut the comm-link.
'Let me take a look at it in my conference room'
Recker strode across the busy garage. Mechanics chatted between each other about upcoming repairs or shunning one another on failed maintenance. However, one thread of conversation seemed to come clear as day as he passed one of the Scorpions.
"No, no, no! That goes there, this goes here!" complained one of the mechanics.
"Este argumento es redundante. Se lo que corresponde a donde." complained the other engineer.
The use of Spanish caught Recker completely off guard. However, he was lucky to have been forced to take multi-language courses back in training. He believed that the Spanish mechanic said something along the lines of "I know what I'm doing." and "This is useless."
"You know what, just let me do it. Hand me your wrench!" the first replied angrily.
"Este es un martillo, maldito idiota." the Spanish mechanic replied; telling the first mechanic that he he was holding a hammer, and calling him an idiot.
Recker then stepped up his pace to avoid the result of, what he would assume to be, an upcoming debate.
He finally reached the other end of the garage and into another corridor. It was as busy as the garage, so he slowed his pace to accommodate for the group of people. After a few minutes of walking, he reached the conference room. Clyde was already standing idly on the holo-pedastel.
"Clyde." said the Captain, "Put the images that the Admiral sent me on the table."
"Yes sir." Clyde calmly as the images appeared
Saying that the projection was foreign was a massive understatement. Although the projection made the image a bright blue, it didn't take away from the object. It was shaped like a tuning fork. However, the tips of them were slightly glowing brighter than the rest of the object. It reminded Recker of a Covenant Energy Sword. He scrolled through the data. Apparently the Covenant didn't have a clue about its origins either. There were mentions of something called Forerunners, but he didn't know what to think of it. Nobody had heard the term. He thought that these Forerunners could be the "gods" that they refer to, but he wasn't too sure.
"Where is this object now?" asked Recker.
"The unknown object is stationed on Admiral Carmichael's Valiant-Class Super Heavy Cruiser, the UNSC Final Word." reported Clyde.
"Get me the Admiral."
Clyde disappeared from the pedestal as he placed the call. After a few minutes, the Admiral's face appeared on one of the conference room's screens.
"Did you look at the data?" the Admiral asked right out of the gate.
"Yes, I did." said Recker. "I actually found some interesting details."
He paused as the Admiral gave him an acknowledging nod. "As I was looking through the data, I noticed that the Covenant know as much of the device as we do. The data suggests that it came from something called 'Forerunners'. I guess that they are referring to their 'gods', or whatever we think are gods. They ended up using the Penance of Betrayal as a guinea pig to find the object's use. However, I don't think that they know the results of the experiment, but I have a feeling that they want their artifact back."
"I understand your concern, that's why the UNSC provided the fleet." the Admiral reassured.
"But Admiral, while I appreciate the support, I don't think that it would be enough if the Covenant crashed this expedition. A single cruiser could wreck us." the Captain pointed out.
The Admiral then looked off to the side as he talked to a passing crewman. This made the captain slightly worried.
"Something wrong, Admiral?" asked Recker
When Carmichael turned back to the screen, he had a look of worry on his face.
"I believe so. The people of Aleria are resisting UNSC operations on the planet. Not only that, but we believe that the Covenant are making a move against us. They're coming for the artifact. "
The captain began to pace back and forth in the conference room. He knew that the situation would go south fast. But, as a captain, he didn't show panic.
"We need to work fast. What ground elements are present?" asked Recker..
"We have a few platoons of marines and ODSTs on the ground. While they're holding back the Alerians, a few Army platoons are holding base locations. However, I don't think that we can hold the Alerians back for long. Even with superior tech, we don't exactly have the home field advantage, Captain."
"What about air support?"
"We have total superiority in the air. They're using anti-air guns that predate the Interplanetary War. They can barely hit our Pelicans and Longswords."
"Well then, how the hell are we barely holding them?" asked the Captain impatiently. "If we have total air supremacy, we should be able to bomb enemy emplacements and eliminate their forces without the need for marines or ODSTs."
"Well the thing is, Captain," said the Admiral, "the longswords have very limited amounts of ordnance. We won't be able to play the air supremacy card for long. We have to use marines and ODSTs to hold back enemies while we use bombardment for when we need it most. If we waste all of their ordnance immediately, we won't be able to use them in future operations on the ground or to repel the incoming Covenant force. We have to plan this with upmost care."
The captain stopped pacing and looked at the Admiral. "What marine elements are on the ships?"
"The Charon-Class frigates, including yours, make up at least a battalion. Our Phoenix has a few companies. Our Valiant Cruisers have a few companies as well. So, all in all, we have, at most, two battalions of marines. As for ODSTs, we have a few squads per ship, which make up a few platoons, so that is a very limited option.
"However, I do have an alternate solution to the problem."
"What is it Carmichael?" asked the Captain.
"We do have a Spartan fireteam on board of my Cruiser. We can use them to infiltrate the epicenter and gather intel while protecting the scientists stationed there." suggested the Admiral.
The Captain thought for a minute. Using Spartans for this op did seem a bit too much. He felt that they should try using lesser options before trying the most extreme measures. After explaining his opinions, Carmichael nodded, acknowledging his comments. The two talked a bid more before signing off the comm-link.
The Castle
"But that is a story for another day." finished the Storyteller.
Tasha Bordeaux and Lian Devereaux sat dumbfounded at the information that was explained to them in the past three hours. A society stuck in the 1950s? Nuclear war across the world? The wasteland? Even for an ODST, this seemed a bit too extreme for her. Piper must've seen it in their eyes as she tried to reassure them that they were still in reality.
"That doesn't sound like our history." said Lian slowly.
The wastelanders in the room tensed up just a bit. A flurry of confused emotions played across their features, with the exception of the Storyteller, who had his helmet on.
"What do you mean?" asked Paladin Danse.
Lian and Tasha turned and looked at each other. They both had the same realization: this was going to be a culture shock to them.
"You might want to sit down for this." said Tasha.
One by one, MacCready, Piper, Curie, and various Minutemen and Brotherhood guards found various crates, beds, and chairs to sit on. Paladin Danse and the Storyteller remained standing due to their bulky power armor. After they were settled, Devereaux and Tasha explained the history behind the UNSC, the UEG, and the wars that they fought. They decided to leave out the SPARTAN programs as they didn't know much about them anyway. As they explained, each individual wastelander's jaw began to sag toward the floor. By the time they were finished, the wastelanders were shocked beyond measure, just as the ODST predicted. Then the flurry of questions began.
"Wait, you achieved spaceflight?"
"You colonized other worlds?"
"You fight aliens?"
"Whoa! Let's all settle down here!" exclaimed Devereaux, hoping to return the situation to normal. "One question at a time."
They spent the next half of an hour answering questions. Most of them were simple and easy to answer. After answering a majority of their questions, Paladin Danse spoke again, "We need to get our minds back on the problem at hand. If there are more of you, then that means that the Institute might have their filthy hands on them. If you help us defeat the Institute, we will make sure that your friends get out safely."
"Anything to help them." Tasha quickly answered.
Danse and Piper looked at each other before Danse bellowed, "Welcome to the Brotherhood."
The Institute
Nisha slammed her drawer a bit harder than she meant to and the desk shook violently. The picture of She shot her hand out to catch the picture of Shaun that almost fell over. Raising the picture back toward her desk, she stopped when she saw the bright green eyes of her former son. Staring at those eyes brought back memories of the Vault, the wasteland, and even the time before the war. Although she received those memories many times, in nightmares or other ways, it still broke her down. Her hand began to wobble and her knees grew weak. A tear began to form in her eyes.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
She changed her view to the door of her office. "Come in." she called out as she placed the photo back onto her desk. The door slid smoothly open to reveal the two prisoners that she sent for. Each of them had a different vibe. One of them had a scientific feel to him. The glasses and semi-complete labcoat over his armor proved that. On the other hand, the other was completely a soldier. His armor was rugged enough to show his experience in fighting.
"Welcome gentlemen." Nisha greeted as they walked in. "Please, take a seat."
They sat silently and waited for her to begin.
"I can tell that you want to know why you're here-"
"You bet your goddam ass we are!" the soldier interrupted.
"Please Jackson, let the woman speak!" the scientist pleaded. He turned back to her and motioned for her to continue.
"Anyways, as I was saying, I can provide you with the answers to your questions." she resumed. "But first, both of you must do something for me."
The two glanced nervously at each other, having a silent conversation. The scientist and soldier, who happened to be named Jackson, seemed to agree with one another, but were unsure about going with her plan. The two turned back to her and assured their agreement.
"Excellent." said the Director as she held her hands together. With these two on the side of the Institute, the Brotherhood stood no chance.
"What I need you to do..."she began as she reached under her desk, "is to eliminate a rebel group called the Brotherhood of Steel." She plopped a few photos onto the table. Each one of them provided information such as their symbols, armor configurations, and weapons. The two stared at the photos with great interest.
Jackson asked, "Do you know where we can find their leader?"
Nisha chuckled at Jackson's eagerness to take out the Brotherhood. "Yes, we do. However, we can't just bum-rush their main fortifications on the first day. We have to divert their attention to other positions first. Then, we can reduce their numbers so much that they won't be able to keep a tight security around their fortress."
"So where do we begin?" asked the scientist.
"You can begin by meeting the leader of our military down in the briefing room. Don't worry, I will have someone lead you there." The two looked nervously at themselves once more, expressing that feeling of uncertainty as they did before. Nisha began to think that they wouldn't take the job, but Jackson spoke again to reassure the job.
"We're in. But, under two conditions." Jackson spat.
"Okay, what might those be?" Nisha playfully asked.
"First, I want you and your 'Institute' to help us find our way home. As you can tell we don't exactly belong here. Plus, this would allow you to explore new types of technology. Surely you of all people wouldn't want to miss out on that. Secondly, we need your help to find our friends. We came in a bigger squad of four. That includes the two of us and our missing soldier and pilot. They are our friends. If you don't accept these conditions, then I will either torture you until you comply, or, simply, I will kill you."
'That sounds a bit harsh...' thought Nisha. She thought a little bit about the conditions. The first one did sound great. She was always hyped to find new types of technology, whatever gave them an advantage against everyone else in the wasteland. The second condition, however, was a tricky one to comply with. She already knew the location of their missing squad mate and pilot, but she couldn't tell them that yet. If she told them that they were in Brotherhood custody, them that would lead him to bum-rush their fortress in order to accomplish his agenda. She couldn't have that.
"The terms are agreeable." she said finally. She held her hand across the desk for the two to shake. The scientist immediately shook it, eager to join her ranks. Jackson, however, was hesitant like before, but he eventually gave in and shook her hand.
"Welcome to the Institute." congratulated the Director.
Thank you guys for reading and enjoying my story. I will be releasing my new story soon (if you don't know what I'm talking about, check the previous chapter at the bottom). I do need a bit of help though. I can't seem to find a great name for a female Imperial character. If you want to help, send me a PM with the name you would like for me to choose. Bonus points if you give me attributes about the character such as weapon choice, personality, etc.
Anyways,
RNG OUT!