Chapter 4: Noble 1
Noble Six arrived at the destroyed Scarab. What he saw made him doubt that Carter had survived: the Pelican's fore section was imbedded in the Scarab, and the rest was just… gone. There were no parts lying around. Six keyed the comm system, "Commander, this is Noble Six; I'm at the crash site. Where are you?" He could hear a faint reply, but couldn't make out any words. "Commander, I didn't copy. Say again." This time he could hear the reply, "Six, this is Carter, I'm in the cockpit of the Pelican, but the door's jammed, and I can't get it open with one arm." "One arm, sir? How bad are your injuries?" "My left arm and right leg are broken, and I have multiple broken ribs. My biometer was fried in the explosion so I can't tell you anything else for certain."
Another comm channel opened in Six's visor, "Noble Six, this is Captain Keyes; we have a group of Falcons en route to extract you and your commander and return you to the landing pad. Noble Four is with the Falcons and a group of marines to assist in exfil." "Thank you, sir." Six climbed the wrecked Scarab and reached the fore section of the Pelican, pried open the cockpit door, and walked in. "Good to see you, Six. I thought you had left before I contacted you the first time." "Commander, There is a group of Falcons about," He checked his map. "a minute out, we are going to get you to the Pillar of Autumn, and we'll get you patched up and back to combat-ready."
Another comm channel opened, this time from a different source, "Noble Six, this is Captain Andrew Del Rio of the UNSC Antietam. We were assigned by the Office of Naval Intelligence to aid the Autumn however we could. The Falcons Captain Keyes sent are still taking you to the landing pad, but we have a Pelican on the landing pad to bring you to our ship, and we'll take you and your team back to Earth for medical treatment." "Copy, Captain."
Six helped Carter up out of the pilot's seat of the Pelican, careful not to jar Carter's arm or leg against anything, and led him out to the edge of the debris. "Six, how do you suppose we're going to get down?" Six looked up and saw the Falcons coming in. "We're not." He grabbed a flare from one of his pockets and ignited it, signaling his position to the Falcons. "Six, it's Emile. We see the flare and are coming in to pick you up. How's Carter?" "He's alive, but his left arm and right leg are broken and his biometer's fried, so I don't know anything else." One of the Falcons broke off from the rest and headed toward the wreckage. When it came to a hover near the remains of the Pelican, Six helped Carter in, and when he was, Emile keyed the comm to the pilot, "let's go, Lieutenant. Back to the platform."
When they returned to the platform, a man who looked like a Captain stepped out, but he wore the insignia of a Commander, like Carter. "Good to see you, Spartans. Tom Laskey, Second Officer on the Antietam. Never thought I'd see Spartans up close and in person. We should get going, the Captain is expecting you two," he pointed at Emile and Six. "and he wants you, Commander to report immediately to the medbay for assessment." The Pelican lifted off as the group entered, taking them to the Antietam. When they arrived in the hangar bay, a group of medical technicians helped Carter to the Medbay while Laskey, Emile, and Six went to the bridge to see Captain Del Rio.
Authors Notes- We're almost to the "good" parts of the book. I'm thinking chapter 7 is where I'll begin the H2 part of the book, but it may begin as early as chapter 6. Depends on how long the next part takes. What do you guys think of the book? What do you like about it? What don't you like? What do you want to see in the book? To adapt a quote from the Prophet of Truth: "Your enjoyment of this book is the will of the Gods. And I… I am their instrument." Please rate and review, and PM me your ideas for the book.
