Commander Akono Menteith- 53d Armored Division, 1st Regiment
ONI/UNSC Joint Command Headquarters- Actium Spaceport
May 5th 2545 19:00 hours
Minteith stood with the other officers of the 53rds four Regiments watching a squad of ODST's doing an evening PT run around the firebases lower field. Another man approached; not in military uniform. He had a trench coat and a small black briefcase in hand.
"Evening gentlemen" He greeted to the other solders
"Evening Captain Roberts" they all replied in unison, taking their eyes off of the training solders. None of them moved but still took time to address the war veteran
"Not in the Navy any more gentlemen, you can stop calling me that" Roberts replied "What are we watching?"
"ODST's, they just arrived an just over an hour ago" Officer Davis replied
"Really, what brings the self-appointed badasses to our base" Roberts asked
"Don't know, they wouldn't tell us" Officer Jones replied
"Typical" Officer Clark added, a tone of disgust in his voice
"Its not that, their CO just left to talk to the Colonel in his office. She was wearing kick-ass armour though" Jones replied
"She?" Roberts asked
"Ya, surprising I know. they seem like a boys only club to me" Clark continued
"Come on guys, they're not all bad" Minteith stated
"Of course not, they're just gonna get that damn PT song stuck in my head again" Jones stated
"Well I'm about to go down there and shut them up myself, they've been at it for the last 45 minutes" Clark stated
"Not so fast Clark. if you listened to the song they will just come back as ghost and do the same thing, then there'll be no stopping them" Roberts stated
The group let out a good chuckle as the ODST's stopped their run and formed together in a circle.
"What are they gonna do now, sing Kumbaya?" Clark asked
"Clark, you just hate them so much because they make your Regiment look like girl scouts in comparison" Minteith stated
The group let out a big "ooohhhh" in response
"Fuck you 'Kono, I don't need to take your shit" Clark responded, his body tensing up
"The hell you don't, I just might be your CO one day" Minteith said jokingly
"Please, I'd rather have 2nd Lieutenant Dick over there as my CO for the rest of my military career then have you out-rank me"
"Careful what you wish for Clark" Jones responded. Clark was about to snap back at Jones when an alarm went off. Roberts looked down at his watch and found the alarm had gone off.
"Well shit, would you look at the time. I best be off gentlemen, this storm's gonna hit soon and the wife is expecting me " Roberts stated
'You still married to Julie?" Davis asked
"22 years by June" Roberts responded
Thunder cracked as rain started to pour down. lightning soon followed, hitting a lightning rod above the barracks. The group sighed as they got soaked with rain.
"That's my cue, give the covies hell for me will you?" Roberts asked "I know I wont be seeing them again"
"Who knows, they might be waiting for you when you get home" Jones yelled back
"Well if that's the case, i'll offer them an FMJ round to the face for their troubles. or a Scotch". Roberts walked down the stairs off the balcony and into his MLX and drove off base. The group put their focus back onto the ODST's when a voice called out from the adjacent building
"Minteith! My office, now!" the voice called out from the window
"Shit" Minteith replied "What could the lovely CO Wright want at this hour?"
"I dont know but you better get moving now or he'll start reciting army regulations again"
Jones soaked in some of his gut and stood a bit taller than usual
"I'm Colonel Wright and i'm the biggest badass in the galaxy. I spent 5 years in officer training and now I'm a Colonel thanks to my daddy" Jones stated, mocking his CO
Minteith chuckled as he made his way to the office building next door. He ran up the stairs takin 2 steps at a time until reaching the top floor. He stopped for a second, collected himself and knocked on the door.
"Enter." Wright stated
Minteith smiled, Wright was as uptight as ever
"You called for me sir?" Minteith asked
"Yes. take a seat" Wright Continued. Minteith was going to take his seat when Wright held out his hand, signaling him to stop. "You're soaked"
"Yes sir, it pissing out there" Minteith said, catching his breath
"On second thought, you wont be here long. stay standing" Wright said with a hint of disgust on his face
Minteith noticed a woman with blonde hair standing in the corner of the room, her custom helmet tucked underneath her arm. She was decked out in ODST battle armour and PDW strapped to her lower waist.
"Commander Minteith this is Agent Veronica Dare, she and I went to Officer Candidate School on Luna" Wright said smiling, introducing him to his long time friend
"Pleasure to meet you Commander" Dare stated, firmly shaking Minteith's hand
"Likewise ma'am" Minteith responded
"Agent Dare is here under orders from Admiral Winters " Wright said, taking a seat back behind his oversized desk
"We've received intel that a Covenant attack is coming in this system, Actium will serve as a staging ground for local defence forces until further notice" Dare Stated
"Dare will now be a Division CO, if she gives you an order, take it as my own. And that goes for everyone Commander" Wright ordered
"Of course sir, I'll pass on the message to the other officers" Minteith Responded
"That will be all Commander, dismissed" Wright ordered
Minteith saluted to his commanding officers and left the offices. He took a moment to think about this new information. Minteith dismissed analyzing it to deeply and continued towards the group of officers he had left previously. The rain was still coming down hard. Minteith raised his head too see that the officer had left their positions on the balcony, he then looked down to the field to find the ODST's were gone as well, He then noticed the lights projecting shadows onto the field from the main level of the complex
"Mess hall? Dinner was served hours ago" Minteith thought to himself "And they definitely weren't handing out midnight snacks" Minteith went downstairs and slid the glass door that lead from the field to the mess hall. ODST's and station guards alike were crowded together. They were all looking at the small radio. There was a man talking, listing off names one by one.
"Whats going on here?" Minteith asked
"New Constantinople was hit today, this is the first casualty report"
"They're just broadcasting this over the radio?" "Minteith asked "Shouldn't the family be told in person"
"There is just over 1 million estimated casualties, there's no time to tell 1 million families the news"
The list of names went on and on, the radio host would say a name and an age to go with it. ages ranges from newly born to the elderly. It was disgusting just to think about. Minteith couldn't bear listening to the names anymore, he was just about to leave when the power cut out across the base. Seconds later the emergency power started up and the lights turned on, but they were a lot dimmer than before. A man jumped up on the pool table and addressed the crowd of soldiers.
"Alright gents' thats enough, shows over. If you need to inquire about a family member talk to your CO. The rest of you, PT and drill is 05:00 tomorrow morning so get your beauty sleep now. dismissed" The man yelled. The crowd started moaning and filled out of the mess hall Minteith stayed behind, noticing Jones and Clark had stayed behind as well.
"What did the CO say?" Jones inquired
"CO'S" Minteith corrected
"What?" Jones said leaning forward
"The ODST woman's name is Dare. She went to school with Wright apparently. Wright says that Dare is anacting officer for the time being"
"I feel bad for her" Jones stated, finishing a glass of water
"Davis was right, we are gonna have to deal with those assholes" Clark added
"She say why they're here?" Jones asked
"Some Joint op, ONI thinks a Covenant attack is coming to this system, the ODST's are going to be the first of many" Minteith asked
"What do the Covenant want out here? theres nothing but dust and echoes on these planets"
"I don't think…" Minteith was cut off by a blaring alarm
"All units; be advised. This is an active Winter Contingency scenario. All combat assets, this is not a drill, report to your CO immediately for further instructions"
The trio ran out into the field, joined by many other soldiers. they collectively looked into the sky to find a Covenant cruiser high hanging above the city. It circled over the Space Elevator as the belly of the ship lit up dark red.
"We're gonna need to re-schedule that PT run tomorrow" Clark stated "we'll be a bit busy"
Agent Veronica Dare
ONI/UNSC Joint Command Headquarters
May 5th 2545 19:30 hours
Wright left the room to brief FLEETCOM on the situation, which left his office all to Dare. She pulled out her communicator and dialled a private number.
"Please input your Service Number" A female recording asked
"73398-38490-VD" Dare responded
"Please stand by. Thank you Captain Dare" the computer responded
"Computer, Connect me to the UNSC Leviathan" Dare asked
"Processing your request. Request confirmed; now connecting you to the UNSC Leviathan" Dare waited for someone to respond on the other end. After 3 minutes of waiting she heard someone pick up the phone
"This is Leviathan" the voice sated
"Michael? It's Dare. They're here" Dare said hesitantly
"On Actium? This is unfortunate but, we been preparing for this. How many?" Stanforth asked
"1 ship; CCS class"
"Are your troopers ready?"
"Yes sir"
"Good. I will be there in 48 hours. I've mobilized a lot of resources for this mission Dare, I expect results upon my arrival"
"You will sir, I promise"
"Good, You have a green light to engage by whatever means you feel necessary. I'll see you two days, good luck Dare. Stanforth out"
"Thank you sir"
Dare disconnected the call and looked out upon the city. A tear formed uber her right eye and rolled down her cheek. This wasn't part of the plan, she never wanted them to come here, anywhere but here.
"Veronica, you in there?" a voice asked. Dare jumped and wiped the tear off her face "you ok?"
"Yes Buck I'm fine" she answered
"What are your orders ma'am?" Buck asked
"We've gotten the green light buck, let's finish this" Dare finished
"Cant wait"
"For once, the war is finally going to turn in our favor"
Dare collected her helmet and Data Pad and followed behind Buck, meeting with the other ODST's who had lined up in formation on the field. As the UNSC prepared for war, the Covenant Cruiser glassed the downtown district near the Space Elevator.
Julie Roberts
Covenant CCS class Cruiser
May 5th 2545 19:30 hours
Julie was regaining consciousness when the covenant brought her on board the cruiser hanging above the city. She opened her eyes to find she was at least 7 feet off the ground. she then realized she was being carried. Whatever it was, it smelt. She couldn't move her legs, she didn't have the strength was a pulsing pain in her chest. thoughts were racing through her head
"Where am I? Where's my husband? What are these...things?" she thought to herself
The alien took a left into a small room. There were two more aliens guarding the door. she was thrown down onto a table. the alien moved her legs so that she was lying straight. she looked to her left, she found smaller aliens cuffing her hand to the table. It wasn't as big as the one that brought her in, it had a small breathing apparatus on its face and she saw that it carried a tank on its back. She followed the alien as it exited the room. it was almost into the hallway when it was violently shoved into the wall to make way for the alien that looked similar to the alien that carried her onto the ship. it was wearing yellow- coloured armour and carried a helmet in its hand. He approached the other tall alien that was working on the computer when it was grabbed by the neck
"You imbecile, what happened down there? Where is the agent I sent with you?" the gold armored alien asked
"He's dead, the humans killed him" The blue armored alien answered "I was tasked with cutting the power and calling extraction. I cut the power and eliminated the servant. When i got back in the house your agent was attacking the human male I snuck down the stairs and found this female. I gave her to the Kig Yar and moved on to the second target"
"The hierarchs demanded the male"
"I thought your agent was handling the situation yet the grunts informed me that he was killed, we returned to the house and he was gone. I thought you said he was good"
"The Hierarchs assured me…" the alien was interrupted by another alien of the same race. it was wearing red armor and was breathing heavily
"Shipmaster the humans are trying to escape, your orders?" it asked. The Shipmaster continued to look at the blue armored alien after a few seconds he responded
"Move the ship into position to take down that elevator. I will join you on the bridge shortly
"Of course Shipmaster" The red alien bowed and ran off down the hall; the door closing behind him
"You are my brother; therefore i will accept this failure, however I recommend that you do not fail me again"
"Thank you, Shipmaster" the blue alien responded, bowing on one knee.
The Shipmaster started for the door when he looked to Julie he grinned and continued on his way. Julie let out the air she had been keeping in her lungs. She looked back to the blue alien which was staring blankly at the door, after a while it snapped back into reality, shaking its head. He approached her and lowered himself to be at eye level with her. He stared into her eyes and snarled
"Vile Humans" he said, storming off out of the was now alone. confined to a dark room on an alien ship that was systematically slaughtering the people of her colony. For the first time in a long time, Julie started crying uncontrollably
"Shut up!" one of the guards yelled from the other side of the door
She stopped, tears still fresh on her cheek. An Elite approached her with a needle in hand. Showing no remorse he stabbed Julie in her right arm with the needle. The Elite pushed down the plunger as the liquid entered her blood stream. Immediately she closed her eyes feeling very tired. Maybe, just maybe the pain would disappear if she just...fell asleep.