Not the assumed three thousand words, but a fair effort. I'm mainly using these first few chapters as story builders, so don't expect much. Either way, enjoy the read.

Chapter 2

The ride up to the ship was an eventful one, and was much longer than it needed to be. We spent an hour sitting in near silence, with one or two of the team engaging in short conversation. Other than that, we either used the time to catch up on sleep or check our gear over. After said hour the pilot announced over the radio "We're coming up on the 'Tip of the Spear' now. Get your bags ready and have a fantastic vacation, Spartans." With a slight chuckle from Franklin, the team moved into gear as we gathered out weapons, gear and other personal belongings.

A few minutes later we touched down in what appeared to be a dry-dock for a single ship. That ship being the UNSC Tip of the Spear. She was a Charon class, used for planetary assaults and landings. Carrying up to three pelican drop-ships, several vehicles and up to three companies of marines, it was a ship class worth it's weight in silver. As my team dismounted we were greeted by a woman who wore the uniform of an officer. Her hair was a duty brown and her face seemed aged, yet she looked as if she was in her early thirties. As she approached me she held out a hand. "Lieutenant Jackson I presume. My name is Captain Hardy, commanding officer of this fine vessel here." "Pleasure to meet you Captain" I responded. "I assume we'll be setting off soon due to our dire circumstances?" Her smile faded slightly, but didn't disappear. "Indeed. And the mission won't be an easy one. We'll be setting sail in five hours. Get your team settled and meet me on the bridge. I'll explain there." A quick nod later and she was on her way. I turned around to face my team who all gave me nods of approval, and with that we set off towards the ship to find our quarters.

"Didn't expect the captain to be a girl. Let alone good looking one." Franklin remarked from his bunk while polishing his sidearm. "Good looking?" Responded Sam. "Did you see her face. She looked like she was fifty, going on sixty." "Ya, well it doesn't mean she has a bad look under all that. Some make up and surgery and she'd be a solid eight out of ten." As they continued to dwell on that topic Katy shook her head at them and turned her head to me and Barry. "I'm glad you two are more respectful than them. Honestly, what did I do to get put in the same team as them?" I chuckled at her joke. "I don't know, be glad you don't have to babysit them twenty four seven." "Ya, I only do weekdays." With that, she went back to the task of cleaning her sniper rifle, and I turned to Barry. "Make sure they don't do anything stupid while I'm gone. Once I return I'll do a quick briefing on our mission." With a quick nod and an "Aye, aye" I was out the door and on my way to the bridge.

As I was walking I noticed a number of marines on board. More specifically, marines in combat gear. Not knowing was what going on bothered me more than anything else in the world, so it helped quicken my pace to a slow jog in order to quickly reach the bridge. As I stepped through the doors to said room I was greeted by the Captain. "Ah, Lieutenant. Good to see you. I was just about to come looking for you." She then turned around and led me to a small tactical table in the middle of the room. I took a quick glance around at the room. It was identical to all other Charon Class frigates, at least in terms of design. The Captain then drew my attention to the table. "As you know, the Covenant has been stepping up it's game in it's attempt to take the planet. Thank's to the efforts of Noble team and others we've been able to hold their attack, at least for now. But something just popped up, something ONI doesn't want a chance to miss." "Like what?" I responded. The captain then flicked the table to life, showing a small Covenant Corvette. "This ship, while small and of low strength, is carrying someone of great importance. An Elite Admiral. If we could possibly capture him, we could turn the tide on the Covies. Their chain of command would be broken, at least for a while. And that's where you come in Lieutenant."

Taking a deep sigh, I looked back at the Captain. "You want my team to board their Corvette, capture the Admiral and bring him back to our ship to deliver him to ONI?" Shrugging her shoulders, she continued. "More or less. We would send in Spartan-II's, but their... preoccupied. And all other Spartan teams are engaged in matters that were more important than yours, so it only seemed wise to reassign you. And on top of the fact that Raven is known to do well with improvising, we could pull this off. Plus, we will have help." As she finished her sentence, a small hologram popped up from the table in the shape of a dog and let out a happy bark at me. "This is Siris. The on board A.I for the 'Tip of the Spear'. He'll be providing your team with valuable information during the operation." I turned my head to face the projection. "A dog?" I asked. "Yes. It's kind of a test, really. ONI want's to know if having an A.I that resembles 'Man's best friend' would help with morale."

Pushing the topic aside I further questioned the Captain. "As I was making my way here I noticed a large amount of the marines on board were combat ready. Any reason as to why?" She chuckled slightly before speaking. "Well it's not like the planets being invaded or anything. To answer your question, we're making sure we're ready for any possibility. Counter-boarding, combat on the hull of the ship, if you guys need back-up. That sort of thing." "Well, what will happen after this mission? Will we continue to serve on the ship?" "Until a time where you are needed elsewhere." She responded. "your purpose here is to complete this mission and move on. Now, I'd suggest you make your way back to your quarters. We'll be lifting off in a few hours so I'd recommend getting as much rest as possible." With that she gave me a quick salute, which I returned before leaving the room.

"Raven to the hanger. I repeat, Raven to the hanger." As the buzz of the intercom cut my team started to move. It was go time. "You think after two hundred years we'd find a better way to communicate with soldiers compare to a foghorn." Of course Sam was the first one to speak against Franklin. "Well what do you expect? A group of strippers to come in here with the message imprinted on their tits?" Franklin only laughed at that. "Well, I wouldn't complain." "Right, both of you are on radio silence unless it relates to the mission, am I clear?" As I finished speaking both Spartans snapped into gear pretty quick, knowing the punishment always involved push-ups. I turned to see Barry and Katy were already out the door, only waiting for myself and the other two. I quickly grabbed my rifle and some extra ammunition from my pack and was walking out the door with the other two close behind.

As we entered the hanger we saw most of the crew were in 'the zone'. They didn't need to be told twice to check fuel, or adjust the missile pods. They just... did it. Soon we were approached by the hangars launch officer. "Greetings Raven, your pelican is the one at the far end. You'll be waiting there for about twenty minutes while we are on approach to the target. If you have any questions, Siris will be more than happy to help." "Siris?" I heard from behind me, it was Sam. "Ship's A.I, surprised he hasn't said hello yet. But I'm sure he will." Before Sam could question her, she was already running off to yell at some marines who dropped a box that said fragile on the side. As we entered the Pelican we each took our seats.

As the team did one last check of our gear I decided to do one last briefing. "Alright. You all know the plan well enough but I'll go over it one more time. First, the 'Tip of the Spear' will be launching an attack on the Corvette, while at the same time jamming it's transmissions. From there we will conduct a smash landing in the hanger of the ship, while at the same time the engines will be knocked out. The Covies WILL realise that their signals are being jammed and will try to find a way around that, so during our approach to the bridge, Barry and Franklin will move into the communication hub and disable it. While this is happening, Sam, Katy and myself will breach the bridge, kill the crew there, incapacitate or subdue the Admiral and move him back to our ship. Clear?" A unanimous "Clear" was heard from the team, just in time for our pilot and four marines to join us. "Alright Raven" I said, loading a fresh clip into my rifle "Let's get it done."