Chapter 3

As the Seventh Son lifted out of drydock and began its bumpy ascent through Skojpe's atmosphere, Streiger took this time to quietly review their navigation points on their way to Reach from his captain's chair, arching his eyebrow as his eyes scanned over the data pad before looking up back to the viewport as the ship entered slipspace.

"Ferguson, what's with these connection points? We're taking an abnormally wide detour to get to Reach."

"Um, I'm not sure Captain, they were the revised mission coordinates, we were uploaded these ones a few minutes ago."

"Uploaded under whose orders Ensign?" Strieger retorted, a bit of annoyance in his voice.

"P-P-Petty Officer Perón sir." Ferguson responded, sinking into his seat like he thought the Captain was going to hit him.

Captain Strieger rolled his eyes and leaned forward in his seat, resting his chin on his fist and sighed.

"…Of course it was, we'll play along for now, Iago, I have a little assignment for you." Alec called out, Iago's holograph appearing out of the armrest of his chair.

"What might thou require good Captain?"

"I need you to keep an eye on our esteemed guest Miss Perón."

"Dear Captain, mustn't I have to remind thou that interfering with member's of the Office of Naval Intelligence's duties is a punishable offense. You could lose your commission, or end up in jail."

"I'm not risking my new crew's lives on whatever experiment ONI has planned for us, I just got my own lackeys, can't lose them just yet." A few chuckles rang around the bridge "Besides, a wise man once said it's easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. I'm overriding protocol on this one, inform me of anything you see or hear."

"As thee wish Captain, I will inform you if the Petty Officer does anything suspicious."

"Everything she does is suspicious, just keep me updated for anything out of the ordinary alright?"

To his left, Lieutenant Wei, still a sour look on her face turned to him, "Captain Strieger, with all due respect, and you sure we can trust the Admiral? There's no way he wouldn't have known about ONI hitching a ride, it doesn't go much higher up the pecking order than him, my gut tells me he's lying to us, what I can't figure out is why."

"Corvitz was the best man at my father's wedding, there's nobody he trusted more, but all the same I can't help but agree with you, something isn't right. On the other hand, when we arrive at Reach, we need to have a conversation with regards to Colonel Miles, and you ignoring my direct orders."

Lieutenant Wei's facial expression changed for a moment, a wild look in her eyes, looking suspiciously like fear. "I… Captain I'm sorry, I meant to tell you before dust off but"

"C-Captain! We have a problem!" Shouted Karlsson, her voice cracking in terror.

"What the hell is going on n- Holy shit..." The volume leaving his voice as he turned to the viewport, his arm dropping limp from his chin and sitting back in his seat as the corpse of a Marine floated past the viewport.

Ahead of the ship floated a massive graveyard, all around them floated the signs of a slaughter. Dozens of UNSC warships floated listlessly in the vacuum, their bulkheads shattered, others completely separated in half, and others almost entirely destroyed, the only evidence remaining of their existence being the thousands of pieces of debris scattered all around of varying sizes, from titanium rivets to chunks of mangled metal the size of tanks. Behind the field of destroyed hulks and floating bodies drifting listlessly through space in horribly contorted positions sat a massive station whose original purpose was no longer recognizable, massive plasma burns pocketing across the entirety of the station, massive sections burned entirely away, vaporized by the covenant's far superior weapons technology.

"Ensign, where are we?"

"Slipspace navpoint 4, which means this is...was Refuel Station Ocho Rios." Ferguson replied, his hand shaking,"what happened here?"

"I've never even heard of this place, what were all these ships doing in one place anyway? There were no reports of any planned operations for at least a few weeks." Comms Officer Wright spoke as she stood up in her seat near the back of the bridge trying to get a closer look, only to immediately regret it and cover her mouth in disgust, turning a slight shade of green.

"Ocho Rio station, before this war with the covenant began this was a major crossroads for shipping and colony vessels, 8 trade routes crossed through this station, hence the name. Though since the war began, only about 3 are still operational." Iago spoke over the bridge's intercom.

"Poor blokes didn't stand a chance" interjected Pollard.

"For this many ships in one place to not score a single kill…what could have attacked them?"

"It looks like whatever attacked caught them by surprise. I want everyone at their stations and battle ready, whatever attacked this station might come back at any time. If this attack hasn't been reported yet it must have been recent." Captain Strieger responded as suddenly a blue light began flashing on Ferguson's console.

"Sir, an automated distress signal just triggered, it's coming from the station, but something's wrong, it's broadcasting across open channels, anyone could be listening in, even the Covenant."

"I smell spooks Captain, I think we all know who are probably the cause of this." Said the Lieutenant.

Alec interlocked his fingers in front of his lips, leaning forward on them as he took a second to think and weigh his options. The way he saw it there were only two options, try to run for it, or try to ambush whatever comes in the cover of the debris field, both were most likely suicidal. With how long it would take to "swim" the Seventh Son to the other side of the field with enough room to safely enter slipspace, the covenant would catch them in the open. On the other hand, an ambush would depend entirely on how many Covenant ships respond to the distress signal.

"Karlsson, maneuver us behind one of those hulks. Lieutenant, I want everyone on this ship in their pressurized suits asap, we're shutting down all power once we're in position, minus the weapons, that includes life support, inform the Admiral that he needs to stay in his quarters for his own safety." Strieger sat up slightly and pressed a pair of buttons on the armrest of his chair, the hologram of Colonel Miles flickering into view. "Colonel, you're looking bored, it seems I've got some work for you."

"Whatever it is sir, it beats sitting in this soup can waiting to get blown up." he retorted.

"I need you to gather every marine and non-essential crew with EVA training, take as many Pelicans as you need, unload the Moray mines from the Longswords and start placing them within the debris field, if one of those squid heads so much as farts near it I want a fucking firework show. You have half an hour, and when it's done I want the detonator in my hand, do you understand?!"

"Crystal clear Captain, we'll try to be quick about it. You heard the captain you lazy pukes, it's time to get to work!"