"... And the Eusan Nation, your country, broke free of the Empire through the Revolution, huh...?" The Captain inquired while Ava jotted everything down into her notebook. The two women gave nods. They'd told the full history of their people, of their worlds. From Vineta to Buyan, to Leng and Rotfront and the other multitude of small inhabited worlds within their solar system. It seemed like they'd never travelled out of it, weirdly enough, just that they'd fought a bloody Civil War there against an oppressive Empire. That bit matched the fact that their ship, the Penrose-512 completely and utterly lacked any form of FTL System.
"That's about it, yeah..." Ariane answered as she shifted into a seated position. The Captain hummed, looked to Ava, who gave a nod, then back at the girls. Elster seemed tense, sneaking glances at the armed guards behind the man. They were holding their strange rifles by the straps, slung over their shoulders and pressed against their backs, instead of at the ready.
"Interesting," Ava spoke, then asked, "If we check the travel records aboard your ship..."
"You'll find we are telling the truth. The ship has enough data on our home, too," Ariane replied, then scratched at a bandage on her arm. Ava nodded, her momentary skepticism seemingly fading. The Captain himself sat there, pondering the fact that an entire new solar system was home to human soldiers and their machines of war, peace and construction like these Replikas.
Elster spoke, "If you wish to access the data, we can go to the ship now. Accessing the mainframe requires the permission of at least one of the two crewmembers of the Penrose project ship," as she turned and moved her stumpy legs off her bed. She stood on them and was still a forehead taller than most of the people around. Calmly, she turned to Ariane and asked with the most heavy note of concern in her voice, "Will you be okay?"
The white-haired beauty smiled at her Replika girlfriend and nodded, "I'll be alright, Els. Doc said I'll be let out of here as soon as all checkups are done, after all."
The Captain stood up as well, nodding to Elster and saying, "Don't worry. Both of you are safe here. The UNSC doesn't do harm to fellow humans unless absolutely necessary, especially nowadays..." murmuring the last part and noting the worry on Ariane's face. The girls had asked about where they were, who the UNSC was and what the hell was going on. He had tiptoed around the subject of the Human-Covenant War and simply assured her and Elster they were safe where they were, that their little War was far away.
It wasn't. He knew that. Everyone did. The weight of the air on the ship told them both as much, even with all the friendly faux-smiles and the likes. It was just a matter of when at this point. When would it come to Reach? And when would the Covenant decide to wipe them all out? He sighed, stated, "We'll tell you more when we are on Reach and you have your feet on solid ground, ladies. Just a day or two more at maximum speed..." before motioning to Elster to lead the way.
"Thanks, captain..." Ariane offered him a kind-hearted smile. He smiled back, a bit melancholic, then nodded. Elster looked back to Ariane and smiled, too, before nodding and mouthing an 'I'll be right back' as she walked out with the UNSC forces. The young Bioresonant watched them depart and the door close behind them, before dropping back into her bed with a deep sigh, covering herself with a blanket. She murmured to herself with a smile, "Gestalt aliens... Wait till I tell Isa and Erika..."
... In the Hallways, Elster's feet clanged against the metal floor of the ship as she walked with the group. Tense as she was, the people around her were probably more surprised to learn about the fact that there were other humans stuck in a solar system. Elster had yet to wrap her head around the fact these people had managed to create Faster-Than-Light ships that could take them to new systems, new homes and new planets and resources in days, maybe weeks at most. It was nigh-incredible, considering what little the UNSC Captain had told them of their organization.
'The Military and Exploratory Arm of the Unified Earth Government', he had called it. Science and army, merged into one all-powerful entity. Much like the People's Army and Navy got the good tech first, before the Civilian sector. PENROSE was a Military Project, so the ship had some of the best technological advances ever put on any sort of naval vessel, even exploratory.
Going by the glimpses she was catching of the UNSC's technology, though, she felt the electronics on the Penrose were woefully underdeveloped. The UNSC technology seemed to heavily rely on 'touch-screen' technology, meaning a technology that did not require so many moving parts overall, just the ability to properly program the commands necessary on one of the screen's many 'touchable buttons' that flash on it.
Less moving parts, but probably slightly more complicated, now that she thought about it. With a calm sigh, Elster continued to follow the crew all the way down to the Hangar elevator. Entering said elevator, the girl now saw the deck crews of the UNSC ship tending to the 512, several of them wearing full-on HAZMAT gear. Infantry guarded the place as well, lined up next to the ship, rifles drawn, just in case.
They all stood at attention as the captain and his crew appeared. The man stopped one of the decontamination staff and asked, "What's the status of the ship?"
"Sir, she's safe to enter now. Radiation levels have dropped down to acceptable," The woman reported, her voice sounding a hit robotic due to the microphone through which she spoke. Elster couldn't help but give the HAZMAT gear a once-over. Advanced, with a Heads-Up Display mounted in the oxygen mask that linked to a rear heavy-duty tank and definitely lead-lined, as well as armored and semi-powered. It was an exoskeleton lined with radiation-resistant materials and with all the gear needed to calmly do one's job as if the Rads weren't even there.
She sure wished they'd had some of those aboard. Maybe they could've greeted the Black Baron on communications if they had them. She sighed and squelched the thought. The UNSC had saved her and, more importantly, saved Ariane. Maybe they could help save the Eusan Nation from any threat, future or present, too, if they wished. Some of the looks she'd gotten when mentioning Eusan itself, though, were... Well...
The captain gave an approving nod to the decontamination crew, called out "At ease," to the Marines after giving a lazy salute, then motioned to Elster to lead the way inside. The young Replika woman stepped into the hold of the ship that had been her and Ariane's home for several years at this time, then hummed. Sniffing the air, she felt no trace of any pathogens or dangers, nor did she feel the unnerving weight of the radiation she had felt before, when both her and Ariane were nearing their deaths.
The Infantry flanked her as they moved forward into the ship's cockpit. Elster sat herself down, then noted the Marine beside her tensing. She raised her hands and said, "Calm. I'm only doing what you asked me to do. Nothing more, nothing less. Not like the Penrose can do much more than maneuver with her thrusters..." before she pulled out a key from her pocket. She leaned over toward the central command console as the Captain put a hand on the Marine's shoulder. The soldier looked back at the man, nodded and took a step back while Elster did her work.
The woman popped open a panel on the console, which the gang now noticed eerily resembled the flight controls of 21st Century fighter aircraft, with both the LCD screens and everything. She slotted the key into a hole, tapped a few buttons as she hummed an old Soviet song, then pulled out a data drive from the panel after it popped out. It was a large one, resembling something one would see in the early 21st Century computers. She lifted it up and extended it toward the captain. She spoke calmly, "I've taken the liberty of removing any genuine State secrets... But this should give you a more detailed account of Eusan, AEON and us."
The Captain gingerly took the drive and handed it to one of their tech experts, then nodded, "Thank you for your cooperation, miss Elster."
"Anything to keep Ariane safe..." The girl murmured as she stood up. The Captain smiled at that comment, having been the sole person to overhear it. He let the troopers and docs lead Elster back to the medical bay, looking at the device in the hand of the Techs, then sighed and looked to Ava. The Commander shrugged, saluted and excused herself to the bridge, leaving the man alone with a few of his staff.
He walked further into the ship, curious of the place's arrangements. He found the mess hall, the cargo holds, even the topside airlock. It was an eerily familiar layout for an exploration ship, too. He even entered the reactor room, where techs were working on safely disassembling the device and removing the rods from within to dispose of them. It was an old fission 'reaktor', clearly.
Stepping into the last room he hadn't checked, the man found the bedroom of the human officer. Ariane had lined the place with beautiful paintings, most of them resembling an eerily familiar one belonging to an old artist. An Island of the Dead, of sorts... Though the latest one, the one that seemed to have been painted just before the girls had come aboard, depicted something else entirely. A beautiful sea of stars above a red desert, a sole figure staring up at the sun beating down on the surface, while figures shaped like ships blotted some of the sky out.
Huh... Curious, but alright.
"She's an artist, huh?" Commented a Marine from behind him, lifting one of the paintings. She whistled and said, "These are pretty fuckin' good, sir."
"Yeah," The man nodded, his mind thinking back to the repression of individuality within the Eusan Nation. He hummed, scratched his chin, then turned around and said, "Let's move. Leave everything for ONI to deal with. Techs need to get onto decrypting and reading what's on the Drive Elster has given to us. From there, we'll figure out a course of action pertaining to Eusan."
"Yessir!" Chorused the crew aboard. The Captain walked out and marched toward the elevator, aiming for the Bridge...
Back in the medical bay, Elster entered the place and gasped. She watched as the doctor helped a certain someone stand to her feet, with Ariane's legs wobbling under her own weight. Ariane stumbled, hummed, then said, "Guess the rads weakened my leg muscles a bit..." before looking to the doctor and asking, "Any magical treatment plans for this one, doctor Stone?"
"Indeed," The doctor nodded, "We have medicine to help with this and other types of muscle atrophy. Please, sit back down..." And she looked to elster, smiling, "Your girlfriend will probably want to talk to you." causing both girls to stammer and blush. With a short giggle representing her more teasing nature, the Doctor stepped away to the dispensary to retrieve the aforementioned medicine as Elster sat herself down on her bed.
"Hey," She nodded to Ariane.
"Hey, Els," Ariane smiled, "How are you holding up?"
"Decently enough, I suppose..." Elster sighed deeply, rubbed her face, then looked at her, "What about you? I saw you trying to stand up just now and..."
"I'll be alright, Elster. Like I told ya, final checkups, then we're out and walking around together. I wanna see the rest of this ship," Ariane quipped, then leaned herself on her hands, against the bunk. She beamed at Elster, who sighed deeply, her shoulders sagging in relaxation. She smiled broadly, this time, before picking up the cup with water on it from the stand next to her bed and taking a sip.
The doctor returned, lifted the medicine and showed it to the girls, then pulled out a sterile needle and a syringe.
Ariane let out a shriek like a fucking monster and jumped into bed with Elster, holding onto her robo-lover like there was no tomorrow. Elster blinked, furrowed her brows and looked at Ariane like she was crazy. The trembling Bioresonant mess looked to Elster and said, "I-I d-don't like n-n-needles..." with the shakiest voice in the world. Elster narrowed her lips, looking at the puppy-eyed girl in her arms with the most pure and wholesome thoughts in mind.
She looked to the Doctor, who giggled, then shook her head and said, "Let me get the pills, then..." and walked back to the dispensary. Ariane visibly relaxed in Elster's arms and sighed, relieved. Elster looked to her with a raised brow. Ariane blushed, letting out a short, awkward giggle as she fully embraced the Replika. Elster rolled her eyes, then held the girl close as the doctor brought the pills.
Come half a day later, Elster was walking hand-in-hand with Ariane(Who had gotten a uniform without any marks or colors so she doesn't get confused for staff). Down the halls they treaded, passing by infantry and Naval Crewmen, some of whom smirked at the sight. Well, most actually smiled at them. The Marines were a bit more stoic, but otherwise friendly, too. They even gave the girls directions to reach the Mess Hall.
Entering the place to grab a bite to eat for dinner before they'd go find their new accommodation aboard the UNSC warship, the girls were greeted with a room full of occupied or half-occupied tables, with a small buffet and a few dispensers for food and drinks. Sat at one of the tables, alone was a middle-aged man with dark-brown hair, a strong jawline, pale skin and a black shirt, cargo pants and military boots.
His shirt had an emblem on the left side of his chest, displaying a burning comet that resembled a metallic egg, colored gold for the pod itself and red for the flames around it. On top of it, overlaid, were a scarlet skull with a knife through the top of the head and a banner below with four letters. The girls made them out as they approached the empty table.
'O.D.S.T'
The man looked up and spoke, his voice smooth, calm, "Hello, ladies? Can I help you?"
"Hello," Elster greeted.
"Sorry for the bother, sir, but uh..." Ariane chuckled awkwardly, "Well, there's no other tables. Mind if we sit with?" And the man furrowed his brows. He looked around. Noting that, in fact, yes, the entire area was occupied save for his table, he sighed and gave them a nod. Ariane smiled and sat herself down, before looking to Elster and saying, "Bring me anything you're eating, Els."
"Sure," Elster nodded, then stepped off, keeping an eye on the table.
Ariane looked to the man ahead of her. He seemed to be in deep thought as he pushed his plastic fork through the mashed potatoes on his tray. "Take it you're those newcomers from that alien ship I keep hearing the crew talk about, eh?" The man inquired calmly, not taking his eyes off his food until he filled the fork full of potatoes and looked up at Ariane, taking the full bite of food into his mouth.
"That'd be us, yeah. Hi... I'm Ariane Yeong, Gestalt officer of the Penrose-512. That's my assistant Engineer Replika, Elster," She jabbed a thumb toward the taller girl as she sat herself in line to get the food, holding a tray in each hand. The man hummed, eyed Elster and nodded, before going back to his own tray, eyes locked on the food. Ariane hummed, blinked and found the silence immediately awkward, considering everything. She chose to break it, "What's your name?"
He hummed, then said nonchalantly, "Buck. Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck," and looked at her, "I'm an ODST. Orbital Drop Shock Troopers."
"Ooh, nice," She said, slightly confused, "What do ODSTs do...?"
"Well, to put it bluntly? It's in the name," Buck slightly smirked, "We drop from orbit in thinly-armored egg-shaped metal pods, right on top of the enemy." And he plucked up a slice of white bread, biting down into it and chewing it for a moment to let the girl's sudden expression of both awe and clear-cut, deep fear subside. He then added, further surprising stunned girl with his nonchalance, "Feet First into Hell's our Motto."
"... That's far too hardcore for me, Sarge," The girl quipped, then smiled brightly.
"Well, ya ain't wrong. We got a lot of washouts in the first few weeks. Training's no cakewalk either..." He quipped, then hummed and said, "Hey, quick question, Yeong. It true, what I'm hearing about your pal, Elster? She a robot of some kind?" pointing with his fork toward Elster as she asked for various types of foodstuffs from the lady cook serving the food.
"Yeah. Technically a biomechanical being, a Replika. They're meant to be nigh-similar copies to humans, but fulfill certain roles," She answered, interlocking her fingers on the table. Buck whistled, then snorted and looked over, watching as the being balanced on what looked like really weirdly-made stilts or peg legs march up to them with all the balance of a ballerina. She set Ariane's tray, which was chock full of meats and mashed potatoes, down, then sat herself with her own food in front of her. Hers was a bit more bland, some bread, a single type of meat and a single, large spoonful of potatoes. Ariane hugged her and Elster, usually blank-faced, smiled.
Buck smiled, too, a hint melancholic, "Oh, I see, now... Heh. My bad."
"Huh?" Both girls looked to him, confused. He shrugged.
"Nothing, nothing..." He sighed and picked up his tray, then stood up. "I'll let you gals enjoy your time together. I got something to prep for the arrival back on Reach. See you." And he stepped off, leaving his half-empty tray at the entrance. The two women looked to one-another, then shrugged and went to eat their dinners. Come another twelve hours after finding their small-time bunk on the ship, the girls were awoken.
The Commander was taking them to the bridge, now. Apparently, the UNSC wanted them to see the new planet they were going toward, courtesy of the data the captain had read pertaining to the Penrose Program's mission. Entering the bridge, the two girls were stunned to find it a hive of activity. Crewmen moved from station to station, shipboard data was playing across multiple holographic screens and the military chatter of the crews was audible across the deck.
The captain sat in the middle of the room, staring from behind the Helmsman at what came ahead. The two girls had noticed only the man and his subordinates up to now. Looking forward, however, the girls peered through the glass that separated them from the void ahead and both stared, paling, at the image before them. Communications spoke, "This is Black Baron, approaching Anchor Niner for docking procedures, requesting confirmation of following code Victor Papa Niner Niner Fourteen Tango Dash Oscar November India dash Sierra Echo Charlie Three. Priority is immediate for delivery of assets acquired during out-system patrol."
The confirmation came as the ship approached. Ahead, the two girls gazed upon the might of the UNSC Navy...
Hundreds, or perhaps over a thousand vessels of various sizes flew above the massive blue orb below them. Ranging from Frigates the same size as the Baron, to vessels damn near ten to twenty times the size, the fleet of black ships amassed at numerous staging areas and orbital dry-dock stations that were also armed to the teeth, Glimmering in the sun of this new system, the biggest ships of the fleet flew overhead, fighter-craft the size of the Penrose flying in and out of their massive hangars.
Orbital Platforms that resembled swords also hanged in high geosynchronous orbit above the planet, their cannons and defense pickets brightly shining in the sun of Epsilon Eridani. Two large delta-wing-shaped fighters with long tails, black as the ships they came from, buzzed by the UNSC Frigate's bridge before banking left together and moving outward, just around the perimeter of the UNSC Station they were docking to.
"My God..." Ariane murmured, awed. She wore a smile, though it was a mix of joy and fear. Meanwhile, Elster's mouth was agape, open wide as she stared at the vessels flying around them. She took Ariane's hand out of instinct and gently squeezed it, before the Captain and Commander turned to her. The man grinned and nodded, turning with his arms crossed to his chest.
"Welcome to Reach. Humanity's Fortress." He spoke proudly, looking straight at the two young women, "Also my birth planet."
"And say hello to the might of the UNSC's Navy..." Ava nodded, though she remained impassive. She spoke, "You will be briefed of the situation better by the handlers coming to retrieve you from the Starport in New Alexandria. We will stay in orbit, rejoin the fleet. This is presumably going to be the last time we see each-other, ladies. Have a safe trip to the surface."
"Thanks, commander, captain..." Ariane nodded, then smiled. She squeezed Elster's hand, looked at the distracted girl, chuckled, then turned back to the UNSC officers, speaking softly, "I think you've saved our lives... And not just... When you pulled us out of that mess. I still can't figure out how we drifted to a whole new system, but I'll take it over a slow death due to radiation. Thank you all so much..."
"Don't mention it, miss Yeong," The Captain nodded, then added warmly, "It's what we do. Farewell."
"Farewell," The two women gave them nods... And Ariane saluted. Elster followed suit out of courtesy for her girlfriend, only to be surprised by the two UNSC staff members returning the gesture. The two women were led out by a pair of Marines, down the halls and toward the airlock. Marching through an umbilical that had windows as thick as the Penrose's innermost bulkheads, the girls stared with awe at the ships passing above and around them, then turned back to look upon the UNSC Frigate that was their home for the past day or two. They also saw tugs gently removing the Penrose from the Baron's hangar, before taking it toward one of the Station's hangars for checkup.
In the busy station, four more guards met them. These ones wore black armors and face masks and carried suppressed firearms. They greeted the ladies, one of them taking off her mask. A blonde-haired woman with a headset greeted them with a nod, stating, "Hello, ladies. I am Captain Dare. I and my men are your escort for the trip down to Reach. If you'll follow me quickly to the hangar, please..."
The girls followed, of course. Not a good point to piss off the black-wearing Secret-Police-Looking team...