Ok, humanity and the Covenant have met each other and now we see the aftermath of the battle.
He looked down the data pad in front of him doing his best to drown out the talking around him, going over his own report again to make sure he didn't get anything wrong. He couldn't afford to mess this up, not today. It's been three days since the mission to capture the intel about the aliens and he has been in and out of meetings none stop since then, on the time walking between those meetings he was writing up reports and getting detailed statements on what the rest of Blue Team were doing when they were separated.
"Alright, let's begin" a voice sounded in front of him. Turning away from the data pad. Alt looked up to see the large conference room within the UNSC HQ base on Reach and everyone moving to their assigned seats. Everyone who was important was here, the high-ranking Admirals, Generals, a couple of Senor NCO's and the UNSC's chief scientists. Halsey was there of course along with Ackerson, then there were others he didn't recognize. In truth he didn't know most of the people here. A good twenty-five in total. The chair next to him was moved back and he didn't need to look in order to see Admiral Parangosky sit next to him, not too surprising when one remembered that Alt did work for ONI above the others.
The room they were in was massive and the table which was a large circle with a hole in the middle that allowed holograms to be used properly and allow images from the data pads to be showed to everyone. It had enough seats for everyone to sit down. When all seats where taken the majority of heads turned to one side of the table where Admiral Hood sat, on the opposite side to himself and Parangosky. No doubt something done on purpose "It's been seventy-two hours since our last known contact with these unknown hostiles. PR is currently coming up with the best way to tell the public that we are not alone in the universe and we already have an enemy out there and I don't want to hear anyone saying telling the public is a bad idea" the warning was brief but effective "Doctors" he continued as he turned to the left of him, to the row of white coated people who all looked up at the title "what can you tell us?" he asked.
Not surprisingly, Halsey took the chance to speak first "I've been going over the data and samples since they were recovered. It'll take time but if we could be given more funding, we will have a much better chance of unlocking and intergrading the unknown technology with our own" she explained to everyone as she leaned back in her chair.
"What about the data that was taken from the ship?" the voice of a man to the left of Alt spoke but he didn't know him, though based on his uniform if was a general of the army.
"We're dealing with completely unknown systems and code" Parangosky spoke for the first time, having all the heads turned to her "I have every A.I I can spare going through it and trying to make sense of it but it's a slow process" she explained.
"You'll get everything you need" Hood spoke up "we all will. I've spoken the UEG council and made them aware of the situation. As per the protocol, the UNSC has been given complete control over humanity until the situation has been dealt with. Make no mistake, the people in this room now govern the human race" there were no surprised faces, no shocked muttering, just understanding nods and unease features "needless to say that you will all receive increased funding. We're at DEFCON 2. I want every garrison, every fleet ready for deployment in a moment's notice. Given his recent success against these new threats, I want to make it clear that the Atlas contingency is being changed from an insurrectionist counter measure to an alien one" he told everyone.
They all nodded, Atlas included and that wasn't too much of a surprise, humanity would need every weapon they could get their hands on and as much as he wanted to think otherwise, that was what he was now.
"A brand-new protocol is being put into effect" he continued as he nodded towards Admiral Cole "The Cole protocol will be hard wired into every single A.I and computer system we have. You'll each get a report on it but the basics are when our forces encounter these aliens and it doesn't look good, all navigational data is erased and completely deleted from all systems. Understood"
Once again, they all nodded at him. It wasn't surprising to hear that. They couldn't allow these things any access to the data that could lead to the rest of their planets and worlds. Namely Earth, they couldn't lose the home world or allow it to be placed in danger "Sir" a new voice called, looking over towards Admiral Cole as he spoke "speaking of, what are the new orders regarding the interactionists?" he asked them.
Hood was silent for a moment, though only a small one before speaking "that has yet to be decided though it should be clear that they are no longer a priority for us"
"We could attempt to bring them in?" one of the scientists said.
"They'd never allow it" someone quickly shot the idea down.
"If they were informed of the danger" an ONI officer started but was cut off.
"They wouldn't believe it" it was Ackerson that shot that idea down.
"They're still humans and so we have a duty to defend them"
"Why don't we just arm them?" Alt asked with a slightly louder voice, enough to be heard by everyone. When he said that all heads turned to look at him "we can't fight with them, there's too much bad blood, no trust. We can't warn them because Ackerson is right, they wouldn't believe it" he started going over every point that was just made "but we do have a duty to defend them, though that doesn't mean we need to be there. If the interactionists have proven anything, it's that they know how to defend their own. If they couldn't do that than they would have been dealt with decades ago. So, that only leaves one option. We give them weapons, bombs, tanks, whatever we can spare and leave them to defend themselves"
"But that wouldn't work" Halsey shot him down quickly "Harvest had a full garrison, and the planet is now unrecoverable. If we give them weapons and supplies but no major support, it'll be the same story"
"They'll defiantly die" Alt said back quickly that shocked a lot of people, even himself "but if we do this then we don't have to waste our important resources, namely the fleets, in defending a world only to then fight our own for control of it. This way we can save the ships for the worlds where we have a strong ground presence and a better chance at defence while at the same time not having to worry about the morality of leaving whole worlds on their own. Since we would at the very least giving them the chance to arm themselves" he hated himself for saying it, he really did. But this was a worst-case scenario, they could be outnumbered a thousand to one for all they knew, and they needed to protect what was important. Not the worlds but the fleets, if they lose too many then their ability to reinforce the places that needed it would be lost and this war was already over.
Looking around the table he could see that many didn't like what he said but at the same time couldn't necessarily disagree with it either "I must say Atlas, this is not what I expected to hear from you of all people" Hood said as he looked at the younger man across the table "when we spoke you always seemed the most passionate about the insurrectionists, about wanting to help them, bring back in peacefully"
"Don't ever doubt it" he quickly said back "but that was when our entire species wasn't at risk. We can't afford to waste what we have on them when everything else is being put in danger" the quick explanation seemed to get the point across, and he could see a few people nodding along with him.
"How would we get them to take weapons from us?" Cole asked aloud though not completely at him.
He was about to answer but someone beat him to it "we have a large number of deep cover operatives inside of insurrectionist groups" Parangosky spoke, turning all eyes onto her "it should not be too difficult to leave them instructions on where to find caches of weapons, supplies that we leave behind for them"
Many people seemed happy with what was being said Hood on the other hand looked on with a thoughtful expression "I still don't like the idea of leaving so many on their own" he added mournfully.
"None of us do" the head of ONI said back in a dispassionate voice "but Atlas is right, we don't know enough about the threat to guarantee anything, their safety or even our victory. We have to keep what resources we have for those who would fight with us and not against us" her words stung but they were true, though it seemed that she knew something the others didn't because she continued "though if it makes you feel better, I could put a message in the caches about what might be coming for them and they need to be ready"
That seemed to be enough for him as he dropped the issue and moved on to other things. Though Atlas was technically paying attention to everything that was being said in front of him, he didn't really think about it all too much. His mind was too preoccupied with a couple of things... ok, that was lie. It was metric shit tone of things, but one did shout at his head a little louder than the others. It was the unknown language on the ship that he saw, with his mind he could think back and it would be as clear as it was when he first saw it.
That language that he recognized; he's been thinking about that none stop since he saw it. It's been nagging at him, calling out to him. It was the only thing he left out of his report, mainly because he didn't want anyone to panic more than they already were, but the other reason would be he has no idea what he would say. Something about the language seemed familiar? Was that all? Not something that would help them, if anything that would make everyone trust him less. He needed to know more about what this meant, he's never known anything about his people, nothing but theories and idea's but this was the first thing he's had that could be something solid.
It was one of the main reasons why he didn't object to the change in the Atlas protocol, he needed to see these aliens again, he needed to know more about them. It was eating him up inside, not knowing what this meant.
The rest of the meeting went about as well he expected, everyone was given orders to build up defences and prepare for a full-scale attack, they had no idea what these aliens where capable of so in theory, any and every world was a target. Soon the meeting adjourned, and everyone stood up "We'll have a list of what the designations each of the aliens will have soon" Parangosky said to him as the two walked out of the meeting room and down the corridors. Alt nodded as he saw many different personal stepping out of their way and saluting as they passed "your lab will be ready for you by the time you arrive" she told him as they reached the end of the corridor, the two stopped walking and faced each other "it will have everything you need and as pair your request, Stevens will be waiting for you on board"
A small smile came onto Alt's face as he heard that, it's been ages since he saw his dad and he would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to it. Just because he didn't say anything about the recognition of the language doesn't mean he left anything else out, that wasn't the case. He told the truth about everything else, including his ability to breath and hear in the vacuum of space. He would need to study this more closely in order to get a better range of what he can do and his father is the best when it comes to doing tests on him "and engineering?" he asked her with a tilt of the head.
"The frigate will be full equipped with everything you need. Whether or not you can do it is up to you" she spoke and he would take what he could get.
Things were changing for him, that much was certain. In order to have the best chance against these things and have the fasted reaction times he could. For the foreseeable future, Atlas's home will be on board the UNSC frigate Ajax. It's been heavily modified to be the fasted ship in the UNSC navy, which is something he's going to need, if he's to react in time to these threats. The labs and engineering workhouses would also be important as Alt plans on using those to make changes to the Mjolnir armour, not something that was going to be easy but he could make it work "I'll head up their immediately ma'am" he brought his hand up for a salute but stopped when she took a step towards him, far closer than she should but it was clear that this was something to be said quietly.
"I'm going to ask you this question, only once" she said in a quiet but incredibly firm voice "was there anything in your report that you left out, that I need to know about?" she asked.
'of course, she knew something was up' he thought to himself. He might have only met the head of ONI for the first time when he was a teenager but there was no doubt she read every report about him throughout his life, she knew him. Not as well as Stevens maybe but clearly, she knew enough. He thought about it for a moment and his face no doubt started to look conflicted, knowing that when she saw that it was too late. He quickly looked down the hallway to all the personal and then nodded to a spot right up against the wall. He made his way over there and she followed, not much further away from the others but it was something "as we were making our way through the ship" he started in a quite tone "we came across some door controls, as you know none of us could understand the language even a little bit but..." he trailed off, trying to find the right words.
"But..." she said back with her voice clearly on edge, not liking what she was hearing.
"There were some parts of it that I... recognised" he admitted, he could hear her heartbeat getting faster and see her pupils dilating slightly "I couldn't tell you what they meant or were I knew them from" he added "but I felt it, in my gut and I know them from somewhere"
She didn't say anything for a moment but her demeanour began to crack "shit" she hissed as she turned her head away from him and towards the hall "Your people were not present on board" he said to him.
"You're right, they weren't" he agreed "but they do have something to do with these aliens that we didn't see"
Neither said a word for a moment as Parangosky thought about it and Atlas waited for her to figure it out. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath and looked back at him "I need you to get as close as you can to these aliens, we need to know what is going on"
"Yes ma'am" he said.
"And as you may have guessed by now, your time with Serin as a partner is no longer needed" she told him "She's heading out for her own missions now but I'm sure you'll be working together in the future"
That wasn't a surprise, Serin was always a type of handler to him and now it's been more then proven that he can not only look after himself but look after others while at the same time completing missions "I'll be sad to see her go" he addicted to her.
"I'm sure she feels the same" she said to him before she nodded and turned away "good luck solider"
He sat and ignored the rocking of the Pelican as it began to land in the hanger of the Ajax. Going over the cargo manifest that the ship will have up to the foreseeable future, so far it looked like it would have everything it needs. A full crew and three squads' worth of ODSTs that would be ready to drop at a moment's notice. He's been told that the entire ship has been told about the aliens ahead of time, a good idea considering what their mission would be. While the Ajax wouldn't the best most heavily armed ship, thankfully it would be the fasted and had an ONI designed stealth system. It's unknown if it would work on these aliens but that would be a side objective they would have.
The ship was also carrying an advanced lab that his dad would be running as well as in charge of a handful of personal that would be helping him get a better hand on this new ability he seems to have. It would also be equipped at handling any alien specimens that could be brought back. The engineering deck which would be capable of maintaining any and all equipment present on board also had a closed off section that was just for him, he was planning on using that for his Mjolnir modifications.
With one last thud, the Pelican hit the ground and Alt stood up. Grabbing his duple bag and placing over his shoulder, he but the data-pad away and made his way for the lowering ramp. Apart from the dozens of different personals that were doing their duties around the hanger, three people were waiting for him when he arrived. The one on the right was a woman, she had light brown hair pulled back into a tight bun, a slender body and good looking but scarred face. Based on the uniform she was wearing, this was Captain Khane, the captain of the ship. While Atlas would technically be in charge of Ajax, he would also be off ship whenever the aliens were involved so it would need someone to run it when that happened.
The person on the left was a well built and chiselled man wearing military blues, based on the very distinct pin on his breast. He was the one in charge of the ODSTs but it was the man in the middle that caused a smile to come onto Alt's face. Standing in the middle of them was a man he knew all too well wearing the standard white lab coat "Dad" he said with a smile as he stepped off the ramp and towards Stevens, he dropped his bag to the ground and gave his dad hug which was reciprocated "it's good to see you"
"You too son" Stevens smiled back as the two stepped apart and gave each other a slight tap on the shoulders "So, aliens, wars and the vacuum of space huh?" he asked with a raised eyebrows "you've been busy" he mused.
Alt let out a chuckle at the words before he spoke back himself "I would say the same, but I don't know, you still haven't told me what you've been doing the last couple of years"
Stevens gave him a gentle smile before he took a step back "and I never will until you're a high enough rank"
Taking his stepping back as a sign, Alt turned his head to face the captain. He gave the woman a crisp salute who returned it back herself "Sargeant" she added "It's an honour to have you aboard"
"I'm grateful for all the work you're putting in and I'll do everything I can to guarantee your safety" he said back before he turned to look at the gruffer ODST "Sergeant" he said back to the man as he looked at his uniform and saw the rank of him, just below that he saw a name. Diggs.
"Sergeant" he said with a neutral tone as the two starred at each other.
He didn't say anything else, which was something Alt could understand. The ODST's, especially the veterans are far from sociable. Not surprising when you think about what they've been through, they were a lot like the Spartans in that way "I trust you've all been made aware of the mission?" he asked them.
Every single one of them looked uncomfortable at the question but Khane spoke up before the others could "first contact with aliens, goes to shit, we're making sure you get up close and personal with them" he rounded up.
"We're on the hunt, looking for them before they find us" Diggs spoke as he reached up and crossed his arms "me and my guys will watch your back while you do you" he added crossing his arms.
"Alright then" he nodded before turning to Khane "let's start by heading for Draco III. It's close to Harvest so maybe we'll find a lead on where these guys are or where they're going" he said.
"Yes sir" Khane said before she turned and made her way out of the hanger. She didn't salute to him before she left, not surprising, she was a higher rank then him.
As she walked, Alt couldn't help but allow his eyes to drop slightly to watch her rear as she walked. Though if anyone saw that he would have denied it, he quickly turned to Diggs who looked at him "I'll be by the crew quarters in a little while to introduce myself to the rest of the ODSTs"
Diggs nodded at him before turning to leave, that only left him and Stevens left "come on" he said half turning away "you can put your stuff away and let's get to the lab, you've got a lot of people interested in what you did"
"It's nice to meet you" said the final scientist that he shook hands with. The lab itself was about as nice as it could be, given that this was only a small frigate. His dad would be in charge of this team of six that would have two missions, the first one is find out what was happening inside of him and the other would be the study of any alien samples he could get his hands on.
"So, let's get started, shall we?" Stevens said as he moved over to a small terminal to the side of the room. The terminal was placed onto the glass walls of a small chamber that was placed right up against the wall of the lab. There was also quite clearly a heavy door that when one would look through the small windows in the door, you would see the void of space. Alt nodded towards him and made his way towards the glass chamber as the others followed by close "so you said that you could still breath in the vacuum?" he asked him.
"Yeah, it was like there was still air around me" he told him as he opened the door and closed it behind him, hearing all the locks and pressurization take place.
"Is it possible that he's never breathed air in the first place" one of the team, James, spoke up.
"What else could it be?" another asked.
"It would need to be something that he would have in abundance in order to have the energy he would need" the others all agreed with the statement, including Alt.
"Well, we've never been able to see into his body" Steven's spoke up as he looked at Alt and gave him a nod, he nodded back and began the process "we've only ever assumed it was air based on the way his body acted as he breathed and the sounds he made while doing it, it was to human to think it was something else"
"Well" Alt's voice sounded through the speaker with a little synthetic tone to it "It would have had to have been something that I'm constantly exposed too, because I've never felt particularly weak before" his body was facing them and so he didn't notice what happened when Steven's pushed another button on the terminal and the door behind him opened, reviling that he was completely exposed to the vacuum.
All of the team looked at him in both surprise and frustration, they read the reports but seeing it for themselves was an amazing thing, if very confusing. At their expressions, Alt turned around and he could see the open door. Giving his dad an unimpressed look at the surprising, he turned his back to them and stepped out.
They weren't in Slipspace yet and he had no intention of doing this when they were in a wormhole, God only knows what would happen to him then. He stepped closer to it until he feet where just before the drop off point, he reached out with his hand and waved it up and down as the ship moved. He opened his mouth and found that he still breathed, turning around to face the other. He showed them very clearly that his mouth was open and something was going as his chest rose and fell "Come closer" Stevens said through the speaker and Alt started to come forward.
Which also led to many of the team look even more amazed, they were told just like he could breathe in space that he could also hear in space which should be impossible yet here he was being able to listen to what was being said. All he could do was give him a shrug. He could tell already that this was going to be a long day.
It was a very long day, after a solid three hours of standing there while they asked questions and ran their tests. Alt had enough and told them to work with what they had, Stevens said they were going to try and rig up a device that he would put in his mouth and was supposed to capture a little bit of what was going into his mouth as he breathed and he left them to it. Not really having a desire to be there for that, he instead went to work in his own section of the engineering deck.
Which is what led him to where he was now, he had an entire set of Mjolnir spaced around his workspace. Some of it was open and others were left alone for now. As of the moment, he had the right wrist gauntlet in front of him, a handful of panels were pulled open he could get a good look at the inner workings of the suit. He to remove the gel layer of this peace in order to make room for the new on system computer screen. Since it wouldn't be able to interface with his brain due to humanity not being able to drill a hole into the back of it, he would need to find a work around. Thankfully that came in the form of this, he was basically adding a new manual control point for the armours systems.
The screen was already partly installed and as it was connected by a handful of wires that went from the suit and into a small twenty-centimetre-long screen, it still wasn't fitted in as he was still sorting out the code. He looked away from the armour and towards a small computer that had wires connecting itself to both the armour and the screen. Not surprising when you consider that he would need to rework Mjolnir's code in order for this to work. Based on his speed and understanding of the armour, he would say that it would take him a few hours to get it working and then another could to re-jig the helmet.
While the heads-up display was useful, it was again, something he couldn't use properly. Thankfully he already had a plan for that. Normally the back of the helmet would be where neural interface would be housed but with him it's of course just wasted space. So, he had plans to take it out completely and replace it with a system wide core that could house an A.I.
Atlas has been around A.I for his entire life and he knew how important they were not just to the UNSC but to humanity as well. He also knew that having just one A.I for himself would be a waste of resources, especially when one would consider that Alt could process information just as fast as an A.I could so what would be the point? He simply can't do everything an A.I could while at the same time fighting on the front lines.
Thankfully, he knew how could fix the problem. There are two types of A.I within humanity. Smart A.I and dumb A.I. keep in mind while both of them are A.I, the smart and much more advanced than the others hence the name, they are the ones that will start to develop their own personalities as they grow and they are also much more capable of adapting and overcoming whatever they find in unknown situations. The dumb A.I are much more easily accessible as they are easier to create and are less advanced, they can still do many things, but they are much more machine like in how they behave and operate.
Which is good as Atlas didn't need the most advanced of A.I's for his missions, he simply needed something that could make sure his suit was working properly and could manage his communications when he was too busy. A dumb A.I was perfect for that and thankfully they were much easier to get. Though A.I's are not something that could just be delivered to your quarters upon request, Dumb A.I might be the easier of the two too acquire but that didn't mean it was going to be easy. He would need to make a petition for one and a board would need to find his need for one more important than all the others who make the same type. He hopes that Parangosky would be able to help in that regard but that's about all he could do.
Though that would have to wait until they would have a chance to actually get a petition, for now he would make do with the computer. Finishing the last few lines of code, he started to upload his work into the armours systems and hopefully that would be enough. He let a small chuckle escape him, of course it would be enough, he did everything that he needed to. Once it loaded up completely, he unplugged the wires and started to fit it into the wrist proper.
Taking all the small screws and making sure the entire thing was as tight as he could make it, which was definitely needed as he would be using this wherever he went which would include warzones, the vacuum, everything. It only took him thirty minutes to put everything together "Atlas, report to the bridge. I repeat. Atlas, report to the bridge" Khanes voice echoed through the ships com system.
Standing up from his desk, he would have to look at the reports that Halsey and the others have on the alien tech later. He turned and started to make his way through the ship. Many of the personal gave him a salute as he moved by them, something he returned.
Only took him a few minutes to make it to the bridge, when he arrived he found many different people moving around quickly, panic clearly seen on their faces. Khane was standing in front of the command table, both her hands flattened against it. Out the front window he couldn't see the stars that he was used to but more of a continuous storm cloud, with the occasional flash of stars, the common sight when in slip-space. When he came in she stood up straighter and looked at him closely as he approached "you were right, the second we got close enough. An emergency broadcast reached us" she started to explain as the table lit up with images of the world they were heading towards being shown "Draco III is under a complete siege. They've called for the Atlas contingency"
As she spoke, he couldn't help but think of what he was seeing. The images coming must have come from the radar scans they had at the time when the message was sent, giving them a somewhat good idea of what they were walking into. Half the planet looked like it was on fire and any UNSC ship signals in orbit were listed as KIA and only a handful where left. Atlas's mind went over a thousand different plans and situations that they could do and what would be the best one "any points of importance?" he asked her.
"Only one" she said as she started to type away on the table and a small point was highlighted on the planet. Thankfully it seemed like the place was still in the area that has yet to be taken, it was also surrounded by UNSC signatures "an ONI installation. The SOS comes from there and they're requesting an extraction for a priority one asset. They're not saying what it is"
"Of course, they're not" he sighed as he looked at the world "what's the defence looking like?"
Khane looked down with a stern face but it was easy to tell she wasn't happy with what she had to say "they've been over run, only a dozen or so ships are left and that's because they seem to be practically hugging the ODPs, good news is that with the SOS came with data of destroyed enemy vessels" Alt's face didn't change as he listened in "ground forces are being pushed back on every front. They've almost been completely wiped out, as well as the entire civilian populous"
In other words, there was a very few number of people still left. These aliens where wiping them out and it was almost exactly like Harvest "Alright then, tell Diggs to get the ODSTs to get ready for drop. The second we're out of Slip space we make for the ONI facility. We get this asset out of there along with as many civilians and personal as we can. Don't engage those ships unless you have too. Chances are the ODPs are the only thing keeping them at bay, which is really good to know" he gave his orders to the woman who nodded "I'll head down with them and secure whatever this thing this" he turned around and made his way out of the bridge.
This wasn't the first time he's been in a drop pod, he's done it many different times in past with his training, both with the Spartans and not. This would be the first time he's done it with the ODSTs however. He sat still in his Mjolnir armour, the onboard computer now working as was indented. He reached forward towards his arm and typed away at the small screen, having his radio plug into the communications of the ground team "Alright, listen up drop troopers!" he said into a loud and commanding tone so that everyone could hear him.
When he did speak, he reached up and flipped a small switch in his drop pod, causing the front door to close and seal him in, he didn't need amazing hearing to see that the others were doing the same "encase you didn't know, we are heading right for the front lines of an alien invasion. These assholes have already wiped out half the planet and are very close to finishing the job, the only reason they haven't is because they want what we have. We're heading towards an ONI installation that is currently holding a priority one asset that we are going to make sure is taken out safely. Only way to do that is to hold the line long enough for what's left for the fleet in orbit to evacuate the ODPs and head planet side in order to lend us as many transport ships as they can and evacuate whoever they can" he told them as he punched in the coordinates for the landing zone and made sure the others received the same.
"How about you sarge?" a voice called out to him over the radio "you ok with this, I mean if I was leading a mission that would fuck over my cousins, I'd feel a little conflicted" the joking tone was easy to hear and so Alt let a small chuckle escape him, even as all the others laughed as well, he wasn't against it either. He knew very well there was a lot of different ways in which a solider could deal with stress or fear, joking around was a common one.
"Don't mind me" he said not even glancing at the name of the one who spoke "as far as I'm concerned, you may get up close, bend them over a shove a foot up their ass" he quips back caused them all to let out a laugh.
"All troopers prepare for drop" a heavily synthesized voice spoke and Alt took a few moments to think about the plan. It was the best they could do.
The systems defences had been overwhelmed, that much was clear and they wouldn't last any longer on their own. That being said, there was still a huge number of civilians and personal planet side, he knew the second that he saw the situation that most of them would end up dying and there was nothing he could do to stop that from happening. But this was the only plan he could come up with that would leave a good number of people alive, at least in terms of what they could bring to the ships and not risk losing them.
The ODP's where the only thing that were keeping those aliens and bay and by 'at bay' he means not completely swarming what was left of the planet. Which in itself was a god send, the ODP's or Orbital Defence Platforms where in essence the largest MAC's they had, just as the ships where build around the rail gun of the primary weapon, the ODP's were stations built around the weapon. Making them much bigger, he would need to make a mental note to have the UNSC begin constructing more of them as soon as he could.
That being said, there was an entire planet's worth of them and now most of them were gone. He could speculate that the only ships in orbit are still there because they were acting as an extra defence for the ODP's which seems to have worked for now, but not for much longer.
Which is where the plan came in, he informed Khane of it as he put his armour on over the com. As the ODST's and himself dropped from orbit towards the ONI base, Ajax would use its undamaged equipment to organize what was left of the present navy into a makeshift fleet that would act as one. The A.I's controlling the ODP's would carry on with what they were doing while the personal were evacuated to the ships, once that was done. Every ship would make for the planet while the ODP's held the enemy back for as long as they could, as one the fleet would help them as best they could secure the area while using every single Pelican and other transport they had to bring as many people up to them as they could. Though of course the ONI asset would be the first thing up.
"Dropping in three, two... one" the voice said then as one, then every single pod began to drop and out of the front window Alt could see not only the planet that was half dead but all the wreckage that was left over from the battle. Since the Ajax was already heading for the ODP's, it only took a moment before the heat from re-entry to the atmosphere began and blocked his view.
"ALRIGHT ODST'S?!" Diggs voice came in through the radio and when he looked to the side of his pod, he could see that he was broadcasting on an open channel "WHO ARE WE?!" he shouted, no doubt in an attempt to get the blood of his soldiers pumping
"THE FIRST FEET INTO HELL!" they all shouted back at him as the fire from entry started to leave giving them a good view of the city they were falling into. It was in complete ruin, large fires dotted the entire land scape. There wasn't a single building still in one peace and he could see two large alien ships that were hovering close above the city. Though he could also see the target, a large ONI building just off the coast and positioned on a small manmade island. The bridge that led to it was still standing and when he used his eyes to look closer he could see that it was still well defended.
"HELL'S CALLING BOY'S, LET'S ANSWER!" was what Digg said last before their pods smashed into the ground.
Alt didn't wait for the door to slam open, the second the pod hit the ground, he leaped forward, going through the door as he did so. The pods all fell on the opposite side of the bring from the enemy, all around the surviving UNSC soldiers who were holding the line as best they could. Every single pod smashed into the ground relatively close to each other, allowing them to quickly group up and stand with the already exhausted soldiers. As Alt's foot stepped out of the pod and onto the ground, he moved forward as fast as he could.
The second he saw the situation, he knew it wasn't good. The aliens were already halfway across the bridge and still pushing forward, his first target quickly became the large purple vehicle that was moving towards them. It hovered off the ground and was slowly moving forward, it had another alien on what looked like a gunner seat firing at them when the large cannon wasn't. Not that it mattered to him, he moved with blazing speed and before a second had past he was in front it. Lowering his knees to the ground he grabbed the underside of the tank, gripped it hard and span around.
His strength was too much for it and when he let go, the vehicle flew through the air and over some of the buildings the aliens were coming from. Not that he intended to stop there of course, as all the humans fired their weapons over his shoulders, he moved again. Much like when he was on the alien ship, he blinked out of one place and appeared in the other, just in time to punch and alien to the ground with the force of a grenade and do it to another.
High above the city, within the command bridge of his ship. The leader of the Covenant forces looked out through the front window and basked in the destruction before him, it was a beautiful thing in its own way. He lost count of the number of years he battled these aliens in their attempted to uphold the mantle, within those years he gained a great deal of respect for these creatures, they may have lost to their might, but they held their own against their empire for generations.
He almost found himself agreeing with the Liberian when she desired to preserve their kind like she did all the others as their time against the true enemy was coming to an end due to the imminent firing of the great Halo Array. Though that didn't mean he would be fool enough to go against the orders of the great Captain General, no he stood at his leader's side like all the others did and he gladly accepted the punishment he was given without fear or doubt. But those thoughts could wait until later, back to the matter of this extermination. These humans are nothing in the face of what they used to be, of the great force that proved enough to rival that of their own and lay claim to the great mantel.
In his eyes, it was almost a mercy to wipe them out, lest they insult the memory of their ancestors even more then they have already "My lord" a deep voice said from behind him. Turning around he saw four of his Sangheili honour guard on their knees looking up at him.
In front of him was the captain of the ship who was on one knee as well "What is it?" he asked back in their own native tongue, slowly taking a couple of steps towards him, his heavy armour thudding loudly as he moved waited for what he had to say.
"There has been a development my lord, one of these humans is holding the final bastion of this worlds defence" he spoke in a gruff voice as all his kind did "I would not normally bring this to your attention oh great one, but this human is showing a speed and strength that is matched only by your great and mighty kin"
His eyes narrowed at the words he was hearing "Show me" he said back immediately.
The captain nodded and immediately made his way back to one of the communication hubs of the ship, he followed close behind him. His guards following as they always did, not that it was needed of course. When they reached the computer, one of the Unggoy quickly started to type away and a video began to play on a large screen, it showed a live feed of one of their drones that was in the area and his eyes narrowed at the sight. It was as the captain said, one human figure was in the middle of the bridge wearing a full suit of armour and he was decimating the force that where being sent. Anything from the foot soldiers to the vehicles to the banshee's and phantoms, nothing could end him or keep him down.
He knew exactly what this meant, and he knew what he had to do. He simple spoke instead of letting his emotions get in the way "send a priority one message back to High Charity and make sure it is seen by acting Captain General Faora Hu" he said as he turned around and made his way towards the air lock "Kal-El has been found"
"Atlas, this is Ajax. The rest of the fleet are on their way planet side now" Khanes voice came in through his radio "the ODP's should be enough to clear us a path and once we fire every MAC we have, it should deal with the two ships you got in front of you. ETA, two minutes" she informed him as he tried his best to not get hit which would damage the radio.
Alt took a moment to get behind cover which came in the form of an alien tank that was flipped over. He reached for his wrist and started to type away on the small screen, plugging himself into the UNSC communications "Alright people!" he shouted in order to be heard over the constant fire "are rides incoming, steady evacuations into the building and onto the roof. The ONI eggheads with the asset, the civilians and then ground troops! Copy?!"
"Solid Copy!" the voice of Diggs came back through as well as a green ping from all present forces. He quickly moved back out from cover, ready to get back in the fight. Seeing one of the large transport ships coming in. He picked up the tank he was just kneeling behind and threw it at the large one, with the speed he did. It tore the thing in half, and it clasped into the water just off the bridge, he was about to continue when something unexpected happened. The enemy fire stopped and for a moment, all that was heard the well-known ballistic fire of bullets "looks like they're retreating" the ODST said as some of the men began to cheer at the sight.
Alt looked closer and it did seem like the enemy was on the run "Good" he said back "makes are job a lot easier"
"Sergeant Atlas, this is sniper team Echo-1. Do you read?" another voice came in, he hasn't spoken to anyone since they landed. Only Khane on the Ajax and his open channel to give orders to those present here. Though just before he left the ship, he went over every single unit they had and there were about a dozen different sniper teams stationed on the higher levels of the ONI building, providing cover were they could. It only took him three seconds to see everything he had to work with.
"I read you Echo-1, status" he said back as he stood on the centre of the bridge much further out in front of the others but still close enough to cover to use it if he had to.
"Most of those bastards are on the run but we got an unknown heading right for you" there was a noticeable edge in his that caused Alt to pause, if these guys had spent the last few days fighting aliens, nothing just should have surprised them anymore, yet this was different.
"What do you mean?" he asked back quickly.
"Ten klicks north-west, one unknown contact, full suit of tough looking black armour, it's walking forward towards us. Doesn't look like any alien we've encountered yet and the others, the ones retreating, when they see it they drop down like they're worshipping the fucking thing" as he spoke, Alt was looking in the direction that was being spoken about, trying to find this unknown but it was difficult to find one alien when there were thousands all running around "And... it's..."
"Echo-1, what is it?" he said back quickly, not liking what he was hearing and fear he had was starting to come forward.
"It's looking right at me" Alt's eyes widened "INCOMING!" then sniper shouted.
Alt only had time to look up to be that sniper's nest was before he saw a huge concreate boulder fly through the air and smash into the building near the upper levels, the thing must have been a dozen or so meets large and it was thrown with such force that it went right through the outer wall of the building. And this was an ONI building that was researching something, it would be made of something far stronger than steel. For it to be ripped apart by a concrete rock... he knew what could have done this "Diggs, evacuate no..." he didn't even finish that order before he heard something behind him.
Atlas turned around just in time for his eyes to widen. The first thing he saw was a large black mass right in front of his helmet, then the force of it going through it. Crushing the metal and the glass visor up against his own skin. It was when he saw the outline of a fist that he felt all that force go up against his face.
Within the span of a few milliseconds, Alt felt a massive pain against him and he was flying through the air. He was so dazed by what happened, he didn't even recognize his amazement that he felt dazed to begin with. He flipped and rolled across the ground until he smashed into the large stairs that led into the lobby of the building. When the UNSC forces saw that, even they stopped firing at the retreating aliens as they couldn't look away from the man they just saw wipe out so many of the enemy be beaten back like that. Well, it certainly got rid of the confidence they just felt.
But Alt didn't stay down for long, while the force of the blow did hurt him. It also wasn't enough to keep him down, he quickly got back up to his feet before he realized how of an idea that was. He stumbled in place for a moment and dropped to one knee, placing a hand on what was left of his helmet. Taking a moment to regain himself, he looked up and saw the large figure in black armour standing who didn't move from that one spot. He knew what this meant, it meant that not only his but every high-ranking human's worst fear was now a reality.
He took a deep breath before he stood up, reached up with both his hands and gripped either side of his damaged helmet. He pulled them apart and crumpled hunk of metal fell to the ground, freeing his face. He looked closer at the figure, he looked far more human then the other aliens did, based on that he could tell that this thing was a man. Exactly like he himself was, though he seemed much bigger. His armour covered every part of his body, including his face as the helmet had almost a gasmask esthetical and you wouldn't be wrong in thinking that it looked like a black skull as well.
Alt took a couple of steps forward until he was at the bottom of the steps, he turned and looked at the nearest solider. One of the ODSTs he didn't know the name of yet "Evacuate now" was all he said as he walked past him and towards the ali... no, it wasn't, was it? He was one of his people. He shook his head at those thoughts. He looked past the man and towards the coastline just past the bridge, there was a massive line of the aliens all looking at them going down the entire coast. He didn't even hear the sounds of his own guys making their way back inside the ONI building.
As he stared at the one in black, his mind started to go over all the different scenarios of what should happen next. All the different ways they could have made peace, all the different ways he could have converted him to the human side and all the different ways that he himself could be converted to the enemy's side. But that didn't matter, did it? This man, the first interaction he's ever had with anything about who he was and were he came from. And he knew exactly what would happen next, he was leading the force here. For all Alt knew, he could be leading their entire army, beating him here could end it all before it could spiral into something far worse, they had already wiped out an entire planet and were in the process of doing it to another.
Peace is not an option.
He leapt forward, his fist was extended and aimed right at his target. Only for him to step out of the way last second and miss the target completely. He mentally cursed himself for leaving himself open to such an easy mistake, as he moved past him. He braced for the counterattack, but it didn't come. Alt didn't trip over or fall to the ground, he managed to stop himself before he got too far and quickly turned around. While he may be standing far closer to the aliens then he would like but they didn't attack him and the one in black remained in place in the middle of the bridge, though he had turned to face him.
Knowing that he wouldn't be allowed to let his emotions control his judgement and he just lost his radio, Alt would need to keep a calm head, despite the fact he was terrified right now. He forced himself to remember everything he learnt both from Johnson and his time with the Spartans. He placed one leg in front of the other, bent them slightly and raised both his hands in a guarded boxing like stance. His eyes remained narrowed as he looked at the man ready for what was to come next.
As for the man himself, he saw what Alt was doing. His head tilted to the side slightly before flexed his shoulders slightly and cracked his neck. His clenched his hands into fists and he charged at Atlas.
Ok everyone, we shall call it there. I know this is another big cliff hanger but a swear I'm not doing it on purpose. This just seemed like I really good place to end it while at the same time allowing me to upload it at the scheduled time without rushing anything. Anyway, let me know what you all think. Who is this mystery Kryptonian? Do the covenant work for them? Who knows. I look forward to hearing what you all think.
Next story update: A New Guardian
