Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover.
Thank you all for your wonderful patience and support. I deeply appreciate it.
My apologies for the delay in posting this chapter. I was a bit busy with personal matters and other things. That said, this story arc is really shaping up to be something interesting. I can promise you that more divergences will result from here on out.
As always, leave a review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or MechWarrior/BattleTech franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, WizKids, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
Forerunner Structure
Harvest, Near Alpha Base
February 4th, 2531, 2114 Hrs Local Time
Forge let out a sigh as he traveled deeper into the Forerunner structure. Too close, he thought as technicians began removing Covenant explosives set up at strategic points on the structural supports for the place. A minute later, and this place would be rubble.
Nearby, Sergeant Wright had similar thoughts. "Just in the nick of time," he said. "I gotta admit, this place looks beautiful. Damn shame the Covenant tried to fuck it all up."
"Tell me about it," Forge agreed.
He was about to head back out when his COM crackled. "Major Knowles to Sergeant Forge, SitRep?"
Forge keyed his COM. "Situation normal. Covenant tried blowing the place. We stopped them, and are awaiting new orders. Over."
"Copy Sergeant. New orders coming in. Captain Cutter is sending Dr. Anders to the site. Secure the facility and escort her inside."
Forge frowned. "Sir, permission to deny her access for the time being."
"Reason?"
"It's not safe here," Forge said. "Covenant could come back at any moment. Over."
"Denied," Knowles said. "You'll have it secured by the time she arrives. Knowles out."
Forge opened his mouth to protest when the COM cut out. He sighed. Typical REMF, but it is what it is. He glanced at Wright. Wright merely shrugged sympathetically. Focusing on the others, he said, "OK, everyone! We've got an egghead on the way here! Secure the rest of this facility! We don't want the Covenant to surprise us!"
"Yes sir," the others said. Marines and SLDF personnel began moving through every part of the facility, eyes peeled for any trouble.
While they carried their order out, Forge turned to Wright. "Think you could have some of your men and mine cover Anders?"
Wright nodded. "I can handle that. Now, let's get to work getting this place swept and cleared. I'd rather not have Anders killed because we got sloppy." Forge nodded in agreement, even as he and Wright got to work coordinating the others.
Around ten minutes later, both men were standing at the entrance of the Forerunner facility. Out in the snow, two lines of IR markers, marking the landing zone for Ander's Pelican. The vehicle quickly came into view, turning around before landing with it's tail towards the entrance. The doors opened, allowing Anders to step out. She now wore a thick, fur cuffed jacket. "Cold out here," she said as snow blew through the air.
"You're telling me," Wright said. "Come on. Let's get inside." As they walked into the structure, Wright asked, "Any idea what you're looking for here?"
"I've got a couple theories," Anders said.
"That being?"
"The first is that this is a Forerunner Relinquary," Anders said. "They're basically the equivalent of what the SLDF calls 'Field Libraries.'"
"You mean it could hold a Memory Core?" Wright asked.
"Yes," Anders said.
Wright frowned. That would be really useful, he thought. Such a Relinquary, he knew, might contain valuable schematics, or information that would allow technological breakthroughs "And the other possibility?" he asked.
"That it's a Cartographer."
Forge looked puzzled. "A Cartographer?"
"A kind of map if you will," Anders elaborated.
"So either we're going to find a huge stash of Forerunner tech and information…" Wright began.
"… or we're going to find a map that tells us where such places are," Forge finished.
"Precisely," Anders said. "We won't know, however, if we don't head inside to find out." Both men nodded then followed her, their escorts doing the same.
As they walked deeper into the facility, Wright glanced at the walls and ceiling. "This place is beautiful," he said. "Do all Forerunner structures look like this?
"From what I've gathered thus far, yes," Anders said. "This place was likely built when the Forerunner Empire was at it's peak. Yet despite that, it isn't… overdone."
"Overdone?"
"Yes. There's nothing that's extraneous or unnecessary," Anders elaborated. "Everything here has a place and a purpose. The fact that it looks beautiful in doing so is very much secondary." Wright merely nodded.
Before long, they were approaching the center of the facility itself. A foot bridge spanned a narrow chasm that separated a platform from the rest of the facility. The center of the platform was occupied by what looked like a large table, with seemingly ornamental spires surrounding it. "Sergeants, is this what the aliens were after?"
"Seems like it," Forge said. "They paid a high price trying to destroy it."
Another Marine came to him. "Sir, area is fully secured."
"Anything else?"
"Got some trouble with the COMs, but we're working on it," the Marine said.
Forge frowned. "All right. Keep an eye out for any enemy activity. I want regular patrols until Anders and I leave. Understood?"
"Wilco," the Marine said.
As Forge, Wright, and their accompanying squads gazed at the center of the platform, Anders noticed a holographic ball covered with hexagonal symbols. Each one held a symbol in the center.
"What's that?" Forge asked.
"I don't know," Wright said. "Could it be a control console? If it is, it's the weirdest one I've seen."
"It is," Anders said. "Let's see what it activates."
Spotting her doing so, Forge grabbed her wrist. "Hey!" he nearly shouted. "What are you doing?"
Anders glanced at him. "Testing it out."
"You sure that's a good idea?"
Anders shrugged. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." That seemed to satisfy Forge, as he let go, though his hand drifted to his sidearm. As Anders moved her hand closer to the holographic ball, it shifted, humming as it did. As she laid her hand on the ball, each symbol her fingertips touched lit up, turning blue before flashing once. Pulling her hand back, Anders looked up as whatever she had accessed activated; behind her, Forge, Wright and a few others kept their weapons up and trained.
An instant later, the spires lit up, revealing their purpose. A holographic map expanded into existence, surrounding the table out to the edge of the platform. Photo-realistic holograms of planets, stars and other stellar bodies rotated slowly around the table.
"Well, it's a star map," Forge said.
"Not quite what I expected," Anders said. A small camera was now in her hand. "Look at this! These are all systems within our reach!"
"Beautiful," Wright said. "I wonder if New Avalon is on this map."
Anders shrugged. She was about to speak up when she noticed one of the worlds. Is that… Arcadia? she thought. She took a snapshot of the system, then moved to the console, looking for some way to download the information.
While she was working, a couple of the soldiers guarding her and the others were looking out towards the rest of the facility. "It's quiet," one Marine said.
His SLDF counterpart nodded. "Quiet's good, but too silent is bad. I -" He paused, then seemed to peer ahead.
"What is it?" the Marine asked. Then he too saw something. Without a word, he checked his HUD's thermal imager.
The moment he did, pandemonium ensued.
"Contact" he screamed, firing his rifle at seemingly thin air. "Lot's of contacts!"
"Sergeants!" his SLDF counterpart roared. "Incoming contacts! Cloaked Covenant in AO!"
Wright and Forge acted immediately. Grabbing Anders, Forge threw her and himself behind cover, while Wright and the others ducked behind the low wall surrounding the platform's edge. Ahead, both the SLDF rifleman and UNSC Marine that had spotted the incoming threat were killed, their bodies blown by pink explosions.
Peering over cover, Wright saw their attackers: a squad of Sangheili that seemed to melt out of thin air. "Heresy!" one roared. "Remove this filth!" Said Sangheili then attacked, their weapons spitting out pink, crystalline needles.
"Needlers!" he shouted. "Get into cover, or if you're hit, get away from everyone else!" Popping up, he fired his Mauser II, forcing one of the Sangheili into cover.
"These guys just don't know when to quit, do they?" Forge said.
"Tell me something I don't know!" Wright shot back, then ducked behind cover. "We need extraction on the double!"
Forge nodded, then keyed his COM. "Sergeant Forge to Spirit of Fire! Mayday, mayday, mayday! We're pinned down by stealthed Covenant forces! Send assistance immediately! Over…"
Outside, at the DropShip, Knowles was the first one to hear the transmission. Keying his end of the COM, he said, "Sergeant Forge, Major Knowles here. SitRep?"
"This is Forge, we've been ambushed at the relic site! I'm pinned down with Anders, we're taking heavy losses, we need reinforcements now! Over!"
Knowles frowned. "Copy that. Sending reinforcements your way. Sergeant Reeves, you there?"
"Already on the way," Reeves said. "Moving in to extract them now."
"Solid copy. Knowles out…"
At the Cartographer's entrance, soldiers were already moving inside, having heard Forge's distress call. Up in his Marauder, Reeves checked the facility's ceiling. "Too short for Assault 'Mechs," he said. "Townley, your Marauder ready?"
"Afirm," Townley said.
"Corporal Jones?"
"Reporting," Jones said, his Locust moving closer to the entrance. "Ready to go."
"Then we're moving in. Delta Lance, hold position and defend this area."
"Roger lead," Richmond said.
"Copy lead," Delta 1-3 said.
"Afirm, Lead," Edward said.
With that, Reeves and Townley advanced inside. "Beta 2-1 and 2-2, you're with us."
"Copy," Beta 2-1 said. Both Von Luckners began driving inside, their tracks clanking on the facility's floor.
"Covenant infantry coming in!" Townley shouted. "They're using the facility's tunnels to gain access!"
"All infantry forces, engage!" Reeves shouted.
Immediately, laser beams, particle bolts and bullets streaked through the air. While the Covenant infantry were holding their own against the SLDF and UNSC Marines, the Von Luckners were another story. "Allow us to delouse the area for you," Beta 2-2 said.
The moment the allied infantry ducked behind cover, it was over for the Covenant. Both tanks fired their Autocannons. Explosive submuntions raked the area, filling the air with shrapnel and smoke. Limbs, blood and gore flew about as the Von Luckners made short work of the enemy infantry. "Move in!" Beta 2-1 ordered.
As the tanks moved up, the twin Marauders advanced deeper into the facility. Checking his sensors, Townely snarled. "Shit! Incoming Hunters!"
"I've got them!" Reeves shouted. "Switching to Cluster shells!" At a mental command, the Autocannon's standard shell was quickly replaced with a Cluster shell. Seeing the Hunters approaching, Reeves fired, peppering them with explosive submuntions. At the same time, Townley fired, pulse laser beams splitting the air, while Jones peppered them with his 'Mech's MGs. Fuel rods flew at them in retaliation.
A few of them smacked into their 'Mechs. Reeves could hear a loud, metallic groan coming from Townley's 'Mech. "Shit!" he snarled. "Right arm actuator's damaged! Reduced range of motion!"
"Can you use it?" Reeves asked.
"I can still fight!"
"Keep moving up!"
Even as the 'Mechs, Combat Vehicles and infantry moved up, the Covenant were not letting go. More infantry streamed in, weapons firing. "Look out!" one soldier shouted as a pair of Sangheili with energy swords ran towards one of the tanks.
"Grenades!" A Corporal ordered. Loud blooping noises filed the air as each soldier fired. One Sangheili was shredded, while the other leaped onto the vehicle and tried cutting into the crew compartment. A laser beam ended that attempt in short order.
Eventually, they reached another chasm up ahead. "Light bridge up ahead!" Reeves said. "Bear left!"
"Copy!" Beta 2-1 said. As the 'Mechs jumped ahead with their Jump Jets, the infantry and CV's drove over the light bridge.
"Don't look down," one soldier mumbled to himself. "Don't look down."
"Quiet down," his compatriot growled.
"More Hunters!" another soldier shouted, pointing at a pair of Mgalekgolo that appeared from another tunnel. Taking cover, the infantry fired back, their laser beams cutting gashes into the armor the Hunters wore.
In response, the Hunters fired back, sending fuel rods at the SLDF and UNSC forces. Four Marines screamed as a fuel rod exploded in their midst, killing them instantly. Another group yelled as a blast threw them backwards, two of the men blasted into chunks of charred meat.
"Gun's ain't doing shit to these things!" one man shouted.
"We need something bigger!" another added.
"SRM's on the double!" a Corporal shouted. Four soldiers advanced, carrying SRM Launchers on their shoulders. "Backblast clear!" one reported.
"Fire!" Four SRM missiles streaked through the air, two for each Hunter. While their armor was good, the blast wave and heat from the quadruple of warheads was too much for them to handle. Both Hunters slumped to the ground, dead. "Move up!"
Up ahead, Townley and Reeves could see Forge and the others pinned down behind the platform's half-walls. "Got some Shade Turrets up ahead!" Jones reported.
"The CV's and infantry will handle them!" Reeves said. "Jones, prepare for delousing!"
"Copy that," Jones said.
As the infantry and Combat Vehicles joined battle against the Shade Turrets and other Covenant infantry, Jones keyed his COM. "Sergeant Forge, you there?"
"Yeah!" Forge said as he fired at a Sangheili. "SitRep?!"
"Get down. Delousing commencing!"
Forge's eyes widened slightly at the term. "Everyone, down!" he shouted. At his command, Wright and the other soldiers ducked, while Forge lay on top of Anders.
A moment later, the carnage commenced.
All four MGs spooled up, then opened fire. All four MGs roared as the fired, 20mm shells flying through the air. The Covenant Spec Ops units were caught in the ensuing fusillade. Limbs, blood and gore flew through the air as energy shields flared, then popped under the onslaught.
Within a few seconds, all the Covenant infantry attacking Forge and the others were dead. "About time!" Forge said as the MG's fell silent. "I was down to my last shell!"
"Von Luckners," Anders said. "The SLDF's answer to the Scorpion."
Forge shrugged. "I'll take whatever I can get. Can you fix them?"
"Minor repairs, yes. I'd need a workshop for major ones."
"Got it," Forge said. "Everyone, form up, we're getting out of here! Reeves, Townley, Jones, lead the way and clear the area for us!"
"Wilco," Reeves said. "Corporal, Townley, Beta 2-1 and Beta 2-2, form up on me! We're getting them out of here!" Turning his 'Mech around, he began to move toward the light bridge they'd come from.
Just as he did, Townley shouted, "Look out!"
At that moment, a plasma explosion rang out. The bridge flickered once, then winked out of existence. Jones, unable to halt his 'Mech's momentum, howled as his 'Mech dropped into the chasm. Reeves, having moved later, barely pulled back the throttle in time. "Shit!" he snapped. "Jones is gone! Covenant det charges destroyed the bridge!"
"I think I see another way out of here!" Anders said. "There's another light bridge nearby! I can get to the controls. I just need three minutes!"
"Got it!" Forge said. "Everyone, to that light bridge! Keep the professor covered!"
At his command, everyone began moving towards the second light bridge. A single Shade Turret was there, though that was instantly rectified by one of the Von Luckners, which blew the turret to pieces.
"Starting now!" Anders said as she reached the console.
"You heard the lady," Forge said. "Let's give her some privacy." Spotting what looked like a platform, he said, "That might be useful. Wright?"
Wright nodded. "You four, get on that platform." Four SLDF soldiers nodded, then quickly clambered onto the platform. A moment later, it's anti-grav unit activated, lifting the platform eight meters into the air over it's base.
"Incoming!" one of the soldiers shouted. "Covenant infantry!"
"They must be using the maintenance tunnels to get in!" Wright growled.
"Don't let them close!" Forge shouted. "Keep them away from the professor!"
With that, the firefight began anew. Bullets, laser beams and particle bolts made quick mincemeat of any Covenant that dared get too close.
"They're pulling back!" a Marine shouted. "Where they going?"
"Probably getting their second wind," Wright said.
"Got it!" Anders shouted, startling Forge and Wright. "The bridge is active!"
"Everyone over the bridge now!" Forge ordered. Reeves and Townley, firing their 'Mechs jump jets, jumped the gap, then proceeded forwards as the Von Luckners followed the infantry.
Before long, they were driving out of the facility and back into the frozen wasteland. Keying his COM, Forge said, "Forge to Spirit of Fire! We're outside and ready for extraction!"
"Cutter to Forge, good work," Cutter said. "Professor, I want to be briefed on your findings as soon as possible."
"Yes sir," Anders said. "It'll be good to be back onboard. I've had enough excitement for a little while."
"Agreed," Cutter said. "Knowles?"
"On the COM," Major Knowles said. "Orders?"
"Recall all your forces and head out. We've got more personnel coming to man Alpha Base."
"Roger that," Knowles said. "We're recalling to the DropShip. Major Knowles out."
. . .
A few minutes later, Anders was back in the Spirit of Fire's observation deck, with Cutter standing just behind her. Both of them were looking at a computer display of the map the Cartographer had displayed. "So, all it did was point here?" Cutter asked, pointing his finger at one of the systems the screen showed.
"In the thirty to sixty seconds I had to examine the map?" Anders said. "Yes. All it did was point to another system, Arcadia if memory serves."
Cutter nodded. "Serina?"
"Outer colony, 13.5 lightyears away. Arcadia's population is a little under twelve million. Largely unexplored, but apparently quite the vacation resort."
"It's where some of the rich and wealthy go to catch a break from life in the Inner Colonies," Sergeant Wright, who was also present, added. "I've been there a few times too."
Anders frowned and paced. "There's something there, Captain, and I think it's important we get to it before the Covenant do."
"Our orders are still to investigate Harvest," Cutter reminded her. "We still don't know a lot about what's going on down there."
Anders nodded. "I understand, Captain, but everything here tells me we need to get to Arcadia to figure this out."
Wright cleared his throat. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"
"Go ahead," Cutter said.
Wright nodded. "Normally, Captain, I'd be just as skeptical too. However, after seeing what I saw down there, especially that star map, I think Anders is right."
Cutter sighed and pinched the bridge of his noise. They've both got a valid point, he thought. Looking up, he said. "Very well, Sergeant, professor. I'll clear it with Admiral Cole. Serina, set course for Arcadia."
"Aye, sir," Serina said. "Crazy mystery trip to Arcadia plotted in. Spinning up FTL drive." She looked at Anders. "I must admit, you find this quite exciting, don't you?"
Anders frowned. "Serina, get out of my lab."
"Of course," Serina said, her avatar winking out of existence.
As it did, Anders looked back at the image of Arcadia. I don't know where this is going, she thought, but I intend to follow it through to the end. With a sigh, she got back to work at her station.
While Anders was pondering over the deeper meaning of what was going on, Forge was proceeding through one of the vehicle bays onboard the Spirit of Fire. Everywhere he looked, he could see Warthogs, Scorpions, Cobras, Wolverines and a few other vehicles being worked on.
His eyes fell onto a sight that, over a decade ago, would've been strange and unfamiliar. Within several large bays were a number of BattleMechs, each one being worked on by technicians. One 'Mech was currently having a component removed, the armor on it gouged and charred to an ugly black.
"Beautiful, ain't they," he heard a voice say. Turning around, Forge found himself looking at Sergeant Reeves and Wright. "Step into one of those things, and it's easy to see why the media makes us look like young gods, lords of war striding across the battlefield in our engines of destruction."
Forge nodded. "I can. That said, I didn't know you were onboard the ship. I thought you two were deployed to Harvest still."
Wright shook his head. "Not anymore. We're redeploying to Arcadia. However, the JumpShip that brought us in had a major malfunction with the initiator, so it's having to remain in orbit to conduct repairs. Spirit's got some Docking Collars installed, so Admiral Belleau agreed to have Cutter bring us along for the ride."
Forge smiled. "Good. I've been kinda curious about how you MechWarriors relax. A few guys here offered to play a game of 'Mech Hold 'Em with me. Want to come?"
Reeves nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not. Besides, I'm the card sharp 'round here. I'll clean everyone out. Wright?"
"I don't see the harm in it."
Forge smiled. Oh, so Reeves thinks he's the hot shit, he thought. I guess we'll have to change that. "You're on," he said aloud. "Come on you two. It's over this way."
The four men soon found themselves entering one of the recreational rooms aboard the ship.
This particular room was already in use, as dozens of Marines were exercising, watching video feeds, or simply discussing the usual scuttlebutt. One Marine, a large, bulky man with black hair, smiled as Forge and Reeves walked in. "So you're the fancy Mech Pilot that saved Forge's ass here, eh?" he said. He looked Reeves up and down. "You don't look like much."
"I'm full of surprises," Reeves retorted.
The Marine smiled. "I bet you are. I'm Michaelson by the way; most call me Grinder." He extended a large hand.
Reeves shook it. "Reeves."
"Reeves, eh? Well, how 'bout we get to know each other round this game of 'Mech Hold 'Em?"
"Sure thing," Reeves said.
Before long, Forge, Wright and Reeves were sitting at a table with Michaelson, and a small, reedy Marine that identified herself as Janice. As they played their third consecutive round, Janice asked, "So, Reeves, what's it like piloting a BattleMech?"
"Another day on the job for me," Reeves said as he moved some chips into the center of the table. "That said, there's something special about riding a 75 ton war machine into battle, like those knights of old."
"I'll bet," Michaelson said. "I'll double." Moving a stack of chips next to Reeves' stack, he said, "I guess it must be fun stomping around, makin' a noise like an elephant."
"It is," Reeves agreed. "'Mechs can be silent too, if the pilot puts in the effort. I should know."
"Oh?" Forge asked. "This'll be interesting."
"I once piloted an Atlas."
"What's that?" Forge asked.
"Big BattleMech," Michaelson said. "Heard the 'head' took a year to design alone."
"Yes," Reeves said. "To quote Kerensky, it is a 'Mech that's, 'as large as possible, as impenetrable as possible, and as ugly and foreboding as conceivable, so that fear itself will be our ally.'
"Anyways, I once piloted an Atlas. In the right hands, a man can make it dance. I once piloted this 'Mech onto a convoy of Innies, part of a mission to cut off supplies for bomb making factories. Apparently, they figured that, by blending in and not sticking out like a sore thumb, they'd get to where they wanted to go with minimal interruptions."
"You catch them?" Janice asked.
"I was getting to that," Reeves said. "They were reaching this intersection when I decided to march up to them and stop them. 'Course, doing so loudly would've given me away and botched the mission. So I decided to go in quietly."
"I didn't know 'Mechs could be silent," Forge said.
"They can be if you're skilled enough. Anyways, I crept up on this convoy, and the next thing they knew, I'd burst out of the trees and shouted, 'To all Insurrectionists in this unit, I hereby demand your surrender!"
That prompted some laughter from everyone. "That must've gotten their attention," Janice said.
"It did," Reeves said. "Everyone was so busy staring at me that they didn't see the other folks come up to surround the convoy. In five minutes, we had everyone in custody."
Wright laughed. "You MechWarriors get all the fun. That said, I'm in this war for more than just glory and honor."
"Oh?" Forge asked.
"Got a daughter back home. Keeps asking me if she can join up and fight with me someday." Wright frowned, suddenly looking much older than before. "She doesn't understand the kind of shit I've had to do."
Forge nodded.
"Yeah," Wright agreed. "It's hard to explain to a civilian the kinds of sacrifices we have to make. Hell, it was hard enough for folks back home to understand during the Amaris Coup."
"Tell me about it," Michaelson said.
"Yep. That said, my daughter's a hard lady to dissuade. I hope, for my sakes at least, that she decides not to come along. It'd break my heart if she got killed."
Wright glanced at Forge. "So, got anyone to come back home to?"
Forge nodded. "Got a daughter, Rion Forge, as well as my woman."
"What's she like?"
Forge smiled. "She's your typical, hyperactive young girl. Been trying to raise her right, but things between my wife and I, well… let's just say it could be going better."
Everyone at the table nodded sympathetically. "I see," Wright said. "Still, not much one can do about it. Can't rush through it, only endure it." Glancing up, he asked, "So, anyone willing to call the bet?"
Forge smirked. "I call."
Janice frowned. "Fold."
"Call," Michaelson said.
"Same," Reeve said.
"Agreed," Wright said. Leaning forwards, he said, "Pair of deuces."
Michaleson nodded. "Three pair. You, Forge?"
Forge smiled. "Full house." Michaelson groaned and threw his deck down. "How about you, Reeves?"
Reeves smiled, then showed his cards. "Straight flush."
Now everyone groaned. "What the hell man?!" Michaelson said. "You said you couldn't play jack shit!"
Reeves smiled. "Firstly, never assume a person can't play cards, even if they tell you so. Secondly, I was watching for and learning your tells."
Forge shook his head. "Guess you got me there," he said. "Wanna play another round?"
"No thanks," Reeves said, standing up. "I know better than to push my luck. See you 'round, Forge."
"You too man," Forge said. "Wright?"
"I can go another round," Wright said. "It'll take more than a bad set of cards to put me down!"
. . .
It hadn't been two days before the Spirit of Fire reached Arcadia. As Cutter walked onto the bridge of the ship, he could already tell that things had gone sour. "Captain, we're picking up a lot of distress signals," a bridge officer told him. "The Covenant is here in force."
Cutter nodded. "Understood. Serina?"
"Three Covenant vessels came out of Slipspace near Arcadia. The Bellfast, Budapest, Pillar of Autumn, Texas and Armstrong engaged immediately. They caught one with its shields down and disabled the second. We lost the Texas, Belfast and Budapest. The Armstrong is venting atmosphere and Autumn is badly damaged. The remaining vessels are engaged in surface activity."
Cutter frowned. "What kind of surface activity?"
"Unknown," Serina said. Cutter was about to issue orders when she said, "Wait! I'm getting a signal. Audio only."
The COM speaker crackled to life. Static was thick, but a man's voice could be heard over the static, "We're being overrun! Alien forces are inside the city limits and approaching the space ports! We're still evacuating civilians… we need help!" The signal cut out.
"Getting visuals now, Captain," Serina said.
Cutter walked over to another console. This one had a small screen that began sending in images. Most of them were badly disjointed, or were isolated snippets. What is going on down there, Cutter wondered.
Then, a stream of images came through that had his full attention. The camera was pointed skywards, showing some skyscrapers. Then, an armored figure appeared on screen. The figure fired a few laser beams from its rifle, then advanced forwards. Several more came into view, with one knocking the camera about.
Cutter stood up. "Serina, who were they?"
Serina checked her files. "Unknown," she said.
"I see," Cutter said. "Serina, launch ODST and vehicle pods! Bring the ship to full alert!"
"Aye sir," Serina said.
(A/N: And here's the next bit of lore. Take your time in reading through it, as it can be a bit tricky.)
Standard, Ferro-Fibrous & Ferro-Lamellor Armor:
Standard, Ferro-Fibrous and Ferro-Lamellor Armor are the most common forms of advanced composite armor used by the UNSC and SLDF. While Standard and Ferro-Fibrous Armor were developed by the Inner Sphere, and later the Star League, the final was developed by the UNSC and SLDF during the Covenant-UNSC-SLDF War. Since their adoption, Standard, Ferro-Fibrous and Ferro-Lamellor Armor have replaced all other forms of armor for ground vehicles.
One of the defining characteristics of Star League designed armor is it's ablative property. When installed properly, the armor used by SLDF ground vehicles is mounted onto the structure and is designed to boil, vaporize and/or tear away when hit with weapons fire. The primary benefit of this property is it's ability to absorb energy by being destroyed rather than transferring it into the structure, equipment and personnel of the vehicle, thereby preventing damage to all three until it is fully ablated.
Standard Armor was initially developed before the Star League's founding by the Terran Hegemony during the mid to late 25th century. Standard Armor is comprised of two upper layers and two sublayers. The first upper layer is a titanium-steel alloy that is hardened using radiation treatment. This grants the upper armor tremendous hardness, at the cost of making it brittle. The second later is composed of cubic boron nitride that is reinforced using a diamond microfiber mesh. This layer serves as a backstop to the upper layer, and is also meant to stop HEAP (High-Explosive/Armor-Piercing) shells, as well as fast neutrons and radiation.
The first sublayer beneath the two upper layers is a titanium-steel alloy honeycomb. This layer is meant to provide structural support to the upper layers, which can often be just centimeters, or millimeters, thin. As a result, this titanium honeycomb layer holds the armor in place via high strength adhesives and (normally) keeps the brittle first and second armor layers from flexing. However, when the outer layers are flexed too much, they will shatter like a pane of tempered glass; it is this tendency of the outer armor layers to shatter due to their extreme hardness that is one of the reasons why BattleMechs and Combat Vehicles lose armor when they fall, suffer physical attacks from other BattleMechs, or collide with structures or other units.
The final sublayer for Standard Armor is a polymer sealant that closes off the gaps between the individual armor plates, making the unit the armor is mounted on airtight and waterproof. The polymers used usually have some self-sealing capability (just enough to handle small punctures and gaps) and are heat resistant enough to survive the high internal temperatures of a 'Mech or Combat Vehicle in combat.
Standard Armor, however, was replaced by Ferro-Fibrous Armor in the year 2571, during the Early Star League era. Star League Ferro-Fibrous Armor differs from Standard Armor in that the upper layer is reinforced with a diamond microfiber mesh similar to the mesh used in the second layer of armor using a combination of Chemical Layer Deposition, Physical Layer Deposition and Ionic Implantation. Following the SLDF's arrival in UNSC/UEG space, this process was further improved upon, with the UNSC using their advanced manufacturing techniques to add in stacked diamond-coated nanotubes, elastic polymer composites and intermetallic laminates.
Ferro-Fibrous Armor provides a number of benefits over that of Standard Armor, the primary benefit being an increase in the protection provided over Standard Armor by 30%. While the maximum protection that can be afforded to the unit mounting the armor isn't increased, the weight needed to attain the level of protection is reduced.
Despite this, Ferro-Fibrous Armor has two downsides. The first is that it is slightly bulkier than Standard Armor, limiting the amount of space within the 'Mech or vehicle it is mounted on. The second is that it is twice as expensive as Standard Armor, costing around 20,000 cR per ton compared to Standard Armor's 10,000 cR per ton. While this means that Ferro-Fibrous Armor generally has purely military applications, this increase in bulk and price is deemed to be an appropriate trade-off for the protection that Ferro-Fibrous Armor provides.
The final form of armor used by the SLDF and UNSC is Ferro-Lamellor Armor. Developed during the Covenant-UNSC-SLDF War in the year 2542, Ferro-Lamellor Armor represents the most advanced form of armor for ground vehicles.
Ferro-Lamellor Armor is manufactured using a method known as Atomic Layer Deposition, an advanced form of Chemical Layer Deposition that allows for the manufacturing of metal, ceramic and polymer plates that have few, if any, voids on the atomic level. In addition, the armor is also designed to be an advanced form of composite metal foam, a form of closed-cell foam that is made from a combination of homogeneous hollow metal spheres with a metallic matrix surrounding the spheres. The manufacturing process also allows for the addition of the stacked diamond-coated nanotubes, elastic polymer composites and intermetallic laminates used in Ferro-Fibrous Armor
The benefits of Ferro-Lamellor Armor are two-fold. The first is that Ferro-Lamellor armor provides 30% more protection per ton compared to Ferro-Fibrous Armor on average. Finally, due to it's advanced design, and the use of a third layer identical to the first layer of armor, Ferro-Lamellor Armor will reinforce the structure of the vehicle it is mounted on, rendering it impervious to most armor-piercing munitions.
Despite this, Ferro-Lamellor Armor has two disadvantages. The first is that Ferro-Lamellor Armor is bulkier than Ferro-Fibrous armor by around 25%. The second is that the armor is 1.75 times more expensive than Ferro-Fibrous Armor, at around 35,000 cR per ton compared to Ferro-Fibrous' 20,000 cR per ton.
Despite this downside, Ferro-Lamellor Armor has quickly become the standard by which other forms of armor are measured by. While in limited production after 2542, Ferro-Lamellor Armor entered full production in 2546, and became standard among UNSC and SLDF ground vehicles by 2551.