ONI Black Ops Part Six
Posted By: Havok<Tactical_Havok@hotmail.com>
Date: 16 May 2003, 12:17 AM
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Vladimir woke up from his super chilled sleep, coughing and sputtering. He absolutely hated cryo sleep. Nothing was worse than waking up and having to swallow the mucus that had filled your lungs for the last few weeks. He wiped his mouth and stumbled out of the cryo tube. He went to his locker and put on his clothes.
The tube next to his hissed and opened. The master chief sat up, coughed up the nutritious fluid, and swallowed it without as much as a gag. He stood, looked at Vladimir, and went to his locker and put on his fatigues.
Vladimir, still stiff and sore from his sleep in the freezer, walked to his quarters. He powered up his computer and checked his email. The first message on his screen was from Dietrich. He opened up the letter and read it. Dietrich wanted him to muster along with the rest of the research team in the conference room in fifteen minutes.
He shaved, showered, and got some food from the cafeteria, then headed for the conference room. The door opened in front of him and he saw that he was the last one there. He muttered his apologies and took a seat at the end of the long conference table. He sank into his chair and finished up his food as Dietrich powered up the holoprojector in the middle of the black table.
Dietrich spoke up. "Hope everybody had a comfortable three week rest."
Mutters all around about where he could shove that three week rest.
He chuckled, then continued. "Right, well we got a lot of work to do. We are currently in slipstream space, rapidly approaching our objective. We will re-enter real space in the next ten to fifteen hours. Until then, Vladimir, you are to supervise the prepping of the MJOLNIR II armor." An exploded schematic of the armor shimmered into existence above the table. "The master chief is to be suited up and ready to go an hour before reversion to real space. This is a precautionary measure to ensure that the armor will be safe in case of any mishaps."
Vladimir grunted acknowledgement, then went back to his food. "When we engage the covenant defense force, I want everybody to muster in the main docking bay. If we take a hit, it won't be pretty even with the new armor plating. If it looks like we are going to get hit, I want everybody in a drop ship and away from any of the ships."
"Now, any questions?" Dietrich peered around the room. Vladimir raised his hand. "Yes?"
Vladimir choked down the food in his mouth. "Well, I was wondering if the master chief would go with us in the drop ship if we get hit."
"No. you will be taking a few spare armor suits, but the master chief will be with the marine detachment below decks."
"Okay, any more questions? No? All right then. Lets get to work." Dietrich flipped off the projector and left the room. The research team followed, leaving Vladimir behind to finish his breakfast.
The Black Ops battle group jumped into the covenant system amidst pools of the soft blue light of slipspace. The warships were scattered throughout a three thousand kilometer area as they reverted to real space. Not bad considering ships could tear their way out of the alternate space millions of kilometers apart. All the covenant saw of the ships' arrival were the blue swirls of re-entry, and then... nothing.
The ships promptly vanished from covenant telescopes and long range sensors. The battlecruisers powered up their sub light engines and moved into a staggered formation. As they advanced into the system, the master chief's AI, known as Cortana, hacked into the Covenant BattleNet, and retrieved snippets of alien transmissions. The Covenant defense force grouped into a single line and advanced out system. They left a few ships behind to watch the planet. The hacked transmissions were translated and sent to the bridge, where Captain Wallace reviewed them.
The ships were sent out by the planetary HQ to investigate the strange re-entry signatures that appeared on sensors. The advanced cautiously, strung out over several hundred kilometers. The most recent count of hostile vessels in system stood out on the bridge's main screen: fifteen ships.
Usually, Captain Wallace would have discarded the idea of victory in a scenario like this. Human ships almost never won when they were outnumbered. The ideal scenario was to outnumber the covenant at least three to one. But with these new ships came new opportunities and confidence. This battle was destined to be a lopsided one, but it was all stacked against the covenant this time.
The Captain had Cortana open a com link to the covenant ships. He wanted the covenant to know what was coming, and who was going to destroy them. When Cortana signaled that the link was open. He spoke with authority. "This is the UNSC Archangel. We have come to kill every last one of you." He closed the link and called the ship to General Quarters.
All six human warships brought their crews up to combat readiness as they steadily closed the distance with the covenant ships. MAC cannons were brought online and firing solutions plotted. Each battlecruiser was assigned two targets. Each covenant ship was targeted my at least MAC heavy round each.
"Ready, FIRE!" Captain Wallace shouted through the comm. system. Twenty four burning projectiles streaked toward their targets. Five seconds later the second volley was fired, thanks to the electromagnetic recapacitators that recaptured waste energy. Another five second after that, the third and final volley left the gun tubes. 72 red streaks shot toward their targets.
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