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Taking Halo: Chapter Two, A Clash of Heavans
Posted By: Steele<hoffmansteele@hotmail.com>
Date: 19 April 2003, 2:15 AM
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Taking Halo: (Chapter 2) A Clash of Heavens!
Dramatis Personae:
Colonel William Jenkins—1st *MAS Battalion Commanding officer
Major Jason Reynolds—1st MAS Battalion Executive officer
Captain James Armstrong—Bravo Company Commander
Gunnery Sergeant Patrick Myers—Bravo Company 1st Sergeant
Staff Sergeant Matthew Duncan—Bravo Company Sniper
Specialist Nicholas Moore—Bravo Company Demolitions Expert
Colonel Rick Santinez—2nd Armored Calvary Battalion Commander
Lieutenant Samuel "Saint" Ryder—V141 "Black Aces" Squadron member
Captain Greg Weaver—Commander of the UNSC Roost
Lako 'Ikaptammue—Covenant Ship Master of CCS Purity of Spirit
Karen Hunt—UWN (Universal Wide News) Reporter tasked to the UNSC Roost
*MAS—Mechanized Armored Suit
0300 Hours, November 1, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Roost, unknown system, near 2nd located Halo
Captain Greg Weaver sighed and dropped into his command chair. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver flask. Popping the cap, he drained the bottle, feeling the fire shoot down his throat and settle in the pit of his stomach.
It was strictly against regulations to drink while on duty, but Weaver could have cared less. It wasn't like he was getting drunk or anything. Just a quick sip here and there wouldn't upset the UNSC's precious regulations.
Pocketing the flask, he turned back to his command crew. He could tell they didn't approve. " Well screw' em," he thought. "They haven't had an entire ship shot out from under them because of their own failings."
Belching, he stood and groaned at his command crew. "What's the ETA for the rest of the task force?"
His COMs officer, a chubby blonde with a broken nose, said, "Approximately two days, sir."
"Sensors, any sign of Covenant contacts in-system?" Greg asked.
"No sir Captain," he replied. "Wait... a minute. I've got some anomalies at the edge of the system. Looks like something is about to exit Slip space, sir. I can't tell what it is, but it's very large."
"Damn, sound Battlestations and prepare Slipstream exits complying with the Cole Protocol. We may have to get out of here if there's too many of' em."
Acknowledgements came back to him as the bridge crew set about his commands. He stood up and marched over to the large viewing screen. Looking at it, he frowned. A highlighted section of space showed up on one of the grids. It showed where a very large mass was about to enter normal space.
"Helm bring us about to face the opening in Slipspace. Weapons remove the safeties from the MACs and arm the Archers. I want target acquisitions as soon as whatever it is drops out of Slipspace. I don't care what it is."
"Aye aye, sir."
"Aye, Cap'n."
The Roost swung to port with surprising grace for her bulk. She was the largest craft in the UNSC, crewing over 10,000 personal, not including her complement of over 20,000 marines and support equipment. Most of her space was for engines, berthing, engineering, and cargo, but she had four MAC cannons and 1,000 Archer missile pods. Add that to the three standard Shiva Tactical Nuclear Missiles and she could hold her own against all enemies.
Weaver and the rest of the bridge crew waited in terse silence for the ship to drop out of Slipspace. When it did, Weaver's breathe caught in his throat. A section of space 10,000 kilometers distant boiled a bright green and spat out a whole Covenant armada.
The armada consisted of a dozen Covenant craft, none of them smaller than a Battlecruiser. They were arrayed in a triangle formation. A lethal-looking Destroyer held the point of the triangle. Behind it floated multiple Destroyers, a Carrier, and a few Battlecruisers.
For a few moments they appeared dead in space, but that quickly changed when their noses came up, their shields sprang to life, and pulse lasers charged along their hulls. And they were getting closer.
Weaver gulped and turned to his Weapon's officer, "Estimated range to engage?"
"In about a minute we'll be able to fire at maximum range. Then, we'll have precisely ten seconds to get out of range before the Covenant fire, sir."
Weaver nodded. "At range fire MACs 1 through 4 and coordinate Archer pods 1 through 250 to impact right after the MAC rounds hit."
"All ready got it, sir," his Weapons officer responded, her voice cracking.
"Helm as soon as we fire I want full reverse. Maybe we can stay back and snipe at them," Weaver added.
One of the standard UNSC tactics used to deal with superior numbers of Covenant spacecraft was to stay out of range and send them MAC volleys. The UNSC MAC had an extra thousand kilometers of range on the Covenant Plasma Torpedo and UNSC captains used this to great advantage.
"We're in range, firing now," his Weapons officer shouted.
One large thump sounded through the hull as the MACs fired simultaneously. Four silver lances shot out and slammed into the lead Covenant Destroyer. The Destroyer's shields held for a split second then broke under the force.
The first MAC round entered right through the center of the ship, ripped through the thick armor like so much junk, and holed the ship all the way through. The others followed suite, hitting near the exact same spot. The result was spectacular as the Covenant Destroyer was spun out of control by explosive decompression, atmosphere venting from ruined sections of hull. Then the Archer missiles struck, slamming into damaged sections of hull and sloughing off armor by the ton.
Immediately the Roost went into full reverse as the Covenant Capital ships launched Plasma Torpedoes at her. The sapphire blue projectiles arced up and plummeted downward, missing the Roost by a scant 300 hundred meters.
Weaver breathed a sigh of relief. "Deploy all Marine personnel and equipment on board. We haven't got time to screw around, just hot drop them all. The Covenant won't glass the Halo. And we know that any Covenant forces won't stand a chance against the MAS unit and Armored Cav Battalion. So they should hold out until reinforcements arrive. I think we can hold the Covies off enough to drop our load."
His COMs officer glanced nervously. "But sir, they'd be without any kind off support for two days. And that Covenant Carrier can drop just as many troops as we can, if not more."
Weaver glared daggers at his COMs officer and whispered in a deadly voice, "I know damn well what the situation is Lieutenant. So don't try and tell me how to do my job. I was commanding ships before you were an itch in your daddy's pants. Now turn around and do your job or I will have you removed from this ship.
His COMs officer swallowed, mumbled a half-hearted "Yes sir," and spun around in his chair. The rest of the bridge crew exchanged glances. Their Captain was starting to lose it.
"I want all our single-ship fighters to launch and create a screen for the Covenant ships. How long until we're clear of all the ground-pounders?"
"Around ten minutes, sir."
"Sir," his Weapons officer shouted. "Next Covenant Destroyer in range. Fire?"
"Send them to hell, Lieutenant."
"Aye aye, sir."
Another thump reverberated through the hull and four silver daggers reached out and stabbed deep into the Covenant Destroyer. The ship was knocked off course by the force of the blow. The Destroyer listed to the left as Plasma gouted out from every direction. She rolled once and stopped, dead in space.
Again the remaining Covenant ships fired and again the Roost managed to get out of the way in time.
His Navigations officer looked over at him. "Sir eventually they're going to run us down. Their ships are faster and we can't keep this up."
Weaver looked miserable. "I know, I know. I just wish they had given us a damn A.I. I mean the godforsaken MAS commander got one and I didn't."
"Sir, all Marines and fighters are deployed."
Weaver grinned a predatory smile. "Good. Tell the fighters to pull back and support the Marine Landing Craft. Give me full engine power and change to heading two-seven-four. We're going to bring down that carrier."
"But, sir," his COMs officer protested. "That's straight for the Covenant formation. You're going to get us killed."
Weaver smiled coldly. "You will do as you are told. And, yes this probably will get us killed, but we must do it. It's the only way to accomplish our mission. Start evacuating all non-essential personal. Make sure the Black Aces cover them."
His COMs officer abruptly stood up, knocking data discs on the deck. "No. I will not let your psychotic mind destroy us all for some meaningless revenge on the Covenant over your lost ship and crew." He looked over at the Weapons officer. "Come on Chris, we can't let him do this. He'll kill us all for nothing."
Weaver nodded. Reaching into his waistband, he pulled out a previously concealed M6D pistol and pointed it at his COMs officer, who was now charging him. Weaver pulled the trigger. A deafening bang echoed through the bridge.
The COMs' head rocked back as the .50 cal round entered just below his nose. Blood, brains, and skull fragments splattered the bulkhead behind him. His lifeless body slumped to the deck.
The rest of the bridge crew just sat there, stunned. Weaver just shrugged. "We don't need COMs anymore anyway. Weapons make sure our all our weapons are ready to go and prep all three Shivas to blow on remote detonation and transfer control to my station. Navigations I want you to spit that Covenant Carrier amidships. Don't worry about avoiding Plasma Torps; we'll just take the damage."
The bridge crew sat for a second then hurriedly went about his orders. They might survive the Covenant, but they sure as hell weren't going to survive their own Captain.
Weaver sighed wearily and collapsed into his command chair. Looking outside the viewport he watched two Plasma Torpedoes slam into the bow of his Carrier. Armor plates tore off and spun out into space. The Roost rocked. She seemed to slow, then leap forward again.
"Damage?"
"Light, sir. Deck OneA is breached, but already sealed. 35 percent of Bow Armor has been stripped. Another hit like that could do serious damage."
"Drop the bastard that launched them, Weapons."
"All ready on it, sir."
Four MAC rounds and hundreds of Archer missiles slammed into a Battlecruiser and tore it into flaming blue chunks of debris.
A Covenant Destroyer launched another two Plasma Torpedoes. Weaver went pale. If a Covenant Destroyer's torpedoes hit, the Roost could be wiped out.
His Navigations officer shouted, "Five seconds to impact!"
"Fire the emergency thrusters. Now!" Weaver yelled, his voice losing its usual placidity.
The Roost blasted to the left with enough force to make the hull groan. The two Plasma Torpedoes shot through the area the Roost had just occupied, being close enough to cook off a thin layer of armor on her side. The Plasma Torpedoes kept going and lazily turned back around after the UNSC carrier.
"Sir impact with Covenant Carrier in twenty seconds. Course change?"
"No," Weaver snapped. "Blast her to hell!"
"Firing MACs now!"
The four MAC rounds shot out and collided with a Covenant Destroyer that had imposed itself between the Roost and the Covenant Carrier. The Destroyer expanded and blew outward in a cerulean explosion. The Roost knifed through the explosion and continued toward the Covenant Carrier.
"Will we be able to fire again before we collide?" Weaver asked his crew.
"No, we're going to hit. There's nothing I can do," his Weapons officer replied, his face ashen.
Just as the UNSC Carrier was about to ram the Covenant Carrier another Destroyer jumped in its way. The two Capital ships clashed and locked superstructures. The UNSC vessel creaked and groaned as her hull started to split.
"Its been nice knowing you," Weaver said as he pressed the control that would detonate the Shiva Tactical Nuclear Warheads.
Cockpit of C742 Dagger Space Superiority Fighter
Lieutenant Samuel "Saint" Ryder wasn't exactly having a good time. Ever since the V141 "Black Aces" had been ordered to cover the lifeboats it seemed as if every Seraph the Covenant owned were all striving to destroy him personally.
Saint slapped his control column to the side, where it thumped into the side of his seat, and shoved his throttles forward into afterburner. The Seraph following him shot past and banked out to the left.
He hauled back on the stick and rolled his Dagger out behind the Seraph. He lined his targeting reticle up with the Seraph's engine assembly and pulled the trigger. A hundred 20mm Vulcan Cannon rounds vomited out and missed their target as the Seraph dove into the mass of fighters below him.
Saint cursed and inverted his fighter. His Dagger shot downward after the Seraph. He barrel rolled out of the way of another Seraph and darted around a Dagger following it. He dropped in behind the Seraph that was eluding him and got an immediate missile lock.
"Ace Seven, Fox Two!" he said as an IR guided missile shot out of his Dagger's Weapons Bay and slammed into the Covenant fighter. The Seraph exploded in a brilliant flash of white as Saint dove below the explosion.
"Ace Seven, Vape five. I'm an ace!" He said as another sun sprang up behind him.
Bridge of CCS Purity of Spirit
Lako 'Ikaptammue wasn't having a good time either. The filthy Human ship had managed to obliterate three of his destroyers and a Battlecruiser. Then kamikaze charge his formation and detonate one of their primitive 'nukes.' That had destroyed two more Destroyers and almost taken down his Carrier.
He shrugged and turned to his assistant. "It appears the Humans have launched more of their invasion craft. Assign those top priorities. If they manage to dig in on Halo they may be able to take control of the ringworld. If they do then we are ended. We cannot allow this to happen. Make sure it doesn't."
His assistant bowed. "Of course, Exalted. Their primitive weapons will be no match for our warriors."
'Ikaptammue clicked his lower mandibles. "Let us hope so. These humans are getting craftier all the time. We may have trouble stopping them."
"I doubt it, Excellency. They are weak and puny. They will run and cower at our might."
'Ikaptammue wanted to snap this young one's neck. He was stupid and arrogant. Managing to keep his voice even, he said, "Run and cower?" Did you just not see what happened with that human ship? And you call them weak and puny. They will run. I think you are wrong, 'Nosalouq."
'Nosalouq glanced down at his cobalt armored feet, but didn't say anything. After a tense silence 'Ikaptammue continued. "It doesn't matter. Just stop these humans, but don't underestimate them."
'Nosalouq nodded. "Yes Exalted."
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