- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Here's the next installment:
Chapter 2: Flashback
0200 hours, September 14 2553 (Military Calendar)
Aboard UNSC Battleship Daunting Adventurer orbiting around planet Reach.
"Elliott, I want you to know something."
"What is it, honey?"
"I want you to know that I love you and not even a war can tear us apart."
"I love you to, Kelly. And thank you."
It was the same dream he had every night. The one about the last day he and Kelly had been together.
"Are you up yet, sleepy head?" Lt. Thorne said as she poked her head through the doorway. She was always overly nice in the morning. Usually Elliott wasn’t much of a morning person, but today he needed someone to be nice to him. Even if it was a little too strong.
"Yeah, I'm up." Elliott yawned as he reluctantly got out of his cot. He lumbered over to the wash room to clean his teeth, wash his face, and let the day sink into his brain. Man, I wish Kelly were here right now, he thought as he ran his fingers through his short, brown hair. He then turned the knob of the shower and plunged himself into the luke-warm water, which was far from satisfying, and managed to really wake from his daze.
As he was putting on his light grey jumpsuit, Lt. Tealsyn entered the washroom. Elliott sleepily wished him a good morning, not really expecting the lieutenant to give him a response.
"Oh, hey Elliott," He mumbled. He looked as if he were about to cry.
"What's wrong?” asked Elliott, somewhat surprised.
"Well, I know you’re on this mission because you want to find this SPARTAN-87 person, but, no offense man, I could care less about this mission… or whoever 87 is."
Ouch, this hit Elliott hard, but he could understand the pressure that Tealsyn was under. He was being evaluated by Captain Washington. All captains were required to evaluate each of their officers individually. And, it was Tealsyn's turn. Mind you, this mission they were on had not been easy. Just 2 days ago they had encountered a fleet of rebel ships around the Theta Mu system, and Lt. Tealsyn had failed to spot them before the Captain. The lieutenant was in charge of tracking and locating enemy ships, debris, and other things in space. He should have spotted them from a few light-years away. So, because of that, he was already in a bad position. "I can understand your feelings, man, but let’s not say that number unless instructed, ok?"
"Alright," Tealsyn said, obviously sorry. "We'd better get up to the bridge. Captain wants us as soon as possible."
"Ok, I’ll meet you up there." Elliott said as he ran to the bridge. Being nice to Tealsyn wasn’t that bad. For now.
On the bridge, Captain Washington was talking to the Daunting Adventurer’s artificial intelligence, Orcus. Orcus was what officers called a 'smart AI', meaning that he wasn't made to do just one task, he was like a human. This thought kind of disturbed Elliott, but he just pushed it out of his mind. "Lt. Naxos reporting for duty, sir." Elliott reported as he entered the bridge.
"Ah, yes. Lieutenant I want you to look at this."
Elliott walked up to the Captain's computer. There was a message on it.
"Read it, son, it's for you," he said, grimly.
Elliott read the message.
Encrypted Message code number 339002
Sent: September 13 2552
Dear Elliott,
I regret to tell you that something terrible has happened. It seems that while stationed on the Ascendant Justice, we lost SPARTANS-569, -310, and -087. Dr. Halsey has also gone missing, and we suspect she has taken SPARTAN-087 off of the Ascendant Justice. We will do whatever we can to find her.
I am sure you are devastated at the loss, as are we. Kelly is very important to us and to you.
We will find her.
Sincerely,
Master Chief, SPARTAN-117
Message Ended code number 339002
Elliott quickly wiped a tear from his eye, he looked over to his right and saw that the Captain was no longer beside him, and was now fiddling with the radar system. Lt. Tealsyn and Lt. Thorne were now both on the bridge, sitting at their stations. The Captain pulled away from the radar and saw that Elliott was done reading. "I'm sorry, son. I got this message about 10 minutes ago. I see that it was sent almost a year ago." He gave Elliott a semi-sympathetic smile and quickly went back to the radar. "I have scheduled an appointment with the Master Chief as soon as we get back." He said, not even looking up at Elliott.
"We will be arriving on Reach in 15 minutes, sir." Orcus said in his deep, monster-like voice. The AI’s chosen form was an interesting one: a single, pale white skull with 2 ‘bullet holes’ on its cranium. Elliott couldn’t help but stare at Orcus floating there. Weird.
"Thank you Orcus," the Captain said, breaking Elliott away from his gaze. "So, as soon as we hit the ground, you're off to see Chief, ok son."
"Yes, thank you very much sir." Elliott said as he sat down at his station. He went through his daily checklist: Weapons were offline? Check. MAC guns chilled? Check. Almost home? Check. All was well, but he couldn't help to think about what the Chief would have to say in their meeting.
[Edited on 12.11.2008 2:18 PM PST]