- MaxRealflugel
- |
- Elder Mythic Member
Here, at long last, is the sequel to the Halo 3: Epilogue.
HALO: The Beginning of the End
Part One
August 17th 2553
Jai-006 twisted to one side as a volley of plasma fire skimmed past only inches from his faceplate. He replied with three quick bursts from his MA5B. Two of the bird-like creatures fell, blood spraying from their shattered rib-cages. A third stood defiantly behind its glowing shield gauntlet which fizzed and crackled as the rounds harmlessly impacted on its surface.
The Jackals reaction to the Spartans rapid boarding action had been quicker than expected, but the speed of the crew was the least of his concerns as another volley of plasma hurtled towards him. Instinctively he ducked the volley and then rolled behind a nearby bulkhead for cover. Plasma splashed on the wall of the corridor where he had been standing only a second before. Jai rose up just in time to see Adriana toss a pair of fragmentation grenades down the corridor towards the remaining Jackal. It shrieked with anticipation and then died as both grenades exploded, showering the creature with shrapnel.
Jai stepped out and then rushed along the corridor at full speed to the intersecting junction. He reached the cable-strewn T-junction just as another pair of Jackals rounded the corner from the left corridor, the one which lead to the bridge.
The first Jackal barely had time to cry out as Jai struck its twisted face with the barrel of his assault rifle before firing a quick burst. The second attempted to use its own weapon, raising it up level to shoot. Jai accelerated the Jackals action by grabbing the barrel of its beam rifle and pushing upwards. The Jackal was flipped upwards like a rag-doll only to land on its head before Jai finished it off with a powerful kick.
"This crate has a crew of over fifty. We can't waste anymore time," Adriana voiced over the COM.
"Agreed," Jai thought for a second. "I've got an idea. Find something to hold on to." Jai gave both corridors a quick glance. They were clear then he chinned in a command to the mission specialist in his team roster. The air in front of him shimmered before a pale blue hologram of Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, appeared.
"What is it you require, Spartan?" The AI boomed.
"Hack the ships computer and flush out the atmosphere." Jai had used the tactic before when they defended the Rubble over twenty years ago. if it worked then it would work now, especially with an ONI AI seeing to it. They were renowned for their uncompromising efficiency.
The glowing AI barely flickered. "It's done, decompression in five seconds."
"Standby for rapid decompression," Jai relayed.
Jai's two remaining status lights winked green in acknowledgement. Mike, his other team member, was currently piloting their ONI supplied stealth ship so he was safe. Adriana, on the other hand, was further down the corridor.
"Venting atmosphere," Neptune, the ONI AI, warned before disappearing with a shimmer.
Jai grabbed a nearby bulkhead along with a handful of cables, and clamped down with a vice-like grip. A rush of air lifted him off his feet but Jai maintained his grasp. Over a dozen Jackals came flying round the corner, propelled by the sudden loss of atmosphere. Each of them bounced around the bulkheads and conduit relays like swimmers in a rip-tide. Jai, however, stayed where he was.
The rush of air slowed and then died.
Jai's legs gradually dropped until he was left in a zero atmosphere environment. He planted his feet and stood up. "Adriana, you okay?"
"Next time, let's opt for a solution that doesn't include getting rid of all the air," she replied.
"Too intense for you?" Jai joked.
"No. I've got Jackal all over my faceplate."
"Whoops," Jai laughed. "Okay, let's head up to the bridge. Mike, pull back and do a sensor sweep. I don't want any uninvited guest's gate crashing our little party."
Mike's status light winked green.
Adriana walked up the corridor to meet Jai. Her faceplate had a thin smear of Jackal blood on one side. Jai gave the hand gesture for a Spartan smile. Adriana cocked her head and then gave Jai a light clip around the head with her gauntlet.
"My vision is fine," she reminded in a firm tone before following Jai along the corridor.
The bridge was unexpectedly calm. Jai was used to storming Jackal command decks in amid a hail of bullets. But here all was quiet, almost serene. Jai kept any complacency firmly out of his mind, and checked the bridge in a methodical manner. Nothing moved. Those Jackals that were fortunate enough to hold on quickly died in the rapid pressure change. In all there were four Jackals left on the bridge, their features were bloated and distorted by the lack of air. Jai checked each of them anyway but they were dead.
"Neptune," Jai started, "time to go to work. Tell me where they've been."
The AI appeared in a flash of holographic waves before approaching the computer console. He briefly flickered as he made the connection between to two different technologies. "Scanning navigation database."
Jai found it ironic that during the war with the Covenant their main priority was to prevent any UNSC navigation data from falling into enemy hands. But now they were the ones searching for clues.
The news of the war and its conclusion had been welcomed, even though the FLEETCOM communiqué had taken three months to reach them. When ONI suggested a deep space mission they weren't kidding, Grey team were deeper than any other element of the UNSC had ever been. But this mission was very different to any other they had undertaken.
"Well," prompted Jai, "anything?"
"Still scanning," came the reply.
Mike's status light suddenly flashed amber.
"Report," Jai ordered.
"We've got another Jackal ship on approach, frigate sized, six minutes out. They must have managed to get off a distress signal."
"Damn," Jai voiced. Time was always against them, but he had a plan. "Mike, plant four mines on the hull, on the blindside of the ship. Set the fuses on seven minutes."
Mike was already on it. "Planting mines."
"Neptune, anytime today," Jai whispered.
The AI flickered and then looked up. "I have it."
"Good, let's go."
The hologram disappeared and then the Spartans bounded out of the bridge.
From their vantage point on the ONI stealth ship the three Spartans could see the Jackal ship approach. It slowed and then docked with the stranded transport they had had just raided. After another minute there were four successive flashes. The transport ship disappeared in the glare, followed by the other ship. Only dust and debris remained.
The ONI smart AI appeared again.
"Report," ordered Jai.
"The transport has covered a substantial distance, over fifty-seven light years in the past two days alone. One of the NAV entries shows that they approached a UNSC vessel eight days ago. They were fired upon by the ship and retreated. The vessels configuration matches that of the Spirit of Fire."
"Finally, some good news," Jai said. "Mike, plot in a course and get us there as quickly as possible."
The stealth ship disappeared into the swirling void of Slipspace.
Jai hoped that in the next few days they would meet up with some old friends.
To be continued
[Edited on 11.18.2009 2:30 AM PST]