- Rainman89
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Read about the Forgotten Spartan I Program
Butane: To protect the world from devastation!
sir_brilliant: To unite all people within our nation!
Rainman89: To denounce the evils of truth and love!
sir_brilliant: To extend out reach to the stars above!
SpaceGhostFlyer: Jessie!
Butane: James!
sir_brilliant: Team Rocket blasting off at the speed of light
Butane: Surrender now or prepare to fight
sir_brilliant: Meowth, that's right!
0430 Hours, December 19, 2525(Military Calendar)/ Hangar Bay Four of the UNSC cruiser Connecticut
The cavernous hangar bay would normally have been solemn and quiet, but not today. The entire space was crammed with Marines running and shouting and trying to board their Pelicans. The ship’s squadron was doing their best, but this was a momentous job. They had even pulled out some of the archaic Kingfishers. Those ships were older then the men and women who flew them and Lt. Bailey told Simmons the first thing he was going to design was a replacement for the tired old transport ships. The Pelican however was a very new design, and some squadrons in the Navy still didn’t have them. The war with the Covenant would inject some urgency into the adoption process though.
The 89th Drop Jet Platoon was crammed into the two lead Pelicans. The very first to drop. This would provide Simmons and his men with an advantage in finding the best spots to set up shop. At least Simmons was told they were the first Pelicans to go groundside. As he was boarding he heard radio chatter that ‘Blackbird One’ had just left hangar three. Simmons pushed that knowledge to the back of his mind, but if it meant what he thought it meant, then it was good news.
After half an hour of sitting in ready birds waiting for the go code, the first flight of Pelicans took off. They flew in a rough ‘V’ pattern and left the gaping whole in the side of the ship. Then, out the cabin view port, Simmons saw the entire fleet. Some twenty battle ships, and two cruisers besides the Connecticut. It was an enormous amount of human technology to be amassed in such a small area. The system’s single sun shone its yellow light off the hulls of the ships so that Simmons had to cover his eyes to keep looking. Some fifty other Pelicans were on their way from their ships to the planet. This force might just have a chance of taking on a Covenant invasion. That is if they even bothered to leave their ships.
The rest of the men in the Pelican’s cabin were taking advantage of the last few peaceful minutes before reentry to catch up on their sleep. That’s all right Marines, Simmons thought. Sleep away. I’m here to watch your backs. And with that he went back to admiring the serenity outside his window.
The planet below was a giant blue-green dinner plate to Simmons. Little swirls of clouds covered the oceans like cotton balls. In the main ocean, a large hurricane began forming but by the time it reached land, there would be no one to care. Over the next thirty seconds the planet below grew larger and larger until the continent filled the entire view port. Final approaches from miles up are not fun to watch from a Pelican’s cabin window, so Simmons sat down and strapped himself in.