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  • Subject: [NOVEL] Halo- The Ultimate EMP- Act I complete, have fun :]
Subject: [NOVEL] Halo- The Ultimate EMP- Act I complete, have fun :]

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P

In a secret research facility the Office of Naval Intelligence puts forward a plan to create the ultimate weapon to help not only keep order of the colonies but as a far more important contingency...

I apologise for any errors or for wasting your time. I plan to add a chapter ever 1-2 weeks or at random intervals. Let me know what you think

BIG ERROR: THE YEARS SHOULD BE 2462 not 2451. I have changed them! THIS IS VITAL FOR THE STORY


ACT 1: ONI inferences

Chapter 1
Date: 1st September 2462 04:00
Location: Reach (in Epsilon Eridani system) Lat 55 27 22 Long 77 01 11, ONI Research facility XX

Lieutenant Colonel Peter Cosgrove walked down the long narrow stretch of hallway on Level 2 of the enormous research facility (the largest research facility in the charted parts of the universe as a matter of fact) with a report forded by General Gates proposing the billion dollar research projects getting underway within the next year.

Cosgrove was skimming through the final sections of the report when he came to a second checkpoint, guarding it were two ONI 'royal guards'

'Ah Lieutenant Colonel', one of the ONI guards emphasised, 'Doctor Amador is waiting for', pointing at the report then smiling 'that'

Cosgrove moved the report closer to his chest as if he were protecting it, then amused he stated 'I have you know soldier that this report is for Amador's eyes only'

The guards smile became cold and like a flash of light he turned, punched a seven digit code into the doors consol and the door slid open and Cosgrove walked into the room

Cosgrove was mystified at how far ONI had come in the last 50 years even with the same basic amount of research funding put into it by the naval government especially in the area of weaponry and this room proved it- in fact it was not a room, more like a hanger from a UNSC super carrier.

Cosgrove was standing on the upper platform of the underground 'hanger' and below he could see hundreds of ONI scientists, robotic vehicles, and AI working on seemingly separate complex structures each in different levels of stage completion.

Below the tier Cosgrove was looking he noticed Dr Amador sipping his favourite beverage out of his luck mug- coffee, easily consuming more than the recommended amount each day. He was also with two other men, most likely ONI heads officers, each dressed in matching suites overseeing the mass production lying in front of them

'Bah what has happened to this beverage', Dr Amador said spitting the sip he took back into the cup. He then spilt the coffee out of the mug onto the floor right next to one of the ONI officers who stared intently at Dr Amador as he put the mug into his lab coat pocket, '...Oh sorry'

The Intelligence officer let out a disheartened smile toward Dr Amador 'You are behind schedule doctor and you know how the head chair feel about the term 'behind' especially when mixed with the word schedule'
Dr Amador rubbed his forehead, 'We are only a few days behind and we have a strategic solution to make up for it and besides there are no massive wars at this current time I would not understand why such a technology needs to be finished by the end of the year'

'You are not here to ask questions Doctor you are here to obey. We want to see a complete catch up by tomorrow or we will not be so nice once we return', the ONI intelligence officer put on his glasses, took one final look at the massive room and left through a nearby elevator along with the other officer.

Cosgrove made his way toward Dr Amador who overheard the conversation intently despite nearby barking orders by scientists over the incessant drilling and construction

'Doctor', Cosgrove said waving at the tier Dr Amador was located on. He then held up the report 'files from General Gates for you division'

The ONI research facility was made up three divisions (or phylum- the name given by the ONI biologist) entitled the names of Alpha, gamma, and sigma.

Dr Amador was the scientist in charge of Sigma phylum a division involved in UNSC weaponry and was what the ONI head chair people were most involved in giving regular inspections- an example being much similar to what happened earlier with the two ONI intelligence officers, as well as asking Dr Amador for daily ten page reports on progress

Amador waved Cosgrove to come down to his tier and he proceeded into his office which looked upon the whole hanger. Cosgrove soon entered and placed the reports on Amador's desk.

Amador lit a cigar from his side draw and placed it in his mouth taking a puff as he picked up the report and glanced at it. He looked up at Cosgrove

Pointing at the report 'Gates wants this'; he then pointed outside annoyed 'on top of that?'

'You know that they are all entwined in some way to the final design schematic', Cosgrove replied taking a seat opposite Amador who blew out a puff of smoke and let out a cough

'The amount of time and effort ONI and the UNSC want from this project is little short of a phenomenon', Amador mused. He then turned to look toward outside at the mass construction underway, 'and what they will do to me...and my career if I do not succeed to deliver'

'This weapon is of vital importance to the UNSC, especially against the constant uprisings from the outer colonies and the rise of possible civil war from inner ones. This weapon will put fear into all who threaten the demise of humanities government', Cosgrove said turning to look outside as well.

'And that Lieutenant Colonel leads me to believe if such a creation I assisted in will be used in a good or bad way especially by the ONI heads and the UNSC', Amador replied solemnly inhaling another puff of his cigar.

[Edited on 08.09.2011 4:23 AM PDT]

  • 07.31.2011 2:49 AM PDT
Subject: My (hope to be) first novel: [Halo- The Ultimate EMP]

AXIOS you idiot.

Just remember that no matter how terrible you feel, or how much you want to let go, there are people who care about you and love you.

I like it, good story so far =)

  • 07.31.2011 5:34 AM PDT
Subject: [NOVEL] Halo- The Ultimate EMP- Chapter 3 and 4 NOW UP *pumps fists*

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P

Chapter 2
Date: 2nd September 2462 14:22
Location: Reach (In Epsilon Eridani system); Lat XX YY ZZ Long XX YY ZZ, ONI Reach headquarters

The modified falcon landed itself on one of the four helipads outside the ONI quarantine zone, a zone which separated ONI headquarters from the rest of Reach. It also allowed for the authority to shoot down any aircraft (civilian or not) which fly overhead.

Several ONI guards equipped with MA4-B's guarding entrance D to the quarantine zone raised their fire arms and took up defensive positions around the falcon. The squad leader opened the door to the falcon and the two ONI Intelligence officers, which were sent on orders from the head chair to investigate the progress of the project headed by Amador and Sigma phylum, exited not intimidated by the site of ten MA4-B's pointed at them

'Sir', the squad leader said, 'Authorisation please'

Both of the officers pulled out Identification modules from their inner jacket pockets and they glimmered in the Reach morning sunshine. The squad leader checked them with a magnetic device and he waved them the falcon to leave and the allowed the intelligence officers to march through

The gate which led to the quarantine zone was a special molecular crystalline compound which extended twenty metres high and surrounded the ONI HQ in an elliptical shape stretching some one hundred kilometres. To enter inside one must type in the daily modified digit code which would be given the previous day to all who were expecting to show.

That wasn't the half of it. To prevent air drops, augmented gamma ray radiation would connect opposite points of the ellipse to form a criss-cross pattern with each connecting ray only nanometres apart. This would prevent even the skinniest foe from surviving such an invasive attack strategy.

The complex itself was centred in the centre of the elliptical radius and getting to it would require passage through over ten checkpoints and roads which were mined to trigger mini nuclear explosions killing anyone who would 'accidently' stray off course

The transport class jeep moved toward the ONI HQ and the two intelligence officers stared at the scenery around them, and the habitats which were cut off by criss-crossed gamma rays and twenty metre impenetrable wall.

Two attack class X-15's flew overhead at pace and several ONI modified scorpions drove down the opposite side of the road nicknamed 'Intelligence Highway'. One of the Intelligence officers turned his head as a scorpion drove past

'ONI training exercise', one Intelligence officer said to the other speaking over the loud sound of the tank engines

'Probably new technique strategies to be passed on to the UNSC', the other said taking of his glasses and adjusting his tie

The transport jeep pulled up at the final checkpoint- the entrance to the ONI HQ and after another security check they entered the complex and a man, known as Z by ONI personnel outside of section one, was waiting for them in the lobby

'Reed did the check go well? How is the good Doctor Amador?' Z said as the preceded to walk toward the elevators. He seemed bold and arrogant.

'Amador is still behind schedule I gave him a stern warning to catch up by the end of the week', Reed replied entering the code to access the elevators

'Good you and your friend their', he gestured to other intelligence officer, 'are to meet with the head of ONI and update them on sigma phylum's position in relevance to the weapon amoungst other things'

The elevator doors pinged open and several ONI personnel walked out before the three men entered. Reed pressed the -10 (or ten lower ground) button, the doors closed and the elevator made its way down into the abyss of the inner ONI HQ

The elevator doors opened and Reece as well as the other intelligence officer walked out while Z remained inside
'You will each be briefed at different times. Until then you are to remain in the briefing lobby'

'Tell me something Z', Reed questioned, 'what is it about the new weapon which has Section Zero interested enough to send you?'

Z smiled and the elevator doors closed

Reed moved to sit down outside the massive double doors which lead to the ONI HQ debriefing room where all matter of intelligence was passed down to be distributed to the corresponding sectors of ONI

'It is ironic that despite Amador being fearful of us and our superiors we to share a corresponding relationship', the Intelligence officer said

Reed polished his glasses and put them back on his head. He then looked up, 'How so?'

'There is something more to this experiment than the manufacture of a sophisticated weapon like the electromagnetic pulse especially for Z from Section Zero to get involved', he then looked at the large double doors and whispered to Reed as two soldiers walked by 'whatever ONI wants the UNSC to do with this EMP is not good news'

Reed though about that then the double doors opened. He closed his eyes as the bright light immersed the dark room

'One Intelligence officer of ONI Major Markwell Reed please enter the debriefing room', a mysterious voice called over the PA

Reed rose from his seat and entered the room, only to see the double doors close right behind him.

Inside the arc shaped room was a single chair seated upon by one man, the current head of ONI, with three man and one women standing around him.

Reed knew that the head of ONI was also Lord and Admiral of the UNSC Franco Kowalski one of the most brilliant tacticians to graze the naval fields, never losing a battle but his tactics are only second to his intelligence- hence his current status of head of ONI.

The one thing you could take away from Lord Kowalski is that his grey beard and small stature may make him seem weak but its shows intelligence will always prevail over build

'Now Major', Lord Kowalski said rubbing two of his fingers together. He adjusted himself in his chair, 'you do know why you have been called?'

Reed lowered his salute at Kowalski and answered quickly, 'ONI heads believe that head of Sigma phylum, one Doctor Amador's, running behind of schedule is against one portion of his contract as head of Sigma. Segment 1.14 to be precise and I quote "One from the division of vital importance as of Sigma must be in correlation to maintaining focus and key to events running on time-"'

Lord Kowalski stroked his long beard while holding up his hand indicating for Reed to halt, 'No that is only the half of it. The second half is much more important'

Reed was confused. He had only known that Kowalski wished to see him for the purpose of the time issue.

'The second half?', Reed said questioning Kowalski

'I assume you were led here by Z from Section Zero on the journey down. You are being re-assigned under his command in relation to the new developmental EMP', Kowalski answered.

'Why? All I know about Section Zero of ONI is that it is basically intended to investigate internal matters and affairs with officers and security', now Reed was definitely confused. What was Lord Kowalski on about?

'That is what you have been told correct but remember ears play tricks on the body and the mind and so in just, effectively immediately, Intelligence officer Major Markwell Reed is hereby transferred to Section Zero of ONI. Z will brief you in regards to what he plans to do with you' Lord Kowalski rose from his chair and saluted Reed who returned it slowly.

Something big was going on and Reed knew he was going to be in the middle of i2

[Edited on 08.07.2011 4:40 AM PDT]

  • 07.31.2011 5:39 AM PDT
Subject: My (hope to be) first novel: [Halo- The Ultimate EMP]

I noticed the title and it says "(hope to be)".

If there is any signs of doubt in the own writers abilities. He will not finish his story.

So get rid of that damn doubt and get your ass in gear - And git'r done.

The Anti Troller isn't good with 'people'...

[Edited on 07.31.2011 2:37 PM PDT]

  • 07.31.2011 2:36 PM PDT

The tide is turning, brothers! Let us take our kingdom back!


Posted by: The Anti Troller
I noticed the title and it says "(hope to be)".

If there is any signs of doubt in the own writers abilities. He will not finish his story.

So get rid of that damn doubt and get your ass in gear - And git'r done.

The Anti Troller isn't good with 'people'...
Have faith.

  • 08.01.2011 1:47 AM PDT

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P


Posted by: The Anti Troller
I noticed the title and it says "(hope to be)".

If there is any signs of doubt in the own writers abilities. He will not finish his story.

So get rid of that damn doubt and get your ass in gear - And git'r done.

The Anti Troller isn't good with 'people'...

I have actually written a lot it is just that I am bact at university and now I will not have as much time to continue. But hopefully I'll be finished by next holidays) ~ early November
Thanks anyway ;]

  • 08.01.2011 2:24 AM PDT
Subject: [NOVEL] Halo- The Ultimate EMP- Chapter 3 and 4 NOW UP *pumps fists*

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P

Chapter 3
Date: 2nd Semester 2462 18:54
Location: Reach (In Epsilon Eridani system); Lat XX YY ZZ Long XX YY ZZ, ONI Reach headquarters

Reed sat in the dark room with only the man referred to as 'Z' standing next to him. They were watching a holographic monitor and Z was holding several files with some papers scattered all over the floor.

'AI Hieroglyph respond', Z said without taking his eyes off the sheet he was reading while chewing his glasses a habit which he developed a while ago
'Yes Z?', Hieroglyph enquired. The AI had appeared from the monitor and was now projected above it

'Commence with file X75.kbg and then purge yourself', Z stated coolly

Reed looked up. Purging an AI out of nowhere, a multi-million dollar form of technology? Making it into nothing

Talking as if he had read Reed's mind, 'you will soon see why Major'

'File open. Purging awaiting orders Z', Hieroglyph showing no unease to what was about to happen.

Reed had suddenly realised why. Hieroglyph was a dumb AI and did not have function 'feeling' matrix as did the smart AI's which were recently first forged. This was basically like any other order given to it and with the orders given by Z, hieroglyph began to fuzz and distort then disappear from sight

'Now', Z said without thinking twice 'The project involving doctor Amador and the EMP how much do you know about it?'

Reed thought for a moment 'Only what the relevant ONI sections have given me access to and nothing more'

Z placed down the files on the desk in front of Reed and suddenly the room felt darker. It had been the fact that Z had ordered the dimming of the lights and, all of a sudden, a hologram of space appeared.

'This image was taken from an ONI orbital research satellite outside of Harvest', Z began. The bright planet shone and was completely noticeable against the surrounding universe. Z clicked a button and a zoom function appeared causing part of the hologram to expand. Z moved to the expansion and pointed at a piece of dark space, 'Now I do not know if you have an astrophysicists eyes much like myself but in this region here there appears to be a vague outline of some sorts'

Reed squinted and made out a seemingly small object far beyond the north pole of harvest

'I will now switch on the infrared image taken from the satellite', Z continued seeming somewhat nervous. After switching to infrared view the whole of planet Harvest glowed bright red and so did the vague image. It appeared to be slender, rounded at the top and protruded thinly for a great distance when compared to the head.

'What is it?' Reed questioned now moving closer to the hologram.

'Well we believe it is a ship of some sorts', Z replied

'Pirate ship? I heard that there have been a few sightings near Harvest and several documented accounts of smuggling'

'Impossible. Pirates never travel solo and are always in group ships called P-fleets', Z said adamantly. He then, using both his thumbs and index fingers made a rectangle around the unknown object and then expanded it by drifting his fingers apart in a diagonal direction, 'No such design has ever been implemented like this ship, which means only one option. Alien'

Reed rose up out of his chair, 'Woah now c'mon, extraterrestrial intelligent life?'

Z nodded, 'No other explanation. It was bound to happen with our rapid expansion in the last two hundred and fifty years' he emphasised that number once again

'How long was it tracked for?' a frown appeared on Reed's face

'Exactly 56.33 seconds. After that we got another image', Z clicked another button and a zoomed hologram of another piece of space with a mushroom-shaped image 'This here' Z got a laser and circled the area of interest, 'Is a much larger object than the first one used. Using light travel and an astrophysical equation we were able to deduce that it is approximately 2.4 light years away but the strange thing is it just appeared out of no-where, one frame after this image was taken by the satellite'

Z pressed the back button and a picture showed with no mushroom-shaped object in sight then went forward to reveal the object once again.

'There are only two possible causes to prove this phenomenon', Z lowered the red laser pointer and sighed 'Wormholes, as Einstein hypothesised. Universal portals or bridges which act as a 'shot-cut' through spacetime which are connected by black holes, or the more likely option slip-space where an artificial hole is cut to move through different parts of the universe and/or galaxy'

The hologram shut off and there were was ambience in the room for a shot while. Z went to re-light the room once again and Reed's retinas strained with the change photons in the room.

'What about Sonar? Did you get a signal?'

'Well sound cannot travel through space as it requires a median to travel through but we used light-travelling radio waves to bounce off the object but no response despite conformation of a direct hit on the unknown objects. When we went to check their position via the satellite the objects had disappeared', Z sat down across from Reed who had his hand covering his mouth thinking 'This information is highly top-secret and only a select few of ONI Section Zero staff know'

'I have one last thing to ask Z. Why force Sigma phylum to create an EMP and not something more deadly?' this was perhaps the most important answer Reed wanted to know he looked sternly at Z who cleared his throat

'This is perhaps where the astrophysics kicks in most. The visible light spectrum was matched to our experimental files and we found this' Z ruffled through the files and handed a sheet to Reed.

'Shielding... on something that size my god'


[Edited on 08.07.2011 4:41 AM PDT]

  • 08.05.2011 5:45 AM PDT
Subject: My first novel: [Halo- The Ultimate EMP]- CHAPTER 2 UP

The tide is turning, brothers! Let us take our kingdom back!

I like your wording. It really paints an authentic picture. Good work so far, man.

  • 08.05.2011 6:08 AM PDT

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P

I have noticed several silly grammatical errors in my previous post, I do apologise if you got confused at any point :]

But on a different note: while I completely dislike the subject English, I love writing and I hope this book gets you into it (despite it starting off quite slow, but not to worry a very large cliffhanger is on it's way :])

  • 08.05.2011 11:58 PM PDT

The tide is turning, brothers! Let us take our kingdom back!


Posted by: Zealot Tony
I have noticed several silly grammatical errors in my previous post, I do apologise if you got confused at any point :]

But on a different note: while I completely dislike the subject English, I love writing and I hope this book gets you into it (despite it starting off quite slow, but not to worry a very large cliffhanger is on it's way :])
Oh, man, those cliffhangers...

  • 08.06.2011 12:26 AM PDT
Subject: [NOVEL] Halo- The Ultimate EMP- Chapter 3 and 4 NOW UP *pumps fists*

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P

Chapter 4 notes
Please note that while this story is not action packed yet I still feel I need to introduce the characters more, as well as introduce you to some new ones

Also the chapters are now about to get longer with me still writing my 4th Chapter (at the 10 page mark ;/) Anyway enjoy the post that is about to come up



Date: 2nd Semester 2462 22:07
Location: Reach (In Epsilon Eridani system); Lat XX YY ZZ Long XX YY ZZ, ONI Reach headquarters

'Hence the EMP', Z stated as Reed continued to skim through the sheet 'Electromagnetic pulses are designed to disrupt anything electronic. We plan to implement them on nearly every frigate around the same time as Project ORION is set to go. If these, what appear to be, extraterrestrial ships become hostile we need to be ready...for anything'

Both men walked out of the room and Z was saluted by too guards. He returned it unenthusiastically before swiping a holographic card key to seal the room with all the data. Earlier that year Z had installed a system to compensate for any hacking into the ONI section zero files; a security AI, named Theologian, was to trace and file hackers and send the data to both Z and Lord Kowalski who would take further action, as such Z's files now contain 90% of the full data and a hell of a lot of graves in the Reach graveyards

Theologian's sensor beeped and he awoke. Z had clearly left the room entitled 'AWA?ITU' or 'Are we alone in the Universe?' which meant it was Theologian's time to patrol the Section Zero database. He would begin by separating himself into two cloned matrices to cover the two main drives which house every single file in relation to Section Zero.

One drive was for internal affairs and the other was for AWA?ITU and after a quick data scan Theologian had determined that in the past two months the data put into AWA?ITU was one thousand times as much as internal affairs each with some of the most secret intelligence not only out of all of ONI but probably in all organisations combined.

A red hue emitted from the lower matrix on Theologian and it was again an indication of a hacking attempt. The first job was to deduce the drive being hacked and after a scan of both clones, Theologian deduced it was an attempt in the AWA?ITU one.

If there were one rule Theologian had learnt after being programmed by Z is that every hack would leave a fingerprint just like in the crime scenes still happening every day and it was that mistake that Theologian would find and alert both Lord Kowalski and Z to.

To attempt to slow the hacker's process Theologian put up a temporary firewall and set up several data traps that, when accessed, would reveal the hackers details and where he was hacking from, but this hacker was smart and had now realised about Theologian and had quickly become lost in the mist

The fingerprint was still to be found (and eventually would be) despite the hacker receding from the attempt to access Top Secret data files. But in the meantime Theologian added another victory tick to ONI security, taking it up to attempt 500 since his creation

***

Doctor Amador sat back into his chair, rubbed his eyes, and clenched his fists banging the table. He knew he was now in trouble especially after attempting to access restricted files in the ONI Section Zero database and his encounter with a Smart, Protector AI.

He only wished to know what else was there to creating the EMP, something big ONI was hiding and now if ONI found out, which they most certainly would, then he was in serious trouble.
***

Theologian's fingerprint had been found. After a quick backtrack through the access points of the hack he had discovered that a user name entry was used to get into the pre-ONI system, which was accessible to all members of ONI no matter the section. It was from there he began his hacking attempts.

Theologian entered the password file and accessed it revealing the details of the ONI employee who uses the password --------. Theologian then encrypted the data with the key information and sent it to both Lord Kowalski and Z

Z's data module alarmed and he accessed it immediately. Reed looked over still trying to link all the information he had recently received

'Damn you Doctor Amador', Z cursed placing the module back into his pocket, 'Theologian has sent me a message stating that Doctor Amador has attempted to access restricted information from the Section Zero database. He knows something is up and the idea of the EMP being implemented to help prevent colonial war is a facade. I have to see Lord Kowalski and discuss the matter. In the meantime I want you to collect all the data and process it so it is easy to understand' and, after a quick nod, Z was gone once again

Lord Kowalski pursed his lips and swung his chair around to face Z. They were in his office which looked out upon 'Intelligence highway'. Kowalski poured out a bottle of whisky and protracted two shot glasses and filled them both up.

'The law abides to everyone Z, even you and I', Lord Kowalski drank his shot and squinted his eyes at the strong taste, 'Doctor Amador attempted to hack into a restricted Section Zero database and as a result he must be punished no matter his importance to this mission'

Z picked up his shot glass and dropped it on the floor, the glass shattering into several pieces with the whisky spreading all over Lord Kowalski's carpet. Lord Kowalski rose from his chair furious


[Edited on 08.07.2011 4:42 AM PDT]

  • 08.06.2011 2:22 AM PDT
Subject: My first novel: [Halo- The Ultimate EMP]- CHAPTER 2 UP

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P

'Doctor Amador is perhaps one of the greatest scientists of all time and you are willing to increase the already behind progress of the EMP weapon? Are you nuts?' Z's emotions were rarely seen on his dry face but this confrontation was more than enough to get him going

'Laws must be dealt with no matter the person. By your logic I should not be killed if I were to start a massive genocide against reach just because I am a brilliant tactician', Lord Kowalski said aloud. He then reached for his intercom module and sat in his chair

'Get me General Gates', he said, 'I want him here in fifteen minutes I have something I wish to divulge'

Lord Kowalski released his hand from the intercom and turned to Z who was still red in the face. He knew killing a person for the wrong reasons was indeed wrong, other attempt hacks would deserve the punishment Doctor Amador was about to receive but not Amador

General Gates entered the ONI HQ with the medals on his chest glimmering with the light. He was the youngest man in the history of UNSC ground deployment regiments to attain such a rank, being 25.

But that was some time ago, now with his excellent build and clean shaven head the 55 year old was at the greatest stage of his life and his bright army uniform, with tinges of gold all over, made his seem even greater.

General Gates was responsible for ideas to be put forward from UNSC commanding officers to ONI in relation to new weapons, vehicles, and campaigns. His ideas were to put into a report and handed to Lord Kowalski who would see if it was worth it to move on to Sigma Phylum or to toss the pages away, most usually the latter

But approximately one year ago Gates was ordered by Lord Kowalski to develop a basic design for a weapon to combat enemy shielding and was shown the top secret material as to why. With haste the General got his team together and alerted them to the plan, but not to the reason why. Several members of his team quit as they refused to support the idea without any just cause, while others stayed and believed it was for the good.

After months of setbacks, dramas, and faulty designs Gates had drawn up the schematics for a device known as the EMP and he had immediately handed the design to Lord Kowalski who passed it on to Sigma phylum with orders to commence the project immediately and leave all others aside, much to the despise of Doctor Amador and the rest of his team. But from that moment General Gates had consistently filed updates which put more pressure and anger upon Amador

General Gates opened the pine built double doors to Lord Kowalski's office and entered to find Z sitting down with his legs crossed and Lord Kowalski staring outside, both were silent.

General Gates noticed the broken glass and whisky on the floor, 'everything alright Kowalski?'

Without answering the question Lord Kowalski spoke, 'General we had another breach attempt in AWA?ITU', he turned to face a holographic panel next to his desk, 'Theologian'

Theologian faded to view above the holographic panel. He was shaped like a two dimensional rectangle with no face, eyes, or any human features. All he was was a panel of yellow matrix which ran in parallel.

'Yes my Lord?' Theologian enquired. As he spoke his shape changed to circular, it appeared as if every feeling expressed changed the matrix shape and his people's visualisations of him

'Alert the General to the hacker who attempted to access restricted files earlier', Lord Kowalski answered.

Theologian changed now to a triangular shape, 'One Doctor Amador, head of Sigma phylum and its current project of the electromagnetic pulse'

General Gates eyes opened wide. He not only gave the idea of the EMP for Amador to produce, but recommended to Lord Kowalski to be head of Sigma ten year ago. This was bad...

'Doctor Amador', Lord Kowalski repeated softly. He then turned to face General Gates, 'You gave me promise that Doctor Amador would be a brilliant head of sigma phylum. You gave me the word between a General and Admiral not some phony promise that like between pre-schoolers' Kowalski's last sentence was of a much more higher tone.

'Well with all due respect my Lord I merely gave a candidate to look over and not to hire', General Gates responded

Lord Kowalski let a glare at Gates which would have frozen the largest UNSC fleet still. A hesitant General Gates took a step back, despite it being nearly impossible for a General to fear anything.

'Doctor Amador has to be killed. It is the only solution', Lord Kowalski said with no feeling in his voice.

Theologian's matrix shifted and he spoke, 'Kowalski, Amador did not get through me. He would not have seen any of the exposed files in the AWA?ITU drive', he shifted toward General Gates, 'Gates would have never known what Amador was going to do even if he recommended him to you'

Lord Kowalski sighed, picked up the whisky bottle and began staring at it, 'It is not my way to question the law, Theologian, only to enforce it. The decision stands under the rule'

He then looked up toward Gates putting the whisky bottle back down, 'as for you general you're lucky I don't send your buff butt to the military police. Now get out of my sight'

General Gates, without hesitation turned and left. As he did he wiped the sweat from his forehead. This was an encounter he did not want to be in again.

Z let out a laugh and Kowalski turned to face him

'Is there something funny Z?'

'You don't care for the rules, Kowalski all you care about is power. You thrive off it', Z answered

'I care for the rules to protect the colonies of humanity, not for power. If such secret files were to ever get out then it would be chaos', Lord Kowalski rebutted 'I suggest you leave and if you warn Doctor Amador about what is to come then you too will face his fate. Good day'

  • 08.06.2011 2:33 AM PDT
Subject: [NOVEL] Halo- The Ultimate EMP- Chapter 3 and 4 NOW UP *pumps fists*

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P

Chapter 5 notes
This where things begin to heat up. Enjoy :]

Note that this is an extremely long chapter and I hope your eyes do not bleed at the sight XD

Also please comment on the characters including who is your favourite and why. Would love to hear the feedback


Date: 3rd Semester 2462 01:25
Location: Reach (in Epsilon Eridani system); Lat 55 27 22 Long 77 01 11, ONI Research Facility XX

Doctor Amador awoke. He had fallen asleep shortly after the hack on ONI. He yawned, stretched his arms and exited his office. They were still AI's and machines still working vigorously on several parts of the EMP but from what he could see there were no fellow scientists.
He checked his watch and his eyes opened wider. He had been asleep for three hours, the most he had slept at one time since he started working on the implementation of the EMP.

Amador picked up his lab coat and put it on. It was quite chilly outside his office and the lab coat gave him an extra layer of warmth

***

The Captain signalled his group to stop in the torrential rain. They were in all black clad armour, night vision goggles on and were positioned outside the ONI research facility of Sigma Phylum and were about to move in.

Lord Kowalski had ordered Captain Gideon's squad to make their way through the ONI facility and assassinate Doctor Amador. Lord Kowalski had set three key rules for the mission:

1)The squad, under no circumstance must be detected by research or security staff
2)The squad must not harm any other members of the facility unless it is absolutely necessary
3)Doctor Amador's body must look like a noticeable assassination and a visual conformation must be transmitted to Theologian's storage Matrix as evidence

Captain Gideon placed his fingers over the communication device above his ear and began whispering.

'Corporal I count two security staff at the first checkpoint. I say again two security staff, please confirm and respond'

Corporal Haynes looked through the scope of his K119 sniper rifle. He was positioned on a ledge which protruded out of a cliff face about a kilometre from Captain Gideon's current position. The sniper rifle scope showed two guards facing perpendicular from the front entrance but away from the where Gideon was positioned, giving his group the advantage.

Something more important caught Haynes' eye. Two manoeuvring cameras which patrolled in an arc shape around the entrance. They hovered five metres around the ground and would move around in a random motion. This would put them back to a disadvantage, especially with such randomness.

Randomness screws up any squad Private. Randomness is one's greatest tactic, Haynes had thought, which was told to him during his training.

'Captain that is a negative, I repeat that is a negative; I count two men facing away from your position as well as two manoeuvring cameras patrolling in a random arc motion', Haynes replied

Haynes heard Gideon curse on the other end of the com.

'Right we are going to come around from the east and attempt to deactivate the bots', Gideon replied.

Haynes looked up from the scope and put his finger over his ear, 'How would that happen sir?'

Captain Gideon pulled out a device from one of his anterior pouches on it had two buttons. Gideon extended the antenna of the device and pressed one of them

***

A segment of Theologian's code had been activated and he awoke. The code alerted Theologian to Gideon and his squad and he opened a connection to Gideon's COMLINK (or Communication Link)

'Greetings Captain how may I be of service?' Theologian asked

'Theologian good I thought the signal would be unable to get through in this weather. I need you on my go ahead to deactivate two bots linked to the research facility their numbers are', Gideon reached for his binoculars and strained his eyes to make out their tags in low visible light conditions, 'Q123 and Q556'

'Understood Captain, I await you orders', Theologian responded. His robotic, emotionless voice tuned out.

Captain Gideon signalled his squad to move into a monkey crawl position. There were ten members in his squad in total and he felt it was way too much. More people on the mission meant not only a greater chance of discovery but a greater chance of mistakes as well.

Thunder now sounded and the rain picked up. Gideon told his team to halt once again and he positioned himself behind a rock which overlooked the patrolled entrance. The entry was no problem, getting around the patrol would be difficult. He turned to his squad and placed two fingers in a V shape then pointed to his face then to the entrance to the research facility.

The team nodded and two of the men extracted small pistols and placed an odd type of ammunition into each. They then moved up to Captain Gideon's position and extended their vision to either side of the rock each aiming at one of the two men

The ammunition was intended not to kill only to paralyse. It contained a neurotoxin which would affect the appendicular system of the body but not vital parts of the brain such as the medulla oblongata, which were responsible for involuntary actions.

Gideon talked into his COMLINK 'Theologian. Count to ten exactly then switch the bots off', he then turned to the two pistol wielding members of the group next to him, 'that goes for you too men'

'Understood', Theologian and the two soldiers said at the same time

The Captain turned to his squad and they were all reared to go. He looked back at the rock and noticed one of the guards change position to face both him and the other two men at the rock. The guard put his hand on his forehead to cover the rain drops from running down into his eye and thus allowing him to obtain a better view of something suspicious happening in the rocky region to the East

Corporal Haynes looked through the night vision scope and noticed this change in direction and he reached for his com
'Captain the guard on the far left had turned to your position and is making his way toward you. I have a clear shot', Haynes positioned his sniper rifle to get ready to take the shot upon orders from the Captain

The countdown was up and both of the guards were hit by the special neurotoxin bullets. The aim was perfect even in the poor weather and both guards dropped to the floor immobile, alive, but immobile

Something was wrong and Captain Gideon's eyes opened wide. The bots were still activated and were now glowing bright red.



[Edited on 08.07.2011 4:43 AM PDT]

  • 08.06.2011 6:05 AM PDT
Subject: [NOVEL] Halo- The Ultimate EMP- Chapter 3 NOW UP *pumps fist*

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P

'Theologian shut the bots down', Gideon yelled. He only had moments before the manoeuvring cameras sounded the alarm

Theologian could not get a signal through to the facility ordering the bots to shut down. The weather must be disrupting the link between ONI HQ and the research facility. There was absolutely no way to shut them down from here, even for an extremely intelligent AI like Theologian

'Sir', Haynes called still looking down his scope, 'I have a clear shot what say you?'

He only had moments to think before the bots would alarm the facility. He knew that if they bots were destroyed by Haynes then they would show up as destroyed in the security centre of the facility and, if not, the alarms would sound and alert security anyway. Deactivation was the only way to go unnoticed and that option was out.

Theologian got a signal, a very faint one, but one which was enough to house his command. He accessed all data on the manoeuvrable bots from the Internal Affairs drive and got the deactivation codes for the bots named Q123 and Q556 and sent a signal to the research facility. This signal would transfer it to both bots that would inevitable deactivate.

Haynes noticed the bots red hue turn off and both of them fell from the air. Captain Gideon noticed this as well and rose from behind the rock and waved a sigh of relief, they were in.

***

Moments earlier the security guard awoke and knocked the newspaper he was reading off his stomach. He was the only one here at this time and the incoherent buzzing hurt his ears. He reached for his glasses and put them on to see what was going on; it was showing that two of the manoeuvrable bots were de-activated without authority, and moments before that they had sounded the alarm.

The security guard was about to send a message to the patrolling guards when the buzzing stop. The guard was dumbstruck until he heard the thunder rolling continuously and narrowed it down to a malfunction with the connection. As such the guard lay back in his chair and continued the dream he was having before he awoke not knowing that an AI was responsible for the deactivation of the siren not the weather.

***

Captain Gideon entered the complex after hiding the two paralysed men. The lengthy hallway had minimal lighting with every fifth light turned on. There was also no-one in the lobby it was completely quiet in here.

Advantageous on mission?, the Captain thought, hell yes

'Haynes keep an eye on the surrounding area's I do not want any trouble while complete this', Gideon ordered

The squad moved in a W shape along the corridor with each of the members lights fixed at a different part of the corridor, such that they covered all angles to prevent an ambush. They approached the elevator and Captain Gideon turned to his squad as the thunder sounded from all sides.

'Right here is the plan', Captain Gideon lowered himself on the ground such that his knees were at an acute angle, the army version of a squat. Six of the nine members followed his move while the other three formed a triangle facing away from them, still covering all sides.

'We will split into three teams to get to the good Doctor. Red team', he signalled the three men still in offensive position, 'will wait here in case he attempts to exit via the lift. Blue team including myself will access his private quarters while green team searches the underground hander where the EMP is being authenticated', he nodded then continued, 'constant contact on private channels only. The guards which are still here will most certainly scan non-secure channels'

Captain Gideon then pressed the call button on the elevator and waited-

-just as the same time Doctor Amador pressed the call button on his floor as well. He yawned and looked at the screen which indicated what level the elevator was on.

It was moving up to the ground floor.

Odd, Doctor Amador thought, at this time the elevators should not be picking up passengers at ground floor to bring them down to work

Doctor Amador pressed the call button several times in a row, but the elevator continued to move up. This was getting strange now, and with haste Doctor Amador moved back to his office.

He unlocked the door and immediately raced to the corner of his room and entered a code which was attached to his safe. The metal safe opened and inside contained files on the EMP project, personal items, and a 2022 Borelli 36-gauge shotgun. Passed down by military men in Amador's family since World War III

Doctor Amador loaded the Borelli with 430 year old cartridges (also found in his safe) and he cocked the shotgun and made his way back to the elevator

Blue team were in the elevator moving down and would be on the relevant floor in about a minute. Green team had opted to wait at the ground floor for the next elevator to be called, as an overcrowded tight zone was a death trap

'Lord Kowalski wants this done right. One bullet to the head and we are all going home to our nice alcohol and beautiful wives' Gideon stated as he cocked the pistol. He was positioned at the back of the elevator while the three others formed a triangle in front of him waiting for anything.

The elevators doors pinged open and Captain Gideon was horrified to what he saw. Doctor Amador had a twelve gauge aimed at them even before they reached the floor

Doctor Amador smiled, his grin revealing his coffee stained teeth, 'Hello'

Without hesitation Amador fired a round out of the Borelli which impacted the man closest to him. He then turned to man on the left of the elevator and fired another point blank range shot before moving out of the way as Captain Gideon attempted to retaliate.

'Go after him', Gideon yelled 'I'll alert the others'

The other remain squad member of blue team moved out of the elevator and hid behind a nearby piece of wreckage while Captain Gideon reached for his intercom

'Green team get the hell down here now. Amador has a weapon and two members of blue team are KIA. Take the stairs, repeat take the stairs while we prevent him from contacting anyone else'

'Roger. We are on our way, we will try to bottleneck him', Green leader responded

Gideon moved out of the elevator with his glock pistol aimed where Doctor Amador disappeared to. There were three tiers to choose from, each with its own stairwell. There were only two of blue team remaining. This had to be done right

Doctor Amador was on the third tier, the one above his private quarters making his way through the EMP waste material until he reached the stairwell which was behind view of the unexpected party to show.

Amador knew that this was solely due to the attempted hacking of the ONI files in AWA?ITU drive, and Lord Kowalski must have thought that his attempt was to spark fear into the colonies, with this being the completely wrong reason.


[Edited on 08.06.2011 6:19 AM PDT]

  • 08.06.2011 6:13 AM PDT
Subject: [NOVEL] Halo- The Ultimate EMP- Chapter 3 and 4 NOW UP *pumps fists*

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P

Tier three contained three sections. The balcony, which extended out over the hanger gave an exceptional view of the construction taking place, such a good view that Amador would sit down and enjoy his early morning coffee without being disturbed

The second section was a large warehouse which ran along the third tiers wall. It was the Biohazardous room with several classes of dangerous chemicals for use in the project. It was also responsible for providing the underground hanger, and the above four floors with power.

The final section was the fire exit a stairwell which led all the way to the ground floor and the exit. Doctor Amador had thought of heading up them but he knew Lord Kowalski's tactics and as such would never attempt to be trapped in such a confined space.

Doctor Amador turned to the warehouse and walked up to its large entrance. Holding the Borelli with one hand, he punched the twelve digit code into the command module and the doors hissed open and he entered

The warehouse had three extremely tall shelves spanning the length of one-hundred metres, each were categorised with a different class of material and each of the shelves were split into sections. It would be nigh impossible to find him here

***

Corporal Haynes picked up static on his intercom. The storm was getting worse

'Green team get the hell down here now.....weapon and....members of....team are... Take the stairs, repeat take the stairs while we prevent him from contacting anyone else'

Haynes stood up and picked up his glock which was placed next to the sniper rifle, slid down the slope of cliff and made his way to the entrance, rain hailing down on him.

***

Both Captain Gideon and the other Blue team member made their way up to the third tier after vigorously searching the bottom two. With their flashlights gleaming into the darkness in front of them they reached the top of the third tier stairwell.

After a quick scan of the area Gideon contacted green leader.

'Green leader, what floor are you on?' Captain Gideon questioned as the other blue member paced forward slowly

'About three-quarters of the way to your position sir', Green Leader panted, 'There is no sign of him yet'

Captain Gideon turned to face the warehouse and shone his flashlight upon it. He noticed a module which would allow access to it. He attempted to contact Theologian

'Theologian if you can hear this outgoing message I need you to open the Biohazard warehouse on the hanger floor on tier three'

There was a hiss and static at first but Captain Gideon could make out Theologians robotic voice

'Yes captain, as per your request', Theologian responded and around five seconds later the warehouse doors opened with dust spewing in all directions causing Gideon to cough. Nevertheless, with their glock pistols raised and their flashlights on, they moved into the room.

Doctor Amador heard the warehouse doors open again and he raised his Borelli toward the source of the sound and double checked to see if it was loaded.

If ONI wanted to take me out after all I have done for them, he looked down the shotguns sight then they can make funeral arrangements for anyone they send to get me

The Green Team leader entered the third tier and moved toward the light coming out of the warehouse from the flashlights of blue team. Earlier they had been told to remove their night vision goggles as long term exposure would cause retina degeneration, they would have to now rely on their eyes given to them naturally

Green Team entered the warehouse and the leader picked spoke into his COMLINK

'Captain Gideon, we are in the warehouse on tier three what is your location?' Green Leader asked, his glock rose searching for any sign of the Captain

'Where am I? I have the good Doctor in my sights and I am aiming my gun right at him'

Doctor Amador had his hands raised and his Borelli was tossed away moments ago by Captain Gideon. He had come out of nowhere and had easily overpowered Amador, as the other Blue team member watched for enjoyment

Amador still had his blood stained lab coat on and was staring down the barrel of Gideon's glock.

Without hesitation, knowing that this mission would be complete, knowing that he would be doing Lord Kowalski a good service, Gideon pressed the trigger of the glock pistol


[Edited on 08.06.2011 6:55 AM PDT]

  • 08.06.2011 6:18 AM PDT

The tide is turning, brothers! Let us take our kingdom back!

I'm impressed. You should try to work on your punctuation more, but ultimately, this is a pretty good story so far.

  • 08.06.2011 6:44 AM PDT

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P


Posted by: OfTheBloodguard
I'm impressed. You should try to work on your punctuation more, but ultimately, this is a pretty good story so far.


Spelling is not my complete forte. I enjoy science and maths (especially pathology which is what I am studying)

But anyway as I re-read over this I proof it to try to find any mistakes and attempt to edit them in my word document which I plan to publish as a PDF. Please note any errors found (probably take all 10,000 characters XD) and I will change them in the document

[Edited on 08.06.2011 6:58 AM PDT]

  • 08.06.2011 6:52 AM PDT

The tide is turning, brothers! Let us take our kingdom back!


Posted by: Zealot Tony

Posted by: OfTheBloodguard
I'm impressed. You should try to work on your punctuation more, but ultimately, this is a pretty good story so far.


Spelling is not my complete forte. I enjoy science and maths (especially pathology which is what I am studying)

But anyway as I re-read over this I proof read over it to try to find any mistakes and attempt to edit them in my word document which I plan to publish as a PDF. Please note any errors found (probably take all 10,000 characters XD) and I will change them in the document
I can send you a copy of your story with all the mistakes I can find fixed for you if you want. Shouldn't take too long, it's just mostly missing punctuation.

  • 08.06.2011 6:58 AM PDT

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P


Posted by: OfTheBloodguard

Posted by: Zealot Tony

Posted by: OfTheBloodguard
I'm impressed. You should try to work on your punctuation more, but ultimately, this is a pretty good story so far.


Spelling is not my complete forte. I enjoy science and maths (especially pathology which is what I am studying)

But anyway as I re-read over this I proof read over it to try to find any mistakes and attempt to edit them in my word document which I plan to publish as a PDF. Please note any errors found (probably take all 10,000 characters XD) and I will change them in the document
I can send you a copy of your story with all the mistakes I can find fixed for you if you want. Shouldn't take too long, it's just mostly missing punctuation.

It's ok but you should focus on your awesome story and not my silly mistakes :]. But thank you heaps for the offer your are rare kind on these forums

  • 08.06.2011 7:01 AM PDT

The tide is turning, brothers! Let us take our kingdom back!


Posted by: Zealot Tony

Posted by: OfTheBloodguard

Posted by: Zealot Tony

Posted by: OfTheBloodguard
I'm impressed. You should try to work on your punctuation more, but ultimately, this is a pretty good story so far.


Spelling is not my complete forte. I enjoy science and maths (especially pathology which is what I am studying)

But anyway as I re-read over this I proof read over it to try to find any mistakes and attempt to edit them in my word document which I plan to publish as a PDF. Please note any errors found (probably take all 10,000 characters XD) and I will change them in the document
I can send you a copy of your story with all the mistakes I can find fixed for you if you want. Shouldn't take too long, it's just mostly missing punctuation.

It's ok but you should focus on your awesome story and not my silly mistakes :]. But thank you heaps for the offer your are rare kind on these forums
Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.

But, thanks. I have a fair bit of my story pre-written so far, so it's smooth sailing at the moment. It's once I get up to date that I'll be forced to really knuckle down. So in the mean time, I'll be trying to help as many people on here as I can before I'm bogged down in my own story.

[Edited on 08.06.2011 7:09 AM PDT]

  • 08.06.2011 7:09 AM PDT

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P

No this is not a new chapter. This is an alert that the new chapter will be up in a few weeks due to my current massive workload.

Have fun with the cliffhanger

  • 08.09.2011 4:21 AM PDT

The tide is turning, brothers! Let us take our kingdom back!


Posted by: Zealot Tony
No this is not a new chapter. This is an alert that the new chapter will be up in a few weeks due to my current massive workload.

Have fun with the cliffhanger
>:| you had my hopes up for a second.

  • 08.09.2011 4:29 AM PDT