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End Game by Anthony Coronado
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End Game: Prologue
Date: 2 April 2003, 5:02 AM
The last human stronghold, Reach, has fallen. The last remaining hero, John-117 Master Chief, is now MIA, unheard of for more than a month. Earth, the last remaining remnant of a once powerful empire, is now bracing itself for the inevitable onslaught. Every last citizen, women, children, and the elderly are now ready to fight to the death. Not only for themselves, but also for the greater cause. Households are now being stockpiled with weapons; everything from sticks and stones to stolen military equipment. Public dwellings are being fortified, and families are banding together to protect each other. Everyone is prepared for the worst, and hoping for a miracle.
The human people, as a whole, are painstakingly constructing military facilities such as bunkers, command and control facilities, and even large space-bound docking bays. The facilities can house up to 1000 warplanes each, and hold over 50000 troops each. Hundreds of Super MAC guns aimlessly orbit around Earth, and the neighboring planets. Super MAC guns are being produced in overwhelming quantities. The space docks, on Mars and Earth alike, are pulling triple shifts, producing as many man-of-wars as possible. Many of these vessels being produced are extremely fragile, small craft. They are being fitted with the bare minimum of recommended armaments.
In addition, the remaining civilians are tirelessly constructing numerous zero-gee facilities on the moons of neighboring planets such as Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. These facilities are able to hold three dozen warships in hopes of ambushing and stalling the Covenant invaders. The remaining remnants of a withering fleet gradually filter through Slipstream subspace back into the Milky Way. Millions of citizens are being conscripted in the defense of the home world. Sustaining the bare minimum of training, platoon formations/movements and virtual-reality exercises, the Hoplites are being thrown into the field. Many of them are pessimistic, while still others remain optimistic. One thing all are sure of, however, is that Holy Hell will soon be upon them.
Vast quantities of weapons are being produced. Many of them have little or absolutely no craftsmanship to show for. The majority is being rushed, and all are not tested in the field. One thing is certain: there will be many weapons littering the blood red ground after the end game. The colonial supply of brass is being melted down to form shell casings. As with the Japanese in World War II, shell casings are also being formed from fragile materials like aluminum, tin, and zinc.
Thousands of small and large craft orbit the space above Earth, awaiting the order to counterattack. Two-dozen repair vessels have also been pressed into service. Every crewman of these glorious, doomed vessels are strictly volunteers. Even more civilians and servicemen Earth bound eagerly await the enemy. Many will die in the days to come, and even more will sacrifice their lives for others. If there is one thing certain, it is the fact that nothing is certain. All realize that there is only two outcomes: death, or near mass-extinction. No one knows what the edge of dark Abyss holds in its merciless depths.
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A monstrous, swirling mass of green illuminates the dark, barren background of space. The rift in space gradually becomes the size of a large planet, consuming the onyx abyss of space. Over one thousand carriers, destroyers, corvettes, battleships, and various other support ships, enter into the vast plane of the Milky Way. The Covenant fleet entered on the far side of the smallest planet, Pluto. In perfect formation, the Covenant fleet advanced on the rest of the galaxy.
On the Advance Warning System, a monotonous voice droned over the loud speaker to all UNSC positions: "The enemy has withdrawn from Slipstream subspace on the far side of the planet Pluto. ETA to Earth is twelve hours. Be advised, the Covenant are able to move accurately in intersystem subspace drive. All combat personnel prepare for immediate action. Enemy engagement is imminent. Good luck and God speed. Over." The voice trailed off, leaving a haunting feeling in the air. Whether intentionally or not, the Covenant fleet painstakingly crawled its way toward human controlled space. Perhaps they didn't realize which planet was inhabited, or they simple moved with a purpose: to sweep through the Milky Way and eradicate all human life forms.
Meanwhile, the space docks on Saturn's moons begin to bustle with activity. After hearing the early warning, all of the crewmen are determined to fight to the last man. The Super MAC guns on the moon begin to swivel to their intended targets. Every fortified moon is equipped with two dozen Super MAC guns, strong enough to punch through Covenant shields, and could fire a salvo of cold tungsten steel every five seconds. With five moons, the Saturn system was equipped with 120 Super MAC guns. In addition, there were also 180 combat ready vessels in the immediate area. The Covenant fleet, intent on carrying out its divine orders, slow and inexorably drifted ever nearer towards the Saturn system, and its ultimate destination: Earth. Prepared or not, the remaining citizens are willing to die for their planet, and for their friends. Against the merciless juggernaut of the Covenant, a willingness to fight and die will not win a war. Many shall perish in the coming days. Hopefully, they were lives used, not wasted.
End Game: Chapter One
Date: 4 April 2003, 5:14 AM
"All UNSC personnel in the Saturn system, be advised the Covenant are performing a pin-point intersystem jump into your immediate area. All personnel in the Saturn system regroup and attack with the greatest of speeds. Good luck, Stanforth out." Stanforth's bleak expression vanished away from the Conquistador's main view screen. The Conquistador was a new frigate, fresh out of the Reyes-Mclees Space Docks over Mars. She was well over one and a half kilometers in length, weighed in at over one hundred thousand tons, and was outfitted with the latest in shipboard technology. She was crewed by over one thousand Navy and Marine personnel, and carried a fully equipped armored division. She was also equipped with over one hundred missile pod bays on both the starboard and port side, carried three SHIVA III nuclear warheads, and two MAC guns. Her shipboard AI, Olympius, was a new "smart-AI."
The Conquistador's captain spoke, "Olympius, bring the ship back up to combat alert Alpha. I want everyone at his or her battle stations. Enemy contact is inevitable. Prepare to be boarded. Arm two SHIVA nuclear missiles, and arm missile pods A through G. I wont one hundred and fifty percent charge on our MACs."
"Aye aye, sir. Missile pods A through G armed. One hundred and fifty percent charge, sir!" Olympius snapped to. "Olympius, get us a lock on the Covenant positions."
"Sir, Covenant fleet at bearing zero-two-six-five-five-four-nine. They are heading directly to Titan. Speed is 150000 kph, sir. We have a target lock for the main bridge of the lead craft. They are exiting Slipstream space as we speak." The swirling mass of cobalt-green expanded, and henceforth spewed over a thousand Covenant vessels.
"Holy shit. Olympius, contact FLEETCOM, we have well over one thousand enemy craft in the Saturn system."
"Underway, Captain Fowler. FLEETCOM, this is Olympius from the Conquistador, be advised, there is well over one thousand enemy vessels in the Saturn system. Enemy engagement is inevitable."
"Olympius, get me those MAC rounds now!"
"I'm on it, sir. MACs at 93 percent and rising at 3 percent per minute."
"I want two rounds to break those shields, and A through G to finish 'em off. Also, arm H through M for a secondary attack. After our initial strike, get me those MAC operational ASAP."
"Aye aye, sir? Sir, MAC rounds at 100 percent. Will fire when ready, just give me the word!"
"Olympius, fire in three, two, one!" The Conquistador's bulkheads reverberated, and the whole vessel shook with the recoil. The lights faded, dimmed, and eventually became operational again. The Conquistador rocked back and forth as the Archer missiles exited their pods. A massive salvo of two hundred missiles arched towards their intended targets. The fast approaching enemy vessels armed their selves also. A stretch of silvery-blue light began to glow on the midsection of the enemy vessels. Even at this distance, the light was unbearable and Captain Fowler had to close his eyes to so as to not become blinded.
The glow of the light on the enemy craft flicked, and died out. The enemy had returned fire on the Conquistador and began defending itself. The first MAC round impacted; the enemy's shields absorbed it, and the second round impacted a second later. The shield absorbed the initial blast, and was overcome by the second. Over one hundred speckles of fire erupted on the ships side. The soundless explosion of fire and destruction ripped open the ship's port side. White atmosphere began to vent away from the ship, and the mangled wreckage drifted away from the ship. The second blast followed suit, and gutted the ship from port to starboard. The ebony void of space was visible through the ships interior. The enemy vessel's lights flicked for a moment, and faded away for eternity.
The remainder of fleet opened fire on the Covenant fleet, and they returned fire. In quick secession, two frigates and one battlecruiser were lost in the defining moments of the battle. The first salvo of MAC rounds from Titan and Rhea fired, capturing the Covenant fleet in a deadly crossfire. The fleet's carrier battle groups withdrew to the rear of the fleet, and their Seraph fighters began to engage the Longsword interceptors. The Covenant fleet split into two groups, and each targeted a separate moon, completely ignoring the human fleet. The human vessels did likewise, and circled around both groups of the Covenant, trapping them between themselves and the moons.
"Olympius, fire one of the SHIVA III warheads into the center of the group. Get me those MAC rounds operational stat!" A white trail ejected from the Conquistador into the center of the enemy formation. It exploded, but the sound was lost for eternity in the vacuum of space. The rear echelons of the two fleets turned to acknowledge the human presence. By that time, three salvos from the moon based Super MACs had ripped through the heart of the two fleets. There was still well over 800 vessels still in the fight.
Caught in the mix of it, the Conquistador maneuvered into a more favorable position. "Plasma torpedoes locked on! Prepare for impact in five!" A dozen plasma torpedoes, completely obliterating it's combat armor, struck the Conquistador. "Vent all atmosphere in decks 3 through 7. Seal all air locks!" Twenty-two more human vessels had been knocked out of the fight, and the Covenant still had over 800 vessels. To make matters worse, another fleet was exiting Shaw-Fujikawa and heading in the direction of the Saturn system.
"FLEETCOM, this is the Conquistador, we are requesting reinforcements ASAP. We are loosing men quickly and the Covenant has just received reinforcements. Repeat, we are engaging overwhelming forces, reinforcements requested immediately." A reply never came. Ten minutes into the battle, and the human fleet had lost close to sixty vessels, and 32 MAC emplacements. Comparatively, the Covenant had lost well over one hundred vessels, and still had over 1500 in-system. The humans were fighting a loosing battle, and the circumstances had gotten worse. By now, smoldering wreckage littered the battlefield, completely making the radar tracking devices useless.
Two squadrons of Seraph fighters were engaging the Conquistador's, and the Longswords were doing their best to keep them at bay. "Fire Archer missile pods A through I!" Captain Fowler ordered Olympius as cold sweat dripped from his face. "Firing! Sir, we just lost the Freedom Bird, Devil Dog, and Herculean. Our forces are dwindling, I suggest we retreat and regroup in the Jupiter system, and let the Super MAC guns keep them at bay."
"That is not an option Olympius! We will stay in the Saturn system until the last man has fallen!"
"Sir, the Covenant fleet has just landed ground forces on Titan and Rhea. I suggest we bombard the moons surface and send those ass monkeys to hell!"
"By god, Olympus, that's the smartest thing you've said all day! Fire at will, keep those Covenant bastards from destroying the generators!" Two MAC rounds plummeted towards Titan's surface, and exploded in a hail of silver-white light. Fifty Archer missiles streaked towards the moons surface, and obliterated everything their paths. At that time, silver-white light streaked right in front of the main view screen. It impacted a Covenant vessel not a hundred kilometers away, entering through the bottom and exiting the top, completely gutting the craft.
"Captain, incoming plasma torps! Impact in five!"
"Fire the auxiliary jet boosters! Get us out of their course!" The Conquistador lurched from side to side as the emergency thrusters were fired. Two plasma torpedoes impacted the stern of the ship, completely melting through the combat armor and paralyzing the vessel. "Captain, our main power supply to the engine has been destroyed! We're sitting ducks!"
"Then I guess we're gonna take as many of those bastards as we can!" The human fleet began to dwindle in numbers as the Covenant fleet began counterattacking, and going for the Super MAC guns on the moon's surfaces. Captain Fowler saw two battlecruisers limp off the battlefield, and be destroyed by a stray plasma torpedo or MAC round. He slammed his fist against the bulkheads of the Conquistador. "Olympius, get FLEETCOM on the horn. Inform them that the Saturn system is lost. Also, fire off our last two SHIVA III warheads. We're going to take as many of them as we can!"
The two remaining SHIVA warheads jettisoned away from the Conquistador and into the heart of the Covenant fleet. They exploded in a ball of white destruction. As the fallout began to disappear, four Covenant ships had been obliterated, and a five paralyzed beyond repair. The Covenant began to sweep through the Saturn system, cleaning up any immobile human vessels. "Captain Fowler, should I destroy all of our databanks?"
"No need Olympius, they've found Earth. Good bye, comrade." Olympius's hallow image vanished from the holopanel as Captain Fowler deactivated the ships command systems. "Good bye, fellow soldiers. It has been privilege and a pleasure to serve with you." Captain Fowler saluted the command crew on the bridge, and they returned his salute. "Good bye for now men."
End Game: Chapter Two
Date: 7 April 2003, 2:00 AM
Hundreds of warships littered the area between Saturn and it's four moons. Many of them drifted barren, derelict, manned by a ghost crew. Not a single human craft lay undamaged, or destroy, nor did any rescue vessels arrive at the scene to search for survivors. The Covenant had landed on the moons of Saturn, and knocked out the Super MAC nuclear generators. Covenant and human ships alike drifted aimlessly on an eternal patrol. The remnants of a battered Covenant moved on, intent on taking Jupiter, Mars, and ultimately, Earth. Roughly 1300 enemy craft were operational, and were steadily heading towards the gas giant Jupiter. A similar cobalt-green rift appeared in space, just outside the Covenant formation. Additional fleets of over 500 man-of-wars were jumping in-system. When the additional fleet entered the Milky Way, the armada of vessels bypassed Jupiter and Mars, and entered into orbit above Earth.
The human fleet in orbit above Earth totaled around 900 ships, many ill equipped and poorly manned. The Admiralty opened up an unsecured frequency and transmitted a distress signal to all UNSC warships in system. Apparently, there wasn't time to secure a frequency. The Covenant fleet was unfortunate enough to jump right between Earth and her moon, a fatal mistake. In between Earth, the moon, and the Covenant fleet hibernated the human fleet. Twelve orbit docking bays above Earth scrambled their fighters, and the shipboard fighters added to the masses. Literally tens of thousands of fighters and interceptors engaged an impervious fleet. The hundred or so small and large Covenant carriers released their Seraph fighters. Over a million independent fighters skirmished between the enemy lines in orbit.
Human and Covenant point defense weapons engaged the enemy fighters. A bright silver streak of light appeared on each of the Covenant ships midsection. The dozen repair vessels maneuvered into position, shielding the rest of the fleet and buying precise time. The first devastating salvo of Super MAC rounds fired, knocking out close to eighty vessels and paralyzing another thirty. The human fighters were at a staggering disadvantage and were loosing numbers fast. At a range of over 100000 kilometers, the Covenant fleet opened fire on the human lines. It was odd, instead of ignoring them and glassing the planet, the deliberately attacked the human fleet. The second volley of Super MAC rounds lanced towards their targets and destroyed another couple dozen vessels. The super heated plasma torpedoes were approaching fast, and struck the repair vessels.
The human fleet began to return fire as the repair vessels vaporized. Thousands of MAC projectiles, and Archer missiles raced towards the Covenant fleet. By the time the third salvo of Super MAC rounds were fired, only 11 had been damaged or destroyed. The Covenant had sustained heavy loses early in the battle, and were quick to return the favor. They returned fire at the human fleet, and they scattered like rats being chased by a cat. They broke formation, and independently attacked individual targets. Another barrage of cold tungsten steel was fired, and then another.
A giant rift began to overlap the obsidian black of space. Another Covenant fleet jumped into the system behind the human forces. Two dozen Super MAC guns and a contingent of human vessels turned to meet the new fleet head-to-head. The spearhead of the fleet hadn't cleared the rift of space before Super MAC rounds chopped it down. Another vessel subsequently collided with the destroyed vessel, and was engulfed in fire. The human fleet began suffering staggering loses. To make matters worse, they couldn't defend themselves because they had been ordered to destroy the invasion fleet of dropships. The battle over Earth hellishly raged, and it wasn't going to let up anytime soon.
Fire Base Zulu knew there was war raging above their heads. They just didn't know when it would make it's way to them, and they hoped it wouldn't. When the Covenant fleet entered the system, the whole base was put on alert. The AA battery personnel and Intel officers in the HQ had already been pulling double shifts. Now they were expected to pull triple. Deep within the confines of Fire Base Zulu, below 500 feet of reinforced concrete, lay 36 nuclear generators that powered the orbit MAC guns. Of course, however, there were other complexes were auxiliary generators were housed so no one assault could leave the Earth defenseless. Fire Base Zulu was located in the derelict deserts of Arizona, and was manned by two whole divisions; 32000 combat-ready Marine and Naval personnel.
Lt. Riley gazed into the blue sky in the early afternoon light. His high powered binoculars picked up a contrail of black smoke. That's when he saw the first hint of an invasion. The Longsword interceptors must have engaged the enemy dropships when they entered the atmosphere. The trail of smoke lead Riley to see the invasion fleet closely followed by the Longsword interceptors, which were followed by a massive squadron of Seraph fighters. Riley radioed back to Fire Base Zulu, "Fire Base Zulu, this is Fire Team Stryker. Over."
"Roger that, Fire Team Stryker. Go ahead, over."
"I have visual confirmation of large force of enemy bogies heading to your location. Repeat visual confirmation of a large force of enemy bogies heading in your direction. There is a large fleet of dropships being trailed by some of our Longswords. Seraph fighters harassing the Longswords. Over."
"Roger that, Fire Team Stryker. Good work, return home. Over." Lt. Riley set his binoculars the glove compartment, and hopped into the passenger seat. "Let's roll," was all he said as his driver slammed his foot to the floor. The rear tires of the ATV kicked up dirt and sand as it tried to grip the loose soil. The Warthog eventually fishtailed, turned 180 degrees, and headed back to Fire Base Zulu, trailed by three other Warthogs. After a good two minutes of undisturbed driving, Lt. Riley caught site of the fire base on the horizon. They had a good lead on the invasion force, but they were gaining quickly. They were now close enough to see the low-lying pillboxes in front of the base, the guard/AA towers, and the twenty-meter high steel wall that protected the outside of the base.
The first of the AA batteries began to target the inbound invasion fleet. There was over 200 Covenant dropships, all carrying well over 30 combatant each. The batteries fired a salvo of Anvil III SAM missiles. Eight of the dropships were taken out before they even got within one thousand meters of the fire base. Each battery was complimented with a pair of 50mm autocannons. The column of `Hogs was still well over six meters out when the four gunners opened up on the fleet. The small 30mm rounds were too weak to significantly damage the dropships but it certainly got their attention. A pair of dropships began to fire back at the column. The dropships were in range now and the autocannons began decimating the airborne forces. Within seconds, four other dropships went drop from the autocannons alone, and another dozen from the AA batteries.
The Longsword formation broke off the assault on the dropships and averted their attention to their assailants. The Seraph fighters were sneaky little bastards, but they were lured close to the fire base and attacked by the AA batteries. The AA batteries tore them to shreds and two dozen rocket jockeys opened up on the fighters with M19 SMMs. Half of the invasion force landed outside the gates and most were immediately cut down by heavy machinegun fire. A half-dozen snipers from inside the base began picking off targets of opportunity with their S2 AM sniper rifle. The first to fall was usually the Elite, who commanded the enemy units. A pair of dropships got too close to the base perimeter, unloaded its cargo, and was struck with AA fire from a couple autocannons.
A squadron of Seraph began trying to draw AA fire while strafing, giving the dropships a chance to breath. Lt. Riley's fire team was now safely inside the perimeter of the fire base. His twelve men charge a ramp that led to the top of one of the walls. From their perch, they would have a vantage point to attack the invaders. Most, if not all, of the dropships were destroyed either in the insertion or the takeoff after the drop off. The smoldering hulks of the dropships provided ample cover for the Covenant forces. However, behind their cover they were sitting ducks for sniper and SSM fire. The Seraph fighters hauled ass out of the combat zone, and the stragglers that stayed behind were obliterated.
Lt. Riley slung his Battle Rifle, and pulled out his M6D pistol. He activated his scope, and looked for a target. A clutch of Grunts waddled forward, and was cut down by a pillbox. He searched for another target, and saw an Elite. He squeezed the trigger gently, and squelched the semi-armor piercing round out of the barrel. The Elite's shield absorbed the brunt of the attack, and Riley pulled the trigger again. The enemies shield flickered, and faded. Riley fired two more rounds into the enemy's skull, effectively ending his life. Riley began to reload his pistol when he realized it was too easy. He had expected a lot more opposition that had actually arrived. He heard the whoosh! of an SSM as the 102mm round raced past his ear towards an embedded group of Covenant soldiers.
The reverberating sound of fragmentation grenades was deafening, and the familiar staccato of Battle and Assault Rifle fire added to the effect. Riley's demolitions expert, Pfc. Fitzgerald, primed a fragmentation and dropped it on the unsuspecting head of an enemy directly below the 20-meter high wall. The frag detonated, plastering the Elite's guts on the wall. Seemingly all of the defenders of the base were on the walls, repelling borders. As Riley kneeled down to reload his depleted Battle Rifle magazine, he witnessed the soldier next to him get hit with red-hot plasma. The soldier feel to the deck, half of his molten face gone. The cried in agony, and begged for his mother. Riley pulled out a morphine syringe and administered first aid. The only thing to do to the mortally wounded soldier was to comfort him.
Riley looked over the barricade to see a blue orb of plasma pass right in front of his face. He pulled the trigger, and put a three round burst into the skull of a hapless Grunt below. He pulled a grenade off his bandoleer, pulled the pin yelled "Fire in the hole!" and threw it over the wall. A gout of fire kicked up dust and debris as the grenade exploded. The Covenant eventually got enough grenades in one area to blow a hole through the wall, and in streamed the entire Covenant army. The soldiers on top of the wall fired desperately into the mass of bodies flooding into the compound. They dropped grenades into the opening and decimated dozens of enemy troops.
A couple of troops were armed with shotguns and SSMs. They emptied their racks and switched to their shotguns, pelting the enemy combatants with shotgun slugs. A third soldier was able to get to a Warthog's M41 LAAG and fired into the masses. By that time, however, enough Covenant troops had poured into the compound to make it virtually useless. The Marines were gradually withdrawing from their perches on the walls, and into the pit of the fire base. Riley was fortunate enough to regroup with his fire team and coordinate effective resistance. His men were moving from building to building, gradually withdrawing, killing as many of the bastards as possible. Riley had lost two of his infantrymen, and his wasn't going to let the rest of the Marines die.
By now, the ground was littered with thousand of died and dying, both human and Covenant. The Covenant force had taken approximately a third of the compound, but the Marines were able to get to the vehicle bays to grab some heavy weaponry. Riley's fire team was able to grab a hold of a pair of Scorpion tanks, and began shelling the hell out of the Covenant forces taking refuge in some of the barracks. Fortunately, the Pelican dropships, all 144 of them, were on their side of the base, so an emergency evac was a possibility. They had also placed four thirty-megaton nuclear warheads inside the base. They were set to detonate if the nuclear generators were compromised. But Riley and his squad were determined not to let that happen. Besides, over 1000 Marines had withdrawn into the command and control facilities, and the only way to get to the generators was through their.
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