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HALO: Pilots of Autumn by Matt Anderson
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HALO: Pilots of Autumn, Chapter 2
Date: 21 November 2002, 10:32 pm
Command Bridge, Pillar of Autumn
1015 hours
"Sir, Enemy capitol ships will be within combat range in 20 seconds."
The Captain, ever vigilant, studied the red dots converging towards their position on the map.
"Cortana, what's the closest Covenant battle cruiser?"
Cortana paused for a moment, a far away look on her eyes. "That would be the Truth and Reconciliation. Why?"
Keyes smiled grimly. "Lets extend the olive branch. Charge the MAC cannons."
"furball" near Pillar of Autumn
1015 hours
In the heat of battle, a warriors greatest strength is observation. The more you observe, the more you know. Such knowledge gives you power, especially when others fail to see. Right now, Jake's trained ears observed the noisy whine of MAC cannon. Pointed in their direction. Not a good thing.
"Alpha team, Evasive maneuvers!!" Immediately the eight remaining fighters of alpha and beta teams broke off their attacks, away from the Banshees. Away from the MAC cannon, and just in time. Luckily, the covenant couldn't take a hint.
In a blast of bright white, the massive MAC cannon fired, sending the massive shell contained within hurtling into space. Passing directly through the furball of fighters, it struck a Covenant Banshee, causing the fragile ship to implode under the heavy mass of the MAC round. Leaving the remains of the banshee, now a hunk of mangled space debris, and flew-true towards its real target.
The small victory of the banshee was short lived. As the artillery shell passed, the magnetism generating off of it sent a wave of EMP that was powerful enough to render both Covenant and Human ships helpless as their navigational systems futily struggled to regain their bearings. For the moment, they were at a stand off.
Command Bridge, Pillar of Autumn
1015 hours
Everyone on deck held their breath the final moments of the MAC round's flight. As the yellow blip on the radar raced towards the red one that represented the Truth and Reconciliation. Cortana, also watched, but was preoccupied with other things. Her voice cut through the silence, reading the statistics of the Pillar of Autumn, but no one really listened. But, as the shell fell to 10,000 clicks from the target, even she fell silent.
As the shell impacted the Truth and reconciliation with full force, though slightly off center. It struck the sleek, teardrop shaped craft one of its main engine, its outer shell shattering and disabling the shield, and creating an oddly beautiful sight as the pieces of metal glinted in the light from a nearby star. The main shell ripped into and through the engine, blowing clear through and damaging the other. As the engine exploded, the bright plums of flame quickly expanded to fill the inside of the ships protective shield, and caused the shield to stretch as it strived to contain the energy. The explosion quickly died in the vacuum of space, revealing a charred and mangled piece of metal where the engine used to be on the sleek ship. Still slightly functioning, the engine sputtered and died, as the damaged one's fame seemed to grow fainter. The ship lurched with the impact, paused as if stunned, and then seemed to fall towards the ring-world in a barely controlled descent.
The crew breathed in, and then cheered with joy as they watched the near-totaled ship. Keyes smiled, but had a tired look in his eyes. Cortana swirled into view, seeming to be strangely proud in her own way.
"Direct hit on the designated target, Captain. The Truth and Reconciliation is disengaging and maintaining a steady course towards the ring structure."
Keyes again chewed on his pipe, as is trying to grasp the entire battlefield at once. He paused, and thought grimly, 'We're only delaying the inevitable.'
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