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Our Ending Days by Cpt Crapper
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Our Ending Days Chapter One
Date: 28 January 2005, 4:26 AM
Our Ending Days
Chapter 1
Eve Before Destruction
UNSC MAC STATION THOR
He could remember the first day the Thor was on the large hangar bays at the shipyard, its exterior walls gleaming and all of its crew, ONI, UNSC, Marine, were all around, watching as their new home was being lifted from the subterranean levels were the UNSC plethora of ships and MAC guns were created. After a few minutes of waiting, the loud humming stopped and Thor was in his plain sights. This was my first command, and it wasn't a normal UNSC frigate or cruiser. This was the thing that could punch a large hole through a Covenant cruiser. He could also remember the speech he gave his crews. Boy, that was ten days ago, Captain James Green smiled, as he remembered the first day aboard UNSC MAC Station One-Twenty Thor. Station One-Twenty was one of the stations that were in the First Defense area, where the Covenant would have to break through first in order to lay siege to Earth, but it wouldn't be easy. The UNSC had mass produced three hundred MAC stations in order to prepare for the day the Covenant would strike Earth. The day was soon, and Green smiled as he thought of tallying down the kills he would make with every shot... soon.
***
The Hive, Five Miles Below Sydney, Australia
In the underground fortress of High Command, known as the Hive a high security meeting in the main war room was going on. This was going nowhere, Colonel Graham Young thought as he looked at the large holographic projector in the middle of the room. The screen showed the UNSC's entire defensive blockade around Earth. Both though there were three hundred MAC stations, and thousands of naval warships guarding Earth, the blockade eventually break down into pieces and the Covenant would break through, and the bulk of the UNSC fighting force would be unable to help the civilians of Earth, and ground operations would be hard to take back the cities the Covenant will take hold of with relative ease. Young stopped thinking when he heard one of the top brass begin to speak.
"Gentlemen, Admiral Young has a point. We cannot rule out that the orbital defenses will not utterly hold out the Covenant fleet." The Commander in Chief of the Marines began. "When the Covenant breaks through our blockade, people landside will be cut off from the bulk of our forces. That's why we must have half a defensive force landside in order for retaliation to work."
"Marty, I understand what you're saying, but our men above will be able to hold out. For Christ's sake, there's THREE HUNDRED MAC right above our heads that can break the Covenant force into bits!" Vice Admiral Gilroy pointed at the hologram.
"I say, put most of our men above and we'll smash those bastards to bits!"
"WHAT?! Goddamn it, Gilroy! You haven't forgotten of what those bastards can do?! Remember the outer colonies?! The Fall of Reach?!" Marty almost lost his temper as he glared at the Naval Admiral. The nerve on this guy, he thought.
"Gentlemen, it is correct the orbital defenses cannot stand to the Covenant, but nevertheless, the UNSC blockade will be reinforced by Longsword fighters that are on the ground." Most of the Admirals and Generals agreed to this and began to file out of the room, while Young stayed as High Command Admiral Jack Johnson quietly closed the door as the last Admiral left. Now the real business began, Young thought, as the Admiral began the conversation. "How far along are you on the project?"
"Oh... about eighty-five percent." Young replied casually.
"Operational use?"
"Sir, we don't even know if they will be functional in battle. The Second Project was a success but all of them died, except for the Chief. What we're suggesting instead of using the project before the Section deems them operational is to send out Special Ops Teams such as NavySpecWar, Delta, SOG teams on missions."
"Ok, but you know most of the men above will need some of the men onboard the MAC stations and ships. I will scramble NavySpecWar, Delta, SOG, and the Elite Guard. For the meantime, find out where the artifact is before the Covenant does."
'"Yes, sir."
***
Camp Alpha, Australia
"Master Sergeant, you and you're platoon will not be sent above to fight the Covenant. " Young looked at the young Special Operations Group officer. He was physically fit, and his eyes had the look of being around the block a few times. That was good, the Colonel thought. He began to remember the file Command had on James McKee, where the officer had a distinguished record of service, and a lot of unfilled holes also. He would have made a perfect ONI operative, well maybe he still could, after this mission. "This mission is off the record, and is of the utmost importance to the survival of the human race."
"Okay, my men and I have handled missions like that before." James had participated in many black operations that were not released to the public, due to security reasons. Most of the times, the operations were flat out damn crazy, Young remembered. He had also been in this man's place before.
"We have been searching for an ancient artifact on Earth for a while. We have finally pinpointed its location in the Congo Basin in Africa. Since there are still rebel units there, we cannot just go there with Marines, since it would be noticeable. So we are sending you to find the artifact. You will survive by covert Prowler drops at night, and to evade the rebel patrols. Tensions have grown between the rebels and the UNSC, but a cease-fire is in place." Young explained the mission parameters, watching as the Captain processed the information through. "And the tricky part is getting you in. So we decided how to get in, but it will be dangerous."
"I see. You're planning to insert us through the Congo River and into the jungle?" Goddamn, this guy is good, Young smirked as the Captain thought aloud of the insertion. "It sounds good. My men can handle it. Will we get artillery or air strikes at our disposal? Or it's a hands down recon mission?"
"Hands down." The ONI Colonel answered.
"Okay. When do we go?" James looked at the Colonel, watching a smile begin to form.
"Thirty minutes. Assemble your men and brief them on the Pelican. It's a while from Australia to the UNSC Harbinger..."
***
SMARTS Operations Center, Moon
Earth looked so different from here; Major Perez thought as he stopped walking, and looked towards the MAC stations and ships, he saw what all of the UNSC was fighting for. He knew he was fighting for Earth too, but in a different manner. Soon he and his team would be sent on a mission to bring the fight back to the Covenant, if the UNSC were able to destroy the Covenant invaders that invaded first. That had been the whole reason SMARTS had been formed. SMARTS was the acronym for Special Maneuver Assassination Recon Tactics Squad. The black on black project was formed by Colonel Jim Brown, one of the most highly respected men in the armed forces. Perez hoped one day he could be like him, but it would be a while before he would become a Colonel. The red sirens began to blare, and the Major turned around to see two members, both specialists running towards him. He could remember their names and their expertise. The one on the left, a burly black man by the name of Jones was an expert in stealth, and the man on the right, a man by the name of Shark stopped in once they were in front of Perez. The men saluted and began their report. Jones began first, "Sir, the Colonel wants you back to base ASAP!"
"Sergeant, would you mind why the hell are the sirens blaring?!" Perez barked. "Those purple bastards already here?!"
"Yes sir! The Covenant has sent a small strike force to take over the Moon base!" Shark, a Specialist looked around if any Covenant were near the base. "Sir, I suggest we get moving back to base and assemble."
"No shit, Shark. Let's get moving. On the double! And Jones, how long has it been since those bastards have been sighted near Earth?!" Perez began running on the ground, while Shark and Jones were behind.
"Two hours ago, sir!" Sharks informed his superior officer, while checking for any Covenant behind them. "They might have sent some Spec Op teams here already."
"I know that! Keep moving, and tell me if you see any of those bastards! Can you get on the horn?!"
"No, sir, Communications gone haywire an hour back when we tried to get to the Colonel. We were sent out on a patrol earlier like you, sir but we just got orders to find you and get back to base." Jones was holding the BR55 pretty tight, Perez thought. When Jones held onto something tight, there was a chance that something was bothering him.
"Ok, COM never gone haywire before, so that must mean one thing." Perez stopped and looked at his two fellow members, who also stopped. "All right, you two are under me now. From now on, I want extreme caution while returning to base. Got that?" The two men nodded and Perez continued. "When we get to the base, I want you to delete every file we have here at this base, and find a ship to commandeer."
***
San Diego, California
"Gunnery Sergeant James Polk, you are now recalled back into active duty. Bring all UNSC material to DIEGO Base." James Polk turned around when the recording finished and began to walk towards a metal box that was next to his bed. He knelt down and keyed in the code and watched as the box depressurizes and the lid open. He saw that everything was still intact and grabbed the suitcase that was inside the box and began placing the contents of the box into the suitcase. The invasion is beginning, and the Covenant made their first move by taking over the SMARTS base, Polk thought. It was the only reason he was being recalled back into active duty. He was one of the few men who had an honorable discharge of being into the Special Forces for too long and needed some time off. But vacation was over, and he was back on the job.
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