Just Getting Started Chapter Nine
Posted By: James Kinsella<jckinsella@redrunr.net>
Date: 29 April 2003, 8:33 PM
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Just Getting Started
Chapter Nine
0650 Hours, October 3, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Keyes engaged in unknown territory
As Gates realized the gravity of his miscalculation he heard a voice. "Captain, are you actually going to let this happen? Have you forgotten the ship's name? I'm taking back helm control." All of this came from his navigations officer, Lieutenant Brown. Brown quickly executed the famous 'Keyes Loop' on the corvette that they hadn't disabled, quickly ending its useful life. They now had only a destroyer to deal with.
"Only a destroyer." Mike said to himself with a laugh. A few weeks earlier a single destroyer would have been enough to eliminated two or three UNSC ships. He watched as four MAC rounds lanced through space. The resulting explosions cut the destroyer in two, and for a brief moment he could see what had to be the bridge floating in space. Then a secondary explosion toasted that section, leaving only a giant hunk of metal floating in space.
Lieutenant Brown looked back at the Captain to see why he had frozen during the fight. What he saw shocked him. Captain Gates was rolled up in a ball on the deck, bawling his eyes out. This scared Mike, and he immediately called for medical support.
1047 Hours, October 3, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
UNSC Keyes en route to Earth
John had been woken from cryosleep with the usual horrible dreams. He sat up, coughed and climbed out of the tube. As he made his way to the showers he looked at the clock mounted on the bulkhead. If the time on that was correct, then he shouldn't be awake. He went for a quick shower and prepared to go investigate. As he stood in the shower he realized that nobody had actually been there when he woke up. Even though the water was hot, a chill ran up his spine. He got out of the shower and suited up as quickly as he could.
As John left the cryobay he picked up one of the new, standard-issue shotguns that decorated the ordinance locker. He also grabbed an SMG for balance. He walked out of the cryobay and immediately jumped back inside. "Cortana, any idea why there are three Elites standing in the hallway as if they should be there?"
"Master Chief, it looks like you missed some really heavy action. I've reviewed the security tapes from the last ten hours, and I'm worried. Just over six hours ago we were pulled out of slipstream, and attacked by a Covenant task force. We won, but it appears that the battle did significant damage to our shield matrix, and our Captain. Gates went into shock, and had to be removed from the bridge. It seems that the task force was just a trick. As we prepared to leave system, another, larger, battle group popped out of slipstream and engaged. We were boarded by Covenant and now they have control of the command crew. I'm guessing that somebody was able to activated your waking cycle without the Covenant noticing.
"You mean that they don't know I'm here?" John said with disbelief.
"Exactly, which means that you have an incredible opportunity. You can take the Keyes back without the Covenant even knowing you were here. Activate the Active Camo, and you will be undetectable. From what I can tell, the Covenant battle group left us here, so that their troops could ensure control of the ship was theirs. It also seems that they are making repairs to the ship. Attack now, before we get back underway."
"Okay" John said quietly. He chinned the control, and walked out into the hall. He decided that his combat knife would be the weapon of choice for this mission, and he tested that theory out on an Elite in the hallway. It seemed that Elites' shields were down when they didn't expect threats from enemies. Too bad.
John made his way through the hallways of the ship, and after about an hour he had most of the Covenant out of commission. He walked towards a gold armored Elite and was about to slit his throat when it moved. John's arm touched the Elite, and it immediately jumped to the side. Knowing that the stealth portion of his tour was over, John grabbed his shotgun and fired. The resulting explosion of blood pasted one of the walls.
The noncom ran as fast as he could to the bridge, but knew it was too late. When he opened the door he saw that a hostage situation was in place. He moved back around the corner as fast as he could, avoiding enemy fire. He knew that there were ten Elites in the room, but he didn't know what to do about them. If he didn't find a way to stop them, then the soldiers in that room would die, and he probably would too...
Hope that you like!
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