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Stage 1: Something's at the door…

PCI Industries Repair Center
08:45 October 20, 2552
New Mombasa, Kenya

"You're late, Eric!" A sharply dressed woman shouted at the main entrance. Her hair was cut short, her nails glowed brightly red and her matching black DuTan dress suit gave her a powerful presence. She tapped her finger on the wall of the door, blocking the black man's entrance. She was a gorgeously shaped woman with long legs, tight hips and a well toned upper body. Her butt and breasts weren't bad either. "Stop staring at my chest Eric, and tell me why you're late, again!"

Eric couldn't help staring at her chest. The diving neckline on her suit practically begged him to glare at the top of her cleavage, and the fact that she didn't cover up only made him more interested. She was a Spanish woman with a full blown American attitude; meaning she was quick witted, hot headed, fast paced, and always on her toes. An attractive woman but not Eric's type, but still she was damned attractive.

"Eric!" The woman stated strongly.

"Sorry." Eric replied. Eric waved his hand near the door and a green light signaled that he was cleared to enter. "I overslept."

"You seem to be doing that a lot lately." The woman responded. The two began to walk down the hall to an elevator. The hallway was quiet, and only a few janitorial staff personal walked the halls. "I know it's asking a lot of you to come in early, but with the Covenant threatening to find Earth the Military has been pushing our buttons hard."

"You look nice this morning, Rose." Eric added, ignoring the work talk that Rose was tossing around. Rose was quiet for a second and folded her arms across her chest as they stopped in front of the elevator.

"Also," she continued, "they've requested a double order on the Mark VI armor plating. I called Tokyo and they sent the parts this morning, local time. We should have it by noon."

"Always work with you, isn't Rose?" Eric questioned. He stuck his hands into his pockets and stared deeply into his mirrored reflection on the elevator door. His age was quickly catching up with him. He noticed a grey hair in his mustache and then counted three more. He was in mid thirties and in no way felt old, but he was finding it harder and harder to run ten miles without stopping; something he could have easily done ten years ago.

"We aren't in college anymore, Eric." Rose replied. "We have a job to do, and there is a war going on, remember?"

"Yeah, I know." Eric sighed. He lowered his head and ran his hand through his black curly hair. He needed a hair cut but hadn't had the time. "Have you been into the lab yet?"

"No, I hate being in there alone." Rose responded. The elevator door opened and they stepped in. Eric pressed his hand onto the controls and a green button appeared at the bottom of the elevator's control display. He pressed the secret button and the elevator quickly began its long run into the depths of New Mombasa.

Rose sat on a nearby bench and crossed her legs. She delicately began to play with her nails, not giving Eric any attention at all. It was a long and quiet journey. Rose sat to one side of the elevator while Eric leaned against the wall of the other. Eric couldn't help but look at her. She was a year younger then he was, but she hadn't changed since he first met her in their freshman class so many years ago. The only sign of age she ever displayed was that she wore a simple pair of glasses in order to read. Eric was startled out of his gaze by a quick burst of static from the elevator's speakers.

"Please hold for ID check." Said the voice over the speakers. The elevator came to a slow stop and the ID pad on the elevator's control panel suddenly turned red. "You first, Lieutenant Raynord." Eric stepped to the control and firmly pressed his hand against the plate, and the ID screen changed to green.

"You're next, Ms. Santos." Rose stepped over with a quick sigh, and repeated the gesture. The ID screen quickly flashed blue twice, then a solid Green. "Okay. All elevator parties have been identified for first security check; Lieutenant Eric Raynord and project leader Ms. Rose Santos. Door's opening."

Beyond the Elevator door was a long tunnel which was well lit on all sides. Only one door was ahead of them, and that was their office. But in front of that door stood three Marines dressed in formal attire, and each had a BR55 Battle Rifle slung over their shoulders. As Eric and Rose stepped out of the Elevator the three soldiers quickly pulled down their guns and took aim.

"Come on guys, is that really necessary?" Eric questioned. The soldiers remained silent. ONI took no chances of a military breach within their security, and until the two had finalized their ID check they would be watched closely. These soldiers had full authority to shoot anyone, if they so much as sneezed oddly.

"Beginning secondary bio-scans." A voice stated over the hallway intercom. "Please stand still." The elevator door behind Eric and Rose closed, and the faint hum of machinery was heard behind the walls. "Body scans complete. All's clear."

"Sorry Sir, we have our orders." One of the soldiers stated. The Three soldiers quickly saluted Eric and he quickly returned the gesture loosely. "How are you today, Ms. Santos?"

"Please call me Rose, or Doctor." Rose stated as they began to walk toward the entrance. "We go through this every morning, but every morning you call me Ms. Santos… I'm not that old, Wesley."

"Sorry Rose." Wesley stated. He slung his rifle over his shoulder and handed Eric a data pad. "It's all the training." The door behind the Marines opened and a dark room lay beyond.

"Sure, training." Rose stated as she crossed the threshold to the room. Eric smiled at Wesley and nodded his head with a quick smirk. He waved the data pad and followed Rose into the room as the door closed behind them.

"Damn that's a woman." Wesley stated to the other two soldiers at his side.

"Yeah, and every morning she dreads seeing you." The soldiers laughed.

The underground facility was another of the Office of Naval Intelligence's secret research facilities; however it was a smaller one. Inside the dark room were several more marines, dressed in semi-formal attire and sitting at desks. The security chief sat a desk with several monitors displaying the hallway, the exterior of the above ground building and several other entryways inside the facility.

Rose and Eric walked throughout the mazes of doors and cubicles until they reached their destination. They each placed their hands on the sides of the door and a green light flashed above them. The Titanium-A door hissed with life as it slid open. Nearly six inches of the metal separated the ONI research lab from the rest of the facility. Rose and Eric walked in before it completely opened. They approach a glass wall that overlooked the lab and reached for their lab coats.

"Feels like I just left here." Eric sighed. Rose stood in shock as she looked the room over. All the parts that they had left unassembled had been completed.

"What the hell?" Rose stated in a shocked tone. She quickly pulled on her white over coat, and hopped down a small step of stairs into the research lab below. Eager to see what had happened she jogged to a nearby table which was covered in parts. "Who finished these?"

"Two guesses." Eric laughed from above.

"But you said you were going to leave last night, right after I left." Rose added with a curious gaze.

"Yeah, well, I didn't." Eric smiled, as he slowly began to walk down the stairs. "It's not like I have a life outside this place. I grabbed a bite to eat, but came back and finished up."

"That's why you overslept." Rose stated as she looked over the MJOLNIR Mark VI arm guard. "Final assembly was supposed to be done today for those other three Spartans. These small system upgrades should…" She stopped in mid sentence and looked up at Eric. "Sorry. Thanks for doing this Eric."

"Does this mean I can go home?" Eric laughed. Rose shot him an awkward gaze and sighed.

"For a Marine, you sure don't act it." Rose smiled. "It's reassuring that you haven't changed much. I guess the Military couldn't break your spirit."

"They tried." Eric responded. He then realized that they had been working together for nearly two weeks, and had yet to really talk.

"We can take it easy until those parts from Tokyo get here." Rose stated as she put the arm guard on the table. She walked toward Eric and sat at an adjacent desk. "I still can't believe you finished all six. What do we do with our time now?" Rose stated as she slouched into her chair.

"Those ONI suits will get here for another ten minutes, so we could make out?" Eric grinned.

"It didn't work in college, it won't work now." Rose laughed in return. She felt comfortable around Eric and it reminded her of old times, like when they first met in college.

"Thought not." Eric sighed. "Well, I know the frequency for the Award ceremony aboard Cairo Station. We can check that out."

"I guess so." Rose sighed. "At least we get to see what the full Mark VI looks like."

Eric walked over to his computer and typed in his password and Personal Identification Number. The screen flashed to life and he quickly connected his chatter to the computer. After a few key strokes the screen flickered to life and the command deck of Cairo station appeared on screen.

"Guess we're early." Rose stated. "Oh, there's the Spartan and fleet admiral what's his face. Do you know the others?"

"The woman, no, but the black guy I know all to well." Eric grinned with a soft chuckle. "Avery Johnson. He was my bunkmate for a while, before he was shipped off to Paris IV. We lost touch after that, but he was sick for awhile after that. Last I heard he was assigned to the Pillar of Autumn. Looks like he's a Sergeant Major now, still on the front lines, I see." Eric paused and looked the screen over. "Looks like they're finishing up, but something's wrong."

"Wait, they're all leaving." Rose stated with a sigh. "I couldn't see the armor that well. Can you follow the Spartan?" Eric typed in more commands and the camera switched to the outer door of the command deck. "There he is, with my beautiful arm bands. We programmed the entire weaponry database for those, and every gun he grabs will instantly be uploaded to his HUD. But I wish he could get these upgrades we made, their much faster with the data transfer…" But something caught Rose's eye, something that she wish she hadn't seen. "Why is he picking up a gun? Why are they all arming themselves?"

"Oh God." Eric gasped. "They're setting a defensive perimeter around the command deck."

Rose gripped Eric's shoulder tightly as she leaned closer to the screen. She didn't know what his military gibberish meant, but she knew what battle prep looked like. Each soldier was positioning around the Spartan and taking cover. She could see the eagerness and fear in their eyes. Suddenly there was a knock at the office door and Rose was startled. She grabbed her heart and exhaled. She reached for the door controls and the massive door opened. One of the security officers yelled into the room.

"The global defense grid is hot!" The soldier yelled. "The global warning alarm is sounding above ground! It's the covenant, they're here!"

"Rose!" Eric screamed as he watched in terror as several small creatures burst into the room where the Spartan and the soldiers were. Rose quickly turned back to Eric's side as the guard ran down the stairs toward Eric's desk. They all watched as the Marines cut down the first wave of grunts but then several larger creatures followed. "Elites." Eric mumbled. He watched as the chief, surgical took down the towering aliens and then signaled for the marines to advance. Eric turned off the connection and lowered his head. His eyes were wide with horror. The covenant had found their home, they had found Earth.

"Where was that?" The guard asked, in a terrified tone. "Was that here? Oh God, oh God I don't want to die!"

"Relax." Eric shouted. "That was onboard the Cairo; one of our Orbital Defense Mac stations."

"How did you get that transmission?" Rose asked. "I'm sure they would have turned off any public broadcasts once the covenant arrived."

"All soldiers know the video frequencies onboard stations." Eric replied. "It's the only way to watch any good TV while in space."

"So you hacked in?" Rose questioned sarcastically; already knowing the answer. "What should we do?"

"Nothing." Eric replied. "We hope that the UNSC can hold them off, otherwise things may get messy." A sudden beep caught everyone's ear. It was coming from Rose's personal Chatter. She reached into her pocket and walked away from the group, talking softly into it.

"Sir, I'll go back to my desk." The guard stated.

"Tell the Marines to stay sharp." Eric stated to the Guard. "I'll notify ONI for support here. Things may repeat as it did on Reach."

"Sir?" The guard questioned, curious as to what Eric meant.

"Nothing, get to your post." Eric sat at his desk and picked up his Chatter. He thumbed through the interface until he saw a familiar set of numbers. He entered the numbers and a deep male voice echoed into his speaker.

"Lieutenant Raynord, I guess you've heard the news." The voice stated.

"Yes Sir, I've secured this channel." Eric softly spoke into the chatter. "This is much sooner then we planned. I thought the Spartans slowed them down?"

"We knew the Master Chief and his squad did some damage, but nothing was set in stone. We have no clear knowledge of the full size of the covenant's fleet."

"I understand, Sir." Eric replied doubtfully. "How goes the fight up there?"

"A covenant ship got through." The voice stated. "Something's not right about this attack. This isn't a full scale assault, so I believe that they are searching for it. I've ordered several Marine details to your facility underground. The ONI Officials that are usually there with you will be picked up and carried away. I'm glad you got to work early today. I'm leaving you in charge to protect the artifact. Be advised Lieutenant, their coming directly at you."

"They'll kill me before they get the artifact, Sir." Eric replied. The chatter went quiet and Eric stood up. He turned and Rose was standing practically on top of him.

"What did he mean they're coming directly at you?" Rose questioned.

"That box that those ONI guys have been toying with over the past few days." Eric stated as he pointed to the far side of the room. "There's a artifact in it, some form of Forerunner Technology for all I know, but Section 3 may know more. Anyway, the Covenant is coming for it."

"Here?" Rose tearfully questioned. Eric looked at her, puzzled at the terror on her face. He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out his side arm; a M6C Magnum. He dropped a clip into the handle and primed the chamber, cocking it smoothly, and then quickly tripped the safety as he slid it into the holster on his back. He had never seen Rose afraid of anything. She was an athlete in college, a fearless boardroom debater, and had faced off against some of the most hated Admiral's within the UNSC, but now she was terrified. "I have to go… I … I got to get out of here!"

Rose quickly stormed up the stairs and exited the room; Eric was following closely, pondering on how to calm her. She reached the security desk was stopped by the ghostly white face of the security chief. He was in horrific shock as he grabbed Rose and held her at bay. He was sweating horribly, a cold sweet, and Eric could tell that something was wrong.

"You can't leave, Doctor." The guard stated in a nervous stutter. "The Marines have set up defenses upstairs and they're coming down the Elevator now. They said that the Covenant Carrier just stopped above us, directly above us." The guard looked like he wanted to vomit and pass out.

"Rose, come here." Eric stated. He grabbed her by the arm and looked into her eyes; she looked like she wanted to scream but couldn't. "If you want to die, do nothing, but I know you better then that. We have some of the best equipment in the world at our fingertips, and I'm going to show you how to use it. First up the BR55 Battle rifle, she's got a kick but I know you can handle it."

"I don't want to fight, Eric." Rose stated as Eric unlocked the weapons closet. He ignored her as he proceeded to put the heavy metal into her arms.

"When you load it, give it a good slap, pull back the hammer to prime it and you're good to go." Eric stated as he pointed to the various points on the rifle. "The counter displays your ammo, when it drops below ten you need to duck and reload. Only keep shooting if absolutely necessary. The worst thing you can do is run out of ammo in the middle of a firefight. That last click can be heard by those Elite bastards, and they'll know to charge you."

"I don't want to fight, Eric!" Rose shouted tearfully. She dropped the gun and fell to her knees; sobbing uncontrollably. The guards wasted no time raiding the locker and passing out the weapons and armor amongst themselves. Eric leaned over and placed his hands on her shoulder.

"Then I guess you want to die." Eric stated. "Because I know you don't want me to try and protect you. That would put you in my debt, and I have to make you sleep with me to repay that debt." Rose looked up and cocked her head to the side. She was astonished that he could joke at a time like this. "So what's it going to be, beautiful? You want to learn to shoot, or do you want to sleep with me when this is all over?" Rose slowly stood up, cradling the bulk of the rifle in her arms.

"What do I do?" She sobbingly asked. She fought back the tears but couldn't stop them from flowing.

"Damn, you really don't want me, do you?" Eric laughed.

"Contacts, multiple covenant contacts inbound!" The shout came from the security guards desk and everyone ran over to see the battle that was raging overhead. Marines were firing heavily at the Covenant assault group that was bearing down on them. The exit to the building was being flooded with plasma and rifle fire. Eric pressed the com button.

"Wesley, open the door and get the turret guns online." Eric stated to the young Marine in the hallway. "Once all of our support troops get down here, shut the Elevator down, and set it with a charge. Blow the hell out of it. Nothing gets down the elevator shaft. You get me?"

"Roger that, Sir!" Wesley stated.

The tunnel was filling with Marines and Wesley quickly appointed them to their positions. The door into the ONI facility opened and Wesley spotted Eric and Rose standing at the security desk. He could see the terror on the Rose's face, and understood her fear. She was a civilian and never trained for combat. The one thing a soldier knew was that you fed off your fear, and let it motivate you to survive. Flight of Fear is what they called it, and marines were trained to harness it. It would sharpen their senses, make them focus harder and sharper, and in some cases make them dull to pain and injury. He knew that the feeling was most likely overwhelming Rose.

"Okay maggots, let's do this. Get inside the main facility and hunker down, this tunnel is the only way in from the building upstairs. Joe, take some troops and secure the back door, it's our only escape route, but I don't think the Covenant know about it. I want GP turret guns in this tunnel and hard shell'em. Get some bunkers out here. There's some bugs at the door and they aint coming in, move, move, move!"

Eric turned to Rose and smiled; "Let's show you how to shoot."

To be continued...

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