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Marooned Chapter 12
Posted By: Steve Ollett<sollett@clydematerials.co.uk>
Date: 9 January 2004, 10:20 PM
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MAROONED CHAPTER 12
-------------------
1425HRS 08-OCT-2552 (MILITARY CALENDAR)
SECOND PLANET OF ACKWAZE SYSTEM.
AT SMALLER CLEARING, NEAR TO UNKNOWN DOORWAY.
"Look I'm only a Private, I don't know technical stuff, but I can tell you what I know." said Collins, sitting on the ground in a small clearing that was roughly ten feet in diameter. It was ringed by the same thick bushes that surrounded the larger clearing that lay nearby.
Collins reached for his water bottle, and began to unscrew the cap.
Seargent Ryan sat a couple of feet away. He had ordered them to move away from the larger clearing as it left them vulnerable, should the Covenant decide to swarm out of the large metallic doorway that was set into the side of the mountain.
Ryan held the Covenant Needler that Collins had used on Stocks. Apart from the other two recovered at the dropship LZ, this was the only functioning Needler that he had ever been able to examine in any detail.
Hefting the weapon in his right hand, it felt deceptively light to Ryan despite its' bulkiness, reminding him of a cheap plastic toy ray-gun - the sort that a five year old would break within minutes.
Plastic ray gun or not, Ryan recalled the desparate situations where he was dodging the purple-pink self-guiding shards. He had the micro-shrapnel scars to show where he hadn't been so lucky in avoiding the things. How did those bastards get these things to track their targets like that? he thought before placing the weapon on the ground next to him.
Corporal Stocks lay prone in the bushes a few feet away from Ryan, Zoran and Collins, his S2 AM rifle pointed towards the strange portal. His helmet now had several shoots of vegetation pushed into the meshing that covered it. It's no subsitutute for a ghillie suit, thought Stocks, but it was better than nothing.
Collins took a swig out of his water bottle and wiping his mouth, he continued. "Erm, It was approximately 1245HRS yesterday. We were about ten miles south of here, together with the scientists Armstrong and Muller. They were doing some drilling for core samples of the local rocks and soils. I couldn't tell you anymore, afterall that's scientist shit."
"I can understand you there." said Ryan dryly, slowly nodding at the same time.
"Anyway, Armstrong comes over to me and says that there's a problem with the drilling equipment, that they've hit something down there that's really hard. So I say what's that got to do with me?" said Collins before taking another mouthfull of water from his bottle.
"Then what?" asked Ryan, leaning forwards slightly.
"Armstrong asks me to relay a message through the Albatross back up to the Sheffield. Something to do with them using the DIR on their next orbital pass over our position."
"What's a DIR?" asked Zoran, intrigued.
"Deep Imaging Radar," replied Ryan. Turning to face the scientist, adding, "I'm surprised you didn't know that one."
"I haven't had the benefit of working from a military vessel before." said Zoran defensively, "But as I am in the dark with this one - so to speak - you may as well enlighten me on this."
Ryan sighed loudy, rolling his eyes. Collins caught Ryans' gaze and smirked.
"The DIR, or Deep Imaging Radar - as it is otherwise known - is a vastly improved derivative of the radar systems used on the old robot probes sent out to map the surface of various planets before we had slipspace capability." Ryan began. "The DIR not only determines the surface topography, but by analysing the radar returns we can indentify certain materials or structures deep underground. We use the system mainly to locate hardened underground facilities so we can either send in an infiltration squad or to bombard it from orbit."
"Sweet." said Collins, nodding his head.
"How deep can it reach?" asked Zoran. The scientists' interest was now aroused and he sat attentive to Ryan's discourse.
"That's classified information," said Ryan assertively, "All you need to know is that the DIR goes DEEP."
"So how is it that Dr Armstrong knows about the DIR's capabilities? I should have the same access to such information." whined Zoran.
Ryan sighed again. Nothing more than spoilt children are these scientists, always arguing and bitching behind each others backs he thought as he replied to Zoran, "Didn't you know that Dr Armstrong used to be in the service? He got injured during a campaign and got decorated with the Purple Heart. He had to leave active duty, but the UNSC kept him on in desk job somewhere as a consultant to their research division. He probably invented the thing!"
Turning back to face Collins, Ryan added, "Ok Private, then what happened?"
"The Sheffield gets the message up there and twenty minutes later they do the radar sweep."
"So what did they find?" interrupted Zoran, "Anything interesting?"
"You could say so." replied Collins, "The Albatross relayed a signal from boffins back onboard the Sheffield saying that the object that the scientists hit when they were drilling was like a needle. Erm, Armstrong called it an obelisk. Yeah that's right, an obelisk. In fact they found more of them, buried underground as they flew over the site. "
"What is their purpose?" Zoran asked inquisitively.
"They didn't know, and we still don't know either. But they told us that the radar returns showed what looked to be some kind of underground facility about ten miles from where Armstrong had been drilling." said Collins.
"Okay, so you came here to investigate." said Ryan, stating the obvious, "So how come Guerra split you guys up?"
"We tryed to contact the Albatross to relay to the Sheffield that we were going to investigate this underground complex, but they we couldn't raise the dropship on the radio." COllins replied. "So Guerra sent Coultas back in one of the Warthogs, whilst he, Johnson and the scientists went inside. He left me to watch, and I haven't seen them since yesterday afternoon."
"So the Sheffield finds these objects underground, and shortly afterwards you loose contact with the Albratross..." said Ryan loosening the strap on his helmet. "I don't know what sort of radar signature the DIR gives off, but maybe the Covenant detected the signal... or maybe our comms chatter and that's what lead them to the Albatross? I don't know."
Ryan paused and thought for a second. Activating his helmet comms he spoke. "O'Shea? Do you copy?"
The now all-too-familiar static hiss followed.
"O'Shea here." was finally the reply.
"What's your status?" Ryan answered.
"From the last fix on your BTLT (Burst Transmission Location Transponder)" said O'Shea over the roar of two Warthog Light Reconniasance Vehicles, "we are about fifteen minutes from your location. We've had to take a BIG detour around the canyons and we got held up by a little Covenant scouting party... we sorted them out alright... I'll tell you about it when we arrive."
"Excellent." replied Ryan, "I'll give you guys the full situation update when you arrive, but one important thing you need to know; We have discovered the entrance to an underground facility. It may or may not be derelict. Approach our position quietly, we don't want to wake anyone up - not yet anyway. Ryan out."
----
1520HRS 08-OCT-2552 (MILITARY CALENDAR)
SECOND PLANET OF ACKWAZE SYSTEM.
CLOSE TO ENTRANCE OF UNDERGROUND FACILITY
"Ok. Now that all of you have had change to become reaquainted with each other," said Ryan as he stood together with Corporal Stocks before the gathered people.
"You will realise that we don't have more than another twenty-four hours worth of rations. That's not good." Ryan said as he stood there, feeling slightly uneasy due to the weight of each person's stare as they closely followed his speech.
"You will also know by now that the Covenant were aware of our presence on this rock before we knew of them ourselves," Ryan continued, "The Albatross was destroyed and we don't know whether or not the Covenant have engaged the Sheffield."
Ryan ran his hand through his matted hair, and scratching the stubble that was beginning to show on his face said, "What we do know that they have at least one intact dropship. As you are no doubt aware of from our intel is that those things are capable of orbital flight. We don't know if we are sat at the entrance of the base of a whole battalion or whether it is some small, poorly manned outpost."
Ryan ceased speaking and motioned towards Corporal Stocks.
John Stocks stepped forward and spoke. "You guys know that I'm not the one for a suicide mission"
"I heard that" yelled Private Garrett over a brief roar of laughter from the others.
"Yeah, Yeah." Stocks replied, gesturing with his hands for the men to pipe down. "Ryan and I have been discussing our situation. Our plan is simple; We inflitrate this facility, assess the threat posed by the Covenant contingent here, and appropriate the use of their dropship to get off this ball of rock."
"Okay" said Garrett loudly, "So we fight our way through a bunch of Covenant, steal the dropship and find out that the Sheffield is gone or destroyed when we get into orbit. Then what?"
"In that case" said Ryan, "We'll be setting up one of man's new homeworlds earlier than we thought, and I get to sire the offspring with the woman!" Ryan laughed as he shot a wink at Karen who sat before him.
"No, seriously," Ryan added, "We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it."
"I suppose I might be able to modify some of the Covenant's comms equipment and make a hybrid system by combining our parts with theirs." said Garrett, "The fleet is in the next system to this one - it's about 1.1 light years from here. If I can adapt the Covenant's FTL (Faster-Than-Lightspeed) comms system and raise the fleet they could extract us within days. The rations situation might be a problem though."
"I have catalogued some flora and fauna that we might be able to consume." said Zoran. "If it is not to your taste the perhaps you could go sparingly on your rations."
"Yeah, and maybe not all of us will make out of this alive" said Stocks wlist grinning at Zoran, "Which means we get to eat his rations instead!"
"Enough of that!" snapped Ryan. "Everybody grab an hour's rest and a bite to eat. After that, we're going in."
Turning to face Stocks, Ryan hissed, "A word in your ear John. Now!"
----
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