Chapter 3, a bit of a weak chapter
Chapter 3
Aboard UNSC Destroyer Southerland- In Earth Orbit
5th December 2568 Military calendar 10.30
Kyle saluted the captain as the five Spartans entered the bridge.
‘At ease,’ the captain said. Unlike many of the captains Kyle had met over the years, he was short and was rather young, only in his thirties. Caspian outstretched a gauntleted hand which the captain shook vigorously.
‘Captain Richards are we ready to depart?’ Caspian asked politely.
‘We should be getting underway shortly, we should arrive at Sanctuary in a few days,’ Richards replied in a crisp English voice.
Richards was part of the UNSC newest generation of captains, they were all dedicated and hardworking, much like their predecessors. The UNSC felt they had great potential. Kyle just hoped they realised it.
The ship moved agilely past larger cruisers and defence platforms as she headed into the designated departure area. When they were in position, they were told to wait as a few cargo ships arrived. When the last one cleared the view screen of the bridge the navigational officer said,
‘Sir, control’s given us a green light. We’re clear to depart.’
‘Activate the Shaw-Fujikawa drive. Best speed to Sanctuary,’ Richards said.
‘Aye sir.’
The shimmed hummed with energy. Sparks flew off the ship as it tore a hole into slipspace. The eerie blue glow that made up the slipstream filled the bridge with blue light, and then the ship jumped forward into it.
Richards then turned back to face them, ‘You can either be put in the stasis pods for the next few days, or you we did set up a room for you. It’s your call.’
‘We’d prefer to stay on station sir, just in case. Is there anything else?’ Caspian said.
‘No, you are dismissed,’ Richards then returned to monitoring their progress.
The five armoured figures left the bridge and walked through the labyrinth of corridors that made up the insides of the ship. Kyle didn’t know how on earth he had managed to memorise the layouts of all UNSC ships back when he was a trainee, but it proved most useful here.
They finally reached the room. As the door slid open they surveyed their temporary accommodation. It appeared to a hastily empted storage room with some beds placed inside it. The room was very Spartan and by the book, just the way the Spartans liked it.
‘Well this is cosy,’ Alex said, looking at the beds.
‘So what now Caspian?’ Shen asked.
‘All we can really do now is wait,’ Caspian admitted.
‘Great. Stuck in a room with manic depressive here,’ Alex said pointing at Peter.
‘Huh, you wouldn’t say that I wasn’t here,’ Peter replied slyly.
‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’ Alex asked.
‘Look at your reaction when you thought Kyle was dead, you’d miss me,’ Peter said chuckling.
‘Well….that’s different,’ Alex said.
‘Care to explain?’ Shen said in an amused voice.
‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ Alex said in a harsh tone.
‘Well we need some way to pass the time until we reach Sanctuary, go on,’ Shen pleaded.
‘I said I don’t want to talk about it. Period,’ Alex said in a threatening voice.
‘Leave her be guys, we’re all still a little wounded from that mission,’ Caspian said, looking out the viewport.
‘Amen to that, I’m not proud of how I acted back there,’ Shen admitted.
‘I’m just glad we got out of that hell hole in one piece,’ Peter said.
‘Well in comparison this mission going to be a lot tougher, the Covenant mean business this time, they’re throwing everything they have at us,’ Kyle said.
‘We’ve stopped them before, we can do it again,’ Alex replied.
‘I don’t know Alex, we can stop them on land, but in space, I don’t know,’ Peter said grimly.
‘I know it looks bad, but we were close to putting that ship out of commission the last time we were on it. We can do it, I know we can. Now we’d better get ready for our arrival. I have a feeling the Covenant will be on their way,’ Caspian said.
The Spartans left the room and split up, heading to different parts of the ship.
Kyle wondered what was wrong with Alex and if Blue team could actually pull it off. He knew they had to try, or millions would die as the Covenant wiped out their colonies one by one. Kyle just hoped they were up to the challenge.
End of Chapter 3
Vigil is watching you
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