Athens Squadron
![Longsword]()
" style="width: 100px; height: 100px" title="Longsword" width="100" />
Prologue Singapore fleet consisted of only six ships, but was one of the most successful fleets in UNSCN history. Three Frigates: Dark Havoc, Summer Breeze, and Wrath of Dawn. Two Halcyon Class Cruisers: Winter Warmth and Whet of Thor. The flagship, Shadows of the Sun, was a UNSC Carrier that could carry an impressive load.
It can carry forty C709 Longsword-Class Interceptors, thirty Shortsword-Class Bombers, Twenty Skyhawks, and one hundred and three AV-14 Attack VTOL (Hornet). It also carries a division of Marines and two companies of ODST.
Singapore fleet often credits its victories and survival of the war to the brave and highly skilled aces of the Athens Squadron. Singapore fleet has been in more than twenty battles against the covenant. This is the story of the courageous pilots of the Athens Squadron who are considered the best pilots of the UNSC. This is their story….
Chapter I Athens revealed
I was on edge, we were all on edge. Since the fleet has entered slip-space, we had known that real combat was coming. We had only used our weapons in training scenarios and haven’t even seen a real alien. We and two-hundred and fifty had been trained in the “ACEP” program. Aerial Combat Enhancement Program headed by Admiral Harper was designed to train pilots to be more efficient than standard trained pilots. They were given minor augmentations to improve reflexes and to strengthen bones to survive the high-Gs of atmospheric dog fighting. Out of the two-hundred and fifty cadets that entered, only 196 qualified. How rude, I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Major Gary, the leader of Athens Squadron.
Chapter II First Blood
We exited slip-space into a spectacular seen. There was hundred of ships of different types. The thing that most impressed me was seeing the Orbital Defense Guns with their enormous MAC gun. For a split second, I was actually confident. I could see the Wrath of Dawn's port side glisten off the nearby star. The rest of my crew got out of there cryo-tubes and joined me on the observation deck.
“Beautiful,” Jed, my leading wingman said, “I can’t wait until I can get into that cockpit.”
I laughed as he flung his cigar into the trash. Jed was the thinnest of the group. He always wore his aviation hat over his messy black hair that he said brought him good luck. For a moment, we were all happy and didn’t seem scared as cocky recruits that were dragged into this mess. Only forty of us would be flying in this mission. Liz, my second leading wingman smiled. She was the tallest out of all of us. Liz had long, brown hair way past regulations. She had some of the best maneuvering abilities we had ever seen.
“Major Paul Gary, report to the bridge immediately with your pilots.” said the voice of Admiral Jynes over the intercom. The bridge on a carrier is much bigger then on any cruiser. And unlike cruisers, the bridge was located on the interior to dispatch the major weakness of other ships. Gary, Jed, Liz and the rest of his squadron mates walked towards the bridge. Gary couldn’t help but notice that every engineer he saw along the way seemed nervous. During the five years he spent on this ship, they all wore smiles and were very cheerful. Also, the ship herself seemed different in some way.
“As you brave men and women know, we are about to be hit hard. Our main goal is to neutralize as many of the Seraph fighters as possible and keep our ships safe. Pilots, you are the best the Navy has to offer. You have trained for years under harsh scenarios. You are the Spartans of the sky. When the covenant bas***ds come, I want you to go out there, and give them hell!” Admiral Jynes screamed. A loud cheer emanated from the room. If those pilots had any idea what they were about to encounter they would be as pale as a snow-capped mountain.
Suddenly, a big swirl appeared around the emptiness that once surrounded it. One big bulbous cruiser silently came out like a cat creeping up on its prey. One CCS Battle-cruiser? That wouldn’t even be good for target practice. Then another and another of those vortexes appear, until hundreds dotted the horizon.
“Oh my god” Liz slowly said.
“Pilots, get to your spacecraft!”
Chapter III The Battle of Reach
I climbed into my C709 Longsword and started the take off protocol. The ship lurched forward as I lift off. Its quad engines providing enough force to create a super heated exhaust cloud. The incredible blackness of space is revealed as the air lock opens.
“Squadron, we need to divide into groups. Jed, you take Michael and his ships toward the starboard side of the fleet,” I commanded over the com, “Liz, take Ricky and his group over toward the planets surface, I will take Zack through the middle.” We rocketed off towards our destinations. “Good luck, and make it back in one piece.” I mumbled. I was nervous. Actually, nervous couldn’t describe it. As I zoomed between the numerous ships, I saw the covenant ships unleash a wave of plasma. Two of our ships went down as they fired their gigantic MAC guns. I could spy the modified Pillar of Autumn out on one side of the mass.
“Seraphs, nine O’ clock, they’re attacking those cruisers. Take them out!” I said as I approached the first and fired a ASGM-10 missile and the seraph exploded into a plasma burst big enough to shudder the nearby cruiser. I saw a plasma bolt screech past my cockpit. There was five seraphs behind us.
“Zach, take those out! I yelled as I shot out towards the remaining seraphs. I could see fork-shaped ships latching on to the cruisers. I fired my 120mm rotary cannon at the defenseless border. It broke into five disintegrating pieces. Where the hell is Zach? I thought. As I screamed past the ships, eliminating any covenant there was, I saw Zach take a direct hit of plasma. His port stabilizing rockets blew to shreds.
“Zach, take your sword back to the ship for repairs.” I quietly said as I knew he might not make it back without those stabilizers. A small covenant frigate drifted by the formation, damaged but not destroyed. I approached from the rear and fired three of my missiles at the engines. A sense of confidence drifted over me. I knew I would be rewarded heavily for taking out a warship. Out of the carnage, a plasma streak hit my starboard wing. Another plasma bolt hit the fuselage of my wingman’s sword. He was dead before his Longsword hit a energy projection. My co-pilot turned and ripped the Seraph out of the sky with his cannon. I hoped Liz and Jed was having more luck than this.
A voice came through my com
“All pilots, return to the carrier. We’re getting out of here.”
Chapter IV The Great Escape
As I flew my Longsword into the hanger, I activated the VTOL sequence and the spacecraft practically landed herself. I ran up to the lobby, to see who made it back. As I made my way through the hallways, I saw an elites come through a door, his shields blaring. He fired back through the door as it closed. His shields collapsed right when the door closed. He looked up at me only to see me draw my M6 and fire. A round exploded through his chest. He grunted in agony. I put another shell right through his head to end his torment.
I checked my PDA. Liz and her crew made it back, mostly. Jed’s group was back but Jed was nowhere to be seen. Zach had to eject over the planet’s surface, he was retrieved in a hornet.
“Liz, how did it go?” I promptly said as she walked up to the counter. She closed her dark brown eyes momentarily, and replied.
“It could have been worse, a lot worse. A small group of twelve or so Seraphs made it to the surface. We thought it would be easy so we foolishly engaged. We had no idea that one of them was an ace. We took out all but two with no casualties, those two got Ricky in a cyclone maneuver where the seraph’s superior engines allowed it to get off a clear shot. We destroyed the wingman but the ace went on a rampage. He used incredible tactics to kill five more of my ships. I had to finally fire all my missiles at once at him. He evaded all but one. It hit him square on, but he didn’t go down. He headed for a covenant assault carrier for repairs.”
“Attention, we are preparing to enter slip-space. “ A voice from the intercom said.
“Jed!” I screamed. I pounded on the wall hard enough to break a normal human’s fingers. I still didn’t know where we were headed, The Cole Protocol stated that no ship lead the enemy to other colonies. I hoped Jynes had a plan. I could hear the hum of the Shaw-Fujikawa engine activate. I felt a wave of sadness wash over me. I ran to the observation deck. I could see a small speck coming from the other side of the planet. It had a distinctive Longsword shape. It came closer and I could make out the odd teal paintjob that Jed has instructed be put on his spacecraft. It was only seconds until the engine would ripped apart sub space and accelerate. I looked at my PDA. There was one more airlock hanger open! If it was left open, the whole ship could be destroyed! Jed flew in the hanger, it closed just as we headed for slip space. Yes! Jed made it! I checked my PDA again. It said the we scored a total of 28 kills while only suffering 9 casualties, that was very impressive! No other squadron had done that at least against the advanced covenant.
Off the bow, I could see Dark Havoc take a plasma torpedo to her stern. She shuddered as like someone had speared her. The scene was instantly filled with the odd color and shape of slip space. I headed for the cryo tubes. I needed my beauty sleep.
Chapter V Sorrow
Vollo Klaust leaded his wounded seraph to the carrier’s lateral hanger. He had never fought against such skilled pilots. Never the less, he had taken down six of them before that *** leader hit him with one of the human’s “crude” missiles. Klaust looked around at the massive hanger. It was big enough to easily hold a frigate, with space left over. Even though this was his thirty-fifth engagement against the humans, this one had come too close, even for an ace like him. He landed his seraph amidst the purple walls of the interior. He lost his apprentice and his whole squadron to those abominations of the gods.
The Sangheili shipmaster would forgive him of this failure because of their affiliation during childhood. Running around the lushes jungles of Sangheilios, they were ambitious nest mates. Duranga and him would go everywhere together, even as they were drafted into the navy. Because of his defiant personality, Duranga was promoted to captain when he was still a sergeant. He bravely killed the previous zealot shipmaster, when he tried to attack a whole human fleet by themselves. Klaust had become a hugely successful pilot and was a legend to the infantry. His story had boosted moral of Sangheilios itself, not that their moral could get any higher.
“Shipmaster,” Klaust calmly said as he bowed to his brother. “I deeply apologize for my failure.”
“Be brave, young one, a chance for revenge will turn up. Regulations say I must kill you, or at least take a finger as a sign of shame. But I am a zealot, what I say, goes. You will be spared young one.” Vollo Duranga said.
Klaust went to the simulator. He wouldn’t let his skills get behind a measly human. The simulator was twice as small as a normal seraph, but was suspended on a antigravity room. He trained for hours, practicing the deadly art until his mandibles were so tired of barking triumphantly, that it would pain him to speak.
The dim lights of the carrier gave a depressing aroma, like a jail cell. The human world would be taken, they fleet had no need of them. Klaust walked among one of the massive storage hangers. He ran his sore hand over the purple finish of a mobile artillery that the humans oddly called a wraith. It was a sleep cycle, so no one was admitted into the hangers. He would be fine, however, since he was a high ranking Sangheili. He saw a swift movement out of his eyes. He turned, plasma pistol ready. He heard a snickering sound. He ran over to the crates to see a poor uggnoy huddled by one of the numerous crates.
“What is your name?” Klaust said.
“Please don’t kill me honorable one!” replied the small uggnoy.
“What is your name?!” He demanded.
“Plei Boi.” the uggnoy said. He had the honor of having two names unlike most of his species. He must have been high ranking. Never the less, Klaust unleash a plasma bolt that hit Plei Boi right in the skull. His head exploded into fragments.
Klaust decided to get some sleep wherever he was going.
Chapter VI Unknown Destination
I woke up from the cryo sleep, slightly delirious from the sleep. The pod door opened and I climbed out. I spit up the mixture that I got so used too. I grabbed a towel from the towel rack and headed for the observation deck. Liz and Jed were waiting for me there. The observation deck was a small dome on the top of the carrier. It was about as long as a bus, but with two decks. It provided a 360 directions and had some luxurious seats.
I woke up from the cryo sleep, slightly delirious from the sleep. The pod door opened and I climbed out. I spit up the mixture that I got so used too. I grabbed a towel from the towel rack and headed for the observation deck. Liz and Jed were waiting for me there. The observation deck was a small dome on the top of the carrier. It was about as long as a bus, but with two decks. It provided a 360 directions and had some luxurious seats.
“That was quite a show you put on for us, Jed.” I said.
“Yea, I though we would have to scrape you off the hull ourselves.” Liz agreed.
“Ah, it was nothing’.” Jed replied boldly. We had made it past our first battle unscathed, but none of us knew at the time that The Battle of Reach was a small engagement compared to what we were going to face.
“We are exiting slip-space on vectors 412, 227, and 672 to the Protus system.” A voice said on the intercom. Protus system? I had never heard of it. We didn’t have a colony there, and yet we still were heading there. I checked the archives and this was a remote sector of space that a ONI research vessel was stranded. My PDA showed the original message a little cut down and declassified.
>>>>/Encrypted channel 4/
>>>From: ONI Research Vessel Marco Polo
>>>To: ONI Headquarters Sigma Octanus
>>>Military Calendar 2492
>>>>We have come across a unique system here, it has a strange energy pulsating in the form of constricted gamma rays and alpha particles. We will be investigating the stramge energy.
>>>>>>>>>>>>> END OF TRANSMITION
We emerged from slip space, making a racket as the Singapore Fleet arrived. It had been a week since the Battle of Reach, though we only aged a hour or two. We could see a small planet in the distance. It had clouds that seemed agitated, constantly moving and emitting high levels of radiation. The nearby moon was completely covered with a purple city. A covenant research facility! This would be a huge boost to moral. It was there we picked up a lone CCS Battle cruiser in high orbit above it. It hadn’t spotted us. Either it’s sensors were not online, or they didn’t considered the fleet a threat. Winter Warmth and Whet of Thor moved in followed by the frigates. They unleashed a torrent of Archer missiles and tungsten rounds. The shields quickly dropped. The cruiser charged it’s pulse laser charged briefly, and unleashed a small purple discharge. Summer Breeze was hit with a glancing blow from the laser. The alien cruiser moved behind the planet.
“Numerous boarding craft and seraphs inbound! All pilots, to your stations!” the intercom said. I ran up to hanger D14 and got into my ‘sword.
Chapter VII Baptism by Fire
The familiar hum of the Longsword’s engines vibrated into my skull. The sword lurched as the air was sucked out of the hanger. I had activated the VTOL protocol when a brilliant flash of orange cracked across in from of the hanger. I nearly fainted as the blinding light subsided. I raced out of the hanger with a mix of fear and confidence. I saw a score of boarding craft lock on to the carrier. I opened up with her 110mm rotary gun and obliterated twelve before pulling away. A purple flash screamed past the canopy. I was so busy destroying the defenseless borders that I neglected to watch my radar. Sure enough, there were three tear-drop shaped Seraphs behind me. I banked to starboard avoiding the deadly plasma. I fired my 360 degree cannon and anniolated the leader. The wingman foolishly fled. I looped over and fired a missile a piece at them.
I smiled briefly. I banked to the West of our formation to check on the injured Summer Breeze. A group of twelve Seraphs launched there deadly payload. The frigate broke in two. I could see Jed and his wingmen destroy the formation with their missiles.
We were approaching the planet now, the CCS Battle Cruiser came out of hiding and fired volleys of plasma torpedoes, all in random directions with no targeting whatsoever. A last ditch effort to protect this system. The Shadows of Light’s MAC round hit home and ripped the unshielded cruiser in two. I was five hundred miles away from the stratosphere of the planet when my radiation meters went wild. I turned away from the planet. Winter Warmth let lose hundreds of archer missiles at the moon, scoring hits all around. An announcement sounded through the speakers.
“The Covenant have found Earth. All remaining ships return to the Sol system and await further orders.” I flew my Longsword into the hanger and walked to the observation deck to see Jed and Liz. They turned, the expression on their faces was empty. I could almost hear their hopeless thoughts.
Chapter VIII Desecration
Klaust stood motionless. He looked upon his home with sympathy, sadness, but most of all, anger. They had exited slip-space at a familiar destination. The Tactical Center for Naval Engagements, commonly called TCNE. This is where Klaust and Duranga spent half of there lives there, and gotten to know a great deal of friends. All dead.
“Demons.” Klaust whispered. A distress beacon sounded, a lone frigate floated around the debris.
“A brute ship?” Klaust asked “Don’t trust them. We must leave immediately!”
“Negative” Duranga replied. A voice sounded through the speakers.
“This is shipmaster Mathartus, requesting permission to dock.” a deep brute voice said.
“Granted, board in hanger Q15 and land your Phantom on the second deck.” Duranga calmly said. Klaust sighed.
“We are going to meet up with the glorious Prophet of Regret and land in a unique planet in the Sol system,” Duranga explained, "We wouldn't want a a brute reporting us for murder now would we?"
Klaust went back to his quarters. He sat on the anti-grav chair and sulked. Honorable brother would get him and everyone on the ship killed. A loud, high pitched voice sounded
“Master Klaust?” A small grunt strode in. “I am Grittit, a survivor of the massacre. I know you must be deeply saddened by the destruction, but I would like to notify you of hope. I knew and served your seraph instructor and he talked exceedingly about your pilot skills.” The lone grunt talked calmly and fearlessly. Klaust felt a sudden feeling of respect for the lowest caste of the covenant.
“A frigate did escape carrying some of the important officers. I can’t say for certain if he survived, but there is hope.” Grittit said. He slowly waddled out the ornately-carved door.
Chapter IX Preparation
As the fleet exited slip-space, at approximately two-thousand five hundred sixty miles away from Earth, I was astounded by the number of ships around it. I could see Marathon Class Cruisers everywhere, but what most astounded me was the Geo-Sync Super MACs that orbited the Earth. I looked at Jed, for once, he smiled. Singapore Fleet had suffered a casualty, but it was guaranteed to suffer more. The hexagonal corridors of the carrier gave the environment a futuristic appearance as we walked to the bridge. I could see wounded marines screaming as the died a slow and painful death. There was blood everywhere. The borders must have done a lot of damage I thought. We arrived at the bridge and awaited our orders.
“Lord Hood wants our fleet near the Cairo platform.” Admiral Jynes said. He seemed different, emotionless. We could sense his fear. You will be paired with Fleet Admiral Harper.
“We will be dividing the whole squadron into two parts called Echelons, Major Gary, you will be leading the first Echelon, First Lieutenant Jedric, You and Captain Liz will be leading the second Echelon,” Admiral Jynes instructed, “We do not know when the covenant will attack, so be ready anytime. If you came here and expected a motivational speech, well tough luck. Command ran out of those a week ago.”
I went back to my quarters and pulled out a piece of paper from the rectangular storage cabinet. I sat down at my metal desk and put my head in my arms.
“God I wish I had family to write too. Everyone I ever knew has either died or is on this cold, metal prison.” I cried. I sat up and tore the paper into small pieces. I laid on my cot and starred at the ceiling. Why was I picked? Why me? I thought back to training when our staff sergeant gave us a speech that had stayed with me all these years.
“Students, you are the best of the best. Every human has the fear of death, this limits their potential and severely hinders them in battle. I want all of you to convince yourself that you are already dead, then you won’t have this horrible fear.” he said.
I fell of to sleep. When I awoke, I felt a strange rumbling sound. What? That only happens when they are launching spacecraft, I though. I walked to the nearby hanger and looked out. I saw pelicans being loaded with armed troops and numerous scorpions and warthogs. An albatross floated, fully loaded and awaiting the pelicans. The airlock opened. I could feel the heat disappearing from the glass I was pressed against. The spacecraft flew out of the hanger toward Earth. I figured it out. The ground forces would be more useful protecting the fusion generators then protecting a single carrier. I looked out the nearby window into the blackness of space. Two oblong shapes moved along followed by much smaller oblongs but without the hook on the front. Covenant ships. They’re here and they mean business.
Obey the Law. The only Law