LIMA 2-4

DATE: 2528

UNSC FRIGATE: AEGIS FATE

LOCATION: IN ORBIT OVER BETA CENTAURI

“Hey wake up!”.A large boot The trooper quickly glanced around, straining to focus on the
tall soldier above him. ‘’Get up, the shit finally hit the fan.’’ The private had dozed off when the
ship jumped into slip space from Earth. They were on a routine patrol around Beta Centauri.
ONI had sealed off the planet from civilians and converted it into a Black-op training facility,
though small cities still loitered about. The pressurized doors leading to the bridge opened,
letting out a loud hiss. A uniformed man, escorted by a black armor-coated soldier, walked out.
‘’Officer on deck!’’ All soldiers in the room snapped to attention as the man assessed each of
them. The private soon recognized the man as Lieutenant Colonel Hayes, the commander of the
ship. His eyed slowly veered onto the man’s chest, displaying Campaign ribbons and medals of
almost every kind. ‘’ We’ve just received word that a Covenant Assault Carrier has just been
located in geosynchronous orbit over Beta Centauri and has deployed their Seraph fighters. I’ve
also found out that The Prophet of Tolerance is aboard that ship. If we capture that prophet,
we might be able to change how this war ends. Prepare to drop in 5’, you’ll all will be briefed
further once you’re in your pods. Godspeed, gentlemen.’’ The commander briskly saluted the
troopers, and walked back toward the bridge. The armored soldier walked up to the ODSTs.
‘’You heard him! Mount up, and get to your pods.’’ The private suddenly felt nauseated. He will
finally go on a real Combat Drop. All of those simulations technically helped him prepare for
combat, but he felt as though he lacked the skills he needed to survive. A large, muscular man
walked up to him. ‘’C’mon, I’ll take you to the armory.’’ The corporal walked over to the airlock
and typed in several numeric codes into the keypad. He strode into a dimly-lit room where 2
marines milled about a door. ‘’ What’s in that room they were guarding?’’ ‘’Hmm? Oh, it’s the
detention facility. It holds all the covenant baddies that we’ve captured over the years. So
what’s your name rookie?’’ ‘’It’s Primas, Adam Primas.’’ The man slightly nodded and walked
over to two sets of Heavy Blast Doors. ‘‘Call me gunner.’’ Gunner walked over to a second
entrance and typed several codes into the keypad. A wave of fresh air flew over Primas and
Gunner. They walked into an enormous room filled with various vehicles. 2 pelicans flew over
head, as a marine guided them into a hangar. ‘’This is the main flight deck and motor pool. The
armory is just over there.’’ The Corporal pointed toward a door where several marines were
loitering. They both walked onto a catwalk just above a hovering drop-ship. The marines glared
at the ODSTs; clenching their fists and murmuring among themselves. There was a certain
rivalry between the UNSC Special Forces and the enlisted personnel. Gunner walked over to the
door and activated motion sensors causing the door to open. Adam looked around in
fascination. He watched as a marine loaded an M90 Shotgun and cocked it. Over in the far right
of the room, an ODST just finished painting a red skull on his visor. Gunner walked over to a
large metal rack strewn with various weapons. He picked up a rifle and handed it to Adam.
‘’This is the M210. A semi-auto sub-machine gun with an ACOG scope and a full suppression
attachment. Magnificent.’’ Primas studied the rifle; its trigger assembly and unique design were
unmatched. ‘’You’re gonna want to take this too.’’ Brodewick handed him an M90. ‘’We’re
gonna be in close-range most of the time. Now, you need body armor.’’ He walked over to a
shelf lined with different types of helmets and chest armor. ‘’Ah, here we go, Standard ODST
helmet with polarized faceplate, motion sensors, and heating and cooling systems.’’ He handed
the helmet to Primas. He inspected it, satisfied; he wedged the helmet onto his head and
turned on the HUD [Heads up Display]. Every object in the Armory was instantly outlined with a
bright green luminescent light. ‘’You have your fatigues right?’’ ‘’Yeah, I got them yesterday.’’
‘’Now all you need is body armor.’’ He sidestepped, scanning the rows of Chest Protection. His
eyes gazed upon the A217 Ballistic Battle Armor. It had a black finish, obviously select to the
ODSTs. Brodewick handed him the 10-pound armor jacket. ‘’You ready?’’ Primas was afraid, yet
he anticipated what was about to happen.

‘’Ship Master, a Human vessel has been located and is closing in on our position.’’ A Major
Elite gazed at the Ship Master for his orders. ‘’Charge turrets to 60% and arm one torpedo.’’
The Elite scowled at the human ship through the frontal view screen. ‘’We shall see who is the
dominant race.’’ The Great Prophets were in this god forsaken system to obtain a human
navigation chip, which held the location of their vile home world. One measly Human ship will
not disrupt that plan. ‘’Ship Master! Their ship has launched multiple drop pods!’’ ‘’Arm all
turrets and fire at will! Blast the infidels out of the heavens!’’

‘’Sir, we’ve got inbound covenant fighters coming in from vector 279.’’ ‘’ Alright lieutenant,
unlock Archer missile pods A7 through A14 and give me a firing solution. Sergeant Mendez,
bring our reactor up to 60% percent and have Emergency thrusters on stand-by.’’ ‘’Aye, sir.’’
The captain knew he couldn’t destroy the Carrier, but maybe he could lure it into UNSC
territory. He might be able to buy some time for Beta Centauri. The captain cursed himself for
not having an AI on-board. He had maneuvered ships on his own, of course, but an AI could
clean those fighters up with the Point Defense turrets. Well, he will have to do with this ship. A
large tremor shook through the ship and pulled the captain out of his deep concentration.
Emergency sirens rang through the ship. ‘’Captain! Decks E2 through E12 are gone! Fires on
levels D4 through D15.’’ ‘’Vent the atmosphere on those levels and secure the blast doors on
the adjoining levels. Lieutenant Ryan, Warm up our MAC gun to full charge and get me a firing
solution. Get ready to fire on my mark.’’ ‘’Aye, sir!’’ Shit. If we can’t get those ODSTs on that
ship, Beta Centauri will be gone. Just another planet lost to the Covenant. We are losing this
war, and we’ll need a miracle to pull us out. ‘’Captain, ODSTs are prepped for launch and are
awaiting orders.’’ ‘’Get me two pelicans prepped for Search-and-Rescue on the double.’’ ‘’Aye,
sir!’’ If these ODSTs can’t make it to the ship, Hayes would pick them up via pelican. ‘’Captain,
incoming transmission from Lieutenant Walker.’’ ‘’Patch him through.’’ The frontal view screen
illuminated with the lieutenant’s desolate face. ‘’Captain, requesting permission to take a NOVA
nuke with us.’’ The young ODST’s face looked as If he had gotten into a fist fight, his nose bled,
and a small gash oozed blood atop his right eye. ‘’For what purpose, lieutenant?’’ ‘’Sir, if we
make it out of the ship we can set the nuke inside it. Their energy shields will contain the blast
and fry anything inside of ‘em.’’ It was a risky plan, but if it worked, Hayes could link up with
HighCom and get some ODPs on Beta Centauri. ‘’Permission granted, lieutenant.’’ ‘’Copy that,
sir. Walker, out.’’ Good. Hayes only had one doubt in his mind. What if their shields didn’t hold
the blast? The cruiser was within range of the nuke and would be wiped out along with the
Carrier. That was a risk Hayes was willing to take. If it meant one Covenant carrier out of the
fight, so be it. The UNSC needs every soldier in this fight. Hayes would issue Alpha Protocol 0-
217, ordering all crewmen and equipment to be ejected in the lifeboats. But Hayes, Hayes
would die honorably. With his ship.

Adam squirmed in this pod, the polyester seat was uncomfortable. He glanced at his view
screen, then through the side window, overlooking the other pods. He couldn’t help but be
excited. Adam had inspected and cleaned every component of his armor and rifle. He couldn’t
let either one malfunction on the ship. He triple-checked his oxygen reserve, remembering
stories of marines’ reserve tanks malfunctioning and them floating dead in space. Alone. Adam
always knew he could be the best, he just didn’t like all the attention. He couldn’t let his
equipment fault, he wouldn’t. ‘’Saddle up, boys. We’re droppin in 2’.’’ Adam couldn’t help but
think what the inside of a Covenant ship looked like, Of course he had seen the outer layer, but
what was beneath it? Was it colossal and mighty, or cramped and claustrophobic? His
imagination painted thousands of pictures of every possibility of what it could look like. Then,
he started thinking about the Covenant themselves. Their massive Warrior Elites stood well
over 7 feet tall and weighed over 300 pounds. Adam shivered in the thought of encountering
one of these ‘’Elites.’’ A dull thud echoed through the ship and soon the Captain’s face
appeared on the screen. ‘’Gentlemen, a couple of Longswords will take you in. A tracking chip
has been installed in each of your pods. Once you get the Prophet, flip the switch and a pair of
Pelicans will come pick you up. There is also a panic button, hit it, and we’ll go in, guns blazing.’’
A second thud roared through the ship, this one much more louder and closer. The captain
staggered on the view screen, bracing against the bulkhead. ‘’Good luck, gentlemen, Hayes
out.’’ This was it. Adam secured his rifle into the weapon lock at his side, and locked all four
emergency pins in the corners of the hatch. Adam glanced through his side window, seeing
pods, one by one, being ejected into the blackness. His pod eventually became unclamped and
ejected out of The Aegis Fate and into space, longswords and seraphs struggling to land a kill.
Adam felt pressure on his legs and chest. The zero-gravity hadn’t set in yet. Two longswords
pulled up next to the pods, escorting them to the enemy ship. Adam tapped two buttons on his
front view screen, and Lieutenant Walker’s face filled the monitor. ‘’Sir, have we calculated how
many personnel are onboard?’’ ‘’Roughly within the hundreds. Most being the Grunts and
Jackals.’’ ‘’Are there any secondary objectives?’’ ‘’There is a good amount of plutonium on this
ship, and ONI would like us to pick up some samples. But that’s only permitted if we get the
Prophet first. He is our main priority. ‘’ ‘’Agreed, sir.’’ ‘’Walker, out.’’ What did ONI want
Plutonium for? Probably another one of their black-op projects. Those damn spooks down at
ONI were always up to something. An explosion roared to the side of Adam’s pod. The pod
rocked back and forth, and emergency alarms rang throughout the cramped Insertion Craft.
Adam braced himself against the sides of his jumpseat. His pod shook violently, rattling Adam’s
teeth. Adam could see the Carrier coming into view. Adam’s eyes widened. His pod was headed
directly for the middle of the ship. His squad was supposed drop in the back section, making
their way to the bridge. He suddenly had trouble breathing and could feel pain throughout his
body. The artificial gravity in the pod had been shut down in the blast, causing everything in the
pod to be compressed. He barely caught a glimpse of the Carrier before the pod slammed into
the side of the ship. Adam’s vision blurred, and all he could hear was the sound of his breathing.
The main hatch burst open, exposing Adam to the alien atmosphere. He felt a burning
sensation in his arm, it quickly numbed and went away. Blood was pooling in his mouth and
escaping from but one tiny stream dripping out of the corner of his mouth. It felt like he was
chewing on aluminum foil. He strained to focus on the room before him. As soon as he regained
his vision, he gazed at the ship’s interior with pure wonder. He had never seen anything like it,
it’s large, purple columns towered over Adam, let alone everything else. Intricate decals were
laced into the walls and doors. He finally got over his fascination and got out of his pod. He
landed with a metallic pop on the floor. He walked over to a door, illuminated with a dull blue
light. He scanned the area with his rifle, making sure no Covenant snuck up on him. As soon as
he got within 4 feet of the door it opened, revealing a small, cramped walkway to Adam. He
was amazed with the ship’s mechanics. The door had opened without a whisper. Covenant
ships had always been superior to their UNSC counterparts. He had to wedge himself in
between two large pipes to get through. It probably served as a maintenance walkway, seeing
as there was oddly-shaped tools and repairing equipment on the floor. The walkway finally
came to a stop in front of a large cargo bay. Bits of ship plating and vehicles were strewn across
the floor. Adam caught a blur of motion out of his left peripheral. He jolted his head to the
silhouette. He couldn’t make out what it was, there was a low fog that blanketed the entire
room. He pointed his rifle in the source of the shadow. His adrenaline spiked and his heart rate
increased. He saw what looked like a tentacle poke out of cover behind a supply crate. His
finger hovered less than an inch off of the trigger. An elliptical-shaped head popped out behind
the tentacle. It had 6 eyes, clustered on both sides of its head. It had a light purple tint to it,
though it had a turquoise aura surrounding it, possibly energy shielding. It hovered roughly 3
feet off of the ground, using no anti-gravity pods that Adam could see. It glided out of cover,
allowing Adam to view its entire structure. It used 6 bladder-like appendages that were atop its
back to float gracefully above the ground. They glowed a dim blue, and released a low hiss
whenever it glided more than three feet. It brought one of its tentacles up to face Adam. It
revealed a stylus-type needle, protruding out of its tentacle. A muzzle flash appeared out of
Adam’s peripheral vision and a microsecond later the Alien’s tentacle erupted in an outburst of
flesh and bone. He instinctively swiveled the end his barrel to the source of the gunshot. He
glared into the darkness, ready for whatever had just incinerated the alien’s right tentacle. The
gunshot startled Adam, making him twitch. Adam stared in bewilderment as the muzzle of an
M7 poked through the wall of shadow. A fully-armored ODST followed the muzzle, carefully
scanning the area. The FOF tag read friendly and immediately outlined with a green glow. Adam
lowered his weapon, but still kept his finger on the trigger. The figure raised one hand and
pointed to the side of his head. He wanted to open a COM line. Adam clicked a button on the
side of his helmet and static filled his ears. A dark, mysterious voice boomed through the
microphone seconds later. ‘’Were you thrown off by that Longsword too?’’ Adam finally
realized that this ODST had also been thrown out of trajectory. ‘’Yeah, where is the rest of the
squad? ‘’Don’t know, most of them probably landed in the drop point.’’ Adam assessed the
situation, hoping to find a solution. Maybe He and this ODST could meet up with the rest of the
squad in the Drop zone. Two ODSTs were better than one. ‘’Have you tried to get a hold of the
Lieutenant?’’ ‘’Yeah, but this ship must have some kind of electromagnetic pulse, because all
I’ve been getting is static.’’ A blip appeared on Adam’s thermal sensors. It appeared for only a
second before disappearing under the tracking line. Shit. There must be Elite hunt-and-kill
teams lurking through the ship. Not just regular squads, but Stealth squads. Adam must’ve
caught them on his radar just as they activated their camouflage. He raised his rifle, aiming
towards the walkway where he had come from. ‘’What?’’ The other ODST quizzically glanced at
Adam, waiting to hear an answer. ‘’Contacts.’’ The ODST leveled his rifle with the door, a
perfect headshot at anything that tried to walk out. The door opened with not even a hiss, and
closed several seconds later. Adam unhooked a grenade from his vest, the abstruse design of
the grenade fit perfectly in his hand. ‘’Hit the deck on my mark.’’ If Adam cooked the grenade
long enough, when he threw it, it would detonate in mid-air, causing any enemy shields within
the range of the grenade to drop. Unfortunately, if he did that, the shrapnel would surely
penetrate their 3cm flak jackets. He studied the situation, rummaging for the most logical
answer. Finally, with answer in mind, he gently removed the firing pin and under-handed the
grenade with little effort. ‘’Mark!’’ Both ODSTs slammed their knees into the harsh floor with a
dull thud. The grenade detonated in mid-air, sending a hail of red-hot hot metal bits soaring in
every direction. Adam looked up, scanning the area of damage. Shrapnel pinged off of supply
crates with a metallic click. Three silhouettes appeared in the midst of the smoke, energy
shields crackling around them. Adam squeezed the trigger until it was near damaged. Scores of
plasma flew over him, missing his head by fractions of an inch. Bullets peppered the Elites,
splattering chunks of meat and bone into the wall behind them. A stray bullet hit one in the
Jugular vein, spraying blue blood all over his companion. Smoke rose from the muzzles of the
two SMGs, making clear that the barrels would have to be replaced. Adam walked over to the
middle of the room, inspecting the damage. Where there was once a clean, metallic floor, laid a
deep, charcoal crater. This was too easy. He had heard stories of single Elites massacring entire
platoons of marines. It had to be a trap, Elites hardly ever wandered in groups smaller than
five. Adam swept the area with his rifle, carefully analyzing every fragment of the storage room.
One single shot from one of those plasma rifles would go through both ODSTs with ease. When
Adam had entered Boot, the first thing the DI’s had told him, ‘’Machines break, eyes don’t.’’ It
had been drilled into Adam’s mind until he said it in his sleep. He walked forward warily, the
second ODST following close behind. Adam searched the storage room, carefully scrutinizing
every bit of it. An Energy Sword flickered into life in the far corner of the room. Several others
crackled in the darkness, illuminating the entire room. One elite brought its Energy Sword up to
its face, casting a dark scowl towards the humans. Its entire armor jacket was a bright gold
color, thin laces of crimson formed intricate designs across it. Adam stared in awe, he had only
seen Zealots in videos. He soon remembered what they fought like, devastating and resistant.
He brought his rifle up to point, focusing his crosshairs on the Zealot’s center of mass. As soon
as his finger scraped the trigger, a ravage blast came from a service door across the room. Two
Elites were instantaneously hurled forward, clattering on the deck. As a figure, roughly 7 feet
tall, stood in the blown-out doorway. The elites shrugged off the blast, swiveling their rifles to
face the silhouette. The two front warriors fired a barrage of plasma at the stranger, who had
nimbly dodged them. It moved like nothing Adam had ever seen before, as if it were a bolt of
lightning . The shadow quickly reached for something on its belt, while still evading scores of
plasma. Adam brought up his rifle and minced the Elites’ energy shields. One by one, the mighty
Covenant Warriors dropped. As the last Elite slumped to the ground, the figure slowly walked
toward the ODSTs. Adam kept his rifle down, but his finger lingered above the trigger. He did
not know what to think, what it was. At first he assumed it was Covenant, as it was a foot taller
than any human being Adam had ever seen. But its olive green armor slowly came into
perspective; only the UNSC had donned this standardized color. A SPARTAN insignia appeared
just under the figure’s shoulder pad, divulging its clear superiority to Adam. He immediately
saluted and stood motionless before the towering Spartan. The Spartan withdrew a small
manila packet out of its rucksack. ‘’Sir, what’s this?’’ Adam cocked his head in puzzlement
toward the packet. The Spartan said nothing. He opened the package, revealing two photos and
a Situation Report. Adam looked at the document warily. He took it, eyeing the Spartan
occasionally.

193X-1938_UNSCDF_BETA_PROTOCOL

All UNSC Ships are to immediately jump to the Sol Centauri system in response to the
destruction of almost all UNSC ships in this sector. HIGHCOM has confirmed that multiple
Covenant ships have entered the system and are in geostationary orbit above Beta Centauri.
Warm Magnetic Accelerated Cannons[MAC] to 60% when engaging Slipspace jump. If boarded
by Covenant, initiate Cole Protocol[192X_1928] and eject all personnel towards ally ships.
Coordinate fire with fellow UNSC ships and the Orbital Defense Platforms[ODPs]. Possible
scenarios are being sent to the Refit-and-Repair stations, from there, ships can access these by
linking with the Communications Officers aboard the stations. If overwhelmed by Covenant
forces, set collision course with the enemy ships.

And remember, give ’em hell.

Adam kept reviewing the line, ‘’…response to the destruction of almost all UNSC ships in this
sector.’’ Shit. Adam was stranded on this ship, at least until an evac crew arrived . The UNSC
was going to have an all-out battle with the Covenant. Right here. And Adam was going to be in
the middle of it. ‘’We’ve been reassigned.’’ The Spartan could see Adam was worried. ‘’You are
now under my command, and you will do everything I say.’’ ‘’Sir, how are we going to get
home?’’ ‘’I have my ways.’’ The ODST nodded and stared back at the floor. Adam contemplated
the situation. This Spartan had not gained Adam’s trust yet. He had to prove himself. Adam
cradled his rifle, while still studying the circumstances. ‘’We are now Lima 2-4. You are now ONI
operatives. Congratulations, gentlemen.’’ ‘’Thank you, sir!’’ Both ODSTs snapped to attention.
‘’Now we need to fi-

A large bloom of flame appeared in Adam’s peripheral vision. The explosion popped Adam’s
eardrums like popcorn. Both ODSTs instinctively snapped their rifles to view the flame. The
Spartan withdrew a small, black cylinder from a pouch on its vest. He tapped several numeric
ciphers into a keypad on his wrist. The cylinder illuminated with a bright red glow, radiating
dark shadows across the room. The Spartan flicked the canister towards the flame. A large
white plate of…energy flashed in front of the ODSTs. The massive barrier stood between the
soldiers and 10 scowling Elites.

CHAPTER 3
-Armor Piercing-
Adam gawked at the sight. He had never seen anything like it. A shield made out of energy. He
brushed away his studies, and forwarded his attention on the Elites. 9 of them donned
cornflower blue armor and Plasma Rifles. One wore golden armor and wielded an Energy
Sword. It was obviously the leader. The Spartan took two steps forward, withdrew an M90
shotgun from his back and leveled it. ‘’I’ll take the golden guy. Keep the others from ganging up
on me.’’ Both ODSTs nodded and snapped their sights to meet the Elites’ elongated heads. The
leader roared loudly, causing all the Elites to squeeze their triggers simultaneously. A splash of
plasma sliced through the air,