1610 Hours, April 16th 2550 (Military Calendar) /
Unknown system, Unknown sector.
Marcus Oliver /
Unbroken Hope Bridge / Interacting with:
@EliteCommander Marcus knew this wasn't going to be good. Regardless, he bit back on his tongue and chose his next words carefully; seeing as the Shipmaster did indeed have a point. He also knew just who'd be able to carry it, but he wasn't foolish enough to send them in alone. "Very well, Shipmaster. I'll have Issac prepped and briefed on his assignment; his arrival will be with an escort I am sure you'll be familiar with. Expect a Pelican's arrival within the next ten minutes, Oliver out." Ending the hail with a sigh of relief, Marcus turned to his left. Off to the side and out of view of the panel, the white hologram materialized upon his mention, looked over and snapped back to Marcus with silent indignation. "You're kidding, right? You're sending me over to a CAS-Class?" The Admiral sighed, walking forward and calling out, "Clarke, get Omicron to the Bridge." As Marcus focused his attention back to the AI, Clarke's voice rang out over the PA system. "No, I'm not kidding. Jill can ensure the module's integration from here- Omicron will accompany your arrival aboard the
Ageis. I'll explain more when they get here."
Within a few moments, the doors to the Bridge slid open to reveal the gold-plated visor of Kendra-223, and every other member of Omicron that entered the room. Spreading out around the center console where the Admiral and Issac stood, they snapped a perfect salute in unison to the Admiral, who simply said, "At ease." As they relaxed their arms back to their sides, Marcus took a deep breath before explaining what he was sure was going to turn heads of all involved. "Team Omicron, welcome. What I'm about to say will sound as outlandish as everything on the
Resurgence, but hear me out. You're being assigned on a mission to transport Issac from the Hope to the Ageis, the former Covenant CAS-Class Assault Carrier. Ensure his escort and protection at all times during the duration of the.. consultation, for lack of a better word." Marcus paused, not only thinking about what he was going to say next, but also allowing for the Spartans to adjust to the information they received. Kendra nodded, simply gesturing a hand outward to say, "Continue." Marcus nodded, and spoke up again. "Their Shipmaster wants Issac to have a discussion with a scientist on board their ship for the premise of improving their means of Slipspace, as well as eliminating any other 'weaknesses' of our ships. I know you're only going to be there for security detail, but I'm confident this will proceed with no combat. If these Elites and their crew are anything at keeping their word, this should go smoothly. Any questions?"
The members of Omicron wearily exchanged glances behind their leader at one another, no doubt communicating on a secure channel as Kendra stepped forward, speaking up. "What you're asking for goes against everything we've trained for; everything we are. I could forgive your insubordination on the
Resurgence, Sir, but this.... this is insane. Are you sure this is what you want?" The disbelief and emotion in the typically stoic Spartan's voice surprised Marcus, yet the Admiral remained steadfast and sympathetic. "If it were any different, which it isn't, I wouldn't be doing this. Frankly, we can say no, but our hands are forced. We can keep denying requests for support over and over, and eventually be turned against for lack of contributions to the cause of eliminating Anubis. Or we can be complacent and supportive, and do something to get home, if that's even an option. You and your team are the only ones I know that are qualified for something like this; all I ask of is your trust in me. This isn't a suicide mission, and I'm not doing this without purpose to our own cause. Hell, I don't think I'll ever be forgiven by my wife and children for going M.I.A, and a lot of people here have already resigned to that fate. However, if we can destroy Anubis so he doesn't find our universe, then that's my objective. The choices such as this will be asking a lot of all of us, but I wouldn't be making them if I wasn't taking everything else into consideration. I don't expect forgiveness from you any time soon, Kendra, but I need you and your team to trust me."
It felt like an eternity had passed, even after he concluded the speech, but the Spartan saw on her visor the unmistakable, silent green blink of her team's markers. They were onboard, and this prompted her to step up to the Admiral as they all remained back in their positions. Dwarfing the man by a considerable difference in height, it almost seemed as if the Admiral shrank an inch as he craned his neck upward to stare into his own reflection from the polarized golden visor. Kendra had all the information she needed, but one last thing was on her mind before she took the DCC from the podium attached to the center console. "You're right, Admiral. Unfortunately, this isn't home and I couldn't turn you in to ONI. However, I never liked them anyway, and as questionable as your leadership is, I trust your decision." As Issac vanished into the podium and the DCC ejected itself from the slot, Kendra continued staring down the Admiral as she yanked the chip out of the slot and placed it into the back port of her head. Ignoring the ice cold surge of pain, she nodded. "We'll get it done." Kendra quipped, before turning on a heel and exiting the Bridge, all the members in-tow of their team leader. Marcus pivoted on a heel, and strode back to his seat rather shaken. Another hard choice made, but he didn't anticipate such reaction. Regardless of any matter, she was right.
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TEAM OMICRON / Unbroken Hope Hangar / En-route to the
Immaculate Ageis------------------------
Within their arrival to the Hangar after stopping by the Armory, another Pelican was spooled up and ready for dustoff. Boarding into the troop carrier and securing themselves inside, no-one said a word until the troop compartment and cockpit doors shut behind them. "Permission to speak freely, Team Lead." The unmistakably gravelly voice of the team's vehicular and CQC specialist, Adam-111, resonated through the confines of the compartment. "Granted, for all of you. I'm... sure your as just as lost for words as I am." Adam nodded. "I am, but I know the Admiral's only trying to his best for all of us. The fact that he sees us as more than just what ONI would consider an expendable asset is respectable in my book. Treasonous or not, you know what he said on the
Resurgence. Even if we did make it home, we'd be dead before this 'Anubis' got to our universe. He's making a tough call, but if it wasn't without purpose, we wouldn't be Spartans. Sorry for getting all Philosophical on this, Boss."
"No problem. It's just... difficult adapting to the thought-turned-reality of going to a Covenant controlled vessel to conduct a matter of business. Sure this isn't our universe anymore, but acting buddy-buddy with the very same threat we were created to eliminate wasn't exactly on my list of expectations."
"It was no-one's, Boss. Regardless, we're not going anywhere. Admiral's call or not, this doesn't change who we are. We take orders, we execute them, and we go home until we're needed again. That being said, the only people I'm with is the Admiral and my team. If they open fire first, you'll bet they'll get fired upon. As morally questionable as this is, hasn't everything else been in our lives? We don't have the time to let these things get in our way. We can save it for the return- but I won't be participating in that discussion. Sorry Boss."
Kendra nodded to Benjamin's honesty, always having been the type of person to simply get things done and disallow any interference. In combat it was great, but more often than not she found herself at odds with the Heavy Ordinance expert. As irritating as it was, she could respect such a position where he came from. Glancing over to Vanessa, the quiet Marksman had opted for a BR55HB/S instead of her regular sniper rifle. Around this time, the pilot of the Pelican called out over the PA system, "Initiating docking procedures, ETA twenty seconds." Vanessa nodded as the team began preparing to disembark the craft, speaking up as the Pelican idled around the ventral bay of the massive ship. "I can't say I have much on the matter, but I've got your back, and the Admiral's. Unconventional is our specialty, and this certainly fits the bill."
As the Pelican lurched forward and gently sat down, Kendra took a deep breath as the Pilot announced, "Touchdown; time to exfil. I'll be here when you return." The troop bay opened, and Kendra was the first to stand up and walk out; weapons maglocked across her back as Issac's voice suddenly erupted in her head. "Despite everything that just occurred, you can't admit you're
not excited about this, right? Or is that just me?" Kendra remained silent, but smiled briefly as she hopped out of the Pelican's back troop bay and onto the floor of the alien ship with a notable thud. As did her team, it became apperant that they had never been inside one of the Covenant's vessels before, as they all looked around in silent fascination of the ship's interior hangar bay.
Thayr
FourtyTwo