Infiltration - Part 1

{0605 Hours, September 12, 2525 / UNSC Destroyer Pioneer, en route to Eridanus System}

<Alia's POV>

John, the other Spartans, and I stood at ease. I was currently wearing my Lieutenant's uniform, while the others were wearing standard UNSC fatigues.

The briefing room aboard the UNSC Destroyer Pioneer was a dark. The only sources of light came from the holographic projectors at the fore-end of the triangular room. It showed a filed of stars that were visible from the bow of the ship. It was as if there was only a thin panel of glass that separated us from space, except we were in the center of the ship.

The stars flickered and faded and the overhead lights warmed. Chief Petty Officer Mendez and Dr. Halsey entered the room.

We Spartans snapped to attention.

"At ease," Mendez said. He clasped his hands behind his back and clenched his jaw muscles. The Chief looked . . . nervous.

'Why are you nervous,' I curse in my head. 'You're making everyone else nervous, Cheif.'

I glance at my fellow Spartans. Their faces were like those of a statue, but I could tell that they were all starting to get a little nervous.

Dr. Halsey walked to the podium. The overhead light reflected off her glasses. "Good morning, Spartans. I have good news for you. The word has come down. Command has decided to test your unique abilities. You have a new mission: infiltration of an insurgent base in the Eridanus system."

A star map appeared on the wall and zoomed in to show a warm orange sun ringed with twelve planets. "In 2513, an armed insurrection group in this system was suppressed by UNSC forces in Operation: TREBUCHET."

An intersystem tactical map appeared, and tiny icons representing destroyers and carriers winked on. They engaged a force of a hundred smaller ships. Pinpoints of fire appeared in the dark.

"The insurrection was put down," Dr. Halsey continued. "However, elements of the rebel forces escaped and regrouped in the local asteroid belt."

The map tilted and moved into the circle of debris around the star.

"There are billions of rocks in that asteroid field," Dr. Halsey said, "where they hid from our forces . . . and continue to hide to this day. For some time ONI believed that the rebels were disorganized, and were lacking in leadership. That appears to have changed." She paused.

"We believe that one of the asteroids has been hollowed out and that a formidable base has been constructed within. UNSC explorations into the belt have met either with no contact or with have been ambushed with superior forces."

She paused, pushed up her glasses, and added. "ONI has also confirmed a leak within FLEETCOM - a rebel sympathizer leaking information to those forces."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw John and the other Spartans shift uneasily. It seems they had not expected for leaks to occur in the UNSC.

A flat picture flashed over the star map: a middle-aged man with thinning hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and watery gray eyes.

"This is their leader," Dr. Halsey said. "Colonel Robert Watts. The original photo was taken after Operation: TREBUCHET and has been computer aged." She paused, letting us commit the image to memory.

"Your mission is to infiltrate the rebel base, capture Watts, and return him - alive and unharmed - to UNSC-controlled space. This will deprive the rebels of their new leadership. And it will provide ONI a chance to interrogate Watts and root out traitors within FLEETCOM."

Dr. Halsey stepped aside. "Cheif Mendez?"

Mendez exhaled and unclasped his hands. He strode to the podium and cleared his throat. "This operation will be different from your previous missions. You will be engaging the enemy using live rounds and lethal force. They will be returning the favor. If there is any doubt, any confusion - make no mistake: in combat, there will be confusion - take no chances. Kill first, ask questions later."

"Support on this mission will be limited to the resources and firepower of this destroyer," Mendez continued. "This is to minimize the chance of a leak about this mission."

Mendez walked to the star map. The face of Colonel Watts snapped off and blueprints for a Parabola-class freighter appeared.

"Although we don't know the location of the rebel base, we believe they receive periodic shipments form Eridanus Two. Thie independent freighter Laden is due to leave space dock in six hours for routine recertification of her engines. She is being loaded with enough food and water to supply a small city. Additionally, her captain has been identified as a rebel officer thought to have been killed during Operation: TREBUCHET."

"You will slip aboard this freighter and hopefully hitch a ride to the rebel base. Once there, infiltrate the installation, grab Watts, and get off of that rock any way you can.

Chief Mendez gazed at them all. "Questions?"

"Chief," I say. "What are our extraction options?"

"You have two options: a panic button that will relay a distress signal to a reestablished listening ship. Also, the Pioneer will stay on-station . . . briefly. Our window here is thirteen hours." He tapped the star map on the edge of the asteroid belt and it glowed with a blue Nav marker. "I'll leave the extraction choice to you. But let me point out that this asteroid has a circumference of more than a billion kilometers . . . making it impossible to canvass with ONI surveillance craft. If things get hot, you will be on your own.

"Any other questions?"

The Spartans and I sat, silent and immobile.

"No? Well, listen up, Recruits," Mendez added. "This time I've told you all the twists that I know of. Be prepared for anything." His gaze fixed on John. "Squad Leader, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Petty Officer Third Class."

"Sir!" John snapped to attention.

Mendez turned toward me. "Assemble your team and equipment, Lieutenant. Be ready to muster at 0300. We'll drop you off at the Eridanus Two docks."

I nod my head.

Mendez saluted. He and Dr. Halsey then left the room.

I turned to face my teammates. The other Spartans stood at attention. Fifty-nine - too many for this operation. I needed a small team, five or six maximum.

"John, Sam, Kelly, Linda, and Fred, meet me in the weapons locker in ten minutes." The other Spartans sighed and their gaze dropped to the deck. "The rest of you fall out. You'll have the harder part of this mission: You'll have to wait here."

The weapons locker of the Pioneer had been stocked with a bewildering array of combat equipment. On a table were guns, knives, communication gear, body armor explosives, a medical pack, survival gear, portable computers, even a thruster pack for maneuvering in space.

I looked up and assessed my team.

Sam had been the fastest to recover from the augmentation. I had never gotten any detriments because I had an extreme amount of body control, meaning I never needed to recover, as I didn't get clumsy in the first place. He was pacing impatiently around the crate of grenades. He was the strongest of them all. I was a close second. Sam had become tall now, giant by normal standards. He was a head taller than John. His sandy hair had grown out to three centimeters. Mendez warned him that he was going to look like a civilian soon.

Kelly, in contrast, had taken the longest to recover. She stood in the corner with her arms crossed over her chest. She had really worried John and the rest of the Spartans. They thought she wasn't going to make it. She was still gaunt, her hair had yet to grow back. Her face, however, still had its rough, angular beauty. She was frighteningly fast as well. No one could touch her if she didn't allow it . . . except for me of course.

Fred sat cross-legged on the deck, twirling a razor-edged combat knife in glitter arcs. He always came in second in all the contests. He was neither too short nor too tall. He wasn't overly muscled or slim. His black hair was shot with streaks of silver - a feature he hadn't had before the augmentation. We were the only two who would be able to fade into a crowd without any disguises.

Linda was the quietest member of the group. She was pale and had close-cropped red hair and green eyes. She was a crack shot, an artist with a sniper rifle.

Then there was John. He stood at 7ft, his brown hair cut to stubble on his scalp. The brown eyes of his that always radiate intelligence. He was a natural leader, one that I would be hard-pressed to defeat.

"John," I say, bringing him out of his thoughts of battle.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Once we are on the ground, you will be in charge of the team." John tries to say something, but I cut him off. "I may be a Lieutenant, but that's just to make sure the intelligence I gather is not ignored by incompetent leaders. So if I say anything, just make sure to listen to it. That's all I need you to do. After all, you are the better tactician between the two of us. Just make sure you don't let our family die for nothing. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." He says.

"Just call me Alia," I turn around and clear off the table. "Eve, display the schematics of the Laden for me."

Eve's voice comes over the speakers of the armory. [Of course, Alia]

"Whose that?" Kelly asks.

"My smart AI," I reply.

The other Spartans let out various sounds of surprise. I chuckle at their expressions.

"How did you get one of those?" Sam asks, "Even Captians have trouble getting them unless it's for a new ship,"

"I didn't," I smirk. "I made her."

They stare at me, somewhat disbelievingly.

[Alia did, in fact, create me]

"See," I say. "Anyways, back to planning for the op. We will slip onboard the Laden by wearing these overalls," I say pointing on some clothing on the table. "Apparently, that is what the crew wears. Underneath, we will be wearing these black suits." I point at a box of them. They were made of form-fitting, lightweight polymer body armor. They could deflect a small-caliber round and had refrigeration/heating units that would make infrared signatures. The integrated helmet had encryption and communications gear. a heads-up display, and thermal and motion detectors. Sealed tight, the unit had a fifteen-minute reserve of oxygen to let the wearer survive in a vacuum. But the suits were uncomfortable, and they were tricky to repair in the field. And they always needed repairs.

I look at Kelly. "Even if they're too tight and they limit your range of motion, there are many places that between here and there that is nothing but vacuum." Kelly nods her head.

"Once on board, we are going to hide in this area." I circle the water storage silos of this ship. "All we have to do is trick the sensors of the water silo to lower the water level and then hang support nets for us to rest on."

I swipe away at the schematics and Eve turns off the holoprojection. I start to grab my equipment. "For our equipment, keep it light. We will use .390 rounds for all our weapons, except for Linda. Sam will be in charge of our explosives, Kelly will carry our medkit, Fred will be responsible for the lock picking kit, Linda will take a couple of nav markers, John will keep the panic button. I will carry the computer and Eve." They all nod. "Pack up your gear."

We all grab various pieces of equipment.

Linda immediately went towards a matte-black long-barreled rifle - the SRS99C-S2 AM. She disassembled it and reconfigured it with various pieces of modular equipment. She attached a flash-and-sound suppression barrel, upping the caliber to .450 to balance out the lowered muzzle velocity. The sights and scopes were ditched for an integrated link to her helmets head-up display. For ammunition, she pocketed five extended clips.

John chose an MA2B, a cut-down version of the standard MA5B assault rifle. It was tough and reliable, with electronic targeting and an ammo supply indicator. It also had a recoil-reduction system and could deliver an impressive fifteen rounds per second. He also picked up a knife. It had a twenty cm blade with one serrated edge. It was made up of non-reflective titanium carbide and it was balanced for throwing.

I took out my dual pistols, Lucem and Tarda, from my inventory. I morphed a silencer attachment onto them, making sure the silencing function worked, before morphing them into normal Magnums and holstering them. I took two handfuls of ammunition magazines, more for looks than actual use as the Magnums could fire without ammo, it would just take mana for bullets. I also took a couple of knives, they were just like John's.

Kelly, Fred, and Sam all took the same weapon loadout as John's alongside their respective additions.

Sam filled two medium-size backpacks to the brim with C-12, enough to blow through three meters of a battleship's armor plating.

"You have enough of that stuff?" Kelly asked him wryly.

"You think I should take more?" Sam replied, smiling. "Nothing like a little firework show to celebrate the end of a mission."

"Everyone read?" I ask.

Sam's smile disappeared and he slapped an extended clip into his MA2B. "Ready!"

Kelly gave me a thumbs-up.

John, Fred, and Linda nodded.

"Then let's get to work."

{1210 Hours, September 14, 2525 / Epsilon Eridani System, Eridanus II Spacedock, Civilian Cargo Ship, Laden (registry number F-0980W)}

"Spartan 097: in position. Next check-in at 0400." I click off my microphone, encrypted the message, and fed it into my COM relay. I triggered a secure burst transmission to the Athens, the ONI prowler ship on the station a few AUs distant.

We were currently inside one of the water reservoir silos onboard the ship of the Laden, resting on a web of support nets. I had rigged the silos sensors so the reservoir's computer wouldn't let any more water flow into the tank. The tank was mounted onto the carousel system of the ship, giving the space inside the tank gravity. The two centimeter thick walls of the tank were made of stainless steel, masking us from thermal and motion sensors.

Kelly set up a tiny microwave relay outside the top hatch, which I used to send Eve into the Laden's systems.

[I'm in] Eve says into our comms. I had linked her up with the teams secure comm channel, allowing her to easily provide information to the whole team, without the need for me to relay the information.

[What a lax security system, no AI, no serious encryption either] I could hear the disapproval in her voice.

"Just get us the nav data and ETA." I say, "Also search the ship's manifest list for any luxury goods"

[I'm on it, Alia]

"Why do we need to know if there are any luxury goods?" asked Sam.

"If there are any luxury goods, it gives an easy way to find our target," I reply. Sam looked at me in confusion, still not able to see the connection between the two.

"Who would want luxury goods?" asked Kelly.

"Uhmm." mutturs Sam. "Rich people?"

"Yes. And rich people are usually?"

"Ah, they are the ones in charge." Sam nods his head. "So if there are any luxury goods all we have to do is follow them."

[Found the nav data. We are on a trajectory to the asteroid belt, ETA is ten hours. There is also a batch of Sweet William cigars, Beta Centauri Champagne, Fast-chilled New York States, and Swiss Chocolates]

"Thank you, Eve." I turn and look at Linda. "Linda, give me a nav marker so we can track the goods."

She tosses me one from the opposite side of the tank. I grab it.

Eve sent me the general location of the goods. I pin the area onto my map and then slip out of the tank before searching for the goods.

I find it within five minutes and I sneak a nav marker into the champagne case, before stealthily making my way back into the reservoir tank.

"The marker's placed," I say while settling back into a comfortable position. "Now that everything is done, we should conserve our energy. We will sleep in shifts."

Sam, Fred, and Linda snap of their flashlights at my words.

I sit up and access my quest menu. I had gotten new quests around my mission.

[Quests:

<Cutting the Head of the Snake>

Description: Your mission is to infiltrate the Insurrection's base in the asteroid field in the Eridanus system. Find the leader, Colonel Watts, and bring him back alive for interrogation. | Optional requirement: Prevent John from getting injured | Reward: 5 Levels + Customization Module | Optional Rewards: ????? | Penalty: ONI, FLEETCOM, HIGHCOM, and Halsey lose trust in the Spartans.

]

The quest aligned with my plans for this mission, so nothing major had changed. And the rewards seemed to be partially interesting. I started to imagine what I could do with the customization module. I hoped it allowed me to customize a Mjolnir suit. I really hoped it did. Then I wouldn't have to walk around in that ugly green suit of armor. I mean, it looked great on John. It really did. But a female in that green color. Ugh. Nope. I wondered if it would let me integrate Covenant tech into the suit. It would be really nice to have energy shields. Ahhhh.

I had started to drool before I knew what was happening. When I felt the liquid dripping down my face, I snapped out of my thoughts. I was glad the helmet covered my entire face. If not, my image would have been completely ruined.

Apparently, I had been in dreamland for longer than I thought. John had said ordered the switching of shifts a few minutes after I had snapped out of my thoughts. I quickly turn off my lights and rolled into a comfortable sleeping position. Soon, darkness engulfed my consciousness.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your Author here.

Sorry for not posting anything for three days. I had been busy with things and I had no time for writing this story. Thursdays are my busy days, as all my tutors have decided Thursday is the day they want me to have class, so most likely there will be a lack of posts on Thursdays. On Friday I was busy with SAT Prep in the morning, and the tiles of the roof were being replaced that day, so I couldn't really think straight with all the banging going on above me. Yesterday I had gone on a hike with family and friends for the first time in months, and I had returned late in the afternoon, to exhausted to do anything but shower and sleep. In fact, I am still tired from yesterday's hike that it is a wonder that my head has yet to smash into my desk as I am writing this.

Another thing to note is that my motivation to write this is starting to disappear. I am not saying that I will drop this fanfiction. All I am saying is that the updates may take longer as my head starts to burn low on ideas of how to proceed. Again, I am sorry for the lack of updates in the past three days, but life had decided to come knocking on my door. I hope you guys continue to enjoy this story. I know that I have enjoyed writing this for you readers. Wish you guys a relief from everlasting boredom in this pandemic. Stay safe!