[Res]

>FILE ENCRYPTED/EYES ONLY/LYSITHEA
>ONI CONSTRUCT SI SP606 . RSKMKSF
>SN:12268465126-R FIRES OF HEAVEN
>DECRYPTION KEY: [[PERSONALIZED]]

>>MAJOR ERICH ROSENTHAL/ODST

Your eyes slowly gather focus as you slip into consciousness. The stay in the cryotube has left you slightly numb and stiff. You head a gentle but urgent voice in your head attempting to wake you up.

"Good morning, Sir." She said with an unnerving chime in her voice. "You may not recall where you are. You are now stationed on the UNSC Flagship Watchful Shepherd. Naval Officers recovered you and Spartan-606 exactly 28 days after the infection of the planet Mohaje. You'll be relieved to know that both you and Spartan-606 were taken completely unharmed from the infection. Congratulations, sir." You know she is laughing, but it sounds more like crystals clinking together.

"You may step out of the tube when ready. Admiral Berman is waiting with your orders. Be cautious though. Not even I know what's going on. He's outside of your chamber right now! Wake up, Major Rosenthal!"

[Res]

You step out of the tube and feel nauseous as the nutrient gel enters your system. The rush of cold and hot air meeting makes your skin feel like it's tearing. You notice the severe cold has left your knuckles and joints swollen and sore, but you shrug these things off as you stand to your feet in the bay. Admiral Berman is standing with his hand on his forehead and a worried expression. You thank the ONI technicians for the thin but comforting suit of thermal material that covers your body. You stand to face Admiral Berman and salute...

"At ease, soldier. You enjoy your rest?" Admiral Berman says with a gravely and stressed voice.

[Darkness]

Erich drops his salute, and quickly asks, "What's happening, Admiral? Where's 606? Where are we? How long ago was Mohaje?" Realizing, then, that he had allowed himself to let his urgency take over him, he stopped, though there were other questions on his mind. Absentmindedly, he raised a hand to his temple. He had quite a headache. Those were often a common occurrence with him, so he paid it little mind.

His eyes left the Admiral's face, scanning the room. It had been the nature of Erich's training to take note of everything, and it had become almost instinctual to him -- even with the headache he had. He waited for the Admiral's response.

[Res]

Admiral Berman made an attempt at smiling at Erich's zeal. He looked upwards into nothing and said aloud, "Lysithea, you left the poor boy confused." His wrinkled face pulled its focus back to Erich, who stood drenched in CryoGel. Technicians were coming to dry him off and dress him in the standard ODST rig.

"That headache'll wear off soon, son. Give it a minute." The Admiral advised.

"Son, I understand your curiosity. SPARTAN 606 is currently undergoing some technical maintenance in Songnam on Earth. That outbreak on Mohaje left you both pretty banged up. It was a lucky thing he had you there in that rats nest, and it was lucky you had him. If it weren't for you, he'd likely be dead right now.

As for us, we're aboard the UNSC Flagship Watchful Shepherd, currently en route to an isolated section of sky directly above Mohaje."
Your face turns in confusion.
"I understand any... irregularities with this. That planet is overrun with God knows what those are, but we have a bigger problem. The station Fires of Heaven, which orbits Mohaje has been unresponsive to any signals we have sent. We were attempting to use their MAC cannon network to obliterate all life so we could start over... But that's not happening.

Normally, we'd send you with SPARTAN-606, but he's out of service at the moment. We'll try to have him come back you up soon, but we can't promise anything. We've sent a group of your boys ahead of you, so they'll be waiting. All seems clear, but we're wanting you there with them. You've seen what happened on Mohaje. If that's the case on this station, we'll need your expertise to help cleanse that place as well."

Lysithea's voice came over the loudspeaker, "Admiral, you'll be pleased to know that we're now in range of the station. Shall I prepare the HEV for Major Rosenthal?"

Admiral Berman sighed, "Yes. Please. Major, do you have any questions?"

[Darkness]

Erich hardly payed attention as the technicians arrived to outfit him. He continued his analysis, only occasionally shifting an arm to assist the technicians. Every once in a while, his eyes would return to the Admiral's, and after another minute, they locked with the Admiral's and then remained. There was no more he could study in this room, without turning around.

At least 606 was all right. It was true, both of them were pretty damaged. Of what he could remember, they were vastly outnumbered, and were only barely surviving as it was. As he thought about it more, Erich realized that it seemed like there was quite a bit that he couldn't remember. And not just about Mohaje. Odd.

"Do you suspect that the station has been overrun, sir?"

[Res]

The Admirals uneasiness was apparent to Erich. He shifted his weight and attempted to answer the question a clearly as he could.

"To simply put it soldier, we do believe this is a possibility. We're not ruling anything else out though, but at this point in time, that's our best assumption."

Lysithea popped into the conversation, "Given the status of the ship though, we think either the crew initiated a manual shutdown, or whatever has overrun Mohaje and the station is learning how to use our technology. If this is the case, ONI officials are still debating on whether or not to blast the thing out of the sky and completely demolish the planet.

"What we need you to do, son... You are to report immediately to the docking bridge of the Fires of Heaven station. There, you will rendezvous with the scouting team we sent prior to your waking. Once you get there, I expect a full sweep of the systems infrastructure. You'll take Lysithea's main system with you and have her retain what information she can. Your job is to locate any survivors, eliminate any hostile forces, and keep Lysithea safe. Can you handle it?"

Admiral Berman raises his eyebrow at you, expecting a response he knows he will hear...

[Darkness]

OOC: *cough*


"Yes, sir."

[Res]

The Admiral dismisses you to your prepping and walks away. The technicians ask you if your armor is feeling comfortable, and if there are any problems or malfunctions. One of them asks you to center your targeting systems and HUD on four blinking lights marked at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00.

You have two options. Do you:

Ask technicians/Lysithea for more information on the mission

OR

Head to the launch bay to prep your HEV, select weapons, and begin the mission

[Darkness]

YO DAWG you know how we roll

Erich goes straight to the launch bay for his HEV and weapons and stuff ;D

[Res]

Having tweaked your armor to personal satisfaction, the ONI technicians usher you down various corridors and channels to the launch bay. The room is a relatively cramped hallway, housing thirty HEV pod stations on each wall, several of which are missing. There are four servicemen waiting nearby a pod, each stocked with a load of separate weaponry.
They salute you as you approach, stricken with the pride of being in your presence.

"Sir, we've been given orders to relay one weapon set to you. Were it up to us, we'd just throw all the ammunition and ordnance in there with you. Only problem is, you only got so much space in there to store it. Were we to do that, You got a big chance of leaving a crater in the station when you show up."

The three other servicemen step forward to present your options.

"Here's what we have, sir."

"I'm basic assault." The first Marine stated.

He presented an exquisite condition MA5C Assault Rifle, with a fully loaded 32 round magazine.
Noting your attention to the weapon, the Marine stated "The MA5C is the workhorse for us ground-pounders. Just holding it makes you feel like God’s own anti-son-of-a-bi­tch-machine."
He also carried a brand new BR55 SR (Scoped) Battle Rifle with extra munitions for both weapons. He also presented four M9 High Explosive Dual Purpose Grenades AKA Frags.

The second Marine spoke, "I'm Long-Range combat, Sir."
He presented an AMB Sniper Rifle with 40 spare rounds. "We have options ready, Sir. You may alternate between the IR scope or real time image enhancer. It's your call."
He also presented two M7 Caseless SMGs, as well as the same grenades previously shown.

The third Marine advanced, "I'm the Heavy-Artillery combat rep. Sir."
He had the heaviest load, sporting a M41 SSR MAV/AW Rocket Launcher. The Jackhammer. For secondary weaponry, he showed a similar BR55 variation, but a Heavy Barrel feature, which produced faster rounds with greater accuracy. The rifle was scopeless.
Also, in place of the four grenades given earlier, he was proud to offer a single HAVOK Nuclear Warhead with remote detonation, and three Lotus Anti-Tank mines.

The fourth Marine shuffled closer and held his weapons out. "I'm CQB, Sir."
He offered a M90A Close Assault Shotgun, and said
"I believe that the sound of racking the pump of a shotgun is universally recognized as ‘kiss your as­s goodbye’."
He also offered a combat knife to equip to your chestplate.
His second weapon was a modified MA5C Assault Rifle with a greatly expanded magazine. Instead of the original 32 rounds, it offered a total of 70 rounds before being expendable. His grenade selection was a single Lotus Anti-Tank mine, two Frag grenades, and a single Napalm grenade.

"These are the weapon choices presented. Admiral Berman has ordered us to allow a single selection, though I'm certain there will be more options presented when you arrive on the station. You also have the choice of one piece of the following field equipment."

• A single use Bubble Shield
• One Trip Mine
• A Visual Impairment Flare
• Our newest rendition of Covenant technology, which is a variation of the Elites Active Camouflage.

[Darkness]

Erich takes the first set and active camo.

[Res]

You relieve the Basic Assault soldier of his weapons and munitions, and the three remaining soldiers ease their equipment to the ground. The weight of the firearms were obvious by the strain they exhibited in setting them down. As they are now free handed, they assist you in loading yourself into the HEV, and securing any and all loose ends before sealing the hatch for deployment.

"Helljumpers, huh...?" One of the Marines remark, glancing at your reflective visor. "More like Hell raisers from the ones I've met." He scoffs, hoping the sound of the HEV Prepping for launch masks his comment.

The doors of the HEV begin to close. The hatch seals, and you hear the decompression of the cabin as your pod exits the ships hull. Immediately afterward, you feel a gigantic smash and are tossed slightly about your pod. Lysitheas image loads on your HUD.

"Sir! We have a problem. The Drag Chute was deployed far too soon, and we're now spinning out of control. We're still on the same course for the Fires of Heaven station, but we'll never make a clear landing. Once we enter the stations artificial gravity, we'll be pulled at a rate to which..." She pauses for a moment and makes a quick calculation. "... The inertia will most certainly kill you! I advise immediate evacuation of the pod. If you jump at the mark I've placed on your HUD, you can launch yourself at the correct angle and land safely. But you may lose your equipment..."

Her avatar changed from the pale azure tint to a deepened gray shade. Her worry was quite evident in what your choice was going to be.

You must respond to Lysithea with your choice. Will you

Take Lysitheas recommendation and jump while the HEV is still in a reduced speed spin

OR

Wait for the HEV to get closer to the station and exit within closer range, but at a greater velicoty

OR

Crash land into the station while inside the HEV?

[Darkness]

Erich takes Lysithea's advice.

[Res]

Lysitheas image nods with approval, though her image still retains its whitewashed gray of anxiety. "Jump on my mark..." She says, steadying her voice.

Quickly securing your MA5C, you burst through the hatch, feeling the atmosphere immediately drain from the vehicle. Your HUD displays a timer of 15 minutes until vacuum asphyxiation. Lysithea steadies you, and shouts "MARK!" Lighting up with digital adrenaline. You grab the blast door of the HEV and use it as sort of a guide/makeshift chute to steer your weight towards the station.

In grabbing the door, you threw off your momentum slightly. instead of aiming straight for the landing deck, you are now soaring straight BENEATH the stations docks. Lysitheas image turns colorless, fearing the worst.

Your oxygen timer is at 13:37 until depletion. You silently coast through space, until you are twenty meters from the docks. You release an M9 grenade that was strapped to your leg and pull the pin. Lysithea panics and asks you "What was that for?!", as you calmly drop the grenade beneath you and affix the broken door between yourself and the grenade. You lightly tap the door with your feet to contact the grenade to trigger its detonation, which sends the door hurdling at you horizontally, and gives you a perfect platform to leap from.

You clear the dock with no difficulty, noting your oxygen timer is only now hitting 13:00. Lysithea seems rather worried, but thankful for your very makeshift plan. "When you didn't respond, I thought you were just going to blow us to bits instead of suffocate. That was a very SPARTAN-istic move you pulled off there. Congratulations, Major."

Fires of Heaven's artificial gravity begins to take effect, dragging you to the floor. You look back to see the last glimpse of your HEV and remaining weapons before they become lost in space. You enter the airlock, resupplying your system with usable oxygen and causing the pesky counter to fade.

"Strange..." Lysithea whispers. "...There's nobody in the docking bay."

The bay was littered with spent ammunition casings, magazines, and blood. But no bodies were visible. Your AIs worry exceeded your own. "Transmissions and all kinds of communications are blocked, Sir. All I can get in signs of life is marking heat signatures. One moment, processing.

. . .

Sir, I'm getting heat signatures all over. But something is severely hindering the resolution. I see a group of unidentifiable targets moving to the bridge at a rapid pace, and I also see an almost static gathering in the living quarters. Both groups are alive, but I can't tell which are friendly or hostile. We have to move quickly before something finds us first, though. I advise as little confrontation as possible, due to your single weapon and being shy one grenade."
-------------
Due to blocked radio/radar and cut intercom systems, you cannot contact your Bravo team. Lysithea reports hasty movement to the bridge, and a static reading from the living quarters.

Will you

Take the path to the bridge to catch up to whatever is moving there so swiftly

OR

Trail back to the Living Quarters to verify what that hazy heat signature is. . .

[Darkness]

Erich heads for the bridge.