[Halo] New! San Angeles RPG

[Naked Crook]

Nighthawk and Anaconda had made it to the roof of Regional HQ Bravo. They saw their Vulture waiting on on one of the landing pads. They wasted no time in making a B-Line for their Vulture. The moment they stepped aboard, Nighthawk ran for the cockpit, and took control of the Gunship. He initiated the VTOL sequence, and the Vulture lifted off. Anaconda sat down on one of the seats in the rear compartment. Nighthawk: Alright...The Stealth Systems are in the green...and the Corvette has not picked us up on their sensors. Hopefully...we are able to make a clean get away. Anaconda: Even if they do detect us...I am sure they have much higher priorities at the moment. Nighthawk: You mean...mining the data center in Regional HQ? Anaconda: Yeah...for all the good it will do them. Nighthawk paused. He started to think. Nighthawk: Speaking of Regional HQ Bravo... Nighthawk paused. Nighthawk: HAWK... Nighthawk looked over at the small holopad on the Vulture's dashboard. A miniaturized version of HAWK appeared, and looked back at Nighthawk. HAWK: Yes? Nighthawk: Have you looked over any of the information that we took from the Regional HQ BRavo data servers? HAWK: I have indexed all the information. 12% of the information is classified as new. 62% is considered supplementary. 10% is considered low value, and 16% is considered redundant. Nighthawk: What kind of new information did we find? HAWK: Most of it is progress updates on some classified dealings ONI has on San Angeles. The rest is just fleet information that has been archived. Anaconda stood up. He walked into the cockpit, and sat down in the co-pilots seat. Anaconda: What kind of "classified dealings" are we talking about? HAWK: I am still analyzing the information at hand. This should only take a few more minutes. Nighthawk: Alright...we should be back at the Venture Capitalist in no time at all. Hopefully, you should have something for us at this time. HAWK: I will have all relevant information waiting for you, on the bridge. Nighthawk and Anaconda's Vulture continued to fly upwards, away from White Water City, returning to orbit. Meanwhile: Cameron chimed in. He heard Harrison asking for any more information that could be provided on The Risk Takers. Cameron: Well, sir. If I may interject? Cameron paused. Cameron: I can say that I knew some of the Spartan II's that we encountered. Out of the seven Spartans we saw, four of them were Spartan II - Class 0s. When I was first augmented, and brought into the program, I made it my business to get to know all of the others. It was because of this, I was selected as the senior Spartan II in the Class 0 generation. Cameron paused. Cameron: With that said...the Spartans in question were Liam-Z174, Savannah-Z129, Jessica-Z190, and Desmond-Z055. Each of these Spartans excel at what they do. They were among the best of the best. Cameron paused again. Cameron: However, the fact is, there was no indication that the Spartan IIs or Spartan IIIs were actively hostile against us. It seems their only interest was Nighthawk and Anaconda. To be frank sir...that is not a conflict I want to get in the middle of. I am here, on San Angeles, to fight The Covenant, not assist a team of Spartans in killing two "terrorists"...as ONI has so generously designated them. Cameron paused once more. Cameron: However, I digress. The four Class 0s that I mentioned are highly proficiant in everything they do. It would be my official recommendation that they are not antagonized. We have no proof that they are as hostile as ODST Black Team. Tyber: Cam...Black Team arrived with those Spartans. That is enough for me to assume they are working together. Cameron: Possibly. However...assumptions are never a good idea...especially when you are dealing with a whole team of Super-Soldiers. If they are hostile, we will discover it soon enough. However, if they are not hostile, and we treat them as if they are...well...we would create enemies that could of been avoided. Cameron paused. Cameron: If there is one thing that I should add...Class 0s...can be easily antagonized. Very easily antagonized. Jennifer: What about the Spartan IIIs? Cameron was silent for a moment. Cameron: Spartan IIIs? They do not concern me. Jennifer: Why? Cameron: Spartan IIIs are...were...designed to be expendable. It is in their nature and design specifications to die. It is as simple as that. Tyber: That is a little harsh Cam... Cameron simply looked at Tye. He did not respond. Cameron just waited for Harrison to respond. Meanwhile: Black 2 was still copy information from The Ulterior Motive, to the UNSC Regional HQ Bravo servers. Black 1: Evan...how is it going? Black 2: Well..."it"...is progressing. I have already managed to copy 88% of the necessary information to the servers. I need another minute to finish. Black 1: Alright...sounds good. Let us know when you are done. Black 2: Well...this won't take long, like I said...another minute. Black 3: Alright...so...how are we going to evac? Black 1: Well...obviously we leave the same way we came. Black 3: Would that be a wise idea? THose UNSC soldiers retreated down the same highway we used to get here. If anything, they would be waiting for us at the other side. Black 4: Perhaps we can call for a Pelican? Black 1: We may need something more specialized. If The Covenant have air support...we will need something that is a little more tailored to silent extractions. Black 2: What about The Risk Takers? Black 1: Well...obviously...we need to find them before we leave. No matter what...we are going to have to find a way out of here before The Covenant come again in full force. Meanwhile: Xyrho, who had been injured in his last battle, was outside of Regional HQ Bravo's front entrance. He had taken the time to signal his Corvette to return, and he was awaiting the return of his ship. He could see the Phantoms closing in on Regional HQ Bravo. He knew that The Covenant had successfully captured this location, despite the level of resistance the humans had put up. Despite this...Xyrho simply stood tall, and watched as what started as clear blue skies, turned into smoke filled skies, with a hint of orange and red. Xyrho, however, broke his silence, when he heard someone walking up behind him. Xyrho turned, to see Voro. Xyrho: Voro... Voro walked up to Xyrho, and stood next to him. Voro: We have taken this day. The filth runs, and hides... Xyrho nodded. Voro: Soon, we will continue the hunt...and we will finish what we have started. Xyrho: Indeed. Xyrho paused. Xyrho: However...before we do that...we must finish what we came HERE to do. We must find out what the filth knows about or Gods. The idea that they could be in possession of relics that are of the holiest of holy... Xyrho cringed. Xyrho: They pervert it...like the mud perverts water. Voro: They are unclean...unworthy of bearing witness to what our Gods have left for us to inherit... Voro paused. Voro: Xyrho... Xyrho: Yes? Voro: Does the filth even know what they have? Are they even aware of what they lay their eyes on? Do they understand? Xyrho: Are we even aware of what they have? Xyrho paused. Xyrho: For all of our efforts...we are still...blinded by uncertainty. We do not yet know the extent of what these Humans have. It is why I am here...to find out what it is that hides on this world...what it is that the humans keep from us. Xyrho fell silent. Voro: Whatever it may be...our holy Covenant will seize it... Meanwhile: Back in the sub-basement, in the server room, Black 2 had completed the data transfer. He turned and looked at Black 1. Black 2: I am finished, sir. All information is accounted for, and ready to be collected by The Covenant. Black 1: Well done. Let's find The Risk Takers...and bug out. Black 2 chimed in. Black 2: I don't think we need to find The Risk Takers. I believe they have found us. They are closing in on our position. Black 3: Well...that defiantly speeds things up, for sure. Black 1: Indeed it does. Black 1 paused. Black 1: Evan...signal The Ulterior Motive...inform them that we are going to require an air extraction via the use of one of the onboard Stealth Pelicans. Inform The Director that the area is filled with Covenant contacts...and a stealth evac is mandatory! Black 2: Where should I have them pick us up? Black 1: The south end of this building was breached some time ago, during the initial attack. We will all exit the building at that location, and board the evac from there. Black 2: Sounds good. I will send those instructions right away. Black 1: While you do that...I will get The Risk Takers informed on what we have done, and how we are going to evac. Meanwhile: Nighthawk and Anaconda had returned to The Venture Capitalist, which was still in orbit of San Angeles. Thanks to the stealth systems aboard the ship, it has remained undetected thus far. With the Vulture docked in the hanger bay of The Venture Capitalist, Nighthawk and Anaconda disembarked from the Vulture, and removed their Helmets. Vernette: God...my eyes are killing me. I have no idea how the jarheads do this every day. Barrabus: They get used to it...perhaps? Vernette sighed as he shook his head. He walked to the exit of the hanger bay, with every intention of making his way up to the bridge. Vernette: We will work on rhetorical statements when we are no longer trying to save San Angeles. Barrabus: I know what rhetorical means. I knew you were making a rhetorical statement... Vernette: So then why did you answer? Barrabus: Because I felt like it... Vernette: Naturally... Vernette kept walking, with Barrabus in tow. Barrabus: Joking aside...do you know anything about those Spartans that attacked us? Vernette: I do not. That was the first time I had ever seen any of them. The duo stepped into an elevator. Vernette pressed the button with the number 1 on it. Vernette: They knew our every move...our every habit, out every tactic, our every idiosyncrasy. This was obviously very well planned, on their part. Barrabus: Could they be part of The Trust? Vernette: Possibly. I would not doubt it. To be frank...anyone who points a gun at either of us is bound to be part of The Trust. Rule of thumb...if you hate Military me...or try to kill Nighthawk me...you are working for The Trust. It is a pattern. The Trust hates my guts. I have been butting heads with them since before this war started. Vernette paused. Vernette: This was is an inconvience, if anything. Barrabus: I have no idea how to respond to that. Vernette: Very few people do. Vernette shrugged. Vernette: Fact of the matter is...I am going on the assumption that those Spartans were working for The Trust. Vernette paused, as the elevator stopped, and the door opened to reveal the bridge. Vernette: The bridge of a ship...nothing like it, nothing beats it. Vernette walked towards the command chair and sat down. Unlike on standard military warships, the seating on the bridge of the Venture Capitalist was leather interior, as opposed to the standard issue carbon fiber on military ships. Vernette: Civilian class luxury meets military industrial complex ingenuity. This is the kind of ship the good Lord himself would command...if he didn't have better things to do...like...being timeless...and running the universe. Good thing thought...I would hate to give this ship up. Barrabus grunted. He stood on the far side of the holotable, looking right at Vernette. Barrabus: We should focus! We should find out what HAWK found at Regional HQ Bravo. Vernette: You're right. Alright...HAWK...do your thing. HAWK appeared on the holo table. HAWK: Before I go into detail, sir, I have to an addendum to the conversation you had in the elevator. HAWK paused. HAWK: While I was connected to the UNSC Regional HQ Bravo network, via the uplink that was installed onto the mainframe by the Brute...I had access to the internal Closed Circuit Cameras. Vernette: Go on... HAWK: I have confirmed that these Spartans that were trying to kill you...were being accompanied by ODST Black Team. I believe you have had a run-in with them before. Vernette: How could I forget? Barrabus: Refresh my memory... Vernette: Remember...the ODSTs in black BDU...the ones we butted heads with when we first stole this ship? Barrabus: Oh...right. THOSE guys... Vernette: I have also had a few previous run-ins with them...but that is note important. The point is, we have strong evidence that they were working for The Trust. HAWK: Indeed. With that said...I managed to find something that is...quite perplexing... HAWK paused. He vanished from the holotable, but he continued to speak. HAWK: WHile I was scanning the information we stole...I came across something that I have never seen before. Now, we all know that ONI has had a very keen interest in San Angeles for some time now. The problem is...we don't know why. Nighthawk...at one point you said that you are "out of the loop". I have discovered why... Vernette: Why? Barrabus: This should be good... Barrabus folded his arms. HAWK: You were deemed an untrustworthy assest by ONI Section 0 Director Constantine Spender. Barrabus: What else is new? HAWK: Indeed. However...there is more. HAWK paused. HAWK: You were not the only one. According to this intel...you, along with 2453 different R&D specialists were deemed untrustworthy by Director Spender. In contrast...82 people were directly authorized to work on "classified projects" on San Angeles. Vernette: Let me guess...all 82 of those people are suspected Trust Operatives? HAWK: Correct. Barrabus: So...what was this "secret project". HAWK: Study, analysis, examination, quantification, and classification of unknown xeno technology. Vernette: What? Clarify! HAWK: I cannot...as there is no further information on the designated assignment. Vernette: Is there anything else? HAWK: Yes. Barrabus: What else is there? HAWK: There is...recurring information and diagrams concerning a "prominent glyph"...and...an unexpected end of file termination. Unable to read past offset 1093A6338CC...inconsistent hashing detected... Vernette sighed. Vernette: HAWK...stay focused. WHhat are you looking at. HAWK: I do not know... Vernette: Show me! As soon as Vernette requested this, the image on the holotable changed. Vernette simply stared at this image. Barrabus, on the other hand, backed away. Vernette: What am I looking at? HAWK: Unknown. Vernette took a deep breath, and sighed. He looked over at Barrabus. He saw a look of concern...something that was very rare. Vernette: Barrabus? Barrabus: I have seen this symbol before... Vernette: Where? What does it mean? Barrabus: I do not know...but I have come to associate it with an idea, as opposed to a meaning. Vernette: Well...whatever you know...spit it out. Barrabus: Many years ago...I encountered this symbol. It was used to represent...an avatar...a construct...created by, what the Covenant calls its Gods...the ones we worship. The ones who give us the divine right to destroy your kind. Vernette: Is this...religious myth? Barrabus: There is no myth about this. I saw the construct that was represented by this symbol...first hand. I saw what it was capable of. I saw its destructive power, and I saw nothing, but a will to destroy. I knew this construct as "Vanguard". There is much I have to say about Vanguard, and even more to say about the events that led me to the point of facing this thing. Needless to say...this is not something I would like to repeat. I would never want to face it again. Barrabus paused. Barrabus: If this symbol is here...then there is something, sleeping deep in this world...that should NOT be disturbed. To awaken what lies beneath...would be very unwise. Barrabus paused. Barrabus: If The Trust has found a location of where another Vanguard sleeps...I do not believe they posses the intellectual capacity, nor the wisdom, to understand the...horror...they will unleash. For that matter...neither does the rest of The Covenant. Barrabus took a deep breath. He hung his head. Barrabus: I have never considered myself a coward...but I fear this symbol...more than you could possibly imagine.