Guns of Eradinus

Subject: Guns of Eradinus 18/08/13, 11:57 am

"It's good to see you again, David."

"I should've know you were the one heading this, Admiral."

"Is that tone really a proper way to greet a war buddy?"

"I think turning up is more than greeting enough."

"I invited you here to talk, David. Nothing more."

"I was harassed, searched, and 'escorted' the second I got on the platform!"

"I'm aware, and sorry. But we have a serious situation, and we need your unit for this."

"The others wont be happy with that. You know how they feel about dealing with the Navy these days."

"We don't need them. We need you."

"Excuse me."

"Who's this?"

"This is Rani Sobeck. She's new to this kind of thing, but she's experienced. She worked as an ONI spy in Chawla Base and has since become quite the operative."

"Are you military?"

"Civilian. I was sent by ONI to lend a hand here. It's a pleasure to meet you. Now sit still, this wont hurt a bit."

"What's the shot for?"

"She's also the head of medical staff at Fort York, and will be the medical professional for this operation."

"Neither of you have answered my question."

"I'm giving you a modified injection of the 88947-OP24 drug. It'll improve your colour sharpness and adaptability to night vision."

"David listen up. It went down ten hours ago. Heavily armed soldiers occupied Station Jefferson, a space station in the Eradinus System. It was a rebel base during the war, but the UNSC occupied it since being shut down."

"What soldiers?"

"GEN2 Special Forces led by member of a defected SPARTAN-III unit. They've presented the UEG with a single demand, and they say that if it isn't met, they'll attack Antares Sigma."

"A planetary attack? On a Colony world?"

"I'm afraid so. You see, Jefferson was repurposed into a nuclear weapons disposal site since the ending of the war."

"So these Rebels hijacked nuclear weapons?"

"Good. Now you see how serious this problem is. You'll have three mission objectives. First, you're infiltrating Station Jefferson and evacuate two hostages, President of Misriah Armory Jacob Anderson, and Rear Admiral Andrew Baker."

"Those are major hostages. I assume that's what's stopped the Navy from simply attacking?"

"You're correct. But that's not all. They've also gotten a hold of Doctor Breivik Romanov, a nuclear weapons specialist and Section One Intelligence Officer in ONI. We need you to confirm the Doctors status - the Rebels claim to have him in custody, but we've seen nothing."

"An officer of the UNSC, President of Misriah, and a high ranking ONI operative. These guys are begging for it."

"Your final objective will be to investigate whether or not the Rebels have the ability to launch an attack, and stop them if they do. Any questions?"

"Questions? I haven't even said I'd accept the mission yet."

"Tell me about the facility."

"The facility includes numerous hardened and reinforced panels, and has been fitted to reject even our best intelligence gathering systems. We can't tell what's happening in there."

"So someone needs to penetrate, gather intelligence, and report back... sounds like a spy novel. What's the insertion method?"

"Well a naval insertion is impossible, they'll shoot you down before you can see them. We're going to approach the nearby planet of Eradinus II. From there, you're going to need to find a way onto one of their ships. Blend in, hitchhike, whatever you can achieve to sneak onto the station."

"Why not Prowler insertion?"

"They've got radars going at all times, to pick up any kind of major insertion. The only way in, is by already being in."

"Anyone going with me?"

"Unlikely."

"Weapons and equipment POS?"

"Yes. This is top secret black ops, so don't expect any UNSC support."

"What were an ONI rep and Misriah President doing at a nuclear disposal site?"

"The truth is there were secret exercises being conducted when the Rebels attacked."

"Must be extremely important exercises if those two was involved. What were they doing, testing advanced weapons?"

"I'm not privy to that information David."

"Do we have confirmation that they have nuclear weapons?"

"I'm afraid so. They supplied serial numbers, and every one was confirmed. They have at least ten."

"Isn't there some sort of safety device to prevent this sort of thing?"

"There is. Codes are required to properly launch and detonate the nukes. Problem is, the Admiral has them, and if they can get the codes out of him, there'll be nothing in their way."

"What's the time limit?"

"24 hours, as of last communiqué."

"What about these SPARTAN-IIIs that you said were leading the Rebels. Do we have any info on them?"

"Yes. There are six S-IIIs involved in this operation, though we don't know their code numbers; all we've got is codenames. Grey Mantis, a mysterious experimental soldier. Black Fox, a beautiful and deadly sharpshooter. White Octopus, a master of deception. Silver Raven, giant and demolitions man. And Golden Snake, specialist in interrogation and a formidable gunfighter."

"They sound like a lovely bunch of people. Too bad we wont be meeting under formal circumstances."

"And finally, in charge of them, is their Units leader. The leader of WOLF-HOUND. Liquid Snake."

"Liquid Snake?!"

"Yes, and you're the only one who can stand against him."

"Liquid Snake..."

"Liquid Snake. The man with the same codename as you."

"What do you know?"

"He fought in the Insurrection at a young age, and was the youngest member in the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers at the time. He was tasked with tracking and destroying mobile missile platforms. You were active then too, weren't you?"

"Yeah... I was just a kid back then."

"He operated for ONI, non-officially. But during the war, he was declared MIA, and not long after you retired, he was recruited into WOLF-HOUND."

"I thought after I left codenames were a dying breed."

"I don't know his real name. The information is so highly classified that even I can't look at it. Look at this picture of him though."

"He looks... like me..."

"It's shocking, isn't it? Other than some more hair and a darker skin tone, he's practically your twin."

"I have a..."

"That's why we need you for this mission. You're the only one who can take him down."

"And after meeting you, I'm sure of that."

"Why don't I find an ageing Admiral and his ONI recruits support comforting I wonder. Admiral, just take me home. I'm not a soldier of the government anymore."

"You're life at home isn't that great, is it? You've seen the ONI officials, watching your every step. The glances from people on the street. What do you even do now?"

"It doesn't matter. Take me home. I don't owe you or the UEG anything!"

"You will accept this assignment!"

"Why would I be dumb enough to do that? I'm not patriot."

"David, there's enough dirt in your files from your days as an agent to keep you in the stockade till you're a much older man than I."

"Blackmail the new mode of employment in the UNSC, huh?"

"No. I'm trying to help you make this decision, because I know you'll make it no matter what."

"Oh? And why's that?"

Subject: Re: Guns of Eradinus 18/08/13, 01:06 pm

20:14
15th August 2554
Eradinus System
Eradinus II

A small group of soldiers roamed an empty plateau of land, the glassed surface around them expanding in all directions, the strange substance under their feet sending shivers up their spines. As they spoke, they turned their heads skyward to look at what was more than likely the remains of a UNSC ship, left floating high about the planets surface after it's fall.

As they walked, a second group came to meet with them from the west, driving two transport Warthogs. They two groups merged, mounting up into the mostly empty vehicles, and making way back west to speed up their return home. They'd been patrolling for hours now after landing, looking for any scraps of Covenant of UNSC tech that could be salvaged. They'd gotten some weapons - most notably a Type-50 'Beam Rifle'. But, it had been a botched operation overall.
Other groups had seemingly claimed more technology, with some of them having even gotten hold of battered Ghosts.

David dropped his binoculars, the heavy duty lanyard holding them around his neck as he broke out into a sprint. All he had was his fatigues, his binoculars, and a knife. He'd been observing these patrols for hours, and considering his deadline, that wasn't good. He could estimate that they'd knocked off at least two hours with their aimless wandering.
Peering down into the small docking station set up, David could see the soldiers unloading their new cargo and carrying it into the Charon-class light frigate. He watched closely, every movement he could see and every motion he could take note of.

He could... he could see a way to get onboard, but it would be a risk.
David activated his comms quickly, making contact with the UNSC Raptures Last Luck, to speak with the crew leading this operation, behind the scenes.

"Aboim, these Rebels, do they look anything like the Rebels you faced?"

A husky voice picked up over the channel, a beard muffling each and every word. He was a veteran of war, and he was the expert on Rebels during this operation.

"Mhmm. The Black Fist. They're part of the Eradinus Rebels... I guess the rumours were true. They survived the Massacre at Eradinus Secundus."

David grunted a little, confused.

"The Covenant attacked Eradinus Secundus during a UNSC operation to take out the rebel front. We assumed they'd been wiped out. Whoever's running these Rebels must've found a way for them to survive the attack, long enough to counter us."

Aboim had been an battalion commander during the Insurrection, and now he was providing David with everything he knew on the Rebels at the request of Lord Hood. As it turned out, he'd even been involved in the Massacre, though to a lesser degree than in previous conflicts. His information was still priceless in this situation.

The other members of Davids support group were equally note worthy, and he couldn't help but think they were gonna be some of the most useful he could have.

Medical and scientific specialist Rani Sobeck, a young and pride filled ONI officer, she was, more than the rest, more interested in operating alongside David. She'd splurged over his files not long ago, back when she was in Fort York, and considered him one of the living legends of the war, his efforts in the Human-Covenant Conflict filling her with intrigue and wonder.

Weapons and combat master Sergeant Major Duvall, a veteran of the Fall of Reach, was willingly supplying his combat and weapons expertise to help David in procurement and combat stratagem. He was a smart man, and an especially renowned tactician, but David was still unsure of how effective he'd really be. Apparently he had some explosives expertise though.
Once he found the nukes, that could come in helpful.

And finally, Intelligence Officer and ONI representative, Veronica Dare. She was a hardass and enjoyed telling the rest of the support team what to do, even Lord Hood, but she knew what she was doing. David didn't trust her, as he didn't trust most spooks, but he didn't have much choice - if she could surpass Hood, then a mercenary wasn't exactly going to beat her rule.

David closed the comm, looking down at the field. There were two trucks, with a few boxes and crates already packed in. The soldiers were unloading the Warthogs, and this was gonna be the only break he had.

David slid down the incline that had been formed on the glassed hillside, ducking down and eyeing the situation one last time. The soldiers were bickering, seemingly over which crate to put in next. David made way to the nearest truck, and climbed in, opening up one of the crates and muttering under his breath.
"Scraps."

He locked it back up and turned to the next crate, smiling a little as he saw just enough room for himself. Climbing in and placing the lid over his head, he remained still, breathing softly as he kept an eye on the few small holes, often filled with better grip handles. He needed to watch it, to keep an eye on the light, and to keep his mind and breathing steady.

It wouldn't be long now.

Subject: Re: Guns of Eradinus 19/08/13, 07:27 am

20:47
15th August 2554
Eradinus System
Above Eradinus II

A loud, sharp clunk alerted David to what was happening around him, as the truck began to move in an unknown direction, hopefully towards the frigate to be transported to the space station.

The area outside the packaging crate was dark now, and as David tried to lift the lid off, he found that the soldiers had packed what felt like a fully grown man into the box above him. He was stuck until the guards began to unpack, and he’d have to move fast then to keep hidden.

His comms lit up as someone from the support team began to make contact.

“Snake, where are you? We can’t pick you up on the planetary scanners.”

The Admiral sounded far more worried than David thought he would. It was strange how agitated he sounded. Didn’t really fit with his personality.

“That’s because I’m not on the planet anymore, Admiral. I’m in a crate, on a truck, on-board a frigate. I’m assuming it’s headed to the station.”

The link changed, as Rani began to speak to him.

“You’re lucky then. The frigate is the UNSC Don’t Talk, Listen, one of the captured frigates that was docked on the station during the attack. If it’s heading anywhere, it’d be Jefferson.”

“How are you guys monitoring me? I thought you couldn’t see the Rebels.”

The channel changed back to Hood, who seemed notably calmer this time round.

“We can’t penetrate the station. Off of that though, we can see almost everything. Right now we have a drone out there keeping an eye on you. I can see the ship on my screens right now.”

David grunted a little. He’d actually feel safer on-board the station now; he didn’t like ONI following his every move. Especially on a non-ONI mission.
“Why are you guys watching me so closely? I thought you contacted me coz I’m the only person who can do this mission, Admiral.”

“I don’t know, Snake. It wasn’t my idea, but Veronica has her orders too.”

David snarled a little, closing the comm channel and peering out the small opening in his box, trying again to open the crate up only to injure his back a bit.

“Gah… dammit.”

All he had was binoculars and this little knife. No medical kits, no ammo, not even a simple handgun. He needed to take care, injuring himself stupidly like this could change the outcome of this mission entirely.

It didn’t take long before the ship made the loud, somewhat familiar sound, and began to dock into the station.
David only had minimal knowledge of the scope of the station, but as the truck began to drive off again, he was able to make the safe assumption that it was much bigger than he’d first thought.

Subject: Re: Guns of Eradinus 21/08/13, 12:56 pm

21:05
15th August 2554
Eradinus System
Station Jefferson Cargo Bay

David lifted the lid, very slowly, peering around him, noticing that the truck had been unloaded, himself included, but that the crates had not been. As he looked around the rather large room, he couldn't help but be in awe at the towers of crates around him. There were, in this single room alone, over a dozen large green heavy duty crates, stacked all around the room. If they were filled with tech from Eradinus II, then these rebels had some serious tech at their disposal.

Climbing out of what was in actuality a rather light crate, David looked closer at one the crates in front of him. It read...

REQ: l ll lll l lll l ll l ll l ll
~~M247~~ Type-25 DER
~~7.62MM~~
~~GAS OP~~ All Purpose
AUTO
~~LINKLESS~~

The crates serial codes were completely scratched off. It was strange that the rebels had begun to repurpose old UNSC crates, and even stranger that they were using such old crates themselves. The weapon this crate had once housed, the M247 General Purpose, had been taken out of operation in 2552. Seeing crates for it here... It was strange.

Below the desecrated markings, used to indicate it's new purpose as a Plasma Rifle storage, was a large sticker. It was yellow with all sorta of official markings and wordings over it, though most were now decorated with the first of the rebels. It said '130lbs'.

"A weight marker?"

David looked back at his own crate, frowning a little as he saw the sticker reading '300lbs'. He walked over and frowned, looking in at the small amount of objects that had surrounded him in his trip, grunting.
"Hmph."

As he looked around at the assorted crates, he got another comm linked up to him, and he quickly hide in a corner behind a few crates before responding.

"Hello Snake. It's been a while."
The cool, somewhat posh accent that picked up rang a bell in Davids mind as he looked around, at the door to the room before speaking to his old friend and mentor.

"Major? What're you doing here?"

Major Morales had once, long ago, been a member of the ORION Project, the first true iteration of the later SPARTAN Program, that would go on to be, arguably, the reason the Human race had survived the Human-Covenant War. Morales was one of few members of the project to both still be alive and active. Early in Davids career, Morales had been called in to train him and other members of the Green Berets at a young age, as a sort of homage to the carrying on of the 'super soldier' ideal in soldiers not bred in tanks.
Morales and David had always had a special connection.

"I retired recently, David, remember? I've got enough time on my hands that, when Hood contacted me, I was more than willing to lend my favourite trainee a hand. Of course, every now and then I still train the local militia."

"Passing on the skills to a new generation, huh?"

The two shared a laugh for a moment before the Major began to speak again, his tone shifting to a more serious and deadpan one.
"Hood told me about the situation. I thought I might be able to lend a hand. I know you've got Duvall for all your basic weapons expertise and Aboim for his knowledge of the Rebels, but remember, I operated against them too and in similar situations to you. If you need to know anything, don't hesitate to contact me."
David grunted in acknowledgment, before shutting off the comms and proceeding to make his way out of the room.

At the door, he stopped in mid stride and looked at one of the smaller crates near him. Notably newer, it's designations and serials hadn't even been scratched off yet. He walked over to it and lifted off the lid, his eyes widening a little as he looked at the weapons before him.

An array of top of the line, mint condition, clean and crisp, M6C/SOCOM semi-automatic pistols. The UNSC handgun issued to spec ops units, it was perhaps the perfect weapon for a stealth situation. David reached down and took one out, looking it over and smiling to himself before closing the lid gently, holding the weapon in his hand as he spun to face the door, checking his skills with it.
It would've been a perfect shot, had someone been there.
He checked the mag, glad to see twelve rounds stocked. It was more than enough for now.

Finally, David moved towards the door, listening in and hearing dead, empty silence. Pressing the small pad on the left of the door, it slid open, and in a flash he was out, arms raised as he checked both direction, staring down his sights.

Empty.

David looked around for any indication of where he was. It was a big, long, wide hallway. And there were tire tracks running up and down it's length. Looking at the room he'd just left, he saw something written on the door in large yellow letters.
'STORAGE ROOM 4'
He must've been near the cargo holds then. Looking down at the tracks for a moment, he was able to recognize that they'd been moving down his left, which meant that way would be the entrance to the ship. From there he could have a much easier time of finding his way.
With that sorted, David checked his magazine one last time, before making his way down the long hall, ready to begin this operation for real.

Subject: Re: Guns of Eradinus 26/08/13, 07:18 pm

21:13
15th August 2554
Eradinus System
Station Jefferson Storage Bays

David wasn't entirely sure where he was, though he knew it'd be hard to get lost. As he made way down the main hall, he had to think back to maps he'd been given the chance to look over of Orbital Defense Platforms. Though this station was notably larger - the same make, in fact, of Reach Gamma Station, which had been obliterated during the battle that ensued over that long lost planet.

"Let's see... If I'm in the cargo hold... The bridge can’t be too far away.”

As David made his way down the long hall, he could see numerous doors lining each wall along side him, each of separate importance to the others. Some whizzed open as he passed them, others remained stoic and silently closed.
It seemed that, judging by the small codes and numerals on them, that different levels of authorization were required to get through them. The soldiers before had rather strange dogtags, and David wondered if that had anything to do with it.

David was eventually stopped as he saw, in the corner of his eye, an item that interested him quite a bit. Making way into the small room, similar to a large office, he looked around and saw a broken camera, a few empty mags, and what looked like a busted old computer as well as some history books. Beyond that, it was beyond typical.

But this item has his eye, and as David picked up the set of infrared goggles, he couldn’t help but smirk a little, tucking them into one of his larger pockets before making way out, taking with him a mag on the door side desk.

But not even a few steps later, David could hear the whirring of wheels, and without wanting to risk it he quickly ran to the next open room, crouching beside the doorway and pulling out his blade, holding his spot as the sounds of the vehicle whirred by. He could see, through the small glass sections of the door, a trail of tires accompanied by heavy boots. They didn’t look like UNSC stuff, more like the kind of things you’d see in a factory complex – heavy duty stuff.

But he could read something on the side of one of the tires as it stopped.
“Your turn. No, fuck you, I’ve been driving this thing for weeks. I wanna walk for more than ten minutes for once!”
As the drivers changed out, David looked closely, and was quickly on the comm to Hood, more than a little shocked.

“Hood, I’m looking at one of the trucks these rebels are driving. The tire has an ONI logo on it. Since when was ONI producing standard civilian vehicle components?”

The gruff voice of the Fleet Admiral was sparked by an intrigued grunt, as the old veteran thought for a moment.
“That’s nothing for you to concern yourself over Snake. You have an objective to finish.”
The voice of the Captain, Dare, quickly intercepted Hoods chance to speak before the comm was forcibly shut down. David huffed, but she was right. Hopefully Hood would look in on it, because as the truck moved on David quickly chose to make his move, knowing he had no more time.

With all his skill, he silently stepped away and out from the long hallway, and at the end, made the choice to turn left; the same way the truck had come from.

It was a gamble, but he just had to get to one area at this point. From there he’d be able to work his way up.

“Captain, do you think you could get the schematics for this place up soon?”

Dare chimed in again, a little bit of uncertainty in her voice.
“Schematics? For directions?”

“I needa know how many vents are in this thing and how far they reach.”

Subject: Re: Guns of Eradinus 13/01/14, 08:18 am

21:15
15th August 2554
Eradinus System
Station Jefferson Storage Bays

"That all there is?"

The light grunt from Dare indicated that yes, that was all there was. David hesitated for a moment, looking at the few shafts that existed on this station. Most were too small for him, and the rest were simply too dangerous. Looked like he'd be doing this the hard way.

He ran through the hall, before sliding up against a wall and peering around the corner. Two men, both making their way towards him. David cursed and moved behind a support beam nearby, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, trying to hear their footsteps.
Closer... closer... closer...
David swung out, slamming one of them right in the neck and the other in the jaw, knocking both to the ground with ease before he hammered both of their heads with the butt of his boot. If they weren't dead, they were at least in a coma. David made his way down the hall, breathing steadily.

There were a few passages available to him. Far down the way there was the access to the mess hall, or at least one of them, given the size of the station. On his left was a small maintenance room, though in all honest he showed no interest in it. And to his left, a habitat pod.

David opened the door to the maintenance, stepping through and looking for any signs of movement. If anyone was in here he knew they'd spot the bodies nearby, so he needed to take them out quick.

He stepped silently through the area, looking past wires and pipes and all sorts of things, a little surprised by how old all of this tech looked. It barely compared to some of the old facilities on Reach. He eventually found stairs leading down to what he only assumed was a basement, and as he descended he heard the door overhead slam shut.

"Crap."

David looked around the room, barely able to see, bar five large steel beams in a small square room. As he walked closer, he could see something attached to the middle beam, by far the largest.
"Is that..."

Jacob Anderson, President of Misriah Armory, was tied to a beam with his hands up in the air, his hair scroungy and dirty, his clothes torn and his body beaten. A trickle of blood ran down one side of his face.

"Am I too late?"

The mans body moved ever so slightly, as drool and spit fell out of his mouth, followed by a loud, obnoxious snore.
"He's alive."
David spoke loud, in an attempt to wake the man before him.
"You're Misriah Armory President Jacob Anderson, right? Don't worry, I'm here to help."

David tucked his gun away for a moment and reached out to lend a hand, only for the man to jolt his head up and yell in terror.
"No! Don't do it!"
David stopped, and looked around to suddenly see wired connecting all to the man before him. And each wire led to a slab of deadly C4. Suddenly, a bullet bounces off the ground near Davids feet, causing him to pull his own gun out and look behind him.

"Right. Touch that wire and the C4 will up along with the old man. So you're the one the Boss keeps blabbering about..."
David huffed, looking intently at the opponent before him. "And you?"

The figure stepped forward, and David saw his vest, his boots, his padding. He was a soldier dressed to be shot at. As he spun the pistol in his hand, he began to speak.
"Special Operations WOLFHOUND. Deadeye Ocelot. I've been waiting for you, Snake. Now we'll see if the man can live up to the legend!"
Ocelot rubbed his gun for a moment before smiling coolly.
"This is the greatest handgun ever made. The M6D Personal Defense Weapon System. Twelve rounds. It can put down any Covie, Innie, or... problem, that gets in its path. Let me show you why they call me... Deadeye."