Adelaide, South
Australia, Australia
UNSC
North Haven Outpost
May
1, 2001
1100
Local Time
“Frederick, are you sure you want to do this?”
a tall blonde brunette Sergeant asked a tall blonde bearing the rank of a
Second Lieutenant looking at her watch.
“Yes May, you and the others are
staying here.” Frederick
replied briskly.
“Are you sure you don’t need our
help?” May crossed her arms.
“No May, Jackal Squadron will remain
here in Australia.
Besides, I’ve got Staff Sergeant Sears and Private Hariprasad from Fire Team
Kilo to be my guides.” Frederick
answered.
From the dark cloudy skies, a
Pelican slowly appeared from the clouds and descended on a platform beside the
two marines. A young dark skinned marine rushed out clutching a MP5 and saluted
Frederick.
“Hariprasad.” Frederick saluted back.
“Lieutenant.” Hariprasad waved at Frederick to climb aboard
the aircraft.
“Nice to see you again.” May
greeted.
“Yeah, sure is Sergeant.” Hariprasad
nodded.
“May, you’re in charge until I get
back. Make sure the team doesn’t slack off.” Frederick joked.
“Alright ma’am.” May grinned.
Frederick brushed her hair behind her back
and walked inside the Pelican followed by Hariprasad.
“The LT inside?” the pilot hollered
from the cockpit.
“Yeah Sears, she’s on. Let’s go.”
Hariprasad shouted in response.
“Buckle up.” Sears replied as he
closed the hatch at the rear of the Pelican.
Just as the hatch was about to fully
lock into place, Frederick
smiled at May before turning her head to face Hariprasad.
“What’s the plan Lieutenant?”
Hariprasad asked curiously.
“Find Zyrok.” Frederick replied easily.
“Are you sure he’s…?” Hariprasad’s
voice trailed off.
“Alive? I hope so.” Frederick answered Hariprasad’s question and
frowned.
The Pelican slowly ascended into the
sky and got engulfed by the dark clouds. Sears looked at the console on the
Pelican and flipped some switches above him. The lighting in the Pelican hull
dimmed to a faint eerie red.
“Take some rest. It will be a few
hours before we reach Perth.”
Sears announced.
“Perth?” Frederick’s
eyes widened with surprise.
“We’re going to Perth first to get a ship.” Hariprasad said
with a grin.
“A ship?” Frederick scratched her head.
“Since we don’t know the situation
in Afghanistan,
we’re going by sea.” Sears reasoned.
“As we get close, we’ll get airborne
again. That way we should have some sort of surprise for the Russians if they
are still there.” Hariprasad added.
“Ah…I see.” Frederick closed her eyes to rest.
On Frederick’s belt, her datapad beeped. Frederick pulled it out
and it displayed “Incoming Transmission.” She pressed a button and a blonde
female marine with a ponytail smiled.
“Lieutenant Forester.” Frederick looked at the
screen.
“Lieutenant Frederick, sorry that
I’m not able to join you. As you already know, we are trying to hold onto the
remaining UNSC Outposts from the mutated zombies and the new spider zombies.”
Forester spoke calmly.
“I know.” Frederick nodded.
“Since Echo Squad is in need of a
Commanding Officer, High Command has ordered that I take Zyrok’s place and
assist other UNSC forces in the zombie extermination. Also, I’ve heard that
only you and the rest of Fire Team Kilo are on this search.” Forester briefed.
“That’s correct.” Frederick looked at Sears in the cockpit and
then H
ariprasad sitting in front of her.
“Well, I’ve managed to pull some
strings for you knowing that you might encounter the Russian forces in Afghanistan.”
Forester smiled.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Frederick thanked.
“Upon arrival in Perth, a Captain Matthew Blake will
rendezvous with you to board his ship along with Cobra Squad.” Forester
continued to brief.
“Cobra Squad?” Frederick raised an eyebrow.
“Cobra’s a small specialized team
focused on quick elimination of targets as well as locating assets.” Forester
answered.
“So…Spec Ops?” Frederick concluded.
“Pretty much. Anyways Frederick, we’ve got work
to do there. Good luck and I’ll see you later.” Forester ended the
transmission.
“We got ourselves a team.”
Hariprasad grinned.
“Yeah.” Frederick placed the datapad back onto her
belt and closed her eyes to rest.
Perth, Western
Australia, Australia
UNSC
Fremantle Outpost
May
1, 2001
1315
Local Time
“We’re here Lieutenant.” Hariprasad
gently shook a sleeping Frederick.
“Ah.” Frederick rubbed her eyes and stood up to
stretch.
The hatch of the Pelican opened and
an Outpost was visible below them. A breeze of cool air rushed into the warm
hull.
“Refreshing.” Frederick breathed deeply and walked out of
the Pelican.
Two marines dressed in black combat
gear armed with M16s greeted Frederick.
“Second Lieutenant Frederick.” a
young brunette marine offered her hand.
“That’s me.” Frederick shook the marine’s hand.
“Lance Corporal Laura Parker of
Cobra Squad.” the marine introduced herself.
“Corporal Chris Johnson.” the marine
adjacent to Parker stuck his hand out.
“Nice to meet you.” Frederick shook Johnson’s hand firmly.
“Follow me ma’am, chopper’s waiting
for you.” Johnson waved.
“What about the Pelican Corporal?”
Sears stepped off the Pelican and slung a backpack over his shoulder.
“UNSC Perth can’t carry a Pelican.
So a Falcon is the alternative.” Johnson answered.
“Get your gear marines, we’re moving
out.” Frederick
ordered.
“Understood.” Hariprasad nodded.
Once the marines of Fire Team Kilo
got their gear, they quickly hurried behind Frederick. After a couple meters of walking,
a Falcon was docked on a platform with its rotors still spinning steadily.
“Hop on!” Parker shouted over the
roar of the rotors.
Frederick nodded and climbed into the center
seats whilst Parker and Johnson mounted on the side M60 turrets. Sears sat
beside Frederick
while Hariprasad sat directly in front of her.
“Welcome aboard ladies and
gentlemen. I’m Corporal Jeff Daniels.” the pilot chirped on the comms.
“Strap in.” Johnson shouted and gave
a thumbs-up sign to Daniels.
“And we have a go.” Daniels pushed
the throttle forward and the Falcon dusted off the ground majestically.
The hum of the propellers quieted
down as the engines reached its optimal speed. Below the Pelican was a clear
harbor with ships neatly docked at their ports.
“Which one is UNSC Perth?” Frederick pointed at the
boats below them.
“It’s not here Lieutenant. Perth is docked in the Rocky
Bay on Rottnest Island.”
Parker answered and pointed at a distant land mass a couple hundred kilometers
away.
“Carrier? Frigate?” Frederick asked.
“Destroyer class.” Johnson said
proudly.
After a few minutes, the Falcon
descended over a medium ship. The aircraft circled the ship once as Frederick eyed the ship.
On the starboard side, the words “UNSC Perth” were painted on the hull.
“Meet UNSC Perth. Home to Cobra Squad.” Daniels chirped
proudly on the comms as he eyed the ship.
The Falcon landed at a platform at
the rear of the ship and Johnson and Parker quickly got out.
“This way Lieutenant.” Parker waved
as she pointed at the bridge a couple meters away.
“Ok.” Frederick nodded and followed Parker up some
stairs leading to the bridge.
Parker opened the door to the bridge
and a tall man with a beard in his late thirties turned his head from the ship
controls.
“Captain Matthew Blake.” the man
greeted and tipped his officer’s cap.
“Second Lieutenant Jenny Frederick.”
Frederick
saluted.
“Parker, we’re all set?” Blake asked
Parker as she stood motionless next to the bridge door.
“Yes sir we are.” Parker nodded.
“Stewart, release the anchors and
leave this bay.” Blake commanded to a young man sitting at some controls with
markings of a Private First Class.
“Aye Captain.” Stewart acknowledged
by pressing a button on his console.
“Grab a seat Lieutenant, let me give
the instructions to my marines and we’ll talk.” Blake fished out a pair of
binoculars from his utility belt and eyed the horizon.
“Parker, get the controls.” Blake
commanded as the marines from the Falcon entered the bridge.
“Understood.” Parker paced quickly
to the controls.
Frederick grabbed a seat nearby and waved at
Sears and Hariprasad to sit. Blake walked to a printer and read a piece of
paper.
“Stewart, forward throttle to sixty
percent. Parker, turn heading to 270. Johnson, system check on weapons.” Blake
ordered and sat down in a seat centered in the middle of the bridge.
“Accelerating forward.” Stewart
pushed the throttle forward.
“Turning 270.” Parker repeated and
turned the helm right.
“Checking weapons.” Johnson pushed a
series of buttons.
The ship turned and quickly left the
dock as members of Cobra Squad navigated the ship. In a few minutes, the land
of Australia
was no longer in view as the engines reached its speed.
“Weapons are a go, sir.” Johnson
looked at a computer and flashed a thumbs-up.
“Excellent! Ladies and gentlemen, Middle East, here we come.” Blake clapped his hands in
excitement.
“Hell yeah!” Johnson and Stewart
shouted in enthusiasm.
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