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11/9/2012 1:19:36 AM
64
The Man Who Sang to the Stars
[May 2ND, 2554, Earth, Norfolk UNSC Naval Academy]
Major Eric "Smooth" O'Kife just finished teaching these young naval cadets on photographic intelligence. They were eager young minds who had been taking his Introduction to Electronic Surveillance 101.
This course educates the student on devices from a lapel cam to Drones. Useful applications in collecting intelligence and how to gather useful nuggets of intelligence.
Students filed out of the class room as the class was concluded for today.
Clearing up his notes on his holo display at his desk. He looked up to see Samantha Bright one of his top students." Sir that was quite informative today. I learned a great deal about how even with the best equipment it still comes down to the human factor."
Eric smiled at the young woman who was a lovely young brunette. " I related it back to World War Two when they did not have computers yet were able to get air recon over targets. In those days a pilot had to fly a mission to take the pictures. Later it developed into spy planes that were useful in the Cuban Missile Crisis and Even During the Vietnam Conflict. If you look it up you can find out how we got to drones and satellites but yes there is still a human factor in this."
Samantha shook her head yes at him. Excitement in her voice." I shall look that up sir. Thank you." She curtly left his classroom as he returned to clearing up his notes.
Stepping out of the class room he ran into the Commandant of the Academy. Who was making his rounds. He stopped to chat with Eric for a moment." Major i am glad i ran into you. I hope you have been treated well. Navy is not used to seeing Air Force personnel but you come highly recommended. The Covenant War has left us short handed."
Eric simply nodded at the true statement having lost too many good friends to the Alien Menace that was thankfully over." I am glad to be here sir. I accepted due to the fact my experience might rub off on these young minds. I accepted this position due to shortages all over and it i am proud to help out." This Made the Commandant smile.
" Good..good" Patting Eric on the shoulder." We should have a drink in the next staff meeting. I need to take care of a few things but we desperately need ten more of you but i will take what i can get so we can get these cadets graduated. Tell you more later keep up the good work." Patting Eric once again on the shoulder the Commandant walked on down the hall.
Exiting the building Eric did seem a bit out of place but his record shows he was willing to work with any one who worked with him. He headed back to his officer billet. It was a single house on a simple street. Military housing still was on the base yet he knew he would have to do "Paperwork" from his terminal inside.
He got into his car driveing off looking at the main building and its parade ground. Not to mention it's wet navy docks. Seamen have trained here for many years. He left the parking lot heading home.
After parking his car Eric entering his house. His loyal companion was a six month old Golden Retriever named George. Who bounded over to give him puppy kisses when he bent down to pet the dog. Passing his small Living room that lead to his kitchen he sat down opening his computer interface then petting George who was so happy to see him.
Giving George his favorite bone the dog happily chewed on it. Eric turned to do a few hours of work. He created a lesson plan for next week. George waged his tail before whimpering he was hungry.
Eric stood up feeding his loyal companion in his small kitchen. Giving George a pat on the head Eric looked outside to see that night had fallen.
Walking over to a worn guitar case. He took out his guitar from a case that was sitting on a couch. It had a blue finish yet was a familiar brand. Grabbing a few beers he headed out back. Carrying the instrument into his back yard,Plugging in his guitar to his set up.
It was a clear night with the stars shining bright. He left the sliding glass door open for George to come out if he wanted. Sitting down on a pre placed chair Eric began to play the blues.
It seemed as if time melted everything away. Even the crisp night air did not bother him. Twenty years of war faded from mind as he sang to the stars.
[Edited on 11.08.2012 5:29 PM PST]
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[ 0824 hrs October 26Th 2525, Waycrest,Eden] Eric stood waiting for Doc Winters to patch up L.Corporal Dupree as he did it felt as if he finally found a home. Some had simply ignored him till the mission was completed. Lieutenant Commander Hernandez did not do that. Every team member was vital. Each of them were different. A Spartan II who he seemed to be making fast friends with. Her first purchase at the ship commissary was a magnetic chess set. Dupree also amazed him with a dog who could read sign language Or Casanovas skill with a sniper rifle. Each of them were different yet he did not feel as if the team members felt threatened by him being on the team. " Hellhound i forgot to mention two more objective updates. I had little time when Lieutenant Cortez gave me the two drives." He mentioned to L.C. Hernandez who looked over as did Gunny. "Spit it out Smooth." Gunny said with a whimsical harsh voice. " Right Loud. First i lost a drone during the fighting. Not sure what happened. As for the objectives Lieutenant Cortez told me of two project leaders who are most likely in ONI safe rooms." Lieutenant Commander Hernandez was quiet for a moment with this then spoke." What else did she say ?" Clearing his voice Eric repeated what Cortez said about him" She has your back no matter what you think of ONI. That she cares for you still." " You can make up when we get back Hellhound. We need to move out of here. Fierce is nearly patched up. If i die out here i will never hear the end of it from my Wife." Gunny patted L.C. On the shoulder who did smile a bit. " Right Loud. Listen up. We go inside check those corners. We are about to get tactical. Dupree you stay with Doc. Check our six." Hernandez waved a hand inside. "We pair up. Call out any targets. Mean you are with me." Sgt. Green entered with L.C. Hernandez who went quiet. Every one started moving inside. Liz paired up with him they stepped inside Waycrest Academy's doors. It was filled with body's. Liz Knelt down looking at one." They died before they could run. This one was cut by something." Eric looked at the body she was speaking about bringing up his Thermals. Gunny with Casanova entered seeing the carnage." Fun house of horror they left us. Smooth move up to Hellhound." All four of them moved up as Lieutenant Commander was looking over the bodies. " They never had a chance. Herded in here then cut down. No place to run." Eric looked around a bit more. Information booth it used to be. The dead lay all over. Some missing limbs. The old the young. Teachers and students lay in heaps. Most of all it was deathly quiet like a morgue. This senseless slaughter would haunt all of them. Winters with Dupree came up behind. Delta limped on one paw as his master was half carried inside. " Hellhound we need to find those survivors. They might give us a better idea of what we are dealing with. Also some one might be able to open the objective." Every one snapped out of the shock yet there was a lingering feeling of dread. " Right. You have the coordinates ?." Eric put up a blue carrot selecting the location on the map. On the teams HUD it was one hundred six meters away." That should lead us to them." Every one clicked on flashlights going into NV mode. " Take it slow people." They moved up in twos covering each other in the once gracefully designed Waycrest Academy. It had two levels. It was the size of a football stadium. This main campus had some fountains with plants and padded benches. Vending machines stood at strategic points. Stairs lead up in a figure eight like design. It had been a lovely school before this. Only his foot falls could be herd besides his teams. It felt strange to be alone in this tomb. Eric had been on a few missions. Nothing prepared him for this. Yet when he got back first thing to forget this was a few songs. He understood why so many soldiers did not speak about there experiences at times. He was never trained for this yet he did have eight brave souls who were plunging into the darkness. If they had been alone it would have cracked the most seasoned veteran. As it was they were barely holding together. They headed towards the safe room signaling each other along the way. Hand signs were used to keep it all stealthy. When it was quiet like this sound traveled far so noise discipline was needed. Well good thing no one felt threatened by his skill set. Some would get all macho on Eric then try to insult him."Tech Weenie" Or his personal favorite "Robolove Slave." He was impressed with every one Else's skills feeling a little more specialized. Few could do what he did. Busting his ass off to get in shape. Training with the Security Police Tactical Response Unit. Many thought he was some desk jokey who thought he knew what he was doing. They find out quick he is not what they expected. He has come so far yet had so much to learn. Yet the blues were that outlet that gave him peace of mind. That made him feel as a person again not some toy soldier. Pushing back these dark thoughts he had faith. Faith that he would play again. That people would enjoy his music. He would in the end see to it that this enemy would fall. His Intel would be accurate as possible. Eric failed these people. Approaching the ONI Safe house door it looked like another wall. Eric looked for a hidden panel while the others covered him. Green pointed to a square that looked different from the rest of the wall." That i think is it." Eric touched it. It slid down to reveal a keypad. Eric got the code from his wrist mounted mini-pad. It opened the false wall. A solid steel door cycled opened. They moved inside keeping weapons low. " Watch our six Doc and Fierce." Eric entered behind the L.C. With Gunny behind him. Liz stood with Winters and Dupree. Entering some sort of common storage area. This Safe Room had food water and medicine. Two doors were here in a T like intersection. One door had a long window with three beds. They opened the next door finding the survivors packed inside. A security officer had his M-6 pointed at them. Every one was scared. " UNSC Navy. You are safe now." Every one was at ease. Security Officer went off to talk to L.C. in private. The survivors filed out of the food storage room. " Dr. Karen Bryce ? Are you here?" A voice said to him as she pushed her way past the mass of exiting people." Yes i am her." The woman was in her late sixties. " Ma'am if you would come with me so my C.O. can speak with you. We are unsure what it is we are picking up. I can say we will get you out of here." He put a hand on her shoulder. " What about the others ?" Dr. Karen Bryce asked with a flat tone. L.C. Hernandez came over with Gunny to see what was going on after finishing with the Security Guard. " They did not make it. I am sorry." Dr. Bryce was in shock. Her face was in horror." I was told to come here. My team and a few i could gather." Eric comforted the woman. " Ma'am i know this might seem harsh but what were you working on ?" She pushed away the arm. " So that's what you are here for! I lost so many friends are they all dead !? What about the rest of the planet ? We came under attack so fast. No one was sure who it was." " Ma'am so far you are the only survivors we found. There might be more. As for who we are working on that but know that these Aliens were responsible." Eric tried to sooth her. " You military types all the same. You did not come here for us you came for the Halsey Fragment." Dr. Bryce showed anger in her eyes. " What is it ?.. We need to secure it then get you off planet with it. Doctor please help us." Eric took off his helmet to show he was sincere. " It is some sort of Alien data module. It was found in some ruins while a survey team was looking for Resources on some planet. It was given to us for research." " I jumped at the opportunity. It was the Rosette stone of alien artifacts. We were able to translate some of it over time." " I named it after my long time friend who sent this my way. This fragment belonged to a long dead alien race that our studies were going to unravel even more. We learned many secrets from it. Yet i now see it has brought doom to this once beautiful world." Dr. Bryce wept at the end. No one moved yet were supportive. After she finished L.C. Moved forward. " Ma'am i am Lieutenant Commander Hernandez of Wolf Pack. I promise you that we will get you off planet. Right now we need to move it so we can get to our second objective. I am sorry for your loss but i can assure you they will be remembered well." " Smooth here will take care of you." L.C. Hernandez patted his shoulder." We will have ODSTs here so i understand the frustration. Its possible enemy forces are moving here so time is short. We need to move these people out for evac." L.C. Moved off to the side contacting [i]Devils Advocate[/i]. Dr. Bryce Stood in shock still." I herd the screams. I am...so..sorry..forgive..me." Dr. Bryce looked ill but crossed her arms hugging her self. she found a wall to rest on. " Delta Able this is Hellhound. We have survivors. Send in the ODSTs for package delivery. Have Pelicans stand by for evac. Echos might return so we are holding here." Captain Night Replied." Copy that Hellhound. Wolf Pack hold position. ODSTs are dropping and Pelicans are on the way. ETA for Pelicans is twenty minutes. Good job finding the survivors. Night out." He felt bad for Dr. Bryce she was sitting in a corner hugging her knees. That long stare he knew well. All her friends gone. Crouching down putting a hand on her shoulder not saying a word. Eric comforted her. Damn this war. [Edited on 12.02.2012 6:12 PM PST]
