Spartan One 005

The launch bay of the UNSC: Mad Cap trembled as it killed her Slipspace engines, and engaged her sunlight drives. Entering the system containing the colonies of Harmony & Troy, she was flanked by six other surviving craft from the failed assault on Klendauthu. 

“All hands, repeat, all hands, battle stations!” A voice rebounded on the intercom, informing the crew. 

Red lights flashed across every deck as the brave men and women who manned this vessel ran into position. Weapons systems were armed, transports were boarded, and pilots-already seated in their birds-went through their last pre-flight checklists before departing. 

Lieutenant Terrence Hood sat in the cockpit of the Pelican, Romeo-247. The cavernous hangar stretched away in every direction, and were a sea of activity. Technicians scattered beneath his dropship, disconnecting fuel lines and removing maintenance braces, acting in a hurry. 

"Romeo-247, begin final launch sequence." A voice said into his earpiece. 

"Copy that, Control." Hood said in a professional tone. 

Consoles flickered to life across the cockpit, bathing his youthful features in cold blue light. Diagnostic reports streamed across his displays. Engine temperatures stabilized. Thruster arrays reported green. Cabin pressure systems were nominal. Weapons safeties disengaged with a series of metallic clicks.

Outside the Mad Cap's starboard side, the blast doors at the far end of the bay began to separate, and the light of the stars flooded the ship. 

For a brief moment, Hood appreciated the grandeur of space, then locked in as he caught sight of distant-yet all too near-explosions. The familiar blue plasma orbs were flying right at them, and the Mad Cap was pushing on all cylinders to evade the oncoming fire. 

Off about a hundred miles hanging in high orbit above Troy were a trio of Space Bugs. Giant leviathans made of chitinous hard shells the size of a football stadium in terms of girth, and about as long as a Halcycon-class cruiser, estimated at about 6,000ft. They were the Arachnid's invasion fleet. One of them was scarred by nuclear fire, yet its tough shell had repelled the worst of the damage. As for the other two, reports indicated that the missiles launched at them had been intercepted by sharp, incredibly fast kinetic spine-projectiles. 

His mission was to enter one of these Space Bugs, and deliver the payload. An attack force of 40 Pelicans had been tasked with this operation. 

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Hood's mouth. Some men feared combat, but this was what he had volunteered for. His family were wealthy ‘nobility’ who practically owned an entire inner colony. He could've remained home, enjoying a young retirement. But that gilded cage wasn't for him. Drawn to public service, he wouldn't be anywhere else. 

The intercom crackled again.

"Romeo-247, you are cleared for departure. Good hunting."

“Good copy.” Hood acknowledged, and then took his bird out to space. 

Massive magnetic clamps released from the Pelican's hull with a deafening thunk, and he revved the engine, making a pair of twin thrusters roar to life. 

The entire craft shuddered, and orange plasma exhaust flooded the launch bay, casting everything in a fiery light.

"Let's go." Hood whispered to himself as his adrenaline surged. Pushing down on the control stick, Romeo-247 surged forward.

The Pelican rolled gracefully onto its attack vector. Below him hung Troy, whilst above him stretched a battlefield illuminated by fire and destruction.

A UNSC frigate drifted nearby, venting atmosphere from a ruptured hull. Beyond it, missile contrails carved brilliant scars through the darkness as it gave everything she had. Alien plasma burned across the void, narrowly missing the Mad Cap by less than a mile. And several return volleys zoomed past the Pelican in response. Spherical explosions expanding in all directions lit the dark void every few seconds. 

Hood pushed the throttle forward, causing the engines to howl, and the bolts of his craft to shudder & shake. His Pelican became a spear aimed directly at the heart of the enemy. 

Lieutenant Terrence Hood squared his shoulders and guided Romeo-247 toward the growing storm of fire. A dense cloud of spikes-each one about the size of a standard terrestrial sedan in length-filled the space directly in front of him. 

Yanking his joystick backward, he pulled above the swarm. At the edge of the debris field, a spike threatened to clip his wing. Seeing that he had no time to dodge, Hood readjusted his course so that he was flying at it head on! 

Squeezing the trigger of his joystick, a stream of rapid cannonfire guzzled out of the Pelican. Meeting the oncoming fire, the spike was knocked off course, and tumbled end over end into the void of space. 

“Hood, what was that?” A concerned voice-Lieutenant Winters-said from within the hold. 

“You worry about delivering the payload, leave the flying to me.” Hood succinctly stated, temporarily muting the channel to focus on the next part. 

A dense swarm of ladybug-looking Arachnids slightly smaller than the Pelican in size were jetting towards him. Moving via some blue plasma coming out of their rear ends, they were similar in function to starfighters. ONI reported that they were deadly up close, and extremely fragile. But their speed was impeccable! 

Forty Pelicans were closing with the enemy. Escorted by 24 Sabre starfighters, about 200 of these Lady-Space Bugs were swarming at them. 

Disengaging the safeties on his missile systems, he tried to get a lock, but the heat signature kept triangulating the area several dozen feet behind the bugs…if he wanted to squash them, he'd have to aim manually.

“Damned ONI.” Hood cursed at the lack of intelligence. 

Taking a deep breath, he began to unload with his cannons to the best of his ability. Taking out one, then three more, the kill counter aboard the Pelican slowly ticked up. He paid it no mind, as his fellow pilots were barely landing any shots.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one Pelican-one that hadn't shot down a single Lady-Space Bug-draw near an Arachnid. It spat out that volatile orange liquid that the Tank Bugs (beetle bugs) were known for, instantly melting its hull. 

Knowing what his fate would be if he didn't thin out the herd, he grit his teeth, and tried to manually aim the missiles at the swarm. 

Six bogeys were flying directly at him. Judging upon the spray distance of that one bug, he estimated that he had one minute before he entered their killzone. 

Squinting one eye, he tilted the Pelican to the ‘left’ and pressed a button. One missile flew away, only for the bug to lift ‘up’ dodging it. Hood grimly smiled, as he had tapped the trigger simultaneously, anticipating this action! The roar of his cannons shredded the bug's thin plating, making it drift uselessly in space. 

Ten seconds had passed, he had 15 missiles left in the tubes, and five more enemies remained. 

Pressing some buttons, he launched 6 missiles at once, and unleashed another burst of cannon fire. Two more bugs died, 30 seconds remaining. 

He did the same thing again, trying to repeat his success…but only killed a single bug! Two were still closing with him, 20 seconds remaining! 

Two missiles left in the pod, Hood hesitated. To break through the massive Space Bugs, it was estimated that explosives would be necessary. The chain cannon wouldn't be enough. 

With a heavy heart, he decided to save Troy…he would empty his payload onto these insects, and if they somehow survived, he would then ram the Pelican into one of the Space Bugs. Even if it wouldn't be destroyed, the nuclear warhead onboard was sure to do some damage. 

Just as Hood had made his decision, the back hatch linking the crew compartment to the cargo hold opened up. 

“Winters, what are you doing here?” Hood said in a tight tone. 

He had gained respect for the maverick for what he did on Klendauthu, but this was a war for Humanity. A distraction now, with less than 20 seconds remaining was highly unprofessional, and could make their sacrifice meaningless. 

“Don't get any drastic thoughts.” Winters wryly smiled, tapping the side of his own head. 

The man dressed in all black then held out his hand, and concentrated. Five seconds later, a blue-white orb emerged outside in space, directly in front of one of the Lady-Space Bugs. It curled up, and began to tumble before dying. 

“Take care of the last one.” Winters reminded. 

Without missing a beat, Hood launched both his missiles, and pulled the trigger. It was a hit, resulting in a beautiful explosion. 

Hood pursed his lips, unhappy at Winters’ unauthorized action, yet unable to criticize the results. 

“We no longer have the capability to puncture one of the Space Bug's sphincters.” Hood steadily said, gesturing towards one of the many organic ports the Arachnid used to send off ‘drop pod-like’ spores or Lady-Space Bugs. 

“You leave that to me.” Winters said, flicking a white-blue light between his fingers. “Besides, since you're part of my squad for this mission, I guarantee your cannon will do just fine.” 

“You're a strange man, Winters.” Hood eventually bit out as he piloted the Pelican past the swarm. 

Only 13 other Pelicans made it past the oncoming wave of enemy ‘starfighters’ joining them in the final approach. 

Winters lightly chuckled. 

“I'm just doing my part, Hood.” 

Hood rolled his eyes at the cheesy line that was popular throughout FedNet news clips…but at least Winters was no coward. 

Before long, the Spartan unleashed his psychic ability once more, this time, it was directed at a prominently placed sphincter. The Space Bug violently twitched all over, and an invisible wave of pain seemed to invade Hood's consciousness. 

As heir to a fortune, he had been trained by the best teachers that money could buy. He had been taught to resist psychic probing, but this was enough to make him blackout for one second. Blood dripped down one nostril, and he felt weak in the knees. 

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw Winters standing there, composed and stoic despite the backlash. A spark of admiration took hold in Hood's heart, before it was quashed. 

“Shoot the cannon.” Winters commanded. 

Hood unconsciously complied, and the sphincter-a structure that was barely damaged by nuclear fire on that other Space Bug-came apart as easily as wet toilet paper dissipating under a rainstorm. 

Taking a deep look at the Spartan, he radioed in:

“This is Romeo-247, repeat, Romeo-247, we are about to enter Space Bug 1. Repeat, we are about to enter Space Bug 1, over.” 

“Godspeed, Romeo-247. Control out, over.” 

“Well, Hood, keep the engines warm. I know the debriefing said this was a suicide mission, but I like my odds.” Winters confidently stated, clapped him on the shoulder, and then turned back to the cargo hold. 

“Don't track any of that bug juice onto my deck when you return, you hear me, Winters?” Hood said at the Spartan's back. 

Winters replied with a backwards middle finger, not bothering to verbally reply. 

“Bastard.” Hood muttered. Yet the feral grin couldn't be wiped off his face. “Come back in one piece, Spartan. We need men like you.” 

Taking a deep breath, he turned on the searchlights of the Pelican as it entered a cavernous, pulsing room full of dripping green ichor. Vapor covered his windshield, and the specs of the Pelican detected a breathable, wet atmosphere. The temperature & environment inside this Space Bug was like what one might find inside a steam-filled sauna. 

Blasting apart several Warrior Bugs, the Pelican touched down. The 13 others also landed, dumping about 200 Mobile Infantrymen. Carrying a nuclear warhead between four men, the payload had arrived. 

Hood prayed it was enough. 

~~~~~~

AN: June's 2026 Schedule: 

Week 1 Jedi Insurgency + Spartan One

Week 2 Jedi Insurgency + Artisan

Week 3 Jedi Insurgency + Lightside Sith

Week 4 Jedi Insurgency