Post by Mizagium on Feb 4, 2011 22:06:24 GMT -5
On the morning of September 7, 2538, the entire world shakes.
James Raylan feels the quake in his feet, a tiny rumble at first. At nine years old, James knows this is not a natural occurrence. He and the other children he is playing with cease their game of war as the quakes increase in magnitude. Standing upright becomes impossible and they fall to their knees.
“What’s happening?” one child shouts. No noise accompanies the earthquake, but panic and fear cause the children to lose volume control.
Another boy answers, “Earthquake!”
But James knows that can’t be right. They were on the East Coast of North America; earthquakes this strong never hit here. Something is wrong; he feels it deep within him. He and his friends wait out the quakes in silence. When they finally stop, they tentatively get to their feet. James’ body still trembles with shock. As one, the four boys and three girls share a look and run home.
He throws open the front door and runs to his parents, having sprinted the entire way back. “Dad…” he pants. “Mom… what’s going on? What happened?”
“We’re not sure, honey.” His mom encloses him in a reassuring embrace. “Your father was just about to turn on the news.”
“…source of the worldwide earthquake appears to have originated in central Antarctica.” A satellite map of the world appears in the corner of the screen, over the shoulder of the news anchor. “It…it appears as though Antarctica has v-vanished off the face of the world.” She looks shaken, but continues.
James clutches tighter to his mother. His father gathers them both to him, his strength failing to put James’ mind at ease like it usually does. “It’s going to be ok,” he tells them. James wants to believe it.
The female anchor is handed a sheet of paper from off-screen and reads it aloud. “The United Nations has just released an official statement.” James can see the color as it drains from her face. “The…incident has been ruled an attack by the Covenant Empire.”
“They got that out awfully fast,” his mother remarks, a note of skepticism in her voice.
“Who else could it be?” his father asks. It only occurs to him later that he had spoken sarcastically. “Them or the Protoss, but they aren’t actively hunting us down. Unless – “
“No! The Zerg? Here, on Earth?”
“I’m just saying that it’s a possibility.” The screen had shifted from the news anchor to the President of the United Earth Government making an impromptu speech from the old United Nations building. James didn’t really pay attention, but he did hear the President promising to step up the war effort, and that this attack would not go unpunished. He urged the people to remain calm. The situation was being dealt with in the most appropriate manner. No Covenant fleet was detected within light-years of Earth, so it was safe to carry on their daily activities. He promised the UNSC would respond with force, and thanked the people for their cooperation. When the scene shifts back to the newsroom, James’ father tells him to go back out and play.
James shuts the front door behind him, but remains. Inside, he hears his parents speaking in hushed tones.
“How can the Covenant have found us?” his mother hisses.
“It doesn’t make sense; no Covenant fleets within light-years from Earth. Reach didn’t even detect anything.”
“Don’t their ships have better slipspace engines?”
“Not even Covenant slipspace engines leave no trail.”
“So…what?”
“It’ll be enough to keep the masses from panicking, but it’s fishy. Maybe it really is a Covenant weapon after all. I don’t know. Let’s not tell James, though. He needs to feel safe.”
After a moment, his mother responds. “Right. Ok.”
In even lower tones, so low James almost doesn’t hear them, his father asks, “But why wouldn’t they warn us about the flooding?”
-
Trying to evacuate the East Coast proves to be more difficult that anyone could have predicted. Within hours of the President’s speech, James and his parents are taking the highway from their home in Maryland and headed westward. His mother’s family lives out in the Midwest. Oklahoma of one of those places; he doesn’t remember. But they don’t get more than a few miles before traffic comes to a dead stop.
In the front seat, his parents argue. They should have flown, his mother says. His father reminds her how expensive tickets are these days; it’s cheaper to drive. Besides, he checked the available listings; the first open seat would not be for weeks, and by then it would be too late. Too late for what, James asks. Nothing.
After sitting awhile, his father gets out and walks forward through the traffic. Minutes later, he returns. “It’s a dead stop all the way up. No one’s moving for miles. People are getting out and walking around.”
His mother reaches over and kills the ignition. “Might as well; I’m awfully cramped. Come on James. Let’s get out and stretch.”
He does so and quickly meets up with some of his friends, whose families are also fleeing the coast. They quickly resume their war games, now with vehicles as cover and obstacles. The adults congregate in the center of the road.
“Do you think it really was the Covenant?” one parent asks the group.
“Of course,” his wife responds. “What else would it be?”
“Some sort of test,” another man declares. “You know how secretive ONI is. They only just confirmed the existence of the SPARTAN program.”
“You think ONI blew up Antarctica?” the first wife accuses.
“Well, not exactly. I just – “
“Look,” James’ father interrupts. “Obviously the government isn’t going to destroy a continent on one of its own planets. That’s just stupid and illogical. Obviously something extraterrestrial did it.”
“But not necessarily the Covenant?”
Ever the peacemaker, his father continued. “Just because that’s what they said doesn’t make it the truth. It’s only been a few hours. Their statement might change tomorrow.”
“Well what else - ?” The woman’s question is interrupted by an explosion up ahead. Then another, and another. Everyone dives for the ground as the smoke and debris rains down on them.
James and his friends had wandered off the side of the road onto the grasslands along the side of the highway. They witness the explosions from a distance and can see that the highway is now blocked by a wall of flaming vehicles. For the second time that day, the children run hoem to their parents in fear.
“James! James! Where are you?” His mother shouts at the top of her lungs, inviting the thick smoke, which induces a coughing fit. Her words and coughs are lost in the chaos of car alarms and parents all shouting for their kids. James’ father find his wife in the haze and pulls her to him.
“As long as he was away from the explosions, he’s fine,” he tries to assure her, but she doesn’t hear him.
“James! James!”
Carefully keeping her from running off, he tries to locate the side of the road in the smoke, but it unable to do so. Instead they run into another set of parents; James plays with their son and daughter all the time.
“Have you see the kids?”
“We saw they go off into the fields,” the other woman responds.
“Then they should be safe.”
“We think so. We were about to go find them. We should go together.”
“Who did this?” is the question the other man asks; it is the same one who believed ONI was responsible for the impact. “The damn Insurrectionists? Don’t they have better things to do than terrorize other humans?”
Jame’s father begins to argue. “I don’t – “ but that is when the vehicle behind them explodes.
James finds his parents minutes later, sprawled across the asphalt. His father is face-down, his back torn apart with his spine visible through the blood and torn clothing. His mother lies a few feet away, her right arm completely gone. She stares up at the sky, eyes unseeing. At once James knows that they are dead. Still, he goes to his mother and looks into her eyes.
They quiver and find his own. She smiles. She reached up with her right hand to touch his face, but there is no hand.
“James,” she whispers.
-
Peregrine-054 awoke from the dream with something approaching nostalgia He hadn’t thought of his parents’ deaths in many years, and it disturbed him that such a painful memory would surface now. Yes, he decided, a memory. Not a dream. Too vivid for a dream. In his seat, he stretched as best he could, feeling every vertebrae pop along his spine, as he arched his back, which was only possible because of the artificial gravity of the ship. ONI refused to disclose exactly how they generated it; he suspected stolen Covenant technology.
He felt a strange tingling sensation, which signaled the UNSC Along the Watchtower had left slipspace and returned to realspace. Peregrine activated the comlink in his helmet and connected it to the external cameras of the ship. In his HUD, he watched the planet grow larger and larger, and grinned, his dream forgotten.
An ASSASSIN was coming to Reach.
forums.spacebattles.com/showthread.php?t=182529
James Raylan feels the quake in his feet, a tiny rumble at first. At nine years old, James knows this is not a natural occurrence. He and the other children he is playing with cease their game of war as the quakes increase in magnitude. Standing upright becomes impossible and they fall to their knees.
“What’s happening?” one child shouts. No noise accompanies the earthquake, but panic and fear cause the children to lose volume control.
Another boy answers, “Earthquake!”
But James knows that can’t be right. They were on the East Coast of North America; earthquakes this strong never hit here. Something is wrong; he feels it deep within him. He and his friends wait out the quakes in silence. When they finally stop, they tentatively get to their feet. James’ body still trembles with shock. As one, the four boys and three girls share a look and run home.
He throws open the front door and runs to his parents, having sprinted the entire way back. “Dad…” he pants. “Mom… what’s going on? What happened?”
“We’re not sure, honey.” His mom encloses him in a reassuring embrace. “Your father was just about to turn on the news.”
“…source of the worldwide earthquake appears to have originated in central Antarctica.” A satellite map of the world appears in the corner of the screen, over the shoulder of the news anchor. “It…it appears as though Antarctica has v-vanished off the face of the world.” She looks shaken, but continues.
James clutches tighter to his mother. His father gathers them both to him, his strength failing to put James’ mind at ease like it usually does. “It’s going to be ok,” he tells them. James wants to believe it.
The female anchor is handed a sheet of paper from off-screen and reads it aloud. “The United Nations has just released an official statement.” James can see the color as it drains from her face. “The…incident has been ruled an attack by the Covenant Empire.”
“They got that out awfully fast,” his mother remarks, a note of skepticism in her voice.
“Who else could it be?” his father asks. It only occurs to him later that he had spoken sarcastically. “Them or the Protoss, but they aren’t actively hunting us down. Unless – “
“No! The Zerg? Here, on Earth?”
“I’m just saying that it’s a possibility.” The screen had shifted from the news anchor to the President of the United Earth Government making an impromptu speech from the old United Nations building. James didn’t really pay attention, but he did hear the President promising to step up the war effort, and that this attack would not go unpunished. He urged the people to remain calm. The situation was being dealt with in the most appropriate manner. No Covenant fleet was detected within light-years of Earth, so it was safe to carry on their daily activities. He promised the UNSC would respond with force, and thanked the people for their cooperation. When the scene shifts back to the newsroom, James’ father tells him to go back out and play.
James shuts the front door behind him, but remains. Inside, he hears his parents speaking in hushed tones.
“How can the Covenant have found us?” his mother hisses.
“It doesn’t make sense; no Covenant fleets within light-years from Earth. Reach didn’t even detect anything.”
“Don’t their ships have better slipspace engines?”
“Not even Covenant slipspace engines leave no trail.”
“So…what?”
“It’ll be enough to keep the masses from panicking, but it’s fishy. Maybe it really is a Covenant weapon after all. I don’t know. Let’s not tell James, though. He needs to feel safe.”
After a moment, his mother responds. “Right. Ok.”
In even lower tones, so low James almost doesn’t hear them, his father asks, “But why wouldn’t they warn us about the flooding?”
-
Trying to evacuate the East Coast proves to be more difficult that anyone could have predicted. Within hours of the President’s speech, James and his parents are taking the highway from their home in Maryland and headed westward. His mother’s family lives out in the Midwest. Oklahoma of one of those places; he doesn’t remember. But they don’t get more than a few miles before traffic comes to a dead stop.
In the front seat, his parents argue. They should have flown, his mother says. His father reminds her how expensive tickets are these days; it’s cheaper to drive. Besides, he checked the available listings; the first open seat would not be for weeks, and by then it would be too late. Too late for what, James asks. Nothing.
After sitting awhile, his father gets out and walks forward through the traffic. Minutes later, he returns. “It’s a dead stop all the way up. No one’s moving for miles. People are getting out and walking around.”
His mother reaches over and kills the ignition. “Might as well; I’m awfully cramped. Come on James. Let’s get out and stretch.”
He does so and quickly meets up with some of his friends, whose families are also fleeing the coast. They quickly resume their war games, now with vehicles as cover and obstacles. The adults congregate in the center of the road.
“Do you think it really was the Covenant?” one parent asks the group.
“Of course,” his wife responds. “What else would it be?”
“Some sort of test,” another man declares. “You know how secretive ONI is. They only just confirmed the existence of the SPARTAN program.”
“You think ONI blew up Antarctica?” the first wife accuses.
“Well, not exactly. I just – “
“Look,” James’ father interrupts. “Obviously the government isn’t going to destroy a continent on one of its own planets. That’s just stupid and illogical. Obviously something extraterrestrial did it.”
“But not necessarily the Covenant?”
Ever the peacemaker, his father continued. “Just because that’s what they said doesn’t make it the truth. It’s only been a few hours. Their statement might change tomorrow.”
“Well what else - ?” The woman’s question is interrupted by an explosion up ahead. Then another, and another. Everyone dives for the ground as the smoke and debris rains down on them.
James and his friends had wandered off the side of the road onto the grasslands along the side of the highway. They witness the explosions from a distance and can see that the highway is now blocked by a wall of flaming vehicles. For the second time that day, the children run hoem to their parents in fear.
“James! James! Where are you?” His mother shouts at the top of her lungs, inviting the thick smoke, which induces a coughing fit. Her words and coughs are lost in the chaos of car alarms and parents all shouting for their kids. James’ father find his wife in the haze and pulls her to him.
“As long as he was away from the explosions, he’s fine,” he tries to assure her, but she doesn’t hear him.
“James! James!”
Carefully keeping her from running off, he tries to locate the side of the road in the smoke, but it unable to do so. Instead they run into another set of parents; James plays with their son and daughter all the time.
“Have you see the kids?”
“We saw they go off into the fields,” the other woman responds.
“Then they should be safe.”
“We think so. We were about to go find them. We should go together.”
“Who did this?” is the question the other man asks; it is the same one who believed ONI was responsible for the impact. “The damn Insurrectionists? Don’t they have better things to do than terrorize other humans?”
Jame’s father begins to argue. “I don’t – “ but that is when the vehicle behind them explodes.
James finds his parents minutes later, sprawled across the asphalt. His father is face-down, his back torn apart with his spine visible through the blood and torn clothing. His mother lies a few feet away, her right arm completely gone. She stares up at the sky, eyes unseeing. At once James knows that they are dead. Still, he goes to his mother and looks into her eyes.
They quiver and find his own. She smiles. She reached up with her right hand to touch his face, but there is no hand.
“James,” she whispers.
-
Peregrine-054 awoke from the dream with something approaching nostalgia He hadn’t thought of his parents’ deaths in many years, and it disturbed him that such a painful memory would surface now. Yes, he decided, a memory. Not a dream. Too vivid for a dream. In his seat, he stretched as best he could, feeling every vertebrae pop along his spine, as he arched his back, which was only possible because of the artificial gravity of the ship. ONI refused to disclose exactly how they generated it; he suspected stolen Covenant technology.
He felt a strange tingling sensation, which signaled the UNSC Along the Watchtower had left slipspace and returned to realspace. Peregrine activated the comlink in his helmet and connected it to the external cameras of the ship. In his HUD, he watched the planet grow larger and larger, and grinned, his dream forgotten.
An ASSASSIN was coming to Reach.
forums.spacebattles.com/showthread.php?t=182529
