ARES:Gods of War

Recommissioned Part 1

Kelly and the Marines were sat aboard the tram they'd arrived with. She'd given a quick call to Andersen to report the situation. To say the man was happy that they dealt with any possible threats like the Flood was an understatement, but the man clearly didn't understand the full gravity of the situation. Kelly thought as much, at least, as she looked at the chip in her hand. The crystalline item reflected light, though weirdly, thanks to the multitude of connection ports and micro-circuits that contained her helmet camera's footage.

She sighed, stowed it in a pouch, then said to the group, "We're gonna have one hell of a day ahead of us if it's Flood again, because I doubt Cinder had any idea about it..." before pausing as a six-note tune played in her ears. She furrowed her brows and stood up as she saw them approaching the Ark, then turned toward the Marines as the men reloaded their weapons.

Johnson and the others joined her at the front, Bisenti leaning his MA5 on his shoulder, while Mendoza and Jenkins stared. As they saw themselves cresting over a bump in the road, they could see the destroyed skyscrapers poking out. A massive hole through which sunlight poured in was, in truth, what they saw first. Then, it was the destroyed skyscrapers. Finally, however, black battleplate greeted them.

Kelly gasped, taking her helmet off and leaning against the tram's console, mouth agape and eyes wide. Johnson's cigar fell from between his lips as he saw her, sat in the burning sunshine, her Titanium Alloy marked by plasma strikes, meteorite hits and even slight damage from other forms of combat. The Mayday Signal suddenly became all the more clear now.

"This is UNSC AI ISA Thirteen Oh-Seven Dash Two, aboard the UNSC Spirit of Fire. We have engaged unknown hostiles over Earth and are currently planetside, requesting EVAC. Coordinates attached. This message will now repeat... Mayday, mayday, this is UNSC AI ISA Thirteen Oh-Seven Dash Two, aboard the UNSC..." Spirit of Fire. They almost couldn't believe their eyes as they stared at the starship.

Her engines bore signs of heavy damage, but her weaponry and most of her armor seemed intact, as did the lower decks and the observation deck, which hanged off the side of the platform the Ark had been built upon. Automated turrets mounted to the top of the vessel seemed to be tracking any oncoming unknowns that could be considered hostile, weapons systems actively scanning the area.

"Jesus H. Christ," Johnson murmured, "The Old Girl..."

"Holy shit..." Jenkins grinned. Kelly, however, was speechless. The damned Spirit of Fire was their mayday. A Phoenix-class refit support vessel, seemingly almost fully intact, save for its engine bay. The closer they got to the place, the more they saw that it'd been damaged beyond any possible repair. She wouldn't be flying again without orbital tugs and a shipyard to repair her.

In the meanwhile, though, Kelly thought they needed to get there. No, no, first things first, she began transmitting and spoke with urgency, "ISA Thirteen Oh-Seven Dash Two, this is BLUE Team, Petty Officer Kelly-087 answering mayday with Charlie Platoon, UNSC Marine Corps. Do you copy, over?" waiting to see any sign of activity aside from the turrets firing away.

"We'd have felt her hit the ground from this far," Johnson murmured, "She must've been here a while," before activating frequencies for the Marine Corps that they'd used in the decades when the Spirit would've been operating. He activated the radio and spoke, "Any Marines of the Spirit, this is Sergeant-Major Avery Johnson, transmittin' on all friendly 'Nets. You boys walkin', or do you want us to come wake you up from your naps?"

A momentary silence caused the group to wait with bated breaths for any signs from the ship or its crew. It wasn't a long wait, then, when the ship's systems seemed to immediately power on. The lights of the bridge and observation deck activated in a row just as the transport tram reached the station. The Marines and Kelly scrambled off the deck and onto the road, watching as the vessel powered on. Its main defensive batteries activated as well, though they weren't tracking them.