The Song of Infinity

Jumpoff Point

The UNSC Infinity

Above planet Callaghan, Gamma Andromeda System

22:30 Hours,

26th of March, 2559, Standard Military Calendar

Some hours prior to FIRST CONTACT

The most sophisticated warship of the United Nations Space Command was never a place that would rest. Deck crew in the hangars checked and double-checked the Infinity's strike and transport craft complement. Beyond the shields keeping the atmosphere inside the ship, the Carrier's escorting fleet was visible. Autumn-class cruisers, a rebuilding of the Halcyon-class based upon the long-destroyed Pillar of Autumn's specifications, floated next to the vessel, about a dozen of them. Beside them, Phoenix-class support ships, the UNSC's standard Colony and Planetary Invasion support craft, hovered, not to mention the five Marathon-class Cruisers and the slew of Frigates and Corvettes.

In the engine room, the maintenance corps and their Engineer/Huragok brethren worked on keeping the vessel's Forerunner-made engines functioning. One of the human engineers called out to his comrades, "There's been some fluctuations in the power output, but they're within acceptable levels!" words overheard by the woman that had 'bolted' the engines onto the ship.

Doctor Catherine E. Halsey was kneeling by a console whose panel she had removed while working on rerouting a certain amount of power toward the engines to stabilize their output for the jump home. She overheard the words from the Engineer and quickly replied calmly, but loudly, "I am aware, engineer Connelly! I am working to solve that issue as we speak... Fluctuations of even a micron could mean catastrophic issues on not-understood technology such as the Forerunners' engines..."

"Just givin' ya the fifteen min report you asked for, doc!" The man replied jovially.

"My thanks!" Halsey quipped, before leaning further into the console to find the sections of wire coupled to the Forerunner engines themselves. There had been a lot of tech that needed to be cross-integrated and made to cohabitate with each-other in order for the ship to so much as move out of one spot, much less be able to utilize the Slipspace capabilities of their modified Slipspace Drive to its fullest.

She shifted a hint, finding a pair of cables and focusing on them. One was loose, the other was too tight, so she worked on undoing the 'damage' quote-unquote, tightening the second while making the first loose enough for both of them to match in feeling. She pulled a cable taut and made sure the two previous conduits were holding tightly in place. She set the cable aside and hummed, then asked, "What about now?"

"It's starting to stabilize, doc! Suggest leaving the rest to the Huragok!" The Engineer called out, then waved at Halsey from the central command console with a smile. Doctor Halsey nodded back to the man, who said a simple, "Thanks for the help!" that Halsey yet again replied to with a simple nod of her head. She turned and grabbed her tools and tablet, fast-marching toward the rear of the engineering deck, where the trams were.

Boarding one of the trams, which was being guarded by UNSC Marines carrying prototype MA40 Assault Rifles, the woman sat herself down and breathed a sigh of relief, before utilizing the cuff of her left sleeve to rub out some black oil from her cheek. She sighed and looked at the two Marines, both of which had balaclavas covering their faces adn tinted glasses, though their BDUs were the usual forest-green that she'd become accustomed to.

She hummed, pulling up her tablet and starting to write out a report pertaining to the engines for Admiral Lasky to read. She hummed, tapping away on the tablet as the tram stopped at another station. More crew from the lower decks boarded, these ones the waste disposal team. The crew, clad in hardhats and hazmat suits, greeted the doctor as they took off their masks, revealing the tired, sweat-stained faces of young men and women that were proudly doing a service scoffed at by so many others.