Halo: And The Horse You Rode In On

by Barrobroadcaster

Not Clear Enough

"You broke the Cole Protocol!"

"Sir, I-"

"I don't want to hear it Chase! You put Earth in jeopardy! Have you lost your mind?!", the room seemed to shake as the Admiral shouted the words.

Captain Christopher Chase didn't say anything but lowered his eyes down to the floor. One coordinate off... one simple set of navigational codes, one location in time and space he should've jumped to and he would've fulfilled the Cole Protocol's article on protecting the location of Earth. The item he found, the thing that caused all of this, sat on Admiral Toby Daniels's desk in a small brown cloth bag. A small Forerunner data crystal he'd found lodged in the hull of his ship when he was running a routine inspection after the battle for the Ark only a month ago.

"The Cole Protocol is clear. You make no less than SIX random jumps BEFORE returning to UNSC space." Admiral Daniels recited the regulation.

"Have you... read my report sir?" Chase asked, attempting to change the subject.

"I have. I don't care what kind of Slipspace-based BS you THOUGHT you saw, no one else saw it and the A.I didn't record it. You're the only one who saw this "other world" in slipspace."

"Sir... with all due respect, the Cole Protocol's articles never covered the possibility of the war ending."

"That's because the war isn't going to end Chase."

Chase looked up at the answer and furrowed a brow. "I'm sorry sir, I'm not following."

"The UNSC will always be fighting something Chris. Innies, Covies, aliens, Flood, Forerunners, itself. The Cole Protocol is permenant. At least until they find out how to move planets. And when they do, we're all out of a job."

Captain Chase didn't understand. No end to the war? No end to the violence? Just year after year of conflict? He never felt more exhausted. The war against the Covenant had ended one month ago. Humanity had survived, 'weathered the storm' as Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood had said. Chase had been looking forward to retirement and lifelong recognition as a hero and one of the VERY few people who fought and survived the Human-Covenant War. Now those possibilities he'd long anticpated seemed to evaporate into thin air.

"You know what ONI has advised we do about this?" Admiral Daniels asked with a knowing look.

"No sir." Chase birstled at the mentioning of the Office of Naval Intelligence. The dark and mysterious spy service that had provided the UNSC's intel was well known for their ethically questionable methods and practices, not to mention experimentations and secret projects that Chase would rather forget. Many of their operations had been successful, at high costs. Their orders and evaluations carried as much weight as the Admiralty Board, only at least the Admirals were sympathetic and clear when they wanted something.

"They're actually divided on how to proceed. Section One recommends the typical psyche eval and then you be executed as an example. Section Two is recommending a psyche eval and an autopsy and Section Three is willing to accept you as a candidate for their new test pilot program. The first fighters that will fly through Slipsace I hear."

The image of himself being strapped to a missle and being launched into Slipspace forced its way into Chase's mind. His heart started racing and his palms became sweaty as he pictured himself being subjected to ONI's research. Slipspace was another dimension in between the plane they knew of as 'reality'. Traveling faster than light would be impossible if not for Shaw-Fujikawa Slipsace drives that allowed ships to tunnel into this dimension and 'slip' between space to cover vast distances quickly. This realm of space was mysterious though; prone to anamolies, not bound by the 'normal' laws of physics, accidents and strange happenings were not uncommon. But Chase had never seen anything like he saw on the last jump before, the one caused by the Forerunner data crystal on Admiral Daniels' desk. Unfortunately, he'd also been the only one to see it.

"Did anyone have a chance to examine what was on the crystal sir?", Chase asked.

"It's empty. Whatever was on it was wiped out long ago. We've seen similar Forerunner crystals and they have caused some amount of strangeness in Slipspace. But since we're on the subject, if you did see this... "magical world of colorful ponies"... in Slipspace, why would you make another jump without so much as a second opinion? If you noticed this 'anamoly' as you claim, you shouldn't have made a jump at all until you'd found out what caused it. Instead, you thought this information was so important that you skipped your last jump and instead headed DIRECTLY to Earth and put the last bastion of hope for our species to survive at risk." The Admiral said, quoting Chase's report.

"I'm sorry sir. I thought the discovery was vital." Chase said, staring straight ahead at the wall. The discovery of another dimension was vital. If humanity knew it wasn't confined to this galaxy, it could change things, maybe even stop this cycle of conflict. Maybe... maybe if could prove that what he'd seen was real, he could set things right. Or at least avoid getting experimented on by over-eager ONI spooks.

"It makes no difference now. Keep it as a souvenir. Now, onto business." Admiral Daniels said as he handed Chase the crystal in the cloth bag. "Because of this incident, the Admiralty doesn't think you're fit to captain a ship of war at this time. Fortunately for you, we don't have enough experienced sailors to be choosy so your 'fun' with ONI will have to be postponed.", the Admiral said.

Postponed? What did that mean? Was the UNSC really that bad off? Regardless, he was happy that at least for now he wasn't going to be shipped off to ONI. The admiral pulled out a small holographic display from his desk and set it before Chase.

"You're being reassigned Chase. This is your new boat. You'll be taking orders from me from now on.", the Admiral leaned back in his chair.

Chase looked at the display. He'd never seen a ship like it before, not a good sign he thought. "Season's Change, a refitted and customized Relay-class medium cruiser. She's a bit older but she'll get the job done. You take command of her immediately. Crew has already been handpicked by me and you'll be taken her out for shakedown tomorrow." The Admiral said, switching off the display.

"Will that be all sir?" Chase asked, looking up.

"One more thing. Your first order of business is to read this. Your flight orders are in there too." The Admiral handed him a copy of the Cole Protocol. "Admiralty's demanded you make sure you understand the rules this time. Remember this incident Chase. The UNSC doesn't do second chances. We clear?"

"Crystal sir." Chase said with a blank look on his face. He swallowed hard.

"Dismissed."

Chase walked out of the Admiral's office. He was surprised. He was still captain of a ship, not his old command but a boat none the less. If only he could prove what he saw was true, maybe he could get his old command back or at least avoid any contact with ONI. He clutched the crystal in his pocket. Maybe if he took this new ship into Slipspace...

Author's Note:

I had no intention for this chapter to be exactly 1,337 words long but now that it does I'm not changing it because I find it too funny and also as possibly a sign that I'm meant to further spoof the Halo universe. My inner Mel Brooks is grinning with delight.

Comments

[The Well Dressed Ninja]

Interrrrresssssting... Continue.

[The Tainted One]

Seems pretty cool. Watching.

[Waterpicker]

Interesting. I could actually see adding a benovelent civilization into the mix. In the halo universe humanity's true contacts are with itself, the covenant and the remaining fragments of the forerunner miltary. They have yet to meet anything peaceful like Equestria.