14 Update/'Echo From the Future'
Yo it's ya boi memes dropping a red hot update and a little surprise.
So first as everyone can probably already see Star Wars won out, so that is what will be coming in the near future. (Sorry DBZ fans, if I manage to fuck this one up we'll go with plan B). Now as for news on the fic itself, I can say that I have a good idea of how I want the story to go (I have no idea what will be the conclusion of it as of yet, but I do know how this one will end). I'd say I have a good three arcs already planned out, I'll drop some details of the actual story below to at least get you interested. I will probably release the fic with at least 5 chapters to begin with so everyone can get a grasp of what I will be writing like (besides this fic).
Anyway some details of the Star Wars fic:
-The force will be different (Specifically, the 'will' and how it basically rigs the future through fate bullshit. I am not a big fan of 'balance to the force'. Because that basically means good never wins because evil will always exist, which....leads to philosophical complexities that I innately disagree with)
-Palpatine/Sidious will be MEGA evil. I am getting inspiration from Judge Holden from Blood Meridian, AM from I Have No Mouth but I Must Scream, and Aizen from Bleach. So do NOT look for any redeeming qualities in him.
- I am probably going to AMP some characters like Sidious, Dooku, Yoda, General Grievous etc. This will really just serve to help our protagonist actually have a good deal of struggles, because I plan to make him quite strong once the Clone Wars starts and even stronger afterwards (Though it ain't going to be sunshine and roses).
-Speaking of our protagonist he will be born in 44 BBY (I think) on Kamino. That's all I am going to say on that matter.
-I plan to incorporate some legends elements (Would love some ideas or suggestions for that)
-Last thing is I plan to expand the abilities of the Force (Think KOTOR I). Mostly my reasoning for this is because of ass pulls like Rey's force Healing in ROS, also because from my perspective....The force kinda functions like Mana from most fantasy series. That is to say it has its differences yet it is still the energy that surrounds and binds, therefore it should be able to be molded more than just the obvious telekinesis and chokes. (Yes, I know there are things like lightning, mind tricks, the fact that most force wielders have some level of precognition, and enhanced reflexes). Just don't worry I am not going to make like fucken Kirin or a damn Zanpakuto appear, everything will have reason.
(Any Ideas or Suggestions are Much appreciated)
Now before you go, I am currently in the process of writing Chapter 15 (2271 words in). But it's not finished, so I also decided to write a "future mission" chapter in my spare time for funsies. Which is actually surprisingly over 2000 words. So to tide you over until I finish the next main chapter read this fragment/ "Echo From The Future" as I call it of a chapter that will come later on in the fic. (Tell me at the end whether you would like more of these going forward).
================================================================
"When Pigs Fly"
25##
0200 hours
"2:00 A.M. huh?" I said taking a final sip of my glass of water, "Let's go meet the crew of the infamous 'Old 666'," I began standing up grabbing my flight helmet, and carrying it between my arm and ribs. I wanted to get all the fresh air on the ground as I could before I got into this flying coffin.
I walked through the barren hallways making my way to the large airstrip. The floors were as clean as one could hope in a tropical island military citadel. The general lack of any movement in the halls signifies that the ground force was still taking their last bit of rest before the early morning counter-offensive. Meanwhile, Pilots and their crews were already up and prepping their crafts.
The final perimeter door opened eventually and I strode outside to the hangar and aircraft-filled strip. Above my head was a dark night sky but below it fluorescent flood lights brightly beat down onto an array of military and darker colored craft. I took a moment to admire the scene before I sighed and resigned myself to placing my bucket on my head.
The helmet sensing my neural implant blinked to life immediately as it formed a pressure seal around my head and the rest of my body. The H.U.D. blinked to life as a motion tracker, altimeter, and pressure gauge made their way to their respective homes on the border of my helmet. Eventually, the tell-tale sign of operation mode showed itself with an italicized 'Uplink Confirmed' and a waypoint combined with the friend/foe signatures popped in front of my view.
The marker indicated my crew was at least another 200 meters ahead, so I began making my way through the years. Hornets, Falcons, Pelicans, and many more variants were placed strewn about the concrete and grass-mixed ground. Pilots and technicians buzzed about the courtyard like bees working within their hive. Munitions were being loaded and reloaded, fuel was being injected into starved tanks, and uniforms, as well as harnesses, were being double and triple-checked for stability.
Eventually, the distance shrunk down to double and then single digits and I finally set my eyes on the aircraft I would be operating from, and its appearance was unique nonetheless…
The aerospace craft resembled a Pelican quite a bit but was easy to tell apart from its "little brother". The craft was longer, wider, and had a far greater wingspan. Combined with a secondary pair of rear engines along with additional weapon pylons on the wing. Additionally, instead of the army green paint used on other pelicans, this one was pitch black resembling a crow's feathers.
Though this one had a different color, the body of the craft resembled multiple others that I had passed during my walk, but this one had multiple modifications. A spherical ball turret armed with two M46 Light anti-aircraft guns mounted in the center of the glass ball. A similar ellipse/half-circle glass structure with what I assumed to be an additional two M46s, was placed on the roof. Besides that at first glance the only other change was instead of simple M41 Vulcans mounted on the side door windows, on each side were M655 20 mm machine guns.
More…personal details that distanced itself from other crafts were some of the decals placed on it. Instead of a white "MARINES" painted on the rear bay door, a white "AIR FORCE" was found. On both rear engines a white "GS-666" was placed giving a clear sign of the craft's flight number… The strangest part was on the left side I approached was a decal of a half-naked cross between a demon and a woman blowing a kiss, and above it the words " 'Ol' 666' A.K.A "Lucy",".
[Author's note: Go crazy imagining the decal -_-]
"Classy," I said aloud, slightly amused by the display. I already knew that this crew would be a bit eccentric. You don't become the best gunship crew in the entire UNSC by doing the normal things.
*whistle*
"When I was told that we would be taking volunteers to fill in for our missing spot. I didn't expect to get one, and especially not some rookie," A man sporting a helmet with a picture of an "angry beaver" sketched onto his helmet spoke as he approached from just behind me.
I cocked an eyebrow, intrigued, "What makes you think I am your volunteer?" I asked, curious to hear his answer.
He set his helmet down on a crate before picking up two ammo cans, "No one here takes the time to stand around if you haven't noticed," he said before turning, "Grab those two boxes and follow me, I will introduce you to the rest of the crew,"
I proceeded to grab two boxes of 20 mm ammo struggling to carry them up the loading bay ramp before setting in down in an area beside the door guns, "That's our bombardier Lieutenant Joseph Sarnoski, you can just call him Joe. Me and him go way back, and he's the damn finest bombardier this side of the Milky Way," he first pointed out a man with brown hair and black eyes who had a face that seemed as if he was always smiling. He gave a simple wave before he returned to racking cluster bombs with another crew mate.
"Beside him is Sergeant William Vaughn, you can just call him Willie. He's our comma guy and rumors say he got into a firefight after a crash landing with his last crew. They say he killed 14 with a machine gun and even diced up a brute Captain with his knife in CQC," he said motioning to a man with a short thin mustache who simply nodded in my direction.
"And what do you think?" I asked the Captain as we began to move away.
He shrugged, "I doubt it," he said nonchalantly before adding, "I have never seen that man use a knife in my life. He probably did it with his bare hands," I nodded and went back to silently observing. One of the things mentioned in Captain Zeamer's file was that he was never caught lying about anything.
"Is this our new tail gunner?" a tall man with dirty blonde hair and a longer mustache asked as he carried a spare M46 machine gun.
Zeamer stopped himself from answering and immediately turned to me, "This is Bud Thues our navigations and roof gunner," he then turned back to Bud, "Yeah, I am showing her the crew and finishing up the loading of the spare guns and ammo," he explained.
"Roger that, I got our modified flight plan ready to go when you are," Thues said before nodding to the Captain and moving deeper into the gunship.
I was somewhat put off by his and the rest of the crew's disregard for me. Nonetheless, I figured they were just standoffish, and decided to move on, but it seemed my facial expression caught Zeamer's eye.
"Don't be too bothered by their attitude," he said as we walked back down the ramp, "Most volunteers fly maybe one or at max two missions before calling us all crazy and transferring," he said helping me understand the crew's position
I simply nodded before I looked back at him remembering a question I had after taking a look around the organs of our craft, "Captain where are the heavy munitions? I only saw some cluster bombs and a large amount of ammunition for the defense weapons," I asked in concern that maybe the base was out of heavy bombing munitions. The sitrep wasn't the best after the munition depot at Slasham island was destroyed by the Covenant air raids.
A smirk found its way to Jay's face showing that it was not a matter of munitions as to the reason we were not loading the bigger bombs, "Oh that? Let's just say me and Jay have a different view when it comes to our role in the air," the Lieutenant 'Joe' butted into the conversation, walking up from behind me with a smile.
"Might I ask what that view would be?" my curiosity peaked, and I desired to learn firsthand from the horse's mouth what the file didn't mention about the crew of 'Lucy'.
Both Joe and Jay shared a knowing look and smile before simultaneously turning back and responding in sync, "" You'll see,""
'What have I gotten myself into?' I asked myself thinking about the pair of unrelated brothers.
"Alright enough chit-chat let's finish up it's already 0215 we are supposed to be thrusters up in fifteen," Jay finally said breaking the comedic moment, "Johnnie, 'Pudge', and Kendrick will be back with the newly mixed fuel any minute now and we'll need all hands working on that," he said explaining to the crowd of us that had gathered seeing as now Willie and Bud were listening in. He then pointed to me, "Dare, you help them gather the spare machine guns and the rest of the ammo, while I and Joe finish setting up the electronics," he pointed to Willie and Bud jabbing a thumb in their direction. I nodded and then the three of us got to work carrying the heavy munitions and large firearms.
…
..
.
"Alright gentlemen and…lady," Captain Jay Zeamer said stopping to give me a look as we the rest of the crew stood shoulder-to-shoulder having just finished our last-minute safety inspection, "This is it. I would have rather gotten a good final member on a couple of missions, but it seems Miss Dare here will be our tail gunner for this mission. And to say the least, we all know she's got her work cut out for her because today we all will be in the shit,"
'You could say that again,' I thought to myself remembering the details of the 'strictly volunteer mission' or in other words 'this mission is so dangerous, no one in good faith would assign it to someone' mission. Of course, that is what happens when you mix a slow-moving aircraft with a bombing run and the fact it cannot move a single degree off of a ten-minute course. This doesn't even mention the fact of possible Covenant AA guns and the assertion that the ground most likely has its own air force.
"I won't bore you with the details, instead I will just say this. If we are to die today, then let the Covenant hear our final act of defiance all across their wretched hegemony. And may we forever go down in history as the greatest flight crew to ever fly upon foreign planets," Zeamer said with a stroke of inspiration.
"Hua!" Everyone in line let out with an abundance of determination.
"Now let's get on this ship, give the Covenant a big ol' middle finger, and come back to eat lunch," he said, giving permission to board the craft.
"Hey rookie you do not want to get in that ball turret yet," the co-pilot Johnnie Able said stopping me from walking through the hall into the hanging turret, "Trust me we'll tell you when you need to get into that boring ass, spinning ball, of death," he said patting me on the shoulder. I accepted his advice following him up front to the cockpit.
While making our way to the cockpit I heard the sharp rumble of the engines signifying ignition and felt the rising of the aircraft. Our ascension was slow and controlled yet it still felt like standing on a boat to a degree, I guess that's why people call them ships. My balance wasn't thrown off and I continued walking before sitting at a seat just behind the pilot's seat, as we began to climb into the atmosphere of this planet.
"Hey Dare hit the radio, I want to hear some tunes," Thues said from his seat at a displayed map while wearing a headset.
"Got it," I said replying before climbing over and pressing the button turning on the radio.
A quick burst of static could be heard before the radio host's voice could be heard announcing a new segment of music, "Welcome one and all this is WZZK 117.7 the ring of fire coming to you live! Currently, the boys in the 19th and 43rd bombardment brigades and the 6th, 120th, and 67th fighter squadrons are going in hot to dish the Covenant a signature UNSC can of whoop ass. So this segment is dedicated to them, and we'll be starting it with an ancient masterpiece," the host finished and the song began to play. The audio sounded old but one could definitely make out the sound of a guitar
♪Well, I stand up next to a mountain♪
♪And I chop it down with the edge of my hand♪
♪Well, I stand up next to a mountain♪
♪And I chop it down with the edge of my hand♪
♪Well, I pick up all the pieces and make an island♪
♪Might even raise a little sand♪
♪Because I'm a Voodoo child♪
♪Lord knows I'm a Voodoo child♪
Seeing that my job was accomplished I began to return to my seat before I heard the words of Joe Sarnoski, "An absolute disgrace you are newbie," he said with disapproval on his face.
I was concerned thinking that I had done something wrong or even worse he figured out somehow that I was with Section One of O.N.I. but his next words caught me off guard and I could only rub my temples, "THAT! Is not enough volume for Jimi Hendrix!" he said before twisting the knob increasing the volume.
