Novum Acies Chronicles/Cosmos

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"What's our status, Ikora?", a worried Tyler asked the AI.
"Everything's normal. We're out of slipspace, having reached the edge of Tallus system. ETA to Deston, 45 minutes."
Satisfied, Tyler relaxed. Traversing through slipspace was always dangerous, and one could never be completely safe during the process. Atleast, when one's using human technology.
Tyler looked through the screens. The other Spartans were in the different cabin rooms, relaxing after the battle at Reach. Tyler, however, was in charge, which meant that he couldn't simply rest, leaving the ship's safety at risk. Granted, Ikora could take care of the ship single-handedly, but it didn't feel right for him to not bother.
Looking at the view-screens and the windows, Tyler gazed at the vast universe. Even after so many years, space still amused him. What was so special about it, was it the beauty, the empty-ness, or simply its sheer massiveness, Tyler did not know.
Unlike other Spartans, who loathed space, Tyler was so interested in it that it seemed odd for a Spartan. Yes, he too didn't like zero-g combat, Tyler shared the same helpless-ness feeling in zero-g as the other Spartans did, but that was nothing in front of the greatness of space.
The stars reminded him of various planets, and as Tyler pictured them in his mind, an image of Reach came into his mind. The UNSC's mighty fortress, now just a burning planet whose surface has turned into glass. There was still a large portion of the universe to explore, and many planets to terraform and settle down on, but the Insurrection and later the Human-Covenant War were too devastating. Maybe once this is all over, humanity would again reach out to the stars-
Ikora's hologram quickly re-appeared. "Warning, asteroid impact. No wonder most ships don't travel through this shortcut." While Tyler had been continuously watching the universe, he had forgotten that the ship's path made it intercept the star system's asteroid belt. He opened the COM channel and spoke, "Entering asteroid belt. Brace yourselves, we may have to use evasive maneuvers." Multiple green lights flickered on his helmet; his Spartans had acknowledged the message.
Ikora initiated a roll to evade a few small asteroids, before enacting evasive maneuvers to escape the larger, faster ones. Tyler held onto his seat with a strong grip. The asteroids seemed to miraculously miss the ship. Ikora was showing off, indeed. After clearing the belt, Ikora turned to Tyler and said, "The cosmos sure is wonderful, isn't it Tyler?" The ship was nearing Deston now.
Tyler, looking through the windows, replied "Yes. Yes, it is."
Category:The Weekly