Novum Acies Chronicles/Ultimatum

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A happy UNSC Commander finally sees a promotion, a new ship and the fulfilling of a longing desire to see his daughter become a reality, but the next day, his life turns upside down.
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 Anurag Shetty had never thought he would experience such a joyful day in his life.
Till now, the Commander had been living a rather uninteresting life as a UNSC Commander. Working as the Executive Officer (XO) in a small frigate that mostly did rounds around Inner colony star systems slowly proved to be boring for him. Like most others, he longed for the days in the past, when the main enemy was the insurrectionists, and there were always battles. It might not have been glorious at that time, but compared to the genocidal war going on with an alien empire in the present, the war with the insurrection might as well be enjoyable.
Like most other smaller-scale UNSC officers, Shetty had never come in contact with the Covenant. This was a good thing, as it meant he was safe. But on the other hand, it also meant he wasn't doing his duties and serving the UNSC well, since there was a war to fight, and he had spent the last decade without any real engagements, not counting the small skirmishes with the insurgents, of course. For a few years, he worked as a teacher in the Naval Academy, something people mocked him at, along with another Commander in the UNSC Navy, who was also his personal friend; Jacob Keyes. Keyes and Shetty were both generally mocked by the other UNSC officers for being teachers, something Shetty felt weird. Why would they disrespect a man who led the way for possibly good-working officers to lead good lives in the future? Shetty never tried to think from the minds of the others, it was their issue anyways.
It was only two years ago, that Shetty got back onto a ship, the UNSC I Feel Good, a frigate captained by Captain Joseph Fisherman. During two years, Shetty did nothing but continue journeying and patrolling star systems, in order to be prepared for a Covenant attack on those colonies. It proved to be quite boring slowly, and Shetty felt that he might've liked the teaching years better.
Only that, he wasn't feeling that anymore.
Today had been a very happy day, indeed. He was surprisingly given a promotion to the rank of Captain, something he had always dreamt about. The official paperwork said that he had shown great skills and tactical thinking in his previous endeavors, and the promotion was recommended by none other than his former Captain. That was quite a surprise. Being a captain and commanding your own Naval warship was something that fascinated him since his childhood, decades ago. In fact, one of the chief reasons he joined the UNSC Navy was to make his childhood wish become true. And then, now, he finally did.
He was given the UNSC Minotaur, a Halberd-class destroyer that saw service during the First Battle of Deston back in 2530, and survived by being in one piece. It was a dandy vessel, Shetty surely thought he could pilot the ship well. The twin MACs of the ship were a real boon for fighting the enemy.
But perhaps the best thing that happened today was finally meeting his daughter, Harshitha, and his wife, Madhuri. They lived in the urban area of New Alexandria. Madhuri worked as a doctor in her own hospital, while their child, Harshitha, had just finished training for the ODSTs, graduating with top honors. She was given an unique chance due to her father being a Commander. Shetty had waited for a long time to see his family again; he had been out of touch with them for far too long.
He went home, surprising them. Seeing him lifted their spirits; it was always happy to see a dear one alive after years. He told them of his promotion, and they sure were shocked. Harshitha expressed her interest in coming aboard his ship, which Shetty promised.
Of course, promises don't last long.
After going out with his family, enjoying the colorful and brightly lit streets of New Alexandria and taking a real pleasure being with them, he bid them farewell and came back to his ship. There was a briefing for him and various other captains in the fleet in seven hours, and he had to get some sleep. He went to his private captain's cabin and took a nap, after the exhaustive but gleeful day.
***
Shetty woke up with a start. There was a message on his datapad. He checked the time, there was roughly still an hour for the briefing. He had to get ready soon. But before that, he read the transmission, from none other than Admiral Roland Freemont himself, which was marked ALPHA PRIORITY.
As he read it, his mind filled with fear and terror.
The Covenant was here, finally. They found Reach.
He could not believe the letter, he read it again and again. It was indeed true. The Covenant were here, they found Reach ultimately. Did that spell doom for the human race? While Shetty tried to not think of such things, he couldn't deny that the fact being true had a high probability now.
Shetty immediately dressed up, and before leaving for the bridge, he tried calling home. No one lifted, this only added to his tension. Terrified, he decided to leave a voicemail message for them, and hoped they would check it soon
He spoke into the machine,
"Madhuri, this is Anurag here, Get yourselves and Harshitha to somewhere safe. I can't tell you why, it's against the protocol, but please listen to me, this is a warning. They're here, they have found Reach. Get to a local UNSC base or something, they'll escort you."
He paused, and then added,
"I love you both. Goodbye."
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==Notes==
*The author, finds a lot of connection with this and that of Captain Jacob Keyes during the events of Reach/Sigma Octanus IV respectively, and notifies the readers that while he was partially inspired to create this story after Keyes', it is not directly copied, and instead intended to show the sudden twists in the lives of people in the UNSC.
*The author also apologizes that the real topic for Week 87 of the Weekly project for which this piece was written, was revealed rather late in the story, instead focusing on the "happy moments" before the next day, when everything falls apart
Category:The Weekly