Novum Acies Chronicles/Ultimatum

{|style="width:100%; color:#FFF;" 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.

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.

Just the last year, he came back to being on a ship, and he started to feel he liked the teaching more.

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.

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, studied in college. 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. 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."

He paused, and then added,

"I love you both. Goodbye."