Sit down and strap in.

“Sit down and strap in.” is a flash-fiction story included in the Halo Wars: Official Strategy Guide. It’s about Professor Ellen Anders as she first arrives at the UNSC Spirit of Fire.

Story


There was a lot more noise than Anders expected riding in the back of a Pelican. Uncertainty filled her, and for the first time in as long as she could remember, she was a little afraid. Her life at home was very strict, very organized, and very scheduled. She took comfort in knowing that every day was exactly planned to the minute and that every part of her life was familiar. How she had been talked into this unfamiliar routine was making her honestly question her sanity.

The seats on the inside of the Pelican were chipped; some had large gouges in them; and one even had tape across it, suggesting that no one sit in it. Anders wondered if the exterior was as well maintained as the interior and if she was even going to make it out in one piece. She pulled up her portable and looked again at the ship’s name. “Spirit of Fire” was an odd moniker for a UNSC ship. Her inquiries as to the origin of that name from the pilot of the Pelican got her a sharp “Sit down and strap in,” followed by quite a few expletives, some of which she hadn’t actually heard before.

However, the promise of something extraterrestrial, and currently alive rather than dug up, was too big of a draw to ignore. Her research vindicated, fame surely to follow, and enough work to keep her busy for life, let alone the commercial profit from any kind of alien technology she might figure out...

Coming up on the Spirit of Fire, she looked out past the pilot at the large streamlined ship in front of her, its front communications beacons flashing like Christmas lights and the formidable weapons showing from every conceivable angle. It was sleek, clean, and much newer than she thought it would be.

“My lab equipment is on board already, correct, Lieutenant?”

“On board Spirit of Fire, yes, ma’am. As soon as we’re past the Argosy here, you’ll be able to get a good look at your new home.”

The Argosy slipped on under the Pelican, and what Anders had previously considered the orbital station only now became clearly visible as a ship itself. It was as battered as the chairs in the Pelican and old; yet it was somehow elegant for its size, majestic, even. No one put much thought into exterior ship design these days, but someone obviously had for this ship.

“That ship has an FTL drive?” Anders mumbled out loud.

“Yes, ma’am. That and the best mess of any ship out here.”

“Mess?” Anders had never heard the term before.

“Food hall, ma’am.”

“Oh, like a restaurant!” Anders said happily. She had heard the food was going to be terrible; maybe this trip wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

“Whatever you say, ma’am.” The lieutenant sighed. He was going to be very happy to deliver his passenger. Civilians had no place on fleet ships, always getting in the way and disrupting the routine.

Anders settled back down and strapped in, and her mind drifted to the task ahead. If this was a new race, would it be even more advanced than the Covenant?
For all she knew, it would be like her trying to talk to
a human from 100,000 years ago, a caveman barely able to comprehend fire let alone the advanced society humans had evolved into today. Kind of like talking to the lieutenant up front, she mused. That made her chuckle a bit out loud and suddenly feel quite self-conscious.

More worrisome was that this was a military mission, very hush-hush, so would we shoot first and start an interstellar war, or would they actually show restraint for once? As far as she knew, she was part of a very small contingent of civilians accompanying the military on this, and her lab equipment list had been approved without question and installed within a day. This was going to propel her career for years.

She sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. The world might not be the same when she got back, and perhaps these selfish thoughts were just that. Perhaps she would also be different when she returned.

She shuddered at the thought.

Characters

• Professor Ellen Anders
• Unidentified Pelican pilot
• Unidentified Lieutenant