Hey guys! I have recently rewritten Soldier's Log with improved dialogue and retcons so that everything fits in with the rest of this timeline. Enjoy! I'll update the rest as I go along!

-C.

SOLDIER'S LOG

Christopher R. Vennettilli

June 7th, 3235, 0120 h

Aboard UNSC super carrier Indomitable

Lt. C. J. Vennettili Soldier Log,

/Begin Entry/

Thyris II looks beautiful out of the portholes. It's nothing but rock and ice, and rock and ice, and some more rocks maybe a bit more ice too. Since the war ended on Talahan, we have been drifting out here, looking for what, I wonder? I've been tasked with a patrol of the fusion engine couplings and primary drive manifolds. I know they say those things are shielded, but I get the chilling feeling of a reactor breach. Let the grease monkeys have their job.

My eyes hurt. Need to get some more sleep, and I hope the drapes polarizing window works properly this time around. Took me two hours to get rid of the sun's afterimage.

/End Entry/

Lieutenant Christopher Vennettilli lay in his cot in the early hours. The daybreak from the system's diminutive red sun reflected off Thyris' icy surface and stirred him awake. He was never going to get any sleep. He needed to be up anyway; he was due to begin his shift in ten minutes. As if early-morning shift wasn't enough, he had an assigned overlook of repairs for the ship's number 1 fusion reactor. It was going to be a long day; A fusion reactor was big in it's own right. More to add was that this ship was a super carrier, five kilometers in length, which meant that the ship needed really big engines to supply the necessary push. Chris nearly fell asleep at his post, head slumping over the railing, threatening to toss his hat into a metallic abyss. If he were still a private, he'd be charged with dereliction of duty. Falling asleep at your post wasn't the worst crime one could do, but it wouldn't be a slap on the wrist. No on needed to know, and he could just claim he was 'thinking' or something creative like that.

Lunch followed with chef's surprise. He didn't touch that after it tasted like melted plastic and decided to buy a vendor snack instead, and compared to the 'food' he had prior, it was the best vendor snack he had eaten on this ship. Another boring day, on a boring ship, in boring space, until that night.

The ship alarm blared. The Lieutenant was awake instantly.

"Attention, all hands! Confirmed contact with enemy ships. Personnel are to report to General Quarters and wait for further instructions."

Admiral Gerome Tyler Andsworth was the commanding officer of the vessel. For thirty years, he had been at the helm of this magnificent ship, and had cared for it as if it was his own child. Andsworth had a long black moustache, piercing steel eyes, and the determination of a hundred men. He had been well decorated during the Malificent Campaigns in 3219, and later in 3233 when his ship served as an eye in the sky for forces on Talahan V.

Of the junior officers at his command, he found a couple of them extremely trustworthy: Lieutenants Junior Grade Velo, Jfaar, and Feedin.

"Mister Velo, what is the current formation of enemy vessels?" he said addressing the young man at Tactical.

"Well, sir, We're picking up multiple Covenant Remnant contacts, roughly a formation of 15 XCX-Class frigates by the looks of it. Holding position 151,000 kilometers off our prow." Andsworth cursed silently. Fifteen.

"Maple?" Freedin looked up. "Arm Archer missile pods D3 to G6."

Lieutenant Feedin nodded. "Aye, sir. Arming Archer pods."

The Covenant ships showed on radar, the closest being 80,000 km off the bow.

"Fire at will, Lieutenant!" Andsworth commanded pointing to the frigate. Rapid thumps echoed through the ship as the missiles streaked toward their targets, leaving trails of smoke behind them. The first few dozen missiles brought their shields down. The rest blew the ship to bits. Superheated shrapnel peppered the rest of the craft. Seraph fighters followed the frigates in, threatening to blow holes in the supercarrier's hull.

There had to be a carrier somewhere around here.

The 50 mm MLA autocannons blew apart the fightercraft. "Lieutenant Jaffa!" Andsworth said addressing his Navigations officer this time. "Select a randomized Jump vector and prepare to make micro jumps after that!"

Jfaar then went speeding over the keyboard. This was a Cole Jump, modeled after the first article in the old Cole Protocol. Jump first, and then make a bunch of smaller ones to confuse your enemy. "Randomized jump coordinates complete!" he reported.

"Get us out of here!" Andsworth commanded, not wanting to chance it with the Covenant. A supercarrier had jumped into the fray. At 27 kilometers long, destruction wasn't only a possibility here, it was guaranteed. "Lieutenant!"

A tear appeared in front of their view of Thyris II. Just as the ship's bow was just crossing the tear, the bridge crew noticed something. Instead of pitch black of the slipspace never-never-land, the tunnel was blinding white. The crew didn't argue and sent the ship in. Anything was better than here.

Jfaar noticed something. "Sir, Radiation levels are spiking. The jump drives are overpowering but no meltdown warning is being issued.

"Check again, Lieutenant."

"I did! The coolant injectors are functioning normally, and the drive integrity is at 100%."

Andsworth was in shock. Normally, the Shaw-Fujikawa drives would collapse from strain at the point of issuing a warning. But no damage? Interesting. The light didn't disappear after they got in. In fact, it got brighter, so bright, Andsworth had to shield his eyes.

"Sir, velocity increasing!" Jfaar called. The other bridge officers stopped their duties to listen, this had never happened before. "Admiral, we're accelerating towards c. We shouldn't be going this fast!" He called in shock.

Then it was gone. To replace it, a planet with emerald green forests, sapphire blue oceans and pearl white clouds. This place was totally alien, but the landmasses looked very familiar. " Lieutenant, I requested a randomized vector! We're back home!" Andsworth said.

Jeffa looked confused. "I did, sir. I mean I think I did. I'm sure I did! Besides, this isn't Earth!"

Andsworth looked dumbstruck. "It has to be! Look...!" It looked like Earth, was the same size as Earth and had the same atmospheric buildup with a nitrogen-oxygen combination. But no, Andsworth paused to examine the planet's full image, geological readouts showed a landmass that connected what should be Europe to what should be Northern Canada. South America looked broken apart on the arbitrary right and Australia was more round than it should've been. And to top it all off, an island looked as though it were floating across one of the continents. Floating? He chuckled, and then rubbed his eyes. No, It just couldn't be.

Chris was stunned. He looked out the window to see a planet that looked like Earth, but at the same time it wasn't Earth. He would know his home if he saw it, and what was in front of him was not where he grew up. One look at all the green was all he needed to see. He hurried to tell anyone who would listen and had a feeling that this planet was more than it appeared to be.

Time passed on the bridge. Andsworth had ordered multiple scans of the planet, including but not limited to tectonic activity, barometric pressure, and electromagnetic frequency checks. Everything checked out and seemed to reinforce the fact that they were looking at Earth, just not the same one they used to know. When one of the bridge officers announced that there were signs of structures on the planet and even a radio signal emanating from the North American- like continent, he decided to establish his presence. He ordered a COM channel be opened to the planet.

"To anyone receiving this transmission, this is the UNSC Indomitable broadcasting on all Alpha Priority channels. This is Admiral Gerome Andsworth of the 7th Sol Battlegroup. Please respond! We are low on oxygen and supplies. Please respond, over."

There was silence for a few minutes.

He was ready to give up and look around when there was a message over the radio. It was so shocking that nobody spoke, "Uh...roger that UNSC Indomitable, this is RAF Military Detection Array. It's good to see you at last, sir!"