Spectral

.:Classified:. The Forces on Tribute continued pushed forward over the course of the past few months, and it has been a series of incredibly bloody battles as Imperium forces steadily root out the Insurrectionist forces inhabiting the north eastern section of the continent. The forces moved to the front to engage the insurrectionist forces, believed to be remnants of the former CIF. as the troops went to engage, the 200 ODST troops deployed behind enemy lines dismantled and sabatoged the majority of the innie artillery. The remaining artillery was targetted by the RNC cruiser, the autumn class heavy cruiser Endeavor. Using a salvo of Archer missile pods to bombard the the artillery, the MAC rounds were used to target and eliminate known innie nests with specialised hollow rounds filled with white phospherous. These rounds would scatter the white phosphorous for nearly 5 miles, and then a lone missile would be launched to ignite it. These rounds completely halted enemy movements in the area, and forced them to move in the direction the Imperium chose. The automated F-99s were scrambled, and 350 were released with 25 B-65 bombers; the goal of these aircraft were to limit enemy troop movements while Resorian armored and infantry divisions pushed into the enemy lines and crushed the innie forces in a conventional battle. Unbeknownst to Fleet captainThomas Laskey, ONI had authorised a SPARTAN strike force of 2 fireteams to invade the innie stronghold of Hyperion. The force in question was lead by fireteam Osiris, and supported by Red Team. The force snuck into the main camp through a cargo freighter, which carrier a large amount of arms and explosives to the innie bunker hidden under the capital building. The SPARTANs snuck out of the freighter after night fell, killed the guards protecting the entrance to the bunker. Once inside, the team embeded their AI, Corvis, into the computer network. Corvis then initiated a lockdown, ensuring that the SPARTANs had free range of movement. They then manuvered through the bunker, with Corvis opening up the doors they needed, and killing any innie forces in their path. The innie forces, unlike the SPARTANs, did not possess night vision equipment. Since the bunker was on lockdown, and the lights were off, fireteam Osiris and Red team were able to reach their destination without trouble. There, they used Corvis to access the primary systems, which were then copied and sent to the regional ONI branch. Finally, they moved to the conference room where they discovered the innsurrectionist command center. Once they entered the room, they immediately opened fire on the men in the room, killing the military minds behind the CIF, as they attempted to recoperate from the new tactics being employed by the RNC forces. The SPARTAN teams stayed in the bunker, and slowly began to clear it out while the innie forces were powerless to enter the facility. The 40 feet thick concrete structure located 200 feet underground, and accessible only from an elevator which was controlled from inside the bunker itself, was powerless to receive innie reinforcements. Corvis, the AI which had control of the system, shut off the elevator mid-way up, and locked all outside access. The innie forces tried desparately to retreat from the advancing Imperium soldiers, and found themselves in a last ditched defense of Hyperion. The losses thus far consisted of nearly 72% of the Innie forces, and only 23% of the Imperium's force. The larger Imperium force having lost such a small percent of their overall force, was in high spirits as they crushed the innie forces. "So it's confirmed? Peter Bonifacio has, in fact, been continueing to build up the remnants of the CIF?" Cait Mendez asked the Eradian-branch regional director. "Yes, ma'am. According to the intelligence gathered by Fireteam Osiris, he and the former cabinet of the CIG has been secretly ignoring the conditions of the peace agreement. We know they've been gathering supplies, and intended to begin building the Orbital Defense Network on Tribute, but we didn't actually think that the original CIF force was apart of this." The director told her, a stressed expression on his face. "Well, we're eliminating their main force, and we just killed their middle leadership. Send in the other teams to eliminate the govenor and his cabinet. Anyone who's shown loyalty to him is to be shot. I'd prefer we make it sublte and blame it on the innsurrectionist force, but it's fine if we can't. What matters is that they have to die, no matter what." Cait ordered him, her face never flenching as she wrote down the kill orders. "Very well, ma'am. We'll have it done."

.:Classified:. As of now, 8 SPARTAN teams have been dispatched into the country to conduct operations. These teams operate without the approval of the new regime, while the Resorian embassy was beefed up with 2,300 marines. An ONI asset with a falsified identity infiltrated the French company, Bouygues Telecom and Free. The asset started off as a standard customer service Representative, and has moved up to a network analyst. Once he did so, he waited for the moment when the central director informed the IT department of computer errors. The asset utilized his training to lightly poison a lunch bowl which made many of the department sick. Capitalizing on this, he worked his way into fixing the directors computer. In doing so, he hooked up a device to the motherboard. With access to the SRF and Bouygues, ONI assets used this access to hunt down Commune officials, tracking high level officials. A small-scale bunker buster MAC round was fired at a commune fortification housing an airstrip. The airstrip was known to be a meeting place where commune received arms and supplies. An unidentified plane was landing at the time of the strike, and nearly 86% of the facility was destroyed. Additionally, a meeting of several low ranking officials in the commune was struck with a series of 14 archer missiles. Intelligence reports indicate that all but 2 officials survived the strike, while 22 civilians and 42 standard soldiers were killed. Additionally, nearly 2 dozen civilians were injured in the strike.

I will fyte u for wifis honor!

.:Classified:. The stockpile of missiles, the orbital defense network, and the EMP shell around mars would be verified and prepared, as more and more nations began bumbling through space. The order was to shoot down any vessel that did not identify and request sock ng permission. Likewise, Station Luna would ready its forces and missile stockpiles against any incoming threat which does not identify before landing. (A reminder to China that there are fortifications in place on Mars that have been there since I formed. Your ship cannot enter mars without you eliminating the satellites that produce the EMP shell. Your exploratory vessel would also have to evade thousands of defense cannons, missiles, and several ships. Station Luna also has 2 entire carrier groups surrounding and defending it. I would strongly advise you be wary when sending vessels to these military installations.)

.:Broadcast:. "We have warned those responsible against this course of action, and the Imperium will not refrain from bringing down the repercussions for these actions. We advise those in the commune to prepare themselves. While the government held back for hope of peace, we have no such obligations" .:Classified:. Almost immediately after the broadcast went live, the Imperator authorised tactical strikes on commune assets with archer missiles, as well as MAC strikes on military fortifications around the rebel held territory. These rounds were specially made to destroy no more than a city block, but were simultaneously a form of bunker buster. Meanwhile, a Resorian diplomat would be dispatched to the new government, in an effort to discover if any animosity was posed towards the Imperium. Simultaneously, ONI agents and assets would begin working overtime as they tried to find dirt in this new monarchy. Additionally, the ONI regional director was tasked with building a network of assets in the new government.

.:Classified:. A force of SPARTANs were brought into the rebel held stronghold of Lyon. With them, inside the back of a large cargo 18 wheeler, was a Zues Rod device strapped in to the truck. The truck moved through the city unimpeded, using the reason of providing medical aide to a local hospital. Their mission was to move into the center of the city, and release the rods firing matrix. Afterwards, the device would detonate, and an EMP would cover the city along with 22 miles beyond. The missile, typically intended for ship-to-ship combat missions, was repurposed for the starting conflict. Meanwhile, the other SPARTAN fireteams would begin mobilizing to kill the Commander of the Royalist and nationalist leaders, go kill that rebellion in its crib. They would know that information thanks to their sources in the SFR.

.:Classified:. A n administrator at SRF telecoms moved into his office, pacing back and forth. Finally, the phone rang. "What have you done with my wife and child?" The man demanded, practically snarling. "They're fine for now, and as long as you do as we say, it can stay that way. Contact the police, and they will be executed immediately. Were watching you. Now, on your desk is an envelope that we shipped to you yesterday. Open it." As the man ripped the envelope open, a small chip with a cord fell out. "Alright, now its just a-" "Now you can open the case of the computer by the button, and plug it into the motherboard by the RAM slots." The man quickly shoves the cord into the computer, tactlessly but effectively doing what needed to be done. "Excellent. Now close the computer, and come to this address within the hour. If you're late I will kill them." As the man went to respond, the individual hung up the phone. The location in question was over 45 minutes away. As the man was racing over to the location, his computer began using commands. What it was doing was opening a port on the entire network, and then hiding the open port from scans. Then it gave permission to ONI machines to access the network. As the man arrived on the scene, he was met with 4 men in full tactical gear, his wife and child having a bag on their heads. "You came alone, good man. " One of the men said, before firing a round into the chest of the man, and subsequently killing his wife a child. Afterwards, the bloc was tossed to the side, and the three were relocated to a nearby ally and staged, before the forces exfiltrated

Prior to the missiles hitting and the troops deploying, the boots on the ground would be redirected towards monitoring France. Undercover ONI assets would be deployed in mass, spy satellites would monitor various communications across France, while devoted decryption machines would be established in the makeshift listening posts. Additionally, a SPARTAN team would be dispatched to the Head of State, Lidia Korczak. .:Broadcast:. "We genuinely believed that an armed rebellion against the current regime would be a pointless loss of life. We encourage leaders around the world restraint, and mediation. Throwing oil on these flames will cause unpredictable results." .:Classified:. Cait Mendez begins drumming her fingers are n her desk while deep in contemplation. "We lost our assets in Rokkenjima, and now we have to pour assets in ensuring the current French regime stays in power to minimize the potential risks to the newborn UNSC. This is going swimmingly." She explained to the man before her with an air of irritation. "It is annoying, but we must do what needs to be done. The Imperium cannot falter." The Imperator retorted. "Of course. The youth will be easy to exploit. Once we establish an asset in the communists and monarchists, well begin informing their regime of stockpiles. If they can't manage it on their own, we will deploy up to 12 SPARTAN teams to facilitate with the destruction. Above all else, we'd need to ensure secrecy."

Classified file popped up on Cait Mendezes computer. An encrypted email by one of the French assets. As she read it, she began to see a golden opportunity. France was beginning an operation to target and capture German territory. Getting the carrier group currently tethered to station Luna to move into Earth orbit, she prepared a large operation. The operation would include 15 infantry battalions, 3 ODST platoons, and 3 armored groups. Platoon: 20-48 men. Battalion: 800-1,000 Armored Group: 26 Mantis armors, 32 warthogs, 15 Cougars, and 6 Scorpion tanks. Combined force: 15,000 Infantry 144 ODSTs 78 Mantis' 96 Warthogs 45 Cougars 18 Scorpion Tanks The ships in orbit would fire 1,100 Archer missile pods down below, to soften up the landing spots and eliminate radar stations. Then, the troops would mobilize outside of Germany's borders, and push through with ODSTs sabatoging enemy troop movements to allow an easy march into German territory. Finally, a low orbit satellite would be dropped to begin jamming communications, and prevent organized resistance as much as possible.

.:Classified:. A UNSC headquarters would be constructed on the Fortress World of Reach, crown jewel of the Imperium. SoE would've given the Red(Western Section); While France would be given Blue(Eastern Section). The nations would have free reign in their respective sections, while the circular building in the upper middle portion is the meeting room for the unsc officials. As Reach was being readied for the UNSC presence, the Imperium dispatched 2 of their carrier groups to crush the remains of the insurrectionists on Tribute. Deployment: (The black squares are a battalion, the circle is an armoured division, and the stars are ODST platoons. The red squares are a battalion, the circle is an armoured division, and the triangle is an artillery division. Resorian forces deployed on the planet rapidly, surprising the insurrectionist forces planet side. As the troops began landing in mass and the fleet taking up orbital position, the innies scrambled to set up their defenses against the surprise assault. "Alright Marines! You know the drill against the innies. Your job is to go down there and shut that shit down. Capture officers where you can. Living officers are better than dead ones; the brain deteriorates after death and the information could be lost. Attempt to avoid civilian casualties where possible, but the priority is your survival. Get down there and tare it up, Marines!" "Yes, Colonel, Sir!" The marines were then deployed through a series of pelicans, while the ODSTs awaited the battle for their deployment. Their priority was to pincer the enemy artillery and eliminate it to make way for their infantry and armor unimpeded. The MAC cannons would provide bombard meant against the insurrectionist artillery and fortifications.

.:Broadcast:. The High Priest ascends to the podium, straightening his posture; a grave expression being given. "I come before you to speak of a plague. This plague is commonly called witchcraft. It infects the minds of its hosts into believing that it is the transcendence that we strive for. They are mistaken. The true transcendence is one that ascends you from the flesh. One that allows your mind to explore beyond the confines of its own body. It is not the augmentation of your own physical avatar intended to enhance your power. It is not the act of elevating your status; physically or socially. It is elevating your psyche into the realm of the cyberverse. It is connecting your mind with that of others who have, likewise, ascended. Thus, the faith must label these heretics as enemies of the faith. We implore the Imperium to act against these enemies with extreme prejudice. Those who practice heathen faiths will only undermine the glorious Imperium" In a statement today, the Imperator remained firm on his initial policy: "I am a faithful man, and I don't think any would question the integrity of my faith. So when I say this, I say this as a devout follower; unless the religion harms individuals or advocates hate speech, then it is an acceptable practice. We are not the monarchy of old, and I will not return us to those archaic ways. People of all faiths are permitted in the Imperium, as long as it abides by the Peaceful Faiths Act, Bill 13."

.:Classified:. A large vehicle, similar to the shape of and APC, rolls through the deserts of the recently captured provinces. The vehicle, paired with a convoy of 16 warthogs and 4 Scorpion tanks, rolled onward towards and insurrectionist hideout that had been conducting sabotage operations since their retreat. As the M510 Mammoth rolled up to the secluded, rundown outpost, the insurrectionists fired their mounted weapons towards the larger target. Where the bullets would normally hit metal, they were stopped by an opaque field of shimmering light. The warthogs began surrounding the building as the tanks took up position on elevated areas surrounding the shack. Within minutes all avenues of retreat were cut off. The M510 fired its mini MAC, and leveled over half of the facility. A shocked fireteam of innies began to resume their fire on the massive vehicle. Intent on measuring the ability of the shields capabilities, the Imperium forces held their fire, so long as the innies remained inside of the building. After nearly a half hour of continuous fire, and several frags, bullets could be heard hitting metal as the shimmering field vanished. As the shield fell, 4 Mantis' broke out from the rear and began firing their rickets in unison with the Mammoth's MLRS'. Finally, the mini MAC would be fired again, leveling the rest of the outpost. The 3 men who ran out were gunned down by the surrounding warthogs. After the project was labeled a success, progress was made towards having Acheron Security manufacture 3,000 over the course of the next 2 years.

.:Classified:. Cait Mendez, director of ONI boarded station Luna with Spartan-Blue team. As she moved toward the enclosed location where the 3 alien ships were stashed, she drummed her fingers impatiently on her hip. When she finally arrived, she quickly took up her position on the raised platform looking down in the researchers as they worked. What was a light jig for her, was a simple stride for the hulking Spartans. "Someone give me a sitrep on the progress." Cait called out below. "Yes ma'am. We've found out this alien force is called the Covenant. There are the sangheili; a warrior caste of the covenant. There are the unggoy, which are a slave/servant caste. There are the Kig-Yar, which we've got conflicting information calling them mercenaries and warriors, but still worship the covenant ideology. There are the Mgalekgolo, which is another warrior caste said to be shock troopers. There are the Jiralhanae, who also appear to be shick troops. There are the San'Shyuum, which appear to be the leadership class with a triumvirate leading it known as the Prophets of Truth, Regret, and Reconciliation. As far as we know, this is effectively an alien cult that has grown unchallenged in strength long enough that they've amassed a huge force. They speak of a Great Journey, which seems to center around Sacred Rings. Intelligence suggest that these Sacred Rings are superstructures built by an extremely advanced race. Odds are, if they can capture them, that this alien race is dead." The linguist diligently informed the Director. "Very good. Is there anything else?" Cait inquired one last time. "Not yet, we've only translated a sixth of the database." "Continue your work." Cait called back as she headed towards the exit and towards the conference room. When she arrived, she booted up the console, and sent a message towards the unidentified medical facility tasked with dissecting the aliens. "Hello Ben. I need to know what progress you've made." Cait said in a gentle voice of familiarity. "Of course, Cait. So far, they seem to have the same vulnerabilities that we do. The small ones, known as Unggoy, breathe me than instead of oxygen, and have to use a tank. Shooting them in the head or abdomen is going to kill them. The larger ones with 4 jaws are a lot like us internally. They have different skin tones, 4 jaws, and extra muscular tissue; but their heart, brain, and arteries are extremely similar to ours. The linguists tell me they're called Sangheili. What's truly interesting, is the shields embedded into their armor. I think we can integrate it into the SPARTAN MJOLNIR armor to give their shields a booste. But getting back to the aliens, the King Yar seem to lack a great deal of muscular tissue, but they have similiar traits to avians, with hollowed bones and such. This makes them fragile and yet fast, and we believe this is why they use the circular shield instead of a personal shield. " Ben told her, smiling fondly into the holovid. "Hurry and finish your work so you can return to me. I have to compile this information into a report and sent it to Spyre and the UNSC groups." Cait told him before reluctantly ending the holovid call.

.:Classified:. A ringing starts, low st first but gradually getting louder. An annoyed Cait Mendez picks up the holovid, irritation saturating her voice. "I'm in the middle of a meeting with the deputy director, this had better be good." "Ma'am, we have a report that the linguists have managed to translate much of the language with the help of our advanced AIs." "Wait, have you been able to translate the navigational data on their systems? What about the system functions?" Cait Mendez lost herself, the excitement in her voice showing. "Cait, perhaps this meeting can wait. I imagine the Imperator would want to know immeadietely." The deputy director chimed in. "He doesn't need to know. This is an ONI matter, and ONI supersedes the Imperator except in the most extreme circumstances. However, I will head to Luna and check this myself. We've kept it out if the hands of SoE and French officials, correct?" Cait Mendez inquired, a stern tone permeating through the holovid. "Yes ma'am. Despite it being against the Imperator's directive, we've had then go using on some of the platform guns in the hanger bay. Only ONI approved linguists and our AI Cortana, were permitted access to the systems." "I will be there in the next 48 hours, compile your notes and be ready when I get there." "Of course." The Deputy Director begins to sort through files. These files include a number of assets in insurrectionist strongholds, 2 in France, 1 in SoE, 3 Rokkenjima, 2 in the USSR, 1 in MoG[corp], 8 in the US, 3 in First Order, 2 in the Republic, 4 in the Regime, and 2 in Germany. The operational procedure for assets is to find individuals in low to moderate levels of government who are discontent with how things operate, and to exploit that with promise of funds or political support. ONI officials even went so far as to make connections with criminal groups to secure channels into the country to ensure flow of information. This was all done via third party corporations so it could not be directly connected back to ONI or the Imperium itself. The intelligence report in assets is heavily encrypted an on an offline server that only the director and deputy director can access. Different departments manage each nations ONI assets. The compartmentalization was intended to keep leaks from being severe or catastrophic. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wj9EiOa2dXNnIpvnxQKJeAZbqfKV5OXT5nGN5vUjlUM/edit?usp=drivesdk

The Imperium government will hereby send several Shaw-Fujikawa FTL engines to the governments of France and SoE. The plan will be to merge the spacefaring navies into one unit, officially named United Nations Space Command. The intent of the new branch is to defend the Homeland and the colonies against hostile alien threats. Additionally, the French and SoE governments would be given the RNC terraforming technology. As long as the planet has an atmosphere, the planet itself could be terraformed.

.:Classified:. All is quiet in the Tantalus system, as the RNC fleet continues to salvage the wreckage of the alien ships the spider-like machine having been carried off to Station Luna to be investigated. The Fleet had taken position around the Tantalus System to defend local assets against potential assault. Out if nowhere, slipspace activity was detected 3,200 kilometers from orbit around Euro. A fleet of alien ships amassed, coming to over 80 strong. (1 CSO-Class super carrier, 7 CAS class assault carriers, 14 CCS-Class battle cruisers, 14 CPV-Class heavy destroyers, 16 CRS-Class light cruisers, 22 CAR-class frigates, 21 DAV-Class light corvettes and 4 CPV-Class super destroyers) After grouping up, the fleet fired at the RNC vessels with their plasma based cannons. The RNC fleet attempted to charge the unidentified force, launching their MAC rounds at max capacity, and firing all of their archer missile pods. The 6,000 missiles launched towards the ship, and the alien ballistic defenses targeted and destroyed 3,400 of them before they could make it to their target. As the archer pods took down the shields of an assault carrier and 2 destroyers, while eliminating 8 frigates, the MAC rounds would hit the assault carrier in 3 different areas. Ripping the ship apart. After a clear desperate assault, where RNC forces expended their missile stockpile, they had already lost RNC designations: Bunker hill, Acadia, Bellerophen, Journeyman, and Aladin. The remaining RNC ships fired their stockpiles of SHIVA missiles, attempting to launch an EMP to disable the opposing ships. While launching them, the Orion class carrier Atlas, was obliterated by 6 individual plasma blasts. Of the 33 SHIVA nukes fired, only 2 would successfully go off. The results were half the remaining alien fleet being disabled, while the now defenseless RNC vessels were blasted to pieces. The alien forces boarded their allied vessels and repaired them within the span of a few hours. Afterwards, the alien fleet would take orbit around the planet, with its exhausted defenses from the previous battle, and incinerate the planet below. The ground would be converted to glass, and the atmosphere would be caught ablaze. The images of the alien corpses that were captured from the wrecked vessel, were labeled classified at the highest authority to prevent widespread panic. Grunt Elite Jackal .:Onboard an Alien Vessel:. "The heretics must be purified, for they have defiled the remains of the Great Ones. We cannot transcend in the Great Journey until all of the heretics have been purged. It is the new directive of the Covenant to hunt down and eradicate these primitives before they can do harm to any more relics from the Great Ones." -A Missive from the Prophet of Truth

With the Novan government falling to pieces, the military equipment would be reclaimed. Additionally the funds promised would be taken from the central banks, which was then converted into the Resorian Credit. .:Statement:. "We're sorry to hear about the fall of the government, but we will make sure that we get what was promised. We wish the Novan people the best."

.:Public Statement:. "The Imperium will help to develop these provinces as best we can, while we receive the resources from these mines. These resources are of paramount importance to us. As such, anyone who attempts to disrupt the flow of titanium will be treated as a hostile, and appropriate recourse will occur." .:Classified:. A team of Soviet officials would be brought in, while a team of Resorian experts and officials would be flown in with the appropriate equipment. A document describing the intended design of the structure had already been forwarded and approved by the appropriate governments, and construction would begin immediately as local construction companies were brought in, and 215,000 locals would be sought after to work the mines after construction is finished, and offered $35 an hour. There would be 3 shifts a day, with 8 hours in each shift to ensure that they would work around the clock. The structures will have a MAC platform emplacement, capable of firing 2,200 miles away. It will have 2,300 archer missile pods for anti-air and surface to surface bombardment. It will have 26 rotary laser defense weapons, 180 110mm autocannons, 360 M8 Turrets, barracks for 12,000 infantry with 50 longswords, 1,200 Berack-IIs, and 350 Scorpion Tanks.

Ooc:As discussed on discord, the androids do not exist. The next time you steal my tech, there will not be a "let's make it non-cannon" discussion. It will be me bombarding your assets with the full force of the Resorian army. This is the 2nd chance. You will not be given a 3rd.

.:Classified:. The towed ship would be hooked up to the station, where a clean up crew would move in and take the corpses, putting them on transports and taking them down to a covert medical facility to be dissected. Linguists would begin searching through the computers, inspecting the various characters that popped up. Engineers and scientists would begin studying the shield technology, attempting to integrate it into RNC vessels. Finally, in orbit around Euro, a spider-like machine was fished out of the wreckage of one of the carriers. The vehicle was mostly intact, aside from a number of scratches. It would be scanned for life, and then loaded into the Orion-class carrier.

As Ruebania had been developing technologies similar to Resoria's, it had come to the attention of resorian officials that spies might have infiltrated the nation. As such, the satellites aligned above orbit pointing towards the nation below. The 8 carrier groups that escorted the novan weapons were now being redirected to the Ruebanian coast. The fleet would surround and blockade the nation, while preparing to do something more.

.:Classified:. Officials in the SoE and France were contacted as Imperium officials put together a vast research team to be dispatched to Station Luna, to begin dissecting the covenant ships, small arms, and armor. The intent was to find weaknesses to exploit while simultaneously improving their own technology by adapting the alien tech into there. The teams included quantum physicists, linguists, engineers, and a myriad of other scientists. Towards the Tantalus system, the RNC forces had finally recovered the last ship, the total casualties coming out to 18 Spartans MIA and 632 Marines dead. After the last two ships were connected through the cable, all but a single carrier group fled the system, taking up their positions around Reach and Mars. The carrier group that stayed behind began sifting through the wrecked alien ships, salvaging what they could from the wreckage. Believing that this alien threat would not realize one of their fleets had stopped their communication.

The entire RNC fleet slow trickles into the system, surrounding the covenant ships. "Blue team, checking in" "Red Tram, checking in" "Grey Team, checking in" "Echo Team, checking in" "Fire Team Apex, checking in" "Fire Team Apollo, checking in" "Fire Team Avalanche, checking in" "Fire Team Bailey, checking in" "Fire Team Castle, checking in" "Fire Team Crimson, checking in" "Fire Team Domino, checking in" "Fire Team Forest, operation leader, checking in" "Alright, Spartan squads. Your objective is to enter the ships one by one, and clear them of hostiles. You will get onto the ship through boarding craft, with your load out. Once you are on the ship, you group up and clear the ship steadily. Do not rush, we cannot afford to lose men on this unnecessarily, but it is imperative that we that these ships get in our possession. Their weapons should be out of commission, but you are to assume their weapons are live. Any questions, Spartans?" "Just one, commander. Do we have any Intel on how many hostiles will be inside of these vessels?" The leader of Fire team Forest asked. "According to our readings, there should be around 2,300 hostiles in each ship." "Our squads only have 15 people in each. Do you think we can clear all 3 ships?" "You are the best of the best. Hand picked and augmented to be the strongest of us all. On top of that, these things have no more comms network and possibly no weapons. They will be spread out through the ship while your teams will be together. You have every advantage possible. If you need additional reinforcements, we will send 1,500 marines to board and help with fire support." "Then we're ready to go, Commander." "Grab your weapons and get into your assigned boarding craft. When all squads are ready, the operation will commence" When the last Spartan team gets onto their boarding craft fully armed, the call goes out. The ships leave the hanger, and latch onto the nearest ship. It pierces a hole into it and pressurises, and the Spartans flood out. A group of three 4 jawed creatures and 8 knee high ones with breathing tubes are caught off gaurd, and met with a hail of bullets. The Spartans steadily moved towards the bridge, killing every alien in their path. The plasma weapons hit the prototype shield equipped to their armor, without piercing. After several hours, they made it to the bridge. When they stormed the bridge, they were met with 6 fuel rod cannons firing at once. The initial explosion killed 3 Spartans and the rest fled back to the hall. A spartan from blue team, Spartan-117, threw 8 frags into the room at once. After the explosion happened, him and a Spartan-121 rushed in with 2 SMGs in both hands, firing constantly. Two of the knee high creatures fired their fuel rod launchers, both hitting Spartan-121 directly in the chest, shattering his armor and burning through his chest. After the shots fired, the other Spartans rushed in, aiming at the knee high creatures first, then killing the rest. After several hours more, the remaining signs of life were extinguished, and the Spartan teams left to clear the remaining ships. The cleared ship had a cable attached to it, connecting to a heavy cruiser, then subsequently jumping into slipspace to Station Luna.

.:Classified:. Above the planet Euro, a covenant fleet comes out of slipspace, a few thousand kilometers from the planet. The 30 ships begin to take up positions around the planet, when the 9MAC platforms fire towards the ships. Hitting the largest one, seemingly a carrier, with 6 rounds, the ships shields remain intact, while the other one, seemingly a heavy cruiser, took the remaining 3. After taking the 3 rounds the shield falters and the hull becomes exposed. Despite this, the heavy cruiser continues to moved forward. Making it 230 kms, before another round is fires. The heavy cruiser is shredded by 2 rounds, while the carriers shield goes down after 4 more, taking a shit to its hull. A destroyer takes a round to its shield and pushes forward. Losing ship after ship, the alien fleet continues to to push. By the time they take up positions around orbit, there are 12 ships left. Before firing their plasma beam, they fire targeting plasma torpedoes at every MAC platform. Within minutes, the planetary defenses fall silent. In a last ditched effort, Euro fires its nuclear arsenal, followed by 3/4s of the planets archer missiles. The nukes explode in the shield, with less than half of the missiles. The nukes, releasing an emp, render the ships immobile and defenseless. This would be followed up by the last of the remaining missiles. 7 of the 12 would be destroyed, while 3 would see heavy to moderate damage. After a communication from Euro's commander, the entire RNC fleet would travel to the planet to take possession if the captured fleet, while 12 Spartan teams would be sent in to clear all hostiles as needed.

.:Classified:. In orbit around the planet ChuRoh, a fleet of unidentified ships came out of slipspace, a total of 30 ships. The planet had no defensive fleet, and relied on a militia force with a network of aerial defenses(110 mm autocanons) and a series of archer missile pods. When the ships arrived, a transmission was sent out, attempting to peacefully communicate with the species. The ships moved into low orbit, the entire time, not sending out a response transmission. A bright light flashed, and a beam of plasma hit the planets surface. Once this occurred, the planetary commander ordered the firing of all weapons. The beam of plasma was steadily turning the ground into glass, as more of these unidentified ships began to take positions around the planet and subsequently fired the same beams. As the weapons sailed towards the ships, they were intercepted by some form of shield. The defenses continued to fire upon the ships, but were unable to break through as the glassing of the planet covered more and more territory. Within hours, the entire surface of the planet was encased in a morbidly beautiful glass, reflecting the light of the atmosphere that was now on fire. The ozone and oxygen in the air burned, and would keep burning for the next 3 days. A colony of over 350,000 people was wiped out, in the span of a few hours. The network of intelligence satellites recording the event, however, were left intact, and seemed to be undetected as this force began landing transport vessels on the now desolate planet. The Imperator looked on in a mixture of terror and horror. Within the next few days, an up and coming general pushed forward a new operating procedure, dubbed the Cole Protocol. The objective of this protocol is to wipe the navigational data residing on RNC vessels, to hopefully prevent these new enemies from discovering the other colonies, or even the homeland. They would be able to retrieve the navigational data again through the onboard AI communicating with homeland HQ, should the vessels survive the encounter.