Main Mission: Arcadia - Space

[elando]

"Its too damn quiet out here..." Flashheart said, sitting with his head rested on his fist in the Captains seat. "Well Sir, it is space, theres no sound in-" Lt. Warren started to say, but Flashheart cut him short. "I know about sound in space, Warren. It was a figure of speech..." Flashheart sighed. "Ah right you are sir." Warren replied, a little down heartened. "I just hate playing the waiting game." Flashheart said. "We know a damn Battlecruiser is comming but we don't know when or where. All we can do is wait while the Marines tackle things on the ground."

Suddenly Jackson looked up from his control panel. "Sir!" He shouted. Flashheart jumped in his seat and turned to face him. "The Covenant Battlecruiser has jumped from the planet's surface, Sir!" "Report! Do we know its destination!?" "Negative, Sir. But it's launched a shit load of Fighters and Bombers. No doubt they're heading this way to try and disrupt the evacuation operation."

"Blast! I knew something was up, I just knew it." Flashheart said, keying the intercom to a ship wide broadcast. "This is Captain Flashheart. Pilots man your aircraft. We have waves of fighter bombers incomming. Security forces, gear up. They'll no doubt send boarders to try and overrun the ship."

And with that, the alarms sounded and the bridge sprung into action. Small craft were more of a threat in some respects than a Battlecruiser. They were so small and manuverable that they could only be engaged by Intercepters, and as for boarding craft. If any managed to breach the hull, things would become a whole lot more complicated...

[maxii1]

Captain McMillan turned to stare out of the Bridge’s vast glass window.
“That Battlecruiser looks ready to cause us some issues” commented one of the ‘Bridge Brigade’ as McMillan had dubbed his men.
“Harkon, get our weapons online and start lighting up those fighters” McMillan grimaced at the thought of all that Covenant Craft inbound.
Boarders.
“All Personal, prepare for Boarders, Combat teams get to you’re allocated positions”
McMillan turned to his Operations Officer; Nigel Lennox and pointed at him.
”I want you to make sure that no enemy gets through to the civilian’s” he told the man.
Reginald took a sharp, deep breath and looked around, space combat was a nerve wrecking experiance and one that McMillan was looking forward too.

[darknight101]

Harkon began typing in commands on his console, starting up the 50mm Point Defense Guns. After pressing enter they would activate and track anything flying that wasn't a UNSC Fighter, apparently the AI could do it better than the human eye. They wouldn't do much, it took 200 rounds to do any critical damage to a fully shielded Seraph fighter, but it was the only thing they had. Other weapons were diverted to fighting Covenant warships, speaking of which...

"I'd give anything to know just where that Battlecruiser was coming from." Harkon said, missile pods were loaded in preperation, but that wouldn't do a whole hell of a lot.

[maxii1]

Captain Reginald 'McMad' McMillan
UNSC Forlorn Hope

Captain McMillan was leaning over the central command screen, it listed the small fleet that hovered over Arcadia, it also showed major grouping of ground and air units both enemy and allied.
“Automatic Targeting is Available sir” reminded the ship’s A.I; Polly.
Harkon shuddered at the thought of such a think as automatic usage of the weapons, depriving him of the glory of firing the Mac Cannon.
McMad shook his head.
“I trust Harkon to take the shot’s with the main cannon, the rest is up to the gun crews”
Reginald trusted his crew, knew them personally, their limitations as well as their merits. He also knew that they where capable of deciding when to let the computer take command of a gun.
“Graham, get ready for evasive manoeuvres, I really don’t like the look of that ship” the captain gestured towards the Covenant Cruiser.
McMillan then turned to his own radio and dialled through to the Honour and Glory, wanting to know how exactly Flashheart was planning. He knew that his fellow Ship Captain could be a little brash at times.

[dusty]

John McCoy looked out his viewscreen. "Sir, point defensce weapons online, loading flak rounds as we speak"

John turned around "load with solid rounds, we're gonna have fighters dogfighting around us"

The man nodded and started to send out the messages to gun crews.

McCoy continued watching the deep space. the serepths were too far out for visuals yet. He turned around, "Deploy romeo squadren, and have them hide under our radar signal. We're gonna ambush the bastards. And deploy the troops""

The helmsman nodded and the ship drifted slightly over the planet. Smalll bang noises could be heard as Drop Pods were launched at the ground.

[Soulstep]

Lieutenant, Junior Grade Peter Graham

"Aye aye, Cap. Readying emergency thrusters, powering up the engines. I'll try and keep her pointing at the Covenant cruiser, once it gets here, as much as I can." Peter replied to McMad.

After a several seconds of furious typing, he had all of the ship's manuevring options up and running. "Where to, sir?"

Crewman Mark Harrington

Mark ran like hell to his Longsword, he was getting hell in his ear from Yuri, his flight engineer, who wasn't pleased that Mark hadn't arrived at Whiplash 3 yet. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" he yelled back, drawing a few confused looks from those nearby. He skidded into the hangar, and vaulted onto the ship's ramp and sped to the cockpit. He leaned onto his seat, gasping for breath before sitting down and strapping in, with Yuri still ranting, but he tried to block it out.

"Whiplash 3, are you ready yet, dammit?" Whiplash 1 screamed through the radio.

"Sir, yes sir!" Mark replied, nodding at Ralph, his Co-pilot. He looked over at Stephen, who looked annoyed at him being late, and annoyed at Yuri for not shutting the hell up.

"Finally. Alright, I'll let Captain Mcmillain know we're ready." came the exaspirated reply from Whiplash 1.

[maxii1]

Captain Reginald 'McMad' McMillan
UNSC Forlorn Hope

”Hell it just jumped!” McMillan exclaimed.
“Polly, any idea where too?” he asked the Shipboard A.I
She shook her head.
“Bastard thing will be back no doubt” he uttered as he looked at the wave’s of enemy fighters and boarding craft that where heading towards the UNSC Fleet.
He turned to Graham and shrugged his shoulders “No need to move now, stay alert though” he smiled.

“We may have avoided fighting their BattleCruiser, but we still have them to worry about” he pointed towards the vast amount of inbound enemy contacts.
“Get Whiplash Squadron out, let me know when they’re ready” the Captain shouted, still slightly worried about the escaped Cruiser.
“Okay Harkon, cool the Mac, but keep the other guns hot, I want you to light up those targets”

[darknight101]

Harkon gave a small grunt of dissatisfaction, he wouldn't be able to use his favorite of all weapons. He canceled the firing solution program and sent a word to engineering to cancel the loading action he had sent their way moments before.

"Aye, Cap'n." He answered, he still had a job to do, and like McMad had said, the Cruiser would probably be back.

He typed in the targeting information for the Archer Missile Pods, thirty Seraphs were about to be put through shit. He also sent a small message to the people manning the defensive Rail Guns and PDGs, 'Pick a target and wait for orders'. Now he just had to figure out which targets would be best, Seraphs or those damn Phantoms?

Why worry about it? You do have orders. He allowed the targeting computer to pick thirty random targets, mostly Seraphs, but a few Phantoms, and he let fly with the all at once. He sent the 'go ahead' to the gun crews and saw the missiles and bullets rush toward the inbound Covenant craft.

"I love my job." Harkon smiled.

[Soulstep]

Crewman Mark Harrington Whiplash 3 Forlorn Hope Hangar Bay

"This is Whiplash 1 to Whiplash Squadron, we have the go ahead. Take out as many Seraphs and Phantoms as you can. Whiplash 1 out."

Yuri finally finished giving Mark hell and turned to his station. Stephen wasn't nessaccary on this flight, but he stayed where he was just in case. "Engines are hot, we are green for takeoff," came the comformation from Yuri as Mark eased the throttle forwards, the slick black frame sliding out of the hangar, and into the depth of space. As soon as the Longsword had cleared the ship, he jammed the throttle to full. It felt like he was kicked in the back as the power of the engines shoved the interceptor forwards. Mark whooped in glee, and Ralph licked his lips in anticipation.

Ralph armed the 4 AGSM-10 missiles, and got ready to fire the ventral cannons. They were supposed to be used for strafing runs, but they were decent in a dogfight, if you could get above an enemy without being seen. They were a higher calibre than Mark's chainguns, and were operated independant of the other guns, allowing the Longsword to sometimes fire at mulitple targets.

"Good hunting, Whiplash," came Macintosh's voice over the radio. "Let's show 'em the UNSC ain't going down without a fight."

[maxii1]

McMad looked towards the wave of enemy, now being intercepted by UNSC forces.
The memory of dog fights came back to haunt him, the frantic movements of controls, the constantly complaining passengers.
Well that was then, now large scale fights where sorted by fire power and speed, if you couldn’t blast the enemy you’d blast away from him.
“Okay people, let’s keep on top of the situation” McMillan said, talking to no-one in particular.

[Soulstep]

Crewman Mark Harrington Whiplash 3

"Whiplash 3, you got a Seraph on your six!"

"Ahh shit!" Mark yelled as he barrel rolled the Longsword, plasma cannon shots silently flying past. He wove the craft through the melee, trying to shake his pursuer. Distant explosions dotted space. He pulled up hard, and the interceptor looped over, and the Seraph was in his sights. He let rip with the miniguns, and Ralph did the same with the ventral cannons. The teardrop-shaped fighter's shield rippled under the firepower. They soon gave way, and the shells penetrated the ship, and it decompressed, all the air being sucked out, and the pilot exploded from being suddenly exposed to vacuum.

"Nice shooting guys, we might just make it through this," came the voice from Stephen, which Ralph instantly responded to. "Hell yeah we will!"

Mark glanced at the celebration, but when he looked back at the blackness of space, he saw several Seraphs approaching the Forlorn Hope's engines. "Oh no you don't..." he whispered, as he gunned the engines. In surprise, and by the sheer force, Ralph was flung out of his seat. "Ow... What the hell, man?"

[tsubinext]

--//UNSC Revolution\\--

--//Bridge\\--

--//Captain Erik "Blitzkrieg" von Kreigler\\--

::The Revolution exited slipspace at a slower-than-normal rate. As it exited, the battle became noticeable. Erik's blue eyes gazed at the battle. I take it the Covenant had another ship.... He ordered the dialing of the standard radio frequency for UNSC Forces. He wanted audio-only for now, as the radio might be bugged.::

"This is the MRC-569 Revolution of the Inner Colonies 2nd Fleet. We have come to assist the efforts here."

::Erik nodded to a crewman on the bridge. It meant to scramble the Longswords. The crewman gave the all-green to launch, and they took off. Erik looked out as he spoke to the radio again::

"I am not taking command of this operation unless I am given direct orders. However, it would be helpful if we did not lose another Marathon-class."

::Erik waited on a reply as he turned off the microphone. He turned his head to the side as he spoke to the ship's AI::

"GoldenEye, give me a SitRep. I need to know what we are facing..."

"Affirmative. Might I suggest moving towards the allied fleet?"

"No. If my calculations are correct, they may not know about this ship's presence here, and they would most likely exit slipspace in a perfect angle for us."

"Understood. SitRep will be on the main screen."

"Danke."

::Erik looked at the main screen of the bridge, seeing the few ships that remained and the many fighters scrambled. He knew this was to be a fight if the Covenant forces brought Battlecruisers with them...::

[maxii1]

/Captain Reginald McMillan
/UNSC: Forlorn Hope

Captain McMillian looked over to the large display screen, the Marathon class ship; UNSC Revolution had appeared.
"Fashionably late, as always" he smiled and radioed a welcome to the latest ship that had arrived.
"How are the attack runs coming along?" he walked towards the coffee machine, intent on another beverage.
Every great leader had their slight unusual habits and for McMad it was his beverage addiction, be it a cup of tea or a mug of coffee.
Whilst he waited for ethier the Revolution or one of his crew to reply he pondered on what was going down on the ground of the wartorn planet infront of him.
Super Squadron was ferrying survivors from the planet, whilst those brave ground fighters fought on in the face of defeat.
Many of those ground troopers would probably still be on that planet when the covenant returned to glass the offending colony.

The Coffee tasted bitter, or maybe it was the thought of abandoning men that played tricks with the Captain's mind.

[nex]

//UNSC Masyaf

//Captain Jason Kerslake


Captain Kerslake paced his bridge, before settling in his chair, as the UNSC Masayaf exited Slipspace.

The bridge was soon a flurry of activity.
"Electronic Countermeasures running"
"Reactor running at 20%.
"Radiation and Heat sinks operational."

He listened patiently to the crew, waiting for the last summary Prowler captains long for;
"Captain, we're a ghost."
""Start the timer", he responded, acknowledging the accepted idea that 30 minutes is the ideal time a prowler can remain undetected.

He allowed a brief few moments for the crew to settle about their stations, before addressing the holographic display to his right:
"Adria, what am I seeing?"
A cloaked female figure emerged from the platform, her head adorned with a Diadam. Her wavering blue appearance and the scrolling digits, partially lighting the darkened bridge.

"Sir, there is a singular covenant battleship some distance away. The UNSC vessels, including the UNSC Forlorn Hope and the UNSC Revolution are currently repelling boarders and skirmishes with enemy fighters have broken out.

In addition, there is considerable stella debris from the remains of the UNSC Belfast and the UNSC Texas, following the first arrival of the covenant here a week ago."


Kerslake considered the options for a few minutes before deciding on his course of action.

"We can use the interferance of some of that debrie to mask our presence a little longer. Prepare a BLACK WIDOW ComSat for stealth release. Change trajectory after release to bring us here", he said gesturing to an the remains of an armour plate from one of the destroyed vessels.

Hopefully that would throw off anyone who had noticed their arrival. They couldn't risk direct communications.

He waited as the ship slowly drifted forward, untill the small basketball-sized satallite was gently released. Their course change was not so subtle. He hung on as the engines pulled the ship into a tight turn.

He waiteda few moments before hailing the fleet, the communication bounced through the stealth satallite. It would be encrypted then beamed to each ship on a low band frequency; Unlikly to intercept unless you knew it was there.

"This the UNSC Masyaf to all UNSC vessels, announcing arrival in Arcadia system."

[maxii1]

/Captain Reginald McMillan
/UNSC: Forlorn Hope

McMillian was still waiting to hear from the UNSC Revolution when a message was recieved from the UNSC Prowler; Masyaf.
It had arrived, but damn didn't appear to have, even to McMad's expert eyes the craft had remained hidden.
"Welcome to the party" he stated, wondering whether the Prowler would aide in the evacuation process or provide overwatch in order to maintain hidden.

The few remaining boarding craft and other covenant vehicles pressed on to thier objectives, McMad thought back to the matter in hand
"Whiplash, I need you to deal with all those craft, before it starts affecting Super and the other Rescue Squadrons".

[dusty]

John McCoy watched a long sword race past his viewport, it was trailing a Seraph and it engaged destroying it.

Volker was standing next to the viewport spouting random bursts of information, that to a computer A.I. is useful, but otherwise, it isn't.

"Seraph 31-2 Destroyed, Minor hull damage is sectors 3.4, 1.2, 5.4, and 6.7, Long sword 4 is starting to run low on engine coolant, Gun battery 5, guns 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.7, starting overheating, 3 injuries on deck 1, Engine reactor 6.554.675.65527 is experiencing minor stress fractures."

The random spouts were important to the survival of his ship, just not at this moment. There were engineers who listed to Volker spout and fixed the problems, so he knew it wouldn’t end poorly.

Volker's babble cut out suddenly "Prowler ship, UNSC Masyaf, Captain Jason Kerslake In orbit of planet" Volker’s chosen avatar was a hooded figure with no visible features, other then he was humanoid in shape, with a cloak draped over him. His hooded facial region, lit up for a moment, before he spoke again "No other un-classified information available on ship"

McCoy nodded then turned "Recall Fighters for refueling and rearming, switch all batteries to flak fire, dense coverage." The crewmen in the bridge nodded and went to work.

He looked at several boarding pods coming at his ship. He personally went over to a wall, grabbed a switch and pulled it. Sirens wailed, and lights flashed.

He grabbed a mic "This is Captain John McCoy, prepare for boarding action."

He grabbed a shotgun from a marine, who ran to get a new one from the armory, and smiled as the Flak field surrounded his ship, in a cocoon.

[nex]

//UNSC Masyaf

//Captain Jason Kerslake

Captain Kerslake stood on the bridge, and listened. His ship was quiet. As it should be. They were drifting in a field of debris, observing the dogfights in the distance. At the moment, they couldn't risk getting into orbit. Not without a day's circling. By that point stealth would be useless anyway.

He took a moment before addressing his bridge crew. He had to reassure them that they were planning far more than a simple reconnaisance. They were expecting action, and sneakening around was disenheartening.

"The area is too hot with fighter coverage at this point in time. Any action would result in us being discovered. Whilst we can match our own in a fight, undue attention is not wanted. When the fighting quiets, or shifts to a location away from the hotzone in the planets orbit, we can begin operations. Our goal is the establishment of additional BLACK WIDOW ComSats, as well as Stealth Tactical Aerial Reconnaissance Satellite - STARS and Clarion Spy Drones to provide additional live coverage for our ground forces, and to track minor aerial craft. "

"After this, we will create a minefield over ground operations, to limit enemy movement, and the deployment of further enemy ground troops, as well as taking the offensive, and assisting in the elimination of that cruiser, by whatever means we can."

He looked as the admiring nods from his crew. They agreeded with the gameplan. And now they understood why they had to wait.

"About your stations. Get ready for multiple satellite launches. Eta, 10 minutes. Encrypt action plan, including provisional layouts for minefields - code Saphire, and transmit to UNSC Forlorn Hope, via BW1 ComSat. Additional Message: Mac, Forward to Fleet as suitable. May need to borrow a gun or two later. Regards Nex."

He watched the scurry of activity, which was still suprisingly quiet. Soon their time would come.

[Soulstep]

Crewman Mark Harrington Whiplash 3

"Whiplash 3, where the hell are you? Captain wants us to mop these guys up!"

"Working on it, Whiplash 1!" Mark replied, adrenaline thumping in his veins as he lined up on one of the Seraphs making for the Forlorn Hope's engines. A deadly spray of minigun fire soon had it venting atmosphere. "Sir, I am in pursuit of a Seraph squadron making a strafing run on the Forlorn Hope's engines."

A pause, then the reply came, "Alright, take them out."

Moments later, another comm message came through. "This is Whiplash 2, I got one on my tail!"

"Hold on, I'm on my way!" Whiplash 1 called.

Mark concentrated on the 3 remaining Seraphs ahead. "Ralph, lock on those bastards with the missiles!"

"Already done," grinned Ralph, his eagerness to blow the fighters away clear to all.

"Do it."

The missiles launched, four streams of fire leaping from the Longsword. They homed in on their targets, blowing one completely apart, and fatally crippling another. The last one broke off it's attack, and span round to face Whiplash 3. Two blue strobed flashed towards the interceptor.

"Ahh shit! Hang on!" Mark screamed as he rolled the ship, the plasma searing the right wing, missing by inches. He didn't give the Seraph time to fire again, blazing away with the miniguns he soon disabled the alien craft.

"Whiplash 1, I got 'em!"

[maxii1]

Captain McMillan had overheard the dog fight with batted breath, as it concluded he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
"Well Played Harrington" he broadcasted to the squadron "Infact to all of you, mop up any remnants of their attack force and return to base"

He could see that a few of the other ships had managed to deal with their own covenant attacks, however he hadn't heard from the other ship captains for a little while.
He awaited orders and instructions from Captain Flasheart who as the responding vessel naturally took charge

[nex]

"The areas clear of hostile fighters. Go loud. Reactor to 100%. Put us in a geosynchronous orbit above the area of operations. Ready satellite launch on my mark".

Captain Kerslake paced the bridge. Time for action at last. He was tiring of hiding.

"Hail the Fleet", he said turning to his Comms officer.

"UNSC Masyaf is attempting to assist surface efforts. Provide cover and support as the situation requires."

He watched with abated breath as the multiple thump of decompression as four of the STARs were released. The Stealth Reconnaissance Satellites would provide real-time imagery of the surface, including thermal. The enemy troops could be pinpointed. And the best thing? The satellites themselves were virtually undetectable. Throw in some BlackWidow ComSats, and the surface would be well supported with Intel. As long as those Ships held off covenant reinforcements, it would be an easy win.

"Recon Grid is online sir. We have imagery over the target area. Transferring data feeds to the UNSC Honour and Glory, and the UNSC Forlorn Hope. They can make the best use of it." The young ensign was showing some degree of initative. Kerslake smiled and nodded.

"ComSats are online. Designated BW2-5. Encryption Key: Crystal." Another Bridge officer continued.

"Take us out, bring reactor to down to 20%. Lets Vanish again"

[dusty]

John listened to Volker.

"Covenant quarantined in sector 3. Marines are experiencing hostile fire in sector 3.1, 3.5, and sector 3.9. 42 friendly casualties, 62 hostile casualties. Hostile forces outnumbered 56 to 1 in sector 3.

John nodded, and when the radar went blank, he walked over to the mic "Repel all boarders, then this is over"

He turned around "Get those flak guns off, load with the solid rounds, and bring archer pods to the ready. Load my MAC cannon with 1 heavy, 1 light, and 1 heavy round, that order. Bring reactors to 100% and get us here"

He said pointing to a spot on the map a fair distance away from the last location on the Masyaf

"When these bastards show up again, we're going to kick the shit out of them"

The room erupted in cheers as the Rolling Thunder moved to be prepared.

McCoy walked over to his X.O. “Ready all pelicans, and escape pods, for an immediate escape. We’ve seen enough ships lose their whole crews in slug fests with the covenant, and I’d like some of my crew to be able to survive”
When the boarders had been repelled, he turned off the alarm, and grabbed the Mic. “All marines who saw action report to medical bay, and then to your quarters. All marines who saw no action, be at the ready at all times. Things might get very violent soon.”

[maxii1]

://Captain Nigel Lennox
://Expeditionary Officer
://Forlorn Hope: EOS
://Analysis Room

The UNSC Masyaf was sending encrypted data that was invaluable. Real time data was becoming harder to come by with the enemy destroying ground cameras and other surveillance devices.
Captain Lennox smiled at the data he was receiving aboard the Forlorn Hope. He was making the best use of the data as he could; he was currently standing in the EOS Sector of the ship.
Expeditionary Operation Support, the team here analysed all the data they could and send it down to the troops below, a few years ago it would have been Lennox himself down on the ground. But sadly that was not the case anymore.
An operator glued to his screen took a sip of coffee, he spat it back out. “Baines why drink that stuff when you know it’s a dodgy machine?” Lennox asked his old cohort.

“For the constant disappointment it brings my friend” the man looked up from his computer. “Police Station’s been overrun down on the ground, looks like the 95th got everyone out on time” Baines stated.
“Status now?” asked Lennox.
“Awaiting pick-up at Main Spaceport” Baines said after glancing back to his screen for a digital readout.
Lennox nodded.
“I want information about all hostiles moving around that ONI Building, the troopers on the ground could sure as hell do with some information”
Baines nodded and started sending relevant data to the soldiers on the ground, not just those from the Forlorn Hope but from the whole UNSC Fleet.

[nex]

"Helm, all-stop."

Captain Kerslake took a long look out at the viewscreen that adorned one wall of the bridge. It was instead of a window. Made them harder to spot no doubt, but it did rob a captain of overlooking the battle in person.

With the Cruiser jumped to slipspace, and the diminishing numbers of covenant ground and air forces, it looked like they could easily secure the planet. They mightn't need to evacuate so hurridly, Kerslake pondered thoughtfully. Afterall, without reinforcements, the covenant numbers would run down.

"Hail the UNSC Honour and Glory. Give me a indirect channel, through CommSats, to Captain Flashheart."

The young Lieutenant nodded a short minute later.

"This is the UNSC Masyaf, requesting permission to establish minefields in key locations in system. With the intent to maintain aerial superiority and to prevent the reinforcement of covenant ground forces. "

[SurvivorX]

//Tramis 'Talamee, Blea 'Daronee, and Thgo 'Mogumee
//Bridge of the CCS-class Battlecruiser Imperious Eye

Tramis looked out the viewscreen at the battle as the Imperious Eye began to exit slipspace. The Assault Carrier had jumped out and there appeared to be a handful of Human ships milling around.

Tramis looked across the bridge at 'Mogumee. "Well, Ship Master, it would appear we've arrived late."

'Mogumee shrugged. "Unimportant. The Prophet's ship will be safe. In the meantime, we merely have to appraise the situation for the fleet. Seven Human ships...I'm sure our fleet can handle it."

"Agreed. I'll call them in. You begin the attack."

And so 'Talamee began the process of calling in the ships behind him, while 'Mogumee ordered for the main cannons to be charged up. These cannons were put in place of standard plasma turrets. They were capable of gutting a Human ship in a single cleansing blast.

As the massive amounts of energy built up, 'Mogumee locked in a targeting solution against an enemy cruiser.

'Mogumee grinned. "As for the pulse lasers...aim at the minefield. That moronic cloaked ship next to it seems to think we can't see his mines 'appearing from nowhere'. He will be engulfed in his own unholy flames."

And the two main cannons fired, as the lasers shot instantaneously across space to slice through one of the mines. The detonation set off a chain-reaction and the mines began exploding, one-by-one, the shockwave of devastation rapidly pounding forth towards the hapless prowler.

[elando]

As Flashheart sat in the captain's seat, absent mindedly sipping a mug of tea he had sent for Captain Kerslakes voice came through the intercom. The captain was requesting to lay a minefield, which, considering a prowler is an ONI vessel, he shouldn't need clearance to do anything. "Clearance Granted Captain, thanks for letting us know..." Flashheart replied.

In the distance a faint light which wasn't there before sprang to life and began moving across the command view window. Obviously this was the prowler, going about its business of laying mines. No doubt the Covenant would arrive soon, and in force, but luckily another UNSC fleet was on the way. Hopefully they'd at least stand a chance against a small covenant fleet but the UNSC wasn't known for its great space victories...

Suddenly, commotion errupted from one of the control consoles. "Captain! Slipspace rupture!" A Lieutenant shouted. "On screen!" Flashheart ordered. On the large moniter which was the focal point of the ship's bridge an image came into view. A great portal openned in space and spewed forth a Covenant Battlecruiser. "Sweet Jesus..." Whispered Flashheart. With just two Frigates and a Marathon class cruiser they stood little chance against a Battlecruiser.

"Take evasive action!" Flashheart shouted. In an instant the ship's alarms sounded as the ship's nose turned downwards into a dive. "The ship is charging its lasers Sir! Looks like its going to hit the minefield!" "Shit. I knew that was a bad idea!" replied Flashheart. All the crew could do was look on in horror as the 30 megaton nuclear mines exploded one by one in a domino effect. "Arm the Archer pods! Prepare the Mac Cannon and fire on my mark!" Flashheart ordered as the pilots brought the frigate out of the dive and brought the Mac cannon to bare on the Battlecruiser.

[nex]

The shockwave pounded against the prowler. Captain Kerslake had been caught unaware and had been thrown against the bulkhead. He rubbed his head, aware that his hand came away with blood from a gash in his forehead.

"Report", he yelled out suddenly angry; at himself and at his crew for been caught off guard.

The image of Adria appeared on the holoprojector, looking somewhat dishevelled, and not amused by recent events.

"A Single covenant battle cruiser exited slipspace. They fired on the Revolution, and targeted the Moray mines we just laid. A Chain-reaction has thrown us into a decaying orbit."

"All stations, Damage Report."

"Hull integrity is holding. FTL drive took a hit from shrapnel. Can patch, but it'll take us some time. Sublight engines are operational. Some manoeuvring thrusters are offline"

"Minor damage to texture baffles and the Stealth ablative coating. We may be visible to short range sensors."

"Archer Pods are operational. Moray mining system is disabled. Hornet mining system is still operational. Shiva is secure. Point defence are still operational."

Richardson looked somewhat pleased that they still had some firepower.

"STARS Network is still operational. BlackWidow ComNetwork is operational."

"Few personal injuries from the shockwave. Nothing serious. Talking of which, you’re bleeding. You really shou-"

"All in good time, Collins."

He interrupted his medical officer, choosing to deal with his ship before himself

The bridge was suddenly a flurry of activity as crewmen ran back and forth, and alarms sounded all over the ship.

"Helm, bring us hard starboard - bring us into the planet's atmosphere. Remove the safety on the Shiva Missile. Access code: Thelastfromthefield. Arm all archer pods. Bring point defence guns online."

"Yes sir"

"Give me locations of covenant AA fire on the surface."

"Adria. Find me somewhere clear to put her down, on the far side of the planet from that cruiser."

Prepare MAKO drones for launch. Have the Shiva attached securely to one of them. Be careful with it.

Have anywounded report to the infirmary. All else take it shifts to draw weapons from the armoury. We may have to repell boarders."

He hoped this would work. But it looked like they got off lightly. Clearly the mines had given the ship away, but how could a battle cruiser sneak up on them? Surely they would have noticed and been able to slip away. At least now, unlike the heavier ships in orbit, they could enter atmosphere, and use the planet as a barrier between the covenant and them.

[SurvivorX]

Tramis grinned as he saw the twin flares of blue slam against the side of the Humans' cruiser. Armor sloughed away, flying into space as tiny, fading and dissipating sparks. He watched as first one, then two, and finally a third and fourth became visible from even this distance, and the atmosphere ignited even as it vented into space. Secondary explosions peppered across the blast area as ammunition stores for the autocannons detonated from the heat.

Tramis grinned, gnashing his teeth together. " 'Mogumee, take us closer, full speed. I want to land my forces."

"Yes Field Master. Permission to buzz the cruiser and hit it with plasma torpedoes as we pass?"

"Granted," Tramis muttered as he stalked off to the muster bay. This had only been his opening moves. The rest of the fleet would bash the Humans' pathetic skyboats to pieces. But now, his concern was that of dealing with those infidels on the ground...

[inhert]

Gil Talbert had just finished his pre-game speech to the crew of the UNSC Juniata. He put the mic handle back into its cradle and look at the rest of the officers on the bridge. All of the other officers understood that they were going into the unknown. There was no way any one on the Juniata could picture what the situation was at Arcadia, but they had prepared for the worst. Gil had ordered SHIVA's be loaded into the four missile tubes, and all fighter and bomber crews to their craft with the first four squadrons ready to launch.

"We are about to drop out of Slipspace above Acadia." a Blue male figure, named Raphael, said from his position next to the holo table that Captain Gil Talbert and Commander Ryan Huros stood around.

Gil nodded as he turned to the view screens to see the situation. At first there was still the swirl of lights of Slipspace, then the battle over Arcadia came into view.

"OH SHI-," was Gil response to seeing residual explosions and the burning wreckage coming from a Marathon Cruiser burning off and the rear of a Covenant Battlecruiser, "Launch Squadrons one through four, and get ready to fire two SHIVAs at that!" Gil added as he put his finger through the holographic representation of the Covenant Battlecruiser moving with is back to the Juniata toward the planet of Arcadia. Gil really wished he had that MAC gun he was when the Juniata pulled into Reach.

The Tactical Officer Ensign George Tagert looked at the display in front of him and the contacts of smaller Covenant ships moving and contacted the CAG and lead pilot of Primus squadron, "M and M, get out there and intercept the Speraphs and dorpships coming from the B-C." He pause and looked up from his display and caught the eyes of Commander Ryan Huros. Tagert stared nervously at the ship's second in command only to have Huros nod at him approvingly.

"Tagert, fire both of those SHIVA's and get the right up that B-C's ass." Gil barked at his Tactical Officer.

George tapped on keys around his display and two dots appeared on his display and streaked toward the Battlecruiser, "On the way" He responded to his Capitan.

Ryan Horus looked at the holo table and crossed his arms in an attempt to shrug off the stress. He could see the forms of the other UNSC ship a good distance away from them and know the Juniata need to be with them and muttered his thoughts out loud. Gil was to busy helping George get firing solutions for the rail guns and ARCHER missiles to cover the fighters. Ryan knew what he had to do, "Helm get us to the other ships, and don't show the Cov our backside. Comm hail the other ships rely our approach to them." He hollered with out taking his eyes off of the holo table.

Both the Helmsman and Comms Officer Pamela Morgen nodded and set about their duties. Pamela's soft voice carrying to the other UNSC ships in the area.

[tsubinext]

--UNSC Revolution--

--Bridge--

--Capt. Erik von Kreigler--

"Mein Gott...CHARGE THE MACS. LOAD THE SHIVAS. DO WHATEVER THE HELL YOU THINK CAN SAVE OUR ASSES! SCHNELL SCHNELL SCHNELL! I'm not going down without a fight..."

::Alarms buzzed about the Revolution. The bridge was red with the alarm lights and yelling in both German and English. The Captain turned his chair back to the AI projector behind him. von Kreigler was obviously worried::

"GoldenEye...what the hell should we do?"

"Captain, might I suggest firing the MAC then firing the Shivas on who remained?"

"It's a stretch...But it is all we've got. Open communications to the UNSC ships."

"Affirmative"

::The main panel lit up and von Kreigler sighed. He had determination and anger on his face::

"Attention all UNSC vessels. I am Captain Erik von Kreigler of the Inner Colonies Second Fleet. My ship is the UNSC Revolution. I am actively taking command of this operation, effective immediately. The Revolution is charging her MAC cannons and loading them as we speak. It is a very grim outlook soldiers, but we can overcome them. My knowledge of pain, learned with the sabre, taught me not to be afraid. And just as in dueling when you must concentrate on your enemy's cheek, so, too, in war. You cannot waste time on feinting and sidestepping. You must decide on your target and go in. Remember that. I want you all to return."

"Sir, MAC 2 is ready."

"We will comence all-out barrage when the MAC fires. I want every one of you to pray we come back alive."

::The comms closed and von Kreigler looked out of the bridge. Don't mess with my ship, Covenant scum. ::

"Begin firing in T-Minus Ten...Nine...Eight..Seven..Six...Five..."

::The MAC's magnets started to activate and the shell was starting to be moved::

"...Four...Three...Two...One...Zero...Firing Magnetic Accelerator Cannon!"

::The Shell exited the barrel at very high speeds, just like it should, and headed for the Covenant Ship::

"God be with us..."

[drawkward]

OOC: One novel later ...

Sorry about the length; people just kept posting, and I wanted to keep reacting to it. Stupid reactions.

EDIT: GODDAMNIT TSUBINEXT! No. I'm not changing it; I don't care. It's done. I'm not adding any more.

---

Command Bridge
Pious Charity
Near the planet Arcadia

The Pious Charity exited slipspace moments behind the Igneous Asperity, though much further behind. On the bridge the Ship Master, Joo’nae, sat comfortably in his seat, with an arm propped under his chin.

Most of the bridge’s crew sat in a pit at the front of the bridge. Behind them was the Captain’s Crest; from there the senior officers were slightly elevated and overlooked the bridge crew, watching their movements in the wide room, as they watched the scene beyond the ship from the large pane of glass that gave the entire bridge crew a pristine view of the shimmering planet in the distance.

“We have … arrived,” The ship’s executive officer, Shri T’ova, sighed, as he leaned on the railing at the edge of the Captain’s Crest; behind him several elite grunts were overlooking a barren holographic table, making sure it was calibrated properly. As they finished their modifications, the table came to life and splayed out a perfect image of the Arcadian surface, fixed directly on the battle’s site.

The ship master sat, seemingly uninterested in the table’s projected images. His eyes were fixed on the planet visible through the window.

“How has the Field Master fared?” Joo’nae asked, rising from his seat. The grunts dipped low to the ground, and withdrew out of sight as the Ship Master approached the table.

“It is still too early to say, Ship Master,” Shri T’ova said, turning and also moving towards the table to face his master. “We have yet to receive our preliminary reports from Ultra Commanding, E’jaro.”

When the field reports came in, four figures were gathered around the table on the Captain’s Crest: the Cleric of Piety, Field Master Am’jaree Osaris, Ship Master Joo’nae and Shri T’ova. The preliminary reports were not the successes that all of them had expected to hear upon their arrival. Covenant forces on the planet’s surface were at a stalemate with their human counterparts. The forces on the planet had failed at their most basic task: destroy the human opposition, and this failure was inexcusable—especially considering the odds that were highly stacked in their favour.

Joo’nae placed his hand on the center of the table, on top of the three-dimensional rendering of the ONI building at the heart of the table, where the largest contingent of humans were reported to have been, and pushed his hand through it. For a second, it disappeared underneath his large, bluish palm. “His inability to accomplish simple objectives is infuriating.” Joo’nae removed his hand and looked to Shri T’ova who was motionless. “Would you not agree?”

Shri nodded with a certain nobility in the craning of his neck. “Shall I relay our displeasure to Ultra E’jaro?” Shri asked.

Joo’nae looked over the table again, and spoke with a hissing tongue. “No. The whelp has had more than time enough to complete his elementary task. You, Shri T’ova—you will replace him in the field.” The Ship Master spoke promisingly, opening his arms wide as he did.

“You have no authority to replace—” Shri T’ova began.

“I am authority!” Joo’nae responded with a vicious growl; the tips of his mandible clicked together like the rattling tail of a snake. “And this—this is a great honour I once more bestow upon you, Shri T’ova. Do not be so quick to shrug off blessings from an esteemed servant of the Prophets.”

Shri T’ova bowed low before Joo’nae. “I am a servant of the Prophets. What would you have me do?”

“Our plan must alter now,” Joo’nae’s hands clicked across an invisible menu and revealed another section of the planet, where a strong force of Covenant had built up, several hundred kilometres northwest of the battle zone. “Human resistance has been more … resilient than we would have desired. Without a seasoned leader such as Shri, their attacks are mindless; their strategy unapparent. They must be coordinated if we are to reclaim the relic.”

“Ship Master, are we to focus on removing the human threat from the surface before securing the Relic?” Shri T’ova asked.

“The Prophet’s Will is clear—the Holy Relic must be preserved if we are to continue on our glorious march of salvation!” the Cleric of Piety interrupted. “Only by removing the human threat can this be achieved!”

“Very well—Am’jaree will commit only a fraction of his force to aiding our brethren on the planet’s surface; you, Shri T’ova, will deal with the human pestilence with what forces are already available on the planet—you will coordinate them to their objectives. There is no need for Am’jaree or his legion to be committed in battle on the planet; I may yet need them in the coming battle here.” Joo’nae looked to Am’jaree, who nodded knowingly.

Am’jaree spoke then. “Once we enter orbit over the planet, two of my elite units will deploy using orbital entry tactics. One will drop here, by this facility”—he pointed to the ONI building—“and a second will deploy here”—he pointed again, this time to the open woodlands west of the ONI facility. “They will aid you in removing the human infestation, as will Catharsis; his brutes are—“Am’jaree shifted uncomfortably—“energetic.”

“Very well,” Joo’nae concurred. “Take a small fleet of Ghosts with you as well. Leave now; take the Spirits and deploy yourself on the planet with the brutes immediately; Sangheili reinforcements will arrive once we have dealt with the human fleet.”

“So it shall be,” Shri T’ova said, bowing gracefully and exiting the bridge.

Joo’nae changed the image on the table, this time to a representation of the battle outside of his window. In the distance, he could see the battlecruisers engaging the human fleet, their success was uncertain, but assured all the same.

“Even outnumbered as we are, the human vessels have no chance of victory in this conflict. Our first priority will be to assist in crippling and capturing one of the enemy vessels, and destroying the rest. We must maintain complete space supremacy if we are to secure the Holy Relics the planet holds. Once we have destroyed or routed the enemy vessels, Am’jaree will be able to deploy his legions planet side.”

The Cleric and Field Master Am’jaree stared at the spatial rendering, and said nothing.

“Del’Goron,” Joo’nae said to his navigation officer as he retook his seat on the Captain’s Crest. “Send us into the fire.”

The large carrier shifted slowly through space, heading towards the fight, where a UNSC carrier had just dropped out of slipspace behind the Imperious Eye.

“Master Jarkhor: prepare the plasma torpedoes—target engines and weapon systems to disable, not destroy; fire at the ready, Brother,” Joo’nae said. “Liaison—deploy three Seraph squadrons on intercept; all others are to engage targets of opportunity on the planet’s surface. I want that planet to burn wherever they hide.”

---

Phantom 7
Pious Charity
Near the planet Arcadia

Shri T’ova boarded the phantom with ease, causing it to rock gently to the side as it hovered in the hanger on board the Pious Charity. On the deck beneath his phantom transport, stood the legions of Am’jaree’s soldiers.

He didn’t need to say anything to them now—least of all the brutes. The elites he was going into battle with were mostly experienced warriors, and the brutes were too caught up in the promise of carnage to have even understood what he said. So he made no rousing speeches, he simply looked over them and took his place on the craft.

The battle on the ground would be hard fought, against a desperate opponent, and he knew his chances of survival were lower than normal.