United Earth Government

ONI

January 12th 2569

Sixteen years later

Ava stared at her feet. The dropships floors grey hue scuffed with boot marks. The mission time on her bud kicked in. 00,00, 00,01 and so on. The timer going up as she approached the drop zone. Finally, the dropships lights turned from the standard white, to a red. The interior caked in it.

The dropship rescued its destination, hovering above for a few minutes.

Ava grabs her rifle, and pistol from the weapons locker by the bulkhead. Securing them on her magmounts, holstering a few flash bangs as well. She looked out the dropships lowered ramp. Walking to the edge of it and hitting the ground without a sound. Then the dropship was off, leaving her alone.

ONI

ONI Ava jogs across the forest floor. Quiet as a mouse. Finally, she is outside a compound. dropping down into a crouched position, and bringing up the TACMAP on her HUD. Closing it after studying it for a few seconds, a red dot appears on her motion tracker. 25 meters out. Crawling across a small field to a fence, searchlights pointed away from it. Hopping the fence in a single bound, sliding up to the compound's wall as the light traces to where she just was. Her grey and white amour blending into the concrete wall.

The red dot now became two, as they neared. 5 meters to her left, around the corner. Swinging around the corner tightly, leveling her rifle at the now targets unaware of her being there. Now they were dead before they even noticed what was happening.

HMS-Hood

ONI As the ships drift through the wreakage of the RMS Hood they see a transponder beacon with a long range anntenna coming from it, a destress beacon more ships will soon be coming soon, very soon

as the men of the SAS run throwing them selfs at enemy lines they put on something mask almost with a tube running down into a bag then you hear a scream "GAS OUT !" the sniper who was watching the soldier quickly sees the man grab a can from his leg pull a pin, and- oh god he thinks to him self mustard gas yellow lines streak through the sky as the cans land at the enemy's feet
the men start firing sten guns modifed to take 12mm armor piercing rounds

the swifts go down except for a single swift this very lucky craft had the missle explode at his wing tip although still flying his craft is badly damaged there are big holes on the sides of the fuselage as you see the wounded crew members still supplying the engines and systems the left wing tip gone the left elevator is gone with a large hole in the center of the left wing it's a miracle the plane is still flying your not sure about the right side of the plane seeing as you can only see parts of the other wing through the hole in the fuselage as a crew member sees you pull out there mosin nagant upon seeing this the longsword flys to the southeastern corner of the plane the engine is partly destroyed the aileron is completely gone and again a hole in the wing this plane is far from being in good condition it is trying to fly to friendly lines "fire at it now" he says "there the enemy this should be easy there the bad guys right?"

ONI

Drakador_Chaos ”MAYDAY MADAY. THIS IS UNSC CORVETTE DRISCOLL.”

Alarms sound through out the corvette, red eerie lights turn on as the ship lurches forward, floating on forever. They still had weapons, and life support. But the engines were cold and rekeying the system wasn’t possible. The ship was on its final leg.

The bridge crew look out the view port at the red mist, surrounding them and choking the vessel.

The navigations officer reports they can’t get a reading on the sensors at all. The comms officer try’s to hail any friendly craft, but to no avail.

Only if the engines would fire. They could try and leave this place

Drakador_Chaos

ONI
As the ship slowly drifted further it eventually ended up in the middle of the ominous 'arena' and...
...it stopped.
The engines apparently still didn´t work, so it was likely... them. The beasts whcih had been pacing around the arena, were now standing still, all pointed towards the ship, the crew felt... stared down upon by thousands of eyes.
First, there was silence, then a whisper, then, a rumbling much like when the whisper came in 'realspace' and a disembodied voice echoed through the void...
"You. Are you here to challenge us? Or is this your races sacrifice, mortals?"
The voice was deep and ancient, but also strong, it carried authority and almost a subtle threat with every word, reverberating throughout the ship. The beasts at the borders sat still, almost as if frozen in place by the voice.

ONI

HMS-Hood

Seeing the transmitter, the destroyer plowing beside it rams into it, sending chunks of the broken machine across its hull armour, as it continues through the debris field. Whatever it was transmitting. Reinforcements could be needed.

The ODSTS seeing the gas grenades fly towards them, not flinching due to their helmets being fully enclosed with an air supply. The marines farther back, don’t have these. They retreat back father firing into the mass of dropping hostiles. Taking some casualties as the 12mm rounds hit their open face plates, or overwhelm the body armour. Medics drag them to safety. Trying to stitch back up the critical wounded men and women. Leaving the dead.

The ODSTS fight tooth and nail. Shredding down the hostile forces while their armour takes the sten rounds, or at least the ones that hit them. While the rest of the suppressive fire hit the rocks in front of them. With the tanks behind them, the heavy shells continue blow swathes of dirt and flesh into the air. Some are hit due to lucky shots.

The remaining longswords continue a slow burn, after shooting down the remaining swift’s. Accelerating to almost their top speeds to the location of the friendly troops to do a bombing run.

picking up the final enemy fighter, the longswords accelerate faster, to put as much distance between them. Now at their top speeds. Approaching the target area after a few minutes of flying, they release the final payloads they carry. Missiles slam into the enemy positions and middle of the charge, away from the friendly forces.

The longswords pull up and back, to hunt the final enemy craft.

HMS-Hood

ONI only a minute later 2 fighter squads jump out of ftl and rushing at pluto among these in formation
is a craft you have not seen before larger than the swifts and yet faster carring two large torpedos and three missiles right as you traverse turrets to fire upon it they are already in atmosphere the caption thinks to himself theres no way they built a plane that can go that fast impossable!

as the battle rages on the ground and the final landing craft hits the earth this one open with a group of men dressed in royal uniforms blood red trench coats with black three pointed hats with gold lining atop the rim and sky blue under coat, no body armor but it just looks like an undercoat they must be some kind of special forces troops the last four of these men are playing drum and fife as the men march to the battle as the men come into earshot you hear a song

the moral of the men fighting on the front lines seems to lift up, you hear a whistle blow as the men charge once more up the hill

as the longswords fly to do another bombing run they are quickly intercepted by the swift FR.9s and lighting's the swifts quickly fire SRAAM's they quickly lock on and racing after there target the lightings quickly pull away from formation and do a bombing run of the enemy position dropping bombs on the ODSTs

ONI

HMS-Hood The remaining ODSTS. those who could still fight after being bombed. Target the oncoming redcoats. cheers fly, as the longswords commence their final bombing run. The missiles slam into the wall of oncoming enemies. Aiming their rifles at the redcoats. Firing them, as they charge into the ditch, bodies lining up at the lip of it.

The tanks and marines behind them, watch as the two forces clash. The Scorpions firing shells over the ODSTS,into the lines of the enemy. The turrets secondary gun, shredding and tearing flesh and limbs off due to its large caliber. The marine officers, call in for support.

In orbit, a frigate answers the call. Its thrusters burn, as it heads into atmosphere above the battle. As it reaches the battleground. it hovers hundreds of feet above. Using its main turrets to wipe out the enemies in the rear, as well as the remaining landing craft they came in on.

ONI

Drakador_Chaos The crew are alarmed at how the voice was penetrating the ship. The captain in his chair, turns to the officer to his left. Wide eyed, asks if they just said sacrifices. Calming his nerves, he speaks back into nothing. Just hold on a minute here. Speaking into the ships PA system, he tells the crew. That this is most likely the end. "All personnel, I regret to inform you this is the end. We took an oath. To serve and protect Earth, and her colonies. And her peoples. Second. Everyone brace themselves. Leaving the PA system on, the crew can hear everything in the bridge. Some crew are white, knowing what will happen soon. Others clasp pictures of family, or hold each other.

Drakador_Chaos

ONI
...there was silence. Nothing happened, no attack. Eventually, the voice returned.
"So, what is it mortals? Fight... or sacrifice?"
The voice held as much authority as before though this time it felt more demanding, as if it was running out of patience...
Yet, the beasts around the arena remained without motion, continuing to stare the intruding ship down.

HMS-Hood

ONI
the "redcoats" upon marching to the battle stop playing the song and instead set down there drum and the fife players tuck there fife into there trench coat pocket and open fire there rounds perfectly cutting through the air and smashing into there enemy's visors
the normal soliders of the sas upon clashing with the ODSTs they thrust there bayonets as far as possable into the ODSTs chests then start firing there guns these men did not fear death, only the fall of there nation you hear one shout with pure fury and hatred in there voice "PRIMO VICTORIA!!!" the rest of the men in earshot scream as well at this point the ground of pluto is red with blood. sevral men die from gunshots as they run to the enemy lines and fall to the ground.

the swifts and lightings fly over to the frigate and fire there heavy torpedos not even a secone after the fall out of there bays there rockets fire and speed at the friagte with the 10 (two per swift) torpedos speeding at the frigate

ONI

HMS-Hood As the ODSTS lines break, they retreat. Fighting in the onslaught of enemies. Private Bryne, clutches his rifle, firing it as two enemy soldiers rush at him. Gunning them down with ease, he watches as his brothers and sisters, get overwhelmed, retreat and fall back. After killing four or five more of the hostiles, there are too many of them so he starts moving backward. Firing his rifle till he couldn't feel his hands. As more come, his rifle clicks, empty. He pulls out his pistol and starts using that. The large rounds tearing through bone and flesh. Falling back even more, he spots a dead trooper with an M90 Shotgun and a bundle of shells. Which he picks up and puts to work. As a redcoat spots him, and starts charging him with a bayonet. Screaming a war cry at Bryne. Turning to face the adversary, the young ODST fires off the 8-guage shells. Downing the target. On his HUD's TACMAP, the onboard nav computer's arrow points to a rallying point. A spot where bryne was supposed to be two minutes ago. An update appears in the bottom left corner of his visor. A man is speaking. "All troopers pull back, this is the UNSC Heavy Frigate Aegis. Heavy fire support is on its way".

As the swifts descend on the frigate above the battlefield, the rear CIWS swivels, firing at the launched torpedoes detonating them, then firing in front of the swift as it fly's by.

After the swift is gone, the frigate's captain sends another warning. "all UNSC personnel, clear the target area. Sending recovery birds now". 6 drop ships fly out of the ships hangars to the remaining personnel below at the rendezvous area. The dropships land and the troops there embark along with the wounded.

The tanks stay behind, but rigged to detonate when the hostiles get close. Unknown to them.

As the dropships are secure on the frigate, the frigate fires it's opening salvo. It's main batteries bombarding the hostiles below. Sending them to their makers.

Bryne, looks back at the frigate. He was left behind. Shooting more at the hostiles at his feet and running to the now gone rescue party. Or where they just were. Looking up at the frigate for a moment he sees the batteries swivel as they match their target. Shutting his eyes and hearing the thunderous wave of shells being fired. Again and again. Realizing he was still alive, he continued to run, falling over a dead trooper who's helmet was smashed in.

Flipping around and getting up he saw a red flash on his motion tracker. Hostiles 25 meters behind them. He ran as hard as he could, faster than he ever had.

Finally after dodging the enemies fire, and flinching at the friendly guns firing almost at his position he reaches the tanks. Finding abandoned equipment scattered around, he finds another rifle. Clearing the chamber and slamming a fresh mag home. Propping himself up on the tanks tread, with his shotgun beside him, as well as a few scavenged grenades. He waits for the enemies to come into his sites and over the rocky terrain.

Back on the frigate, the batteries continue wiping away at the legion of enemies. Hundreds were either dead or wounded.

HMS-Hood

ONI
the soldiers along with the redcoats walk over to where the tanks are there heavy boots pounding on the surface of the planet as they walk it seemed peaceful almost well execpt for the frigate in the sky but they hoped there fly boys would take it out as the men search the tanks and armor a lone redcoat finds bryne he instantly salutes the man and he says to him "calm down where men of war not butchers" then he yells to his commander "theres nothing over here!" he then walks off acting as if he did not see the man

although the battle on the ground is over the battle in the sky is raging on the swifts swoop back for another pass the AA misses due to the low speed of the planes after all it is calibrated for faster planes of modern times, although the AA systems quickly start hitting there target the shields taking the brunt force of the flack the swifts start opening fire with the 45mm chaingun and 56.7mm cannons

ONI

HMS-Hood Bryne doesn't move. He might as well surrender, but he didn't. His anger towards them lessened, or at least the one enemy who let him live.

He thought of his girlfriend back home, or the home that was the station destroyed in the recent attacks. Grabbing his courage from deep inside him, he primed a grenade. Throwing it before belly rolling over the tanks treads. Slipping between the four quad tracks and under the hull. The rest of the tanks finished their timed detonations expect for the one he was under since it was already damaged and mostly destroyed. In the confusion, he slid back up and grabbed the rest of his gear. Pulling it back down with him as he hid longer.

The pilot, fell. Her chute opening as her chair snapped back into the air. Falling as her longsword crashed some kilometers ahead of her. Finally her chair hit the dirt. Unsnapping the safety restraints she reached for the survival kit tucked away in the rear of it. filled with enough food and water as well as ammunition. All the consumables were in small neat packages. Finally, she pulled out MA5K carbine, equipped with a noise suppressor. Slinging the survival pack, and the rifle. Also checking if her pistol was secured on her leg before heading out. She started walking, coming up to hill and spotting the wreckage of her craft as well as some rocky outcrops. Perfect to spend the night. in the morning she could try the small portable communications device apart of the survival kit.

The frigates shields, deflect all of the fighter rounds fired at it. It's rear CIWS snapping onto the slow target, spraying thousands of rounds into the craft until it went KABOOM.

ONI

Drakador_Chaos With a heavy heart. the vessel offers themselves. Later, they would be declared heros.

Drakador_Chaos

ONI
As the crew waited for what they considered they inevitable end and hero death, time strecthed...
...and stretched.
...and nothing happened.
The voice returned, laughed, deep, mockingly.
"Did you think, that the price of the prophecy would be paid by a hand full of individuals? That the sins committed in the past would be abolished by less blood than what flows every day on one of your puny worlds?"
The voice laughed again and then fell silent...
The tension in area seemed to rise through the roof and the beasts at the border of the arena began twitching, pacing back and forth at the borders...
Then the voice continued, emotionless, cold, merciless...
"Return to your world and tell your people, then return to us, with the tenth part of one of your major worlds populations, or a tenth of your fleet. If you wish to challenge us for the prophecy, bring your soldiers and we shall have a duel. You have three of your weeks, should the demands not be met, we will return and claim the prophecys price ourselves."
The voice stopped, the presence remained, though there was something else that changed as well, there was a slight creaking in the ships structure and then the sensors registered that the ship was moving backwards, back towards the rift...
A few minutes later the ship halted in a similarly ominous manner, outside the hellish dimension of the Cult, back in realspace... the demands had been set, the clock was running, what would the UEG do now?

HMS-Hood

ONI the man stopped in his tracks and looked back at bryne before the grenade explodes and says, "really, that's a damn rude move." the man dies as the grenade explodes his hat landing on the ground dirtied and bloody as bryne leaves something catchs his eye, the mans bag has somthing sticking out not only his meal tin but a smaller version of a HAM radio

the men in the air not knowing about the downed pilot make for where the fall back lines and trenches lay deploy grear and land just in time for the explosion of the tanks

ONI

HMS-Hood The tank's explosions wash over the field of enemies. The shells stored inside of them burst as well, multiplying the force of the explosion. Bryne continues to take cover under the tank. Trying to raise the frigate via encrypted channels.

The pilot reaches the rocky outcrop, after walking for some distance. Plopping herself down and immediately pulling out the small communications package she has. To her surprise, she receives a reply from the frigate, sending a dropship to rendezvous with her position and to sit tight.

ONI

ONI Moving up, and reaching a set of doors which she enters. No hostiles greet her. She slinks through the long hallway, checking rooms which are empty before heading to one of the lower levels. Where her target was.

HMS-Hood

ONI sevral men are now dead from the blast and sevral more are wounded bryne hears the feet of medical staff pound by in there heavy boots and the sounds of a man screaming bryne manages to make a line to the frigate

the pilots upon seeing the drop ship ready there planes.

ONI

HMS-Hood The frigate hears brynes calls. Sending another dropship out, this one to him. As it approaches the target area it launches its entire salvo of ANVIL missiles, into the horde of men.

The frigate moves towards them

The frigate is now sitting almost right above the battleground. As the dropship lands, picks up the ODST and is off. Using its batteries to rain fire down at the hostiles and their newly established camp.

HMS-Hood

ONI the jets not being able to ready up and arive in time sit bak on the runway, unable to do anything as the missiles cut away at there army one man starts to sob for his brother is in the army bryne and the downed pilot get back on the frigate, 379 men are dead from the assault 154 are wounded from the 800 men that landed on pluto the ground is soaked red from the bloodshed, a man starts to question this war that they are in he thinks to him self, "so these are the lies ive been sold, where is the glory in this offence there is no glory to be had here." as he eats his food he thinks to himself "what is the price of a mile." as the bombardment rages on as he hides in the bunker he mutters under his breath "what is this hell that i've walked into.

ONI

HMS-Hood As Byrne and the downed pilot reach the frigate. Byrne re unites with the rest of his squad. The ones who survived. They praise him for his heroism and valid, cracking jokes while at it.

The frigate stops firing. A message is sent to any available frequency. Hoping the enemies on the ground would at least hear it. The message indicates for them to surrender or be fired soon more, giving them one last chance.