Chapter 8 NAME "Shit Happens" Part 7

"Well... Shit."

=I stood up, still aching. A lot. Quite a lot, actually.=

=I limp to the back of the pelican, pulling the hatch release. It promptly falls off.=

"How are we alive again?"

"Luck, of course. Or some kind of space destiny thing set by magical space magic gods."

=I check my BR for any serious damage, which thankfully I find none.=

=The civilians were soon packed aboard the transport ships, each of which soon closed its doors and took off, heading for the nearby entrance. The small transport shuttle Hans was aboard led the civilian ships through the tunnel, towards the moderate group of military vessels near the surface=

(Hans)
=I established a link with the leader of the battlegroup, one recently promoted Admiral Gibbson=
Admiral, our civilians our safely aboard their ships. I trust you've had no problems?

*Adm. Gibbson*
No sir. Felt good to take some pot shots at Delta's ships. Do we have a destination in mind sir?

(Hans)
Yes we do. Several in fact. We'll join with your group and enter slip-space soon after. Uploading coordinates now.

=Delta followed Jason to the balcony, the others not far behind=

Del- Inheritor, what are you going to do? Unless I give the order now, all six ships will open fire on the Haven vessels, invluding the Civilians'.

(Jason)
Delta, forgive me for sounding rude, but you will give no such order. There are maybe a million civilians on those ships, add to that several hundreds of thousands of personnel on those military vessels. You think a million rogue civilians and rogue troops are bad? You fire on them and you will have a million martyrs. Hell, Hans is probably almost counting on you doing that, just so the rest of Haven will rally behind his cause. I hate this just as much as you, if not more. My own people, are stabbing me in the back and twisting the knife, but the safest course of action right now, is to let them go. I will deal with them, they are my problem. But give the order to your ships, to let them pass.

=Delta tapped the side of his helmet and spoke directly to the Bridges of the six ships=

This is X No Delta to Fleet. Do NOT fire. Repeat, do NOT open fire. Let them pass.

=He tapped his helmet again and turned back to Jason=

What will become of Haven after this?

(Jason)
Right now? I don't know Delta. I'm going to have to make a lot of decisions I really wished I'd never have to make. Declaration of martial law, surveillance of the people.....sacrifice a lot of personal freedoms.
=I closed my eyes for a moments, taking a deep breath in, and turned to face Delta. I doubted he could actually see my face right now, I still had my helmet on and the face-plate was polarized=

Probably a bad time to bring this up, but on the topic of that alliance and peace treaty you wanted to see us about? Yeah....we might have to postpone that for a while.


=The rogue fleet, now in formation, opened portals into slip-space, and entered them, fleeing the system=

=Delta sighed, and removed his helmet, running his hand through his short white hair, his solid black eyes displaying flickering speckles of dark red that looked almost like the stars in space. He thought for a moment, then turned around=

Del- Commander Aebeir!

=Aebeir came forward=

Ae- Yes, sir?

Del- Escort the group back to the Transports and to their respective ships. I will join shortly.

Ae- Yes, sir.

=Aebeir and the rest of the group left the balcony, leaving only Delta behind with Jason=

Del- Is there anything that we can do to aid you?

(Jason)
At the moment? No. Right now, the best thing you, and your people can do, for me and my people, is to quite simply stay away from us. I doubt that Hans will have left without leaving a few spies to spread propaganda for his cause. If your people remain here, or enter our cities in the state we're in right now, you'll only help them. It won't matter if you help or not, the mere presence of you will push more people to align themselves with him.
=I turned back to the railing, and gazed outward towards the landscape=

Is it foolish to think, that by bringing these people here I could achieve some form of paradise, free of hatreds?

=He too goes over to the railing, admiring the view=

Perhaps it was farfetched to think you could achieve such a thing, given Human nature. But a fool's dream it was not.

=He looks at Jason=

If you could have accomplished such a thing, you would have done more for Humanity than has ever been done in it's history.

=He sighs again and looks back out at the landscape=

You can still achieve it, I have confidence in that. You're a great leader, Jason.

(Jason)
=I chuckled a little, no real mirth in it though=
Heh, no I am not. A great leader would not have let such fear and hatred spread so far among his people that it lead to rebellion.


=Within the tower, guards went about securing systems, rooms, and most of all the Council. Around the planet, the four other cities were placed under lock-down, security forces in the streets while drop-ships combed the skies. At the bases on the surface, loyal troops began listing the damage that had been caused by the insurgents, as well as taking stock of storerooms, armories=

(Punikav)
=i threw a few grenades in, just to put some cover between the shooters and us=
Despair, go.

(Simile)
=i winked my acknowledgement light and turned on my camo. I dove to the side, away from the others, so I wouldn't be shot. I crept my way around. Looking at the enemy positions and looking for a good target to poison=

Regardless, I know that somehow you can salvage this.

=There was a long silence=

You know, our races arent so different as we might like to think.

(Jason)
=My mind suddenly showed me, once more, the image of Adam, only ten, taking a bullet to the head. A bullet I fired. Then it flashed to what Jessica had said about what Delta himself had done to the human prisoners=
Yeah. For one, neither one of us is really innocent when it comes to killing innocents, even children.

=I didn't mean to say that, but I was just so frustrated, no, angry. My world, my home, was now split in two, and whether it was right or not, to think this, the common denominator for all of this, was Delta. It was he, who burned the homes of these good people he who butchered them and their children. And now his actions, even if they were long ago, were coming back to bite not just him, but me as well, in the ass. And my home was the first to pay the price. I stifled my anger though, and said quickly=

Sorry, I didn't mean to say that.

=He smirked a little=

You should not apologize for speaking the truth, Inheritor. We've all done horrible things in our lives. Some worse than others. You know, it's funny really, now that I get to thinking of it. It was the Humans I captured from those destroyed worlds, the ones you rescued from my hand, that made Haven.

=He chuckled slightly=

It humors me to think that maybe, just maybe, this planet was held together for a common hatred of me and my race. How ironic now that it should be the very thing that tears it apart.

=He looks at Jason=

Don't you think?

(Jason)
Yeah, I guess it is. All the hardships we've gone through; the UNSC, the Covenant, the Flood.....and out of all that they still remember what you did to them, and they unite themselves around that.
=I thought about it some more, and realized not all of that was true. The one thing I remember hearing the most, more so than hatred for Delta, was in reality, me. They believed in me, their protector, the one that brought them all to Haven. The Dragon's Tooth, the Inheritor, and as of late....the Demon. It made me laugh a little, the reminder of that title my captor had given me=

=I pick up one of the assault rifles and sling it next to my Battle Rifle, which is miraculously undamaged.=

"I'd like to think the space god. At least we'll have someone helping us."

(Zawaz)
The letters came to an end. Just stopping at a single letter. I guess it meant its-

A large portal rippled through nearby space as a U.N.S.C. Reinforcement ship arrived.

(Xoima)
This reinforcement ship is assisting the still fighting U.N.S.C. Frigate. It had activated its distress signal.
But I am certain our three corvettes are able to destroy it. We are stationed over here after the other three no longer needed help.
Basically we're here to engage enemy reinforcing ships.

"Well, someone has to be helping us. Otherwise I'm pretty sure we would've been dead by now."

=I look around for a way out of the Pelican, one that wasn't damaged beyound imagination.=

=I limp to the front of the pelican, the windows are smashed.=

"Jamie! Over here! Through the windows."

=He sighs and leans against the railing of the balcony=

Perhaps it is better that way.

(Jason)
Better that there'd be an entire planet full of people united in their hate for you and your kind? Better that they pass on that hate to their children, holding you and yours up like monsters in cautionary tales? No, that is not how we move forward. It's not how they can ever get over what you, and your armies, did to them.

=He looks at Jason=

I meant it's better than them hating eachother, as now seems to be the case. And it seems to be the case because we tried to move on from their mutual hatred of me.

=He looks back out at the scenery=

At this stage in my life, It seems only natural to me that My people should be enemies with Humans. So it has always been, and I suspect it always shall be...

(Jason)
Nah, I doubt it will always be that way. At some point, peace will be made between our people......or we all just leave eachother as smoking craters.
=I paused for a moment=

I really hope that last one never happens.
=I stood tall, stepping away from the railing=

Right now, I need to asses the damage of what's been done, and get things under control. I'd escort you back to your ship, but right now I need to do my job, and get right in the thick of this mess.

=He nods=

Well then I shall leave you to your business.

=He gives a brief laugh=

Also, if you ever want to become a Crater, there's always the Hellfire cannon.

(Jason)
Yeah well, if you ever want the same treatment, I have a Forerunner fleet.
=I laughed a little, though it was an empty threat. I held out my hand to Delta, as a way of saying goodbye=

=He shook Jason's hand before tunring and leaving, eventually making his way back to the transport where the other 5 XNNOs as well as the SS were waiting=

(Jason)
=Once Delta was gone, I figured that my first order of business was to talk with Silver in the Control Room, so I headed for the teleporter. Along the way, I got dozens of messages from the surface bases and the inner bases, as well as the medics who were still tending to the Council. On that note, I was thankful that none of them were seriously hurt, except for a few bruises and one twisted ankle from landing funny on the floor. As for the other messages, I had them, and all future messages diverted to the Control Room, then stepped on the glowing teleporter pad. Seconds later, after a flash of light, I found myself once more within the massive spherical room, the glowing hologram of Haven floating in the center. Silver Light immediately pounced upon me=

(Silver Light)
Inheritor, I have documented what happened during the rebellion, and have compiled a list. Shall I read it for you?

(Jason)
=I nodded, and he immediately began speaking rapidly, sending cliff notes of the reports to my helmets HUD. Apparently, Hans and his people had planted a virus into Haven's network, and managed to shut down the Sentinel network and cut off the door controls to the entrances for Haven's inner sections. Silver though was already rebooting the system, and was confident that it would all be back in working order within the hour. At the same time, a separate, less dangerous virus mined the Archives, creating copies of star charts, blueprints for weapons and ships, records of Forerunner science in genetics, even bits of the Forerunner history, and the ONI files which I was stupid enough to place within the Archives. Hans and his people right now, had a shitload of dangerous information. As if that was not bad enough, they escaped with nearly every civilian in the city-state of Yuktobania, and stole four Forerunner transport ships. And finally, there were around several hundred thousand military personnel that had also gone rogue, taking with them armor, weapons and provisions, vehicles, and ships. 35% of our fleet had joined with Hans, and before they all left, they fired on the loyal ships, Delta's ships, and caused damage to our bases. By the time Silver had finished, my head was spinning=

(Simile)
=I moved up behind some holograms representing officers and plunged the needles into them. They spasmed and died. I jumped up and grabbed onto a support beam, as other holo-targets moved in, checking the room. I radioed the others=
Go.

(Deniv)
=I put my rifle on my back and pulled out my target pistol and my knife. I turned on the shields on my forearms. I vaulted over Hope and started firing into the targets, I moved into the maelstrom of holo-targets and started cutting-

(Burk)
=Sanity vaulted over me. I started moving towards the other group to the side. I ran as fast as I could with my riot shield raised, firing with my SMG. I cannonballed into the first target, killing him with fatal force to the chest. I quickly moved my arm and fired into the soldiers to my right, killing them before they could fire back=

(Punikav)
=i lobbed holo-grenades behind the main lines, killing or at least stumbling targets. I walked into the room, shooting targets as the appeared around Hope and Sanity=

(Simile)
=the targets that moved into the room passed directly under me. I dropped down, killing a few from the weight. I scrambled up quickly, and plunged the needles into the holograms. They died quickly=

(Dormii)
=as my team practiced, the ship shuddered and dropped out of Slipspace. The travel had taken longer than I thought, given the distance. I hit the buzzer, signalling the session over. I grabbed the intercomm=

Quote :

Report to the hanger bay. We're down in 30 minutes

Seconds, minutes and seemingly hours went by as the Covenant troops waited inside their pods.
Cannon fire and explosions, smaller ships flew overhead and from the looks of the commanding officers. The covenant have taken an unexpected nose dive.
More U.N.S.C. reinforcements came from all around, ships of all classes. Did the Covenant strike a V.I.P. transport vessel?

(Gen Berruck- Sangheili Ship Master.)
I heard an Unggoy call out. Sir! Our shields have been destroyed. The ship is taking heavy damage!
There was purple lights blinking almost from nowhere and somewhere there's a siren.

Crash!
A U.N.S.C. missile slammed (and exploded) against the commanding room, bursting through the glass.
Instantly metal plating come over the freshly destroyed glass.

(Gen Berruck)
"Initiate slip space immediately! Get us out!"
I yelled at the Unggoy crew and they did as they were trained. At some occasions they forget how too.
"I am sorry brothers."
I silently spoke this words as we entered slip space. (And completely abandoned the others.)

(Burk)
=i was panting as the holograms vanished. The effort to move all that weight in such a manner was tiring, even for a soldier. I wouldn't let it get to me though, not in the field. Mind over matter. The rest of my squad walked with me out of the room, idly chatting=

(Dormii)
=i headed up to the bridge to talk with the captain. We were moving towards the planet, and I could see various explosions happening. A UNSC ship was firing onto the planet, and it was firing back. It was too hard to tell who was winning. I ordered the captain to bring us closer, but to not engage. As I looked at the planet, I realized transports would be almost impossible. I had the captain plot a course for a quick fly-by over the area. As he did this, I ran towards the hanger bay, grabbing five re-entry packs from a nearby equipment room=

(Silver Light)
Inheritor, the Council wishes to speak with you, in person. They seem rather insistent, and I would advise speaking with them now.

(Jason)
Yeah, I got it Silver. Inform me when you've completed system and network repairs.
=I crossed the room back to the teleporter pad, Silver remaining by the control terminal=

(Silver Light)
And if they spot any suspicious activity?

(Jason)
=I was quiet for a moment, considering how to handle that scenario. With a sigh, that carried more than just exhaustion, I left the pad and headed for the Control terminal, selecting to broadcast my voice across Haven. Every city, every military base....every home, was soon ringing with my voice=

Attention citizens of Haven. An emergency lock-down is now in place, the duration of which shall be 24 hours. You are to please, return to your homes and remain there for the duration of the lock-down. If any are in need of emergency services, you are to use the communication terminal within each of your homes and await the arrival of either security, or medical personnel. If anyone is found in violation of the lock-down, then security forces are authorized to detain you. No one other than security personnel, military forces, medical personnel, and the Council, are allowed to use the teleportation grid until further notice.

=With that, I ended the message. Turning back to the teleporter pad, I said to Silver, not looking at him at all=
Silver, when you get the Sentinels up and running again, have them assist with the lock-down. I want them in every city, but keep them off the streets. Have them patrol the skyline and the spaces between the towers, but they are not to come down to street level unless the situation demands it.

=I crossed the chamber, stepped on the pad, and was sent back to the Tower, to see the Council=

(Berve)
"Whaaaaaaa!!!!"

(Zawaz)
"Wiiii!"

Other similar screams almost echoed through the halls. But slip space carried their voices away.
So it was like this for... quite awhile. Zooming through slip space.

(Dormii)
=i arrived in the hanger not longer after my recruits. I tossed the re-rentry packs to them=

Quote :

Put these on. We're free-falling.

(Deniv)
Sir? That's suicide.

(Dormii)
=i shake my head=

Quote :

No, it's not. Noble 6 managed to survive re-entry with one of these. We can as well. Anti-aircraft fire is too heavy for drop ships, and we don't have any drop pods. This is how we are going down. Now get them on and get ready.

=as they started, I set up a communication line with the ship's AI, plotting when we can jump and land safely. After a brief discussion, during which I put on my own re-entry pack, a timer appeared on my HUD. We were going to land in a nearby lake to the enemy's base=

(Jason)
=The moment I arrived within the Tower teleporter room, I was surprised to find myself staring down the barrels of four separate Forerunner plasma pistols, each aimed at me by a small squad of guards. The moment they recognized who I was, they lowered their weapons, and one of them quickly stepped forward=

*Guard*
Apologies sir, we thought for a moment you were an intruder.

(Jason)
It's alright guardsmen, I'd only be upset if you had opened fire. Good initiative soldier, carry on.
=With that, I saluted quickly, and left them behind me as I headed for the Council chambers. I noted out of the corner of my eye, as I passed through the group, that they all saluted me in return. It didn't take long for me to reach the Council chambers, and when I noticed that there was a large assortment of guards outside the door, all of them in strategic positions. When I entered, I saw there were four more guards inside, spread out along the walls. The Council was inside, sitting at the long table. Councilor Seymour had a small boot wrapped around their right ankle, which made her the one injury from the coup=

Councilor Seymour, are you okay?

(Carolyn)
=With a weak smile, I looked towards Jason=
I'll be fine Admiral.

(David)
The reports we're getting right now Admiral, are bad, though I'm sure you already know that.

(Jason)
Yes Councilor. The Sentinel network was disabled, though Silver is already in the process of restoring it, and is confident it will be up and running within the hour. However, as I'm sure you're already aware, things are worse than a disabled security system. 35% of our fleet fled with Hans Grimm, along with the entire population of the city-state Yuktobania, as well as several hundred thousand military personnel. They've taken armor, weapons, medical supplies, food. What's more, they copied files from Haven's Archives. Not all of it, just the juicy bits.

=I took a deep breath, bracing myself for how they'd take this bit of news=
Also, I'm sure you know already, but I have placed Haven under lock-down for the next 24 hours as a precaution.

=Whatever shouts of anger, or accusations of undermining the Council's authority I was expecting, did not come. Instead, looks of approval were on their faces=

(Alvin)
I know in the past, we said we did not approve of you making such decisions without our approval. However, in light of today's events, I do believe that this situation falls under military authority. So, it's not like we can really yell at you for this, can we?

(Dormii)
=i had everyone evacuate the hanger bay, then had it depressurized. I knew we all had enough oxygen to make it down, as well as get out of the lake, even if we landed in the deepest part. The five of us lined up on the edge of the hanger bay, as the timer counted down. As it hit zero, we all jumped. Our weapons were strapped to our backs, and my flails and chains and such were wrapped tight around my armor, as best as I could make them. We fell towards the planet, and soon, we entered the combat area=


*listen and read*

=the feeling was exhilarating, whipping past cannon shots and dropship, missiles and rockets. A MAC round flew past as well. Some of these things came close to hitting us, but thanks to the emptiness of space, close still meant miles away. The sights of the ground and sky merging in the distance with the sun just starting to peek out. It was amazing. Soon, we hit the atmosphere, and that meant the re-entry packs engaged. An extra layer of shields appeared around us, and the friction burn aura appeared. We became shooting stars, hurtling towards the planet. It was rough, but still enjoyable. We were slowing down, I could feel it. Soon, the lake came into view. We were heading right for it. Just like we planned. After a few more minutes in free-fall/directed falling, we hit the lake. The re-entry packs took the brunt, but the force was still there. Large plumes of water rocketed upwards. None of us blacked out, after a quick check of the health systems, but I knew it hurt. I oriented myself upward, and set a waypoint in the direction of the base=

(Burk)
=i struggled to orient myself in the water, but finally managed to head towards the waypoint. I had to walk-swim along the bottom of the lake, as the armor was too heavy to allow swimming=
Remind me, never, to do that again.

(Punikav)
What's the matter, Hope? Afraid of heights?
=i chuckle as we walk=

(Burk)
=i laugh at his joke=
Not until just now.

(Dormii)

Quote :

Stay focused

(Gen Burreck)
Still. We are going through slip space, the poor fellows that weren't strapped in are either dead or going too be.
Everyone that did I saved at least. Everyone would have died if I hadn't. My conscience is clear.
Where are we going?
I wished I could ask the Unggoy who sent us toward... wherever we were going.

(Jason)
=I didn't quite let out a sigh of relief, but I certainly relaxed a little=
Thank you Councilmen.

(Nagasae)
Now, on to the main reason we are here: Hans Grimm and his secession from this Council and Haven. We understand that with the resources he left with, he poses a threat to both Haven, and other groups. However, based on the reason he actually left us, it seems clear what his true target is.

(Jason)
Delta, and his people.

(David)
Yes. Right now, if Delta is attacked, he will know where it came from, so in that sense, we would be fine. However, that would actually pose greater problems.

(Jason)
=I nodded in agreement=
If Hans attacks Delta, and Delta wipes out Hans and his people, they'll still become martyrs. While the civilians that remained here are still loyal to us, that doesn't mean that they still don't bear some grudges against Delta. They'll learn about Hans and his coup sooner or later, and many might sympathize with his cause. However, if Delta wipes Hans and his people out, then their deaths will make them martyrs. "They rose up and took arms against an enemy that burned their worlds, an enemy the Council with all it's power would rather make peace with, and were struck down by that enemy when the same Council refused to take action." Just imagine how people would react to that, because I know Hans didn't leave without making sure some of his people stayed behind to spread word of both this, and everything he's going to do out there. The only way we can avert that, is for us, not Delta, or anyone else, to take action against him.

(Carolyn)
What are you suggesting, Admiral?

(Jason)
=With a deep breath, I slowly began to say something that would no doubt change everything for Haven=
I'm saying, that it's time for us to go to war.

=By now, the XNNOs and the SS had already packed up and headed back to their respective ships, which were just now jumping to Slipspace. The Captains of each ship took on the duty of explaining to everyone what had happened on the surface, and what was going to be done now. A few hours later, when they arrived back at Xenos, they held council on what to do to prepare for an attack by Hans and his fleet should it come. To some, the answer was clear: Call upon the full might of the Di-Lumnis Allaince to swiftly crush whatever may come, and chase what remained to the edges of the galaxy to ensure that they were totally wiped out. To others, the best solution seemed to be a First Strike to cripple the enemy fleet, then move in with the rest of the Armada. But one thing was very clear between everyone on the planet and above it: This treachery could not go unpunished.=

--In Orbit over Haven--

(Molly)
=It was chaos up here in orbit, and I was in the thick of it. A large group of the fleet had broken away from formation, and fired on us, and the visiting fleet in front of us. None of us were prepared, and I was about to give chase before my squadron leader ordered against it, and had us remain with the fleet. Soon after, the rebel ships had joined up with several transport ships, and entered slip-space. We then received orders that haven was under lock-down, and coordinates began appearing on screen for defensive positions around the planet, with fighter squadrons, including mine, patrolling the low orbit sectors of the planet=

Dammit Jason, what's going on?


--Council Chambers--

(David)
Go to war? Are you serious?

(Jason)
Yes, I am. Look, I don't like this idea anymore than you do, but if we are to maintain control, it has to be us that takes down Hans and his army. That means our ships, our armies. Our people. Hans, and his army, despite leaving us, our still our people. The resources they use, are ours. That makes them, our responsibility, and not taking action against them makes us, this Council, appear weak.
=I realized how it all sounded, but there was no other way I could think to word it=

(Alvin)
=I stood up from my seat, silent for a moment=
I agree, with what Jason suggests. Right now, word will spread that there was a rebellion. Our people will hear of how we were betrayed from within. To not respond to this threat, is to court further rebellion, to show others that this Council will tolerate betrayal. So I cast my vote, with Jason. I vote we go to war against Hans, and his rebels.


=Though reluctant at first, Carolyn, and Nagasae cast their votes in support of war. David though, was silent for a moment, deep in thought=

(David)
And what of the civilians that joined? The non-combatants?

(Jason)
They will not be harmed Councilor, of that you have my word.

(David)
Then, it appears we will go to war. Begin preparations. We'll need more ships, more troops.

(Jason)
Ships won't be a problem sir. As for troops.....we'll no doubt have volunteers, but we will need more.

(Dormii)
=we approached the shoreline, and I could see a few silhouettes above the water. They all held various other silhouettes, slimmer, longer. Soldiers with rifles=

Quote :

Hold up. Company. Despair, cloak and walk out onto the beach. Put some fear into them.

(Simile)
=i nod and trigger the cloak=
Yes sir.

=i ready the rifle and walk out of the water, letting the water slide off my armor. There were five soldiers, with a transport warthog nearby. I walked onto the beach, confident and slow. I saw the soldiers take a step back and raise their weapons. I stopped after I hit the edge of the water and just waited. The soldiers were looking to each other, somewhat panicky. If I made a move, they might attack, so I let them think what they were thinking and just waited=

=The meeting ended soon after, with all Council members departing to their cities. They all had their assignments; stock up on medical supplies, begin cultivating food. What they all had in common though, was spreading the news: Haven had suffered betrayal from within, and was now in a state of war with renegade elements=

(Jason)
=Right now, I wanted nothing more than to go back to my ship, and sleep. But with Admiralty, comes responsibilities. I needed to uphold my duties, and my men needed to see their admiral take charge of things. I took the teleporter all the way to Alpha Base, and headed for the Communications Center (CC). Everywhere I looked, there were soldiers running, regaining control of the base, repairing damage done during the coup, and standing guard outside armories and medical wings. Before long, I reached the CC, and was immediately met by the base commander, Colonel Wallace. He was only in his thirties, not old enough to be a Colonel by the standards of the UNSC, but his aptitude scores were very high, and he was a born leader, top of his class. I was the one the recommended him for a promotion to Colonel, and he had so far made sure he was worthy of that rank=

Colonel, what's the situation?

*Wallace*
Sir, we've managed to regain control of the base, but to be honest, it wasn't much of a struggle. The initial revolt caught us off guard, and they had positioned themselves in key locations. The virus they had uploaded also cut our comms, so we weren't able to coordinate our forces to regain control of the base. Thankfully, control of the base was not what they were after. In the confusion, they stole weapons, medical supplies, rations, and made off with all of it in commandeered transports.
=He handed me a data pad=

(Jason)
Any idea yet on how much we lost?

*Wallace*
=He shook his head=
Right now, we're still taking stock of what's left. However, we do know that over 20% of our transports were taken. What's more, as I'm sure you're aware, each base is well staffed.

(Jason)
=That was an understatement. Each base, which was built around entrances a kilometer in diameter, (Forerunners. They like their shit big) expanded 500 meters out from the base. This of course also meant that each base needed a large number of personnel, both for security and maintenance. Thankfully, we had a very high number of recruits at the time, all coming from a very high population size. Once they were all trained and distributed evenly, each base had roughly 400,000 troops. So yeah, well staffed was an understatement, but I just nodded an affirmative=

*Wallace*
Well, we're still waiting for a full report, but by our estimates, roughly 30% of all base personnel are missing, presumed to have gone rogue. This is the same for both Beta and Gamma bases.

(Jason)
=30%? Jesus, that was maybe 360,000 troops right there. Add to that the personnel already on board the ships Hans took with him, and the extra civilians he brought who'd no doubt join his new army, and of course all his ships, and we had ourselves a very intimidating foe=

(Despair)
=one of the troopers shouted at me, asking who I was. I replied, the voice changer putting them off balance even more=
I am Despair.

=i quickly raised my rifle, and started to fire into the troopers. I put two to three bullets into each, save for the last one who was having trouble with his rifle. I commed the others=
Clear, save one.

(Dormii)

Quote :

Knock him out. We don't need any extras. Everyone, move out onto the beach.

=we all rose up out of the water like angry spirits. I saw the dead soldiers, the red sand that was being formed beneath them, and Despair knocking out the fifth soldier. We headed towards the soldiers' warthog and climbed in. Destruction took the rearmost seat, Hopelessness the driver side passenger seat, Insanity took the driver's seat, I got in next to her, and Despair took the rear passenger seat. I checked our location then set a waypoint towards the enemy base as we drove off=

"You sure the window's a safe option?"

=I started making my way towards Caeser, noting how my armour wasn't doing too good.=

=I ram my shoulder through one of the windows.=

"Probably."

(Jason)
=It wasn't long before the sentinel network was back up, and soon there were swarms of Sentinels flying around the base, as well as beyond the perimeter. Following the Sentinel network, our communications with both Beta and Gamma bases had been reestablished. Working with them, sharing data, we managed to figure out what was stolen, and how much. We lost hundreds of crates worth of weapons, medical supplies, and rations, enough to supply Hans' army. However, we had an advantage: those supplies were enough for his army, and maybe even his civilians, but only for a few days, a week at best. Unless they found ways to replenish their supplies, we would beat them by starving them. It wasn't long before we had confirmed the number of rogue personnel, and at that point night had fallen over Alpha Base. I felt that so far, I'd done just about everything I could, so I left Colonel Wallace in charge of things. There was still more to do, but I needed to get some rest. Leaving the CC, I reached the teleporter and took it back to the Serenity. Boy, was I going to have some news for Miri=

(Stolen Trading Ship - Small Cargo bay #2 - Casualties, high on the Globo Tech side, low on UNSC)
(Jeremy)

=I looked around the dark, and horribly damaged Cargo Bay. The amount of damage done to the ship was extreme, and chances of escaping? Absolutely none. I had wasted my ammo a long time ago, and to be honest, it won't be long until they find me. Even though a distress call was sent, it wont reach anyone for a long time. Those who did escape, took those they knew, and tried to escape, a few did, but most of them got destroyed in the process.=

=The ship was dark, the combat destroyed the interior of the ship, and it made it difficult to climb through. I was leaning against a few containers, wounded, and very slowly bleeding. The bandages did the best they could, but they can only protect what they cover. It wasn't long until I heard them, the Elites. Cleaning up whoever is left, and taking them god knows where.=

(Elite Squad Leader)

Scan the area! They can't go far, we've secured most of the ship! Move it, lets go!

(Jeremy)

=The dark cargo bay, was cluttered with boxes and crates, and soon enough, UNSC soldiers looking for anyone. I looked up, to see a soldier looking in my direction=

(Elite Squad member)

Sir! I think I found one, I don't know if he is dead yet, come over and check!

(Jeremy)

=I could see the Squad leader turn towards me, and slowly walk my way, gun raised. I let out a weak sound trying to say help, but it turned out to be a groan of pain=

(Squad Leader)

It's a live one, get me some guys over here, lift him on up. I want to ask some questions.

(Jeremy)

=Two more soldiers jog over to me and carry me by my legs and arms, as if they were medics, and started carrying me towards the exit, I wanted to talk, but I knew it wasn't worth a try. I just decided to close my eyes, and thought of sleep=

(Punikav)
What's the plan, sir?

(Dormii)

Quote :

Insanity. You will climb into their base and grant me remote access into their systems. From there, I will work my way towards their leaders. The rest of you will distract them as best you can. Insanity, that mean you too after you get me access. Until you get the codes, we will all try to work our way inside via brute force methods. Got it?

(Deniv)
=i was worried, as all the stress was put on me, but I replied with the rest=
Yes, sir.

=we drove up to the base, and I jumped out a ways away from the base and began to head towards it from a different angle=

(Dormii)
=i readied my rifle in my lap as I took over driving. I drove straight at the enemy base, and started firing when we got close enough. The others followed suit, and all turned towards the base and started firing away at it's walls. I drove straight at the enemy gate, intending to plow right through and keep on going=

(Miranda)
=The past few hours had been very taxing on us here on the Serenity. Gabby, Kenny and I were waiting down in the cargo deck, waiting for Jason as the cargo doors were his only way back onto the ship from ground level. We heard his voice over the intercom system on the ship, declaring an emergency, a planet wide lock-down, so things must have been bad. When the doors opened and he walked through them, I all but ran at him, hundreds of questions already on my mind=

Jason, what's happened? When I heard you declare a lock down, I thought Delta ha--

(Jason)
=I held up a hand, silencing her. I took a moment to gather myself, working out what to say. Thankfully, none of us had to wait long, and I soon told them what had happened; the negotiations that had broken down, Hans' coup, the declaration of war. I paused here and there to answer questions, detailing the finer points, but by the time I was done, everyone in the room had frozen looks, eyes glazed over as they pictured the implications of what today symbolized. Out of all people, it was Kenny who was first to break the silence=

(Kenny)
War? After all this, we go back to war?

(Jason)
Yes, Kenny. We go to war, though I'm not dragging you guys into it. I won't force anyone here, to go to the frontlines.

(Gabby)
Much appreciated, I guess.

(Miranda)
=This was all shocking, to say the least. So much so that I had no idea how to really respond, but I tried anyway=
What exactly does he hope to achieve? Between Haven's fleet, and Delta's fleet, he doesn't stand a chance.

(Jason)
=I shook my head, looking down as I thought=
I really don't know Miri. He's got something cooking, otherwise he wouldn't have left with so few resources. Well, few in terms of galactic warfare anyway.