OOC:

Feel free to post the ground battle. Eva is Aidenn's capital city, and the Covie dropships were also carrying vehicles. The space stuff will come soon enough. Remember though: you are not the Chief. If you are shot in your helmetless face, you will die. Elites will die from 1-2 shotgun rounds or just over a clip of MA5B or BR ammo. Plasma...is overkill for Elites. Two-three shots and their shielding goes bye bye. Have fun with that.

0623 June 21st, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Frigate Benelux (FFG-124)

Captain Daniel Roosevelt had just risen from his seat when the alarm went off. The crewman manning the COM station quickly silenced it and immediately opened the transmission. Captain Roosevelt massaged his brow as the crewman scrolled through the transmission. At 67, the Captain was nearing the mandatory retirement age for naval personnel, but with a war raging between a dwindling human colony network and a xenocidal alien empire the UNSC needed every man and woman it could get. Quietly, Daniel drew a cloth from his breast pocket and used it to wipe his brow. The crewman frowned, and Roosevelt suddenly grew concerned. The Ensign turned around until he was facing the Captain.

"Sir, we're receiving a transmission from Scanning Station Fujikawa. Seems they're getting some funny readings just outsystem."

The Captain almost sighed in relief, but caught himself in time. It wouldn't do to show weakness in front of subordinates. Still, for one moment, he had been afraid that the Covenant had somehow found the Aidenn system.

He'd been in almost half a dozen skirmishes with the aliens, and he'd seen firsthand what happened to civilians caught in the area. There were millions of civilians on Aidenn, and they would be slaughtered if the Covenant launched a serious assault. Captain Daniel placed both his hands behind his back to conceal a brief tremor, and replied to the waiting COM officer.

"Forward the report to Victor Station, and bring us up to Combat Alert Charlie."

"Yes, sir."

The Ensign typed the message out, and there was quiet on the bridge for almost a minute. Then, the alarm began to blare again. Captain Daniel was beginning to feel very uneasy. A simple reply would have taken less than a minute, and the screen showed the transmission was a priority Alpha. This time, the Crewman visibly blanched as he read the message, and he spoke in a near whisper.

"Sir, I've just received a reply from Victor Station. The outpost...it stopped responding. They recommend preparing for immediate Covenant presence insystem."

"Do it. Upgrade the Alert to Alpha. Lieutenant, push the reactor as far as you can. I want the MAC gun charged at once."

The Beneleux's engines flared to life, and the entire ship shook as it struggled to break its position in low orbit. A hundred kilometers away, the rectangular Orbital Docking and Defense Station Victor hovered serenely, its thrusters occasionally lighting up to push the massive complex slightly higher. Suddenly, a circle of bright light appeared in a patch of stars, and the targeting computer flickered as the anomaly's distance flickered to an impossible height. Then, an all too familiar, bulbous shape emerged from the patch of distorted space. Moments later, the rest of the scout Covenant frigate emerged from Slipspace.

There were quiet oaths and much muttering from the command deck.

"Shit, there really are Covenant here. Oh shit..."

"Get a hold of yourself, Ensign. Send a distress signal to all ships in the Octanus and Dorado systems. We'll need the backup."

United Nations Space Command ALPHA PRIORITY
TRANSMISSION 0322s-21
Encryption Code: Red
Public Key:
From:Captain Daniel Roosevelt, Commanding Officer, Captain of FFG-124/ (UNSC Service Number: 00205-14200-DH) 
To: ALL UNSC warships in AIDENN, EL DORADO, and OCTANUS systems,
Subject: COVENANT FORCES DETECTED IN AIDENN SYSTEM
Classification: Classified (BGX Directive)

/start file/
Space-time distortions detected in Sector S-34 by Remote Scanning Outpost Fujikawa at 0621 hours (Military Time). File attached. Contact was subsequently lost with Outpost. Single LRS-class Covenant vessel sighted at 0625 hours (Military Time). Cole Protocol enacted at 0628 standard time. Request immediate assistance from all vessels in AIDENN and EL DORADO systems.  ALL SHIPS are to group at rally point SIERRA.
/end

No one mentioned that it would take at least an hour for the first reinforcements to arrive. By that time, they would either have destroyed the ship...or Aidenn would be yet another ball of molten glass.

"Get me a firing solution, and point us right at that bastard."

Roosevelt's voice was steady and loud, but he was shaking inside. These "scout" ships had three pulse lasers and a single plasma torpedo launcher, not enough to take on a large defensive fleet but more than enough for a lone frigate.

"MAC at 100%, Captain. Firing."

The frigate shook violently from nose to stern as first one, then another of the depleted uranium slugs were fired. They slammed into the oval-shaped Covenant frigate, sending its shields down in a spectacular burst of electricity and tearing a huge hole in the vessel's side. A series of secondary explosions silently erupted along the ship's cleaved flank, and plasma drifted into space. The frigate, however, continued to move towards the planet.

"Launch Archers A through G, then recharge the MAC cannon. Pull it from our engines if you have to."

"Yes, Captain."

Hundreds of Archer missiles streaked from their pods on the  Benelux's side, leaving thick trails of white in their wake, and spun as they homed in on the enemy ship. The enemy vessel continued to slowly cruise towards Aidenn, but there were flashes of amethyst from its starboard side and nose. All but a dozen of the Archer missiles were reduced to a cloud of debris and flame by the pulse lasers, and the remaining missiles impacted harmlessly on the scout's reestablished shields.

Dozens of dots streamed from the scout's sides: Spirit and Phantom dropships. A quartet of these, flanked by a pair of boarding craft, flew towards the seemingly inert Victor Station, while the rest sank into Aidenn's atmopshere. Things were about to get very unpleasant for the planet's residents.

There were bursts of light as the Station opened up on the four remaining dropships with its autocannons, filling the void with high explosive rounds. The Phantoms used their maneuverability to great effect, avoiding the vast majority of the rounds, but one of the shells impacted the lead dropship. It violently flew apart into a debris field, and the shrapnel tore the troop transport immediately behind it to pieces as well. By this time though, the survivors had made it through the killzone, and hovered into the Station's hanger bay. ODDS Victor had been boarded. Battle-hardened Majors dropped to the hanger bay floor, only to be torn to pieces by heavy machine gun positions and M-19'S. There were only four Elites left from the first group to come down by the time the survivors took cover.

Following orders barked by a silver-armoured Ultra Elite, the dozen or so Grunts in the group threw clusters at each stationary gun while the dropships provided cover fire. The turrets were consumed by clouds of blue electricity, along with those Naval personnel unwise enough to cluster nearby. With the odds suddenly in their favor, the lances of Covenant quickly massacred the remaining humans and stormed the area immediately beyond the hanger. The human presence was unexpected, and the vermin were putting up a real fight, but the Shipmaster had told them their duty. They had no intention of failing to fulfill it.

As the Station's crew attempted to fight off their unwelcome guests, things outside the structure were getting worse. The Covenant  frigate had let out its second and , thankfully, final group of dropships and was now turning its attention back to the Beneleux. The UNSC frigate had deployed its fighters in an attempt to distract or destroy the Phantoms, only to see the scout frigate vaporize them while they were still out of weapons range.

Now, the Covenant captain had turned his attention back to the human attack ship that had wounded them so grievously in the battle's opening shots. Pulse lasers hissed through the vaccum as they intercepted Archer missiles. Captain Roosevelt watched grimly as the frigate came ever closer, cautious after the damage it had taken earlier.

Although there was no way the Covenant could know it, he had no way of taking the ship out. He only had a single MAC round remaining, and his Archer pods were all but depleted. The Beneleux's autocannon's wouldn't even dent thick Covenant armour, let alone their shields.

"Firing solution online. Last round, Captain."

"Fire."

The bullet shaped projectile hit the Covenant ship dead center, sending waves of energy rippling across its shields from the point of impact. The ship was pushed back slightly by the hit, but its energy shielding held. Daniel had noticed that their earlier hits had scrapped the enemy's plasma torpedo launcher, meaning they'd have to get close to do any real damage to the human frigate. Small satisfaction considering the overall tactical situation, but it was still something.

If the Beneleux had still been equipped with the standard Shiva missiles, they could have won. However, the missiles had been removed from the ship several weeks earlier for reassignment to vessels taking part in the Verin skirmish. It had made sense at the time.

The Covenant ship loomed larger in the tactical screen, and the projections along its side flickered from light blue to a dull crimson as it prepared to fire. Even as the Captain directed his crew to fire the frigate's last few Archers at the hostile ship, he knew it was a futile gesture.

Then the ship suddenly came apart as the Victor's mass driver flared, then fired again. The energy that had been collecting along the ship's energy projectors dissipated, sending crackles of static across the bridge's screens. There was a moment of stunned silence, then the bridge and COM broke into cheering as the crew expressed their relief at their miraculous escape.

The Captain allowed himself a small smile. However, he knew that the battle for the system had only begun. Covenant standard procedure dictated that ships report the presence of "infidels" in systems on sight, and the enemy's ships were several times faster than their UNSC counterparts. They'd had trouble fending off a lone , light warship. If a task force or ,worse yet, a fleet came, not amount of maneuvering and tactics would save the planet.

The mood suddenly faded as a panicked transmission played across the bridge.

"This is Commander Ferix, UNSC Colonial Militia. Covenant forces have landed in Eva. Repeat, Covenant forces in Eda. Main barracks destroyed by hostile air support. Request immediate reinforce..."

The transmission cut off midword, and the bridge fell silent. After a long moment, Roosevelt addressed his crew.

"Take us into a geosynchronous orbit above Eva, and tell all Army personnel to prepare for immediate landing."

"Yes, sir."

Over the next few minutes, hundreds of Pelican troop transports roared from the Benelux's hangers and dropped out of sight below the clouds. Moments later, hundreds of black, oblong pods fell from the frigate's belly and began to glow from reentry heat as they fell. Each pod contained an Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, or "Helljumper". These would come as a nasty shock to the Covenant. That, or they'd be blown out of the air.

Daniel put the cynical thought out of his mind and turned his attention to the black patch of space the first enemy ship had emerged from.

"Those reinforcements had better get here soon..."

Sgt. Grimm moved through his normal routine of preparation, sliding on and clipping the rest of his ODST suit together, checking everything before grabbing his helmet and dropping it over his spiky haired head. Grimm moved through the UNSC Frigate Benelux towards the hanger, and the rest of the squad he was stationed with would be waiting. A few moments later, just outside the drop bay, the prep sirens went off. Red lights flashed, and sirens howled through the personnel filled corridors.

Grimm stepped through the sliding doorway and into the drop bay, the other seven members of Raven Team stood around their drop pods, awaiting orders from command. Grimm nodded to his fellow troopers as he neared the circle of Helljumpers. Grimm bent his knees in an attempt to stay upright as the ship shook as an explosion shook the Frigate, a wound from the ship battle earlier on. Standing straight up and regaining his composure, the ships comms. crackled to life.

"All UNSC personnel, this is your captain speaking. All military personnel to battle stations."

Smiling from behind his helmet, Grimm rubbed the symbol etched into his black armor. A few moments later their team leader walked in, Staff Sergeant James Tagert. Everyone saluted their commanding officer and made way for him to enter the circle of troopers.

"Ok ladies, heres the deal. We suit up and head planet side. We are to meet up with 105th ODST Division of 3rd Platoon and help them with what ever they need. Once they're set, we move into Eva and start the real fight. Suit ladies, we move in ten." Tagert explained then moved to the weapons rack to fill up on ammo.

The group nodded and moved to follow, their boots sounding out on the metal floors. Everyone grabbed their spec related weapon, and then a second of their own preference. Grabbing his usual payload, Grimm lifted a BR-55 off the rack, loaded it and grabbed a few extra clips, moving down the rack to get his second weapon, a MA5B. With both weapons in hand, Grimm moved over to his drop pod, placing his weapons in their racks.

With his weapons in place, Grimm stepped into his HEV, strapped himself in, and hit the ready button causing the pods door to lower and then lock into place, a slight hiss emanating from the metal shell insuring a tight and safe seal. Several minutes alter, all nine pod lights lit up as green.

"Hold on to your panties girls..." Tagert started but was cut off as his body as well as his HEV was launched from the Integral and towards the planet below.

One by one the pods were launched from the ship and into space, each ODST jerking slightly inside their respective HEV pods. Grimm sat in his pod, his eyes closed, his breathing calm and steady. This was just another day at the office for him. His mind was going over tactics and ROE, and as the floor beneath his feet grew hot, he opened his eyes and smiled, Feet first into hell.

The thought lingered as the floor grew hotter, and then was washed away as the HEV jerked as the drag chute was released and the pod jerked back to slow its decent slightly. A few more minutes passed, the metal floor still hot, then a tremendous thud that shook the pod as it landed. Clicking his harness, the hatch flew off the HEV, and the ODST's of Raven disengaged their pods, grabbing thier weapons and forming up on SSgt Tagert.

"Ok ladies, lets move out and find the 105th. Should be close, but still a hike." The SSgt commanded.

Forming up Raven team moved out towards it's first objective.

First Lieutenant Ric Liansi jumped off of Pelican Bravo 22, hitting the paved ground the exact moment as the other three Pelicans landed. 1st Platoon jumped and hopped out of the four Pelicans, two at a time, each one with the anticipation that took the heart of Liansi. The three Pelicans that were meant for carrying troops and a vehicle dropped their warthogs, while the other Pelican - Lima 910 - unloaded her troopers and flew into the distance. Liansi cocked his head 90 degrees and cracked it as he jumped into the nearest hog, the Passenger Seat was as uncomfortable as always. Liansi raised his Battle Rifle over the winshield, and looked around at the driver and gunner. All great men. Liansi put his finger up to his earpiece and pushed it in:

"3rd Platoon this is 1st Platoon, we are on our way. Hold your position." Liansi spoke into the headset, and braced as the warthog went over a massive bump. The city scape was at the peak of sunset, a bloody one. Looking up into the sunset Liansi shielded his eyes at both the sunset, and a single squadron of Hornets. "3rd Platoon this is 1st Platoon, lets roll." 1st Platoon flew over a hill and the four warthogs shifted uneasily as they rolled down a grassy hill straight towards charging Covenant.

"1st Platoon this is 3rd Platoon, eta ten seconds." Ten seconds later, six tanks, and a few warthogs flew over the hill on the other side of the hill. The six tank stopped at the top of the hill, took aim, and fired. The shots decimated the ground near the bridge, scaring the Covvies shitless.

"... oh shit ..." Liansi muttered as plasma reeked through the warthog and decimated the gunner, "Driver, turn us-" Liansi was cut off as a plasma grenade landed next to the warthog. As the plasma exploded the warthog went in a full flip, landing straight on its back. Liansi was alive - barely. Looking around he saw the legs of miniature grunts running towards the hog, squealing. The warthog began to flame up as Liansi began to crawl out of the body of Private First Class D. Echos, the driver. Jumping out of the warthog he turned around - three grunts in site. Two shots echoed out of his battle rifle and one grunt fell to the ground.

"Sherman Bridge is secure!" an officer said over the tac-comm.

Corporal Johnson's fireteam had met up with another of their platoon's fireteams. They were heading for another objective; a small town in the suburbs.

This town was a few miles south of the Covenants' landing zone. The LT had told the two fireteams to secure it. They had backup on hand in a pair of Troop 'Hogs just outside of a half-mile away. They carried only regular marines, but they were fresh and battle-hardened.

The seven men and one woman (the other fireteam leader) approached the town cautiously. "Look, sir. Covenant." said Smith, pointing. There were indeed a couple dozen covenant; a pair of the blue Elites, a single red one, a fireteam of Jackals, and the rest, a dozen or so Grunts.

Johnson called the two fireteams in: "Here's the plan. Snipers, wait for the signal. Blow two of those Elites to hell. Everyone else, we'll find someplace to attack them at. Fill 'em with bullets and don't die. Kill everything as fast as possible. Signal is 'Time to kill some stupid bastards.'"

"Break!" said West half-seriously. "What, I used to play QB at USC!"


The six marines were in position, most of them hiding in a pair of buildings. Johnson was crouched behind a wall, as his SMG was a really shitty weapon at long range.

The first half-dozen Grunts passed his cover. Johnson barely breathed. A pair of Jackals; a blue Elite.

"Time to kill some stupid bastards."

Two high-velocity rounds smashed into the Red Elite and Blue elite, killing the first, his head blown off, and the other was grasping his entrails as they spilled onto the ground.

The rest of the Covenant stopped in stupidity. That's when the other six weapons opened fire. The other Elite was dead almost instantly as the three battle rifles opened fire on it; Johnson killed a Jackal that was turning towards him with a long burst.

The two Assault rifles barked, chewing holes in Grunts, and blew one's methane tank. It, along with a Jackal with the poor luck to stand near it, were killed instantly.

Suddenly, a Jackal jumped onto Kyle's back. It knocked his SMG from his hands. In response, the Marine reached up and grabbed the Jackal by his wrists and hurled him over his shoulders, then pulled his magnum from his side and put a trio of quick rounds through his head.

The last of the Covenant fell silent. They were all dead.



Gates sat calmly in the lead Warthog's passenger seat; they were headed to what, according to his map, was a ground-to-space relay station, and was important to hold it if they wanted nearly-impossible to jam communications. His 3rd Platoon and now a couple of squads of Marines were also coming to help secure the position.

The convoy rolled into the complex. Gates began to set up his defenses; his men were set to setting up motion sensors; the Warthogs were set up to be a quick-reaction force; they discoupled a few chainguns for a little more protection. The Elephant was placed inside the complex. Sandbag bunkers were set up, The Wolverines were set up.

Marines, about 50 now, were patrolling the area. Snipers were deployed at key points, and heavy arms like grenades and rockets were distributed. If the Covenant attacked here, they'd be screwed so fast it wouldn't be funny.

Captain Paul Harrison, the real commander of Integral, gritted and ground his teeth.

Had the file not come ten seconds later, the Rear Admiral would have been off of his ship, and back where he belonged, on Bunker Hill.

Sure, Harrison was also from Texas, but that had created only more problems for the Captain. Rear Admiral Ardin was intelligent, certainly, a good tactician, surely, an admiral, of course, but obnoxious and inconsiderate to the letter? Unfortunate.

Harrison ground his teeth again; Adrin was a young fool, having seen less conflict than any of the older Captains or Admirals, like the old 'schoolmasters' in Keyes or his lot; he'd not even joined until a few years after Harvest. He had never seen a world glassed.

"Sir! Covenant Contacts!" Lt. Commander Joseph Quirelly, the unflappable second-in-command of Integral.

"Main screen," Harrison drawled in his own heavy accent before Adrin could spout the obvious order.

A CSS-Class Battlecruiser 'slipped' back into reality. A pair of frigates came up on its flanks.

"Oh hell!" an ensign stuttered.

Adrin was blinking very rapidly, going through his memories of OCS to remember the uses and dangers of the CSS-class.

It didn't bode well; one of these BattleCruisers was worth as many as a half-dozen Destroyers; all they had was a trio of Destroyers, and two frigates, one damaged, out of MAC rounds, no fighters, no nukes. So really, four on three. Fair? Not even close.

Maybe, just maybe, they could take them out. MACS? Nukes? Archer Missiles? Longswords? There was no realistic way that the UNSC battle group could win. But they must try.

Adrin snapped out of his half-trance. "CSS Battlecruiser. Deadly; 1700 meters long. UNSC High Command estimates a 4-5 Destroyer ratio. Covenant Frigates; 1000 meters long. Dangerous. More than a match for most Destroyers or Frigates."

"Helpful, Admiral, but we need to stop them."

"Uh, I don't know how."

"I know that. Contact the fleet. Charge our MAC guns, remove the safeties on our first nuke. We are initiating the Cole Protocol now."

Navigation was purged. Nukes were armed. The MAC guns of the fleet began to charge; seven, two to each Destroyer, one on the frigate. Four nukes were armed. "Focus fire on the CSS. Fire at optimal range."

"Sir! The enemy capital ship is firing!" an ensign reported. "Several plasma bursts are headed right for us!"

"We're so screwed." Rich said, then fainted.

"Damn fool. Weapons! What's our MAC Charge?"

"88%, climbing quick! But its our last round!" reported the officer.

"We're likely going to die anyway! Fire when ready, and coordinate all the rest of our missiles and nukes!"

Harrison was effectively committing a self-destruction; with no charge to move the ship, they had no chance of dodging the plasma.

The frigate Patriot simply melted, hit by a trio of plasma bursts.

The Integral's weapons finally read green.

"Goodbye, you split-jawed sons of bitches." Harrison muttered as his ship launched every last piece of ordanance at its most hated foe; a massive thunderbolt, over 250 missiles and two nukes.

The ship was consumed by fire.