Depths of Space: The Uncertain Future (IC, Open)

[Naretion]

Na'sen took in all the sights. He was memorizing everything he saw. It excited him, the idea of being the first one to write a piece on the Antivarian home world. The two hundred foot statue of a soldier was an unusual sight to him since the Art Meks were a very peaceful species.

In typical Art Mek fashion his choice was clear. "The Library of The Constitution." He chose. Not only was it a good way to learn the ideals of the Antivarians, but it was a library. The Art Meks lived for collections of information.

"Very well." The driver turned in front of the large marble and granite structure. Normally the Library was open at all times for all antivarians to use at there leager. But today it was empty so that no one could desterbe the Art Mek as he studied.

"This building contains both the digital and physical representations of every literary work of the Antivarian race. All our scientific breakthroughs, our history, the great works of poets and playwrights long dead. Within this building is the compilation of our struggle. I am sure that you will find yourself at home here. If you wish the aid of any others of your kind you may have it, our you can use the help of some of my people." Ruse told Na'sen.

"Access to this knowledge would be most desired by my kind. We would love to study and copy it. It is great news to discover a place such as this on your homeworld. Even with our differences our species may have some similarities yet." Na'sen explored the library, glancing between the many books. "If an embassy is approved you can be sure the ambassador will spend his free time here as well. How long did it take you to compile all of this knowledge?"

[The Orson Empire]

Titan Station, Gemini System

High Admiral Trov had been through absolute hell over the past weeks. He had already lost both of his legs, and had suffered severe burns across his body, and he had been tortured by his interrogators in an attempt to get information out of him. Trov, however, was a very tough and harsh man himself, and none of the interrogation methods worked on him. He had also undergone some of the toughest military training regimens in the Covenant, which prepared him for situations like this. At this point, Trov would rather die than betray the Covenant by giving up confidential information. Nevertheless, he hoped the Covenant would be able to find and rescue him, as he desperately wanted new legs so he could walk again.

As Trov was wheeled into a large open office aboard the station, he looked up and saw a man dressed in a suit and with a cigar in his mouth. Trov was not intimidated by him

"I cannot understand your language well," Trov managed to say in English.

[Spindle]

Cerateal

With enough distance, even the most cataclysmic events can become insignificant. Even with the relative closeness of the engagement to Cerateal, the naked eye would have been unable to make out any differences to the night sky. The off-green flash of particle beams, the searingly white explosions of ruptured fusion piles, all faded into insignificance with the immense distance between the planet and the battle.

Not that Cerateal Ground Control couldn't see what was going on. It was designed to be able to coordinate traffic throughout the entire system, but for now there was only one portion of the system that anyone was interested in. The tiny section of sky where the battle, although massacre might be a better word, was taking place. Even as the ground control team watched, the IR signature of the Fortitude was replaced with a mess of heat and cold spreading out over a sphere roughly one light-second in diameter. A section of the Everlasting was shorn off like an iceberg breaking away from a glacier and the ship went dead, her bulk ploughing past the alien ships.

The Cerateal Orbit Guard was down to three Escorts and a Cruiser, all of which were heavily damaged. But all that was needed to confirm the necessity of the casualties was a glance to the statistics flashing up on the screen. Twelve million of the estimated fifteen and a half million people on the planet were in shelters: another five hundred thousand were estimated to be in them by the time the hostiles engaged the planetary defences. By the time they were estimated to commence bombardment, the best guess was that just over thirteen million people would be safe.

Well...relatively safe.

Classified Location

Slade frowned as unfamiliar words and unfamiliar surroundings washed over him. It was a...hospital of some sort? The sterile nature made it seem so, and hadn't someone said 'doctor'? Speaking of which, who else was in here? That sounded like two voices...and he could make out words. Schmidt? Was that him? Oh, yes. The contract. He wasn't going to be taking any more of those again. Not if he could help it. The voices were still talking. They probably wanted him to reply.

"Yes?" He said uncertainly, sitting up slightly.

CIC
The Broken Wind
Federation Space

Kaff was, not unusually, not in an interlink pod. He was partially linked into the Broken Wind, but the wires were connected into a neural socket implanted at the base of his neck. It was a far less useful method than a proper interlink for some tasks, not least full combat, but it served perfectly well for what Kaff currently needed to do-specifically coordinating with ground control. After all, the integration of what was, in effect, a full division was problematic even with clients who he had long personal experience with.

It didn't help that there was plenty of orbital traffic. There must have been hundreds of ships here, all jostling for orbits, landing trajectories and bandwidth with each other. It must have been a ground controller's nightmare, but the apparent chaos was either superbly managed or much less chaotic than it seemed. Either way, Kaff wasn't thrilled at the prospect of navigating the internal rules of the system or having his ship remote-adjusted into geostat with so many ships moving so randomly around down there.

"Federation Ground Control, this is the Broken Wind." He said, his words being converted into the comms LASER which shot downwards to the planet below, "Requesting geostat trajectory. Authorisation code sierra-tango-delta."

[The NAR]

Titan Station, Gemini System

High Admiral Trov had been through absolute hell over the past weeks. He had already lost both of his legs, and had suffered severe burns across his body, and he had been tortured by his interrogators in an attempt to get information out of him. Trov, however, was a very tough and harsh man himself, and none of the interrogation methods worked on him. He had also undergone some of the toughest military training regimens in the Covenant, which prepared him for situations like this. At this point, Trov would rather die than betray the Covenant by giving up confidential information. Nevertheless, he hoped the Covenant would be able to find and rescue him, as he desperately wanted new legs so he could walk again.

As Trov was wheeled into a large open office aboard the station, he looked up and saw a man dressed in a suit and with a cigar in his mouth. Trov was not intimidated by him

"I cannot understand your language well," Trov managed to say in English.

"Then we may speak in your native tongue" Ashur said in fluent, mostly-correct Cho'Dosan. The man was intelligent - one of Humanity's best - and had studied many xeno languages in his youth. Cho'Dosan was the one he focused on, due to the uneasy relationship between the Covenant and the Empire. Ashur took a drag from his cigarette, looking out at the suns, then spoke once again to Trov. "Can you tell me what happened to your legs?"

[Ithalian Empire]

"Access to this knowledge would be most desired by my kind. We would love to study and copy it. It is great news to discover a place such as this on your homeworld. Even with our differences our species may have some similarities yet." Na'sen explored the library, glancing between the many books. "If an embassy is approved you can be sure the ambassador will spend his free time here as well. How long did it take you to compile all of this knowledge?"

"We still aren't done. This entire city was built from the ground up shortly after the United Union of Colonies was formed. There was so much lost in the flames of the war that united my species. It was decided that a place for the storage of knowledge would be a fitting touch to the city. That was a few centuries ago. Every single printed work is stored here. Fragments of scrolls thousands of years old to books published this year. Its all here for the average citizen to enjoy."

[The Greater Gambia]

Cerateal

CIC
The Broken Wind
Federation Space

Kaff was, not unusually, not in an interlink pod. He was partially linked into the Broken Wind, but the wires were connected into a neural socket implanted at the base of his neck. It was a far less useful method than a proper interlink for some tasks, not least full combat, but it served perfectly well for what Kaff currently needed to do-specifically coordinating with ground control. After all, the integration of what was, in effect, a full division was problematic even with clients who he had long personal experience with.

It didn't help that there was plenty of orbital traffic. There must have been hundreds of ships here, all jostling for orbits, landing trajectories and bandwidth with each other. It must have been a ground controller's nightmare, but the apparent chaos was either superbly managed or much less chaotic than it seemed. Either way, Kaff wasn't thrilled at the prospect of navigating the internal rules of the system or having his ship remote-adjusted into geostat with so many ships moving so randomly around down there.

"Federation Ground Control, this is the Broken Wind." He said, his words being converted into the comms LASER which shot downwards to the planet below, "Requesting geostat trajectory. Authorisation code sierra-tango-delta."

The AI managing the hustle and bustle over the planet spoke over the comms. The Vers System was a military rallying point, as well as a trade point for freighters moving in and out of the Khyrsian Territories. With so much traffic coming in and out of the system and many other systems like it, the Federation began to implement specialized AI's supplemented by a Ground Control team all across Federation Space.

"Request accepted, "Broken Wind". You are clear to dock at Oroya Station at these coordinates. Enjoy your visit to New Jakala."



Orana Shipyard
Volunteer Task Force Ship
Battle Suit Launch Bay


Most of the volunteers were already on board the ship. While the task force took volunteers from all over the galaxy, most of the Task Force Personnel were Alliance and Federation soldiers. The Federation had doubled the pay for any soldiers that volunteered, causing an influx of troops to sign up. The Federation had also supplemented the Task Force with vehicles and weaponry, as part of their arms agreement with the Alliance.

The sounds of the crew and mechanics hard at work filled the Hangar bay. Marie and the rest of her team watched as the crew worked on latching a TFBS4-"Pikeman" securely to its constraints.

"I always knew that war with the Covenant was a matter of when, not if. Never thought I'd be fighting under a Terran banner." Pareesh said. Marie leaned back against a crate.

"It's not like Command or anyone of the higher ups would just give over Federation Personnel and equipment over to a foreign country. Chances are there's workings behind the scenes of all this." Marie let out a sigh.

"Anyway, nothing we can control so there's no use worrying about it." Just then, a naval ensign approached the team, data pad in hand.

"Squadron Leader Marie Chevalier. You are to report to the training room for firearms training at 1300." Marie grew a surprised look on her face.

"What, I did my firearms qualification a month ago? I'm not due for another qualification test till next year."

"Not for you, Squadron Leader, for our new volunteers from outside of the Federation. You're to do a run down on our inventory of weapons for the new guys. Most of these guys have previous military training so they know which ends the barrel. Just make sure they know how our weapons work." Marie reluctantly agreed.

"Of course, I'll be there." The Ensign walked off, completing his rounds around the Battle Suit bay and other areas around the ship. Marie sighed.

"Well, looks like I've got to go train the newbies." Mitsuru chuckled.

"Go easy on them."

[Spindle]

CIC
Broken Wind
Vers

Kaff put the coordinates directly through to the engines with only a cursory glance, enough to be sure that the coordinates weren't inside the planet or something equally fatal. When the engines kicked in, he was fairly confident in the reliability of the data. After all, Gerald hadn't overruled him on the trajectory, so it couldn't be anything overly suicidal. Without much pomp or ceremony, the Broken Wind maneuvered itself into position alongside the orbital facility and slowly connected the main embarkation bay to the amorphic pressure seal which lead to one of the hangar bays of the orbital station.

It was unusual for a ship to have an embarkation bay hatch quite the size of the Broken Wind's, but then she was an unusual ship. For a start, she was a hybrid in terms of naval architecture between four separate schools of thought. First off, it was a Spindlean-Taari hybrid. It had a missile armament, almost traditional for a Spindlean warship, which could also be used against ground-based targets and yet it possessed the composite armour and heavy beam armament more reminiscent of Taari warship. In addition to its armament, of which there was a noticeable paucity for a ship of its mass, it was also capable of deploying troops to and supporting them on a planetary surface: a warship-assault craft hybrid of the five-year old Tempest class.

Kaff was certain that he shouldn't have been able to get his hands on something like this for a couple of years still, but there was certainly games at play here. Not only had he picked her up for little more than scrap price, she'd come outfitted with over a hundred of the shiny-new TALOS suits that someone had apparently 'forgotten' to unload when the ship was prepared for the transaction, as well as more spare parts than Kaff knew what to do with. The fact that the spare parts were all bleeding-edge was about as accidental as the provision of TALOS suits.

Of course, Kaff had no intention of rejecting a gift like this. The purchase had increased the ability of his small force a thousandfold, and if the government had plans in place for him using their equipment the way they intended, he had no doubt that they had plans just in case he didn't. He very much doubted that he wanted to know what those plans were. So he'd play the political game through to its conclusion then leave with several million credits' worth of hardware as a bonus. Not bad.

"Oroya Station, this is the Broken Wind, authorisation code sierra-tango-delta." He spoke, "Standing by for instructions."

[The V O I D]

Damascus II - Shelter 4
Damascus System
Federation Fringe-Space

The Faang which remained continued to crawl away until he was surrounded. He then moved himself onto his back, growling slightly at the fact his legs were broken. The Faang looked around at his captors. The Faang let out a slight hiss, before he sat up fully. He began to clap his hands like an entertained child, chuckling in a deep, throaty chuckle. He spoke to them all.

"You managed to capture me. Good job. I'm asssssssssuming you want information, yesssss? It issss within my people'ssss - the Faang - culture to sssssserve those who besssssst usssssss. You besssssssted me. I am required by my very culture to anssssssssswer your quesssssssstionssssss.", the Faang stated simply. The natural hiss to his voice made it hard to tell the tone of his voice, but it sounded sincere. Although, who knew if he was lying or not...

The Militiamen were surprised by the Faang's reaction, not to mention that the thing had managed to stand even after its legs were broken. Kiiva refocused.

"You have a lot of questions to answer. Tie him up, I want two people watching him at all times." The Militiamen tied the Faang's hands behind his back, aiming their guns at him as it was escorted back inside the shelter. As they walked back inside the shelter, Kiiva began to feel light headed and collapsed. Khaled came rushing to her aid, lifting her back up.

"Kiiva, are you okay!?" Khaled said. Kiiva just chuckled, her nose was beginning to bleed.

"Yeah, I just overextended myself."

"These people owe you a great debt. You've done enough today, we'll take over from here." Khaled and Kiiva were the last ones to enter. After they passed, the large doors of the Shelter began to close, not opening for anything until the coast was clear.

Nazimabad Outskirts

Temir sped out of the city on a speeder, rushing quickly to Kiiva's shelter. By the time the planet's capital Nazimabad had been secured, a brief window of communications opened, with the last thing Temir hearing was how Shelter 4 was about to fall, leaving his wife and child at the mercy of the slavers. Despite the pleas of his fellow Militiamen, Temir left, hoping to save his family.

As Temir sped through the countryside, a blast of plasma exploded right in front of his speeder, sending him flying. As he hit the ground, he began to fall unconscious. The last thing he saw were figures surrounding him, like vultures to carrion.


Warlord Ogedi's Warband


"Honorable Warlord, we're detecting a distress signal. It's an SOS. Adjusting course for scout fighters-"

"No." Ogedi said coldly.

"But Honorable Warlord, it's a distress signal. If we do not respond, we will be held responsible for whatever happens." The Maug-Lai crewman said.

"Do you no think it's odd that there is a loudly heard distress signal, yet no word from the planet's population? Something is amiss here. In the case that this isn't a trick. Order Chieftress Garanaa's Frigate to investigate. I want the rest of the fleet to approach the planet. Let us discover the truth." The fleet went to their respective destinations, one frigate answering the distress signal while the other 14 ships went to Damascus II. As the main group approached the planet, their questions were soon answered.

"Honorable warlord, you should see this." A large holoprojection of the planet appeared on the bridge. A large cluster of debris orbited around it, along with four unknown vessels.

"Sir, it seems the source of the communications jamming is coming from the unidentified ships." Ogedi smiled deviously. It had been too long since he had tasted battle.

"Well, it seems that the evidence is damning these unidentified devils. All ships, standard battle plan. All frigates focus on the smaller ships, while our battle cruisers focus on the larger target. Mecha Suits will stay behind, acting as defense against fighters and boarding craft. Bomber squadrons and fighters will create an opening for our own boarding parties!"

The Maug-Lai fleet followed their orders to the letter. The two Battlecruisers opened fire on the slaver dreadnought, hitting the engines to keep them from escaping and reducing their mobility. The remaining 12 Maug-Lai Frigates fired on the Slaver Battlecruisers, firing their Plasma Beam Cannons to drain their shields. To counter the inevitable counter attack from the slaver fighters, Maug-Lai Mecha suits and interceptor Tokad-Interceptors were dispatched to protect the main ships. Meanwhile, Bombers and fighters bombarded the hangar of the Dreadnought, trying to create an opening for the drop ships to bring in a boarding party.

Damascus II - Shelter 4
Damascus System
Federation Fringe-Space

As the Faang was escorted to a makeshift cell and tied up, he seemed to relax slightly. Once he relaxed, the Faang stared at his captors. The Faang seemed almost disinterested. He then began to chuckle slightly, as if he found something humorous. The Faang addressed no one in particular as he began to speak once again, seemingly amused by the tone to his voice.

"I may be broken, but we have captured new sssssssssslavesssssssss. Too bad we didn't catch you, missssssss Kiiva. You would've sssssold for a lot in the Imperial Sssslave Market. Tell me, do you own any ssssssslavesssss?", the Faang said simply. It was somewhat easy to get his message: this wasn't some pirate group or random raid; it was a planned attack. One with the intent of capturing legal slaves for his empire of origin. Not only that, but based on the phrasing of it, it sounded like all forms of slavery were not only legal, but encouraged by the government.

---

Damascus II - Nazimabad
Damascus System
Federation Fringe-Space

The slavers were patrolling near Nazimabad. The resistance near there had put up quite the fight. A speeder was detected by one of the gunships patrolling the area, and it was fired upon. When the speeder was blown out and its rider knocked off, the gunship proceeded to land nearby. A squad of Crosin jumped out, proceeding to grab the still-living person. The Crosin brought him back to the gunship as he went unconscious, throwing him in a Slave Container, with a few others who were trapped. The cell was then locked and covered by a hardlight shield.

---

The Emperor's Reign - Dreadnought, Tsveri 201^st Slaver-Patrol Fleet
Damascus System
Federation Fringe-Space

Teuris was not pleased. On one hand, the alien fleet had managed to not fall for his trap. On the other, one of their ships did. The enemy fleet seemed to be preparing for battle. Teuris ordered the Battlecruisers up to defend the fleet. The several Battlecruisers, this time in somewhat larger number than the small force which dispatched the planet's defending fleet, began to head enter defensive positions around the fleet as slave collection continued. Fighters swarmed out of the Battlecruisers to engage any enemy fighters and mech suits in space; they seemed very well shielded. The Battlecruisers began firing their hypercannons, which seemed to play hell with shielding and do much worse against armor hulls. This attack began without warning, as well.

As for the frigate which went to investigate, when it got to the position of the distress signal, all they'd find is an oddly large orb; about the size of an asteroid. It suddenly began to glow brightly, before releasing a large EMP that seemed to take out the systems of the frigate. Once this occurred, the asteroid shifted slightly and launched several boarding craft to the frigate - Exterminator-type Unit Squads, entirely made of Crosin with one objective. Slaughter everyone on board the frigate, and capture the command crew. The boarding craft would slam into the frigate in various places, drilling and crushing into the hulls, breaching their way into various places. The Exterminators would board the craft and begin killing anyone unfortunate enough to be near where they breached.

[The NAR]

-SOLIS ALLIANCE-

---

Nearly a month into the War, and things are already looking bad for the Alliance. Despite the early victory in the Lucan System, they'd been pushed back across all Fronts, with the Covenant using a "divide and conquer" doctrine to more easily beat down the Humans. The Alliance had lost more than 70,000 vessels in the fighting, and suffered over 500 million civilian and military casualties - the number climbing with each passing day. The Alliance Navy had managed to coordinate many small-scale counter-offensives to drive the Covenant out of various systems but for the most part, it was a defensive war. In coordination with the Atlas Fleets, Alliance Forces had begun to wage a guerilla war where they could not engage Covenant Forces conventionally, which has led to the development of harsher and harsher tactics on both sides. Despite the current state of the Alliance, her people have held out strong - using the massive genocide of entire worlds as a reason to fight on. Humanity, as a race, had begun to unite and stand together as one, with millions flocking to the Homeland to defend her. Though along with this new sense of unity and brotherhood, there is hate. Human Supremacist Groups, especially Atlas, have seen a massive rise in popularity since the war began - drawing in millions who once had no qualms with xenos. Across the Solis Alliance, especially on Earth and the major colonies, the people have begun a campaign of hate and discrimination against the Cho'Dosan minority. Homes are destroyed, businesses are sacked, and in rare cases, Cho'Dosan citizens are murdered under accusation of being "Covenant Spies". While Prime Minister Freedman advises against such violence and discrimination, he can do very little to stop the angry nation. Humanity cries for blood... Cho'Dosan blood.

---

Moresti System
9.4 Light-years from Sol

---

Admiral Reese Dunkirk had been assigned to the 6th Fleet - 65,000 of some of the Alliance's best vessels - after the destruction of the 18th Fleet in the nearby Falken System. Dunkirk sought to avenge the deaths of his fallen comrades, as well as repair his reputation, and this would be accomplished here: in the Moresti System. Home to the planet New Haven, a stunningly beautiful colony which was first settled by Humans more than a thousand years ago, it was one of the most populous Alliance worlds - 115 million in the last census. It was an icon of early Human space exploration, and a symbol of Humanity's power. It had to be protected. When the armada of 100,000 ships entered the system, Admiral Dunkirk was immediately shocked by the sheer size of it. 100,000 strong, a sixth of the entire Covenant Navy in Alliance Space. He, however, knew the system well, and had changed up Alliance tactics. Instead of massing his fleets all around New Haven, he spread them out in clusters around the system and would wait for the Covenant to come to them. They'd installed jammers to make FTL travel impossible, though they could still move at speeds just under light. His plan was smart, but he would need reinforcements to hold out. He just prayed that Atlas was true to their word, and reinforcements were inbound...

---

Orana Shipyard // New Jakala // Vers System
USS Pennsylvania

---

Many dozens of Alliance personnel had been tasked with overseeing the upgrades on the USS Pennsylvania, and already-modern, advanced Frigate that had been constructed just two years ago, in 3153. Lieutenant-Admiral Vice Hanlon had been sent to coordinate with the Federation in it's upgrades, and to make sure that command on the ship was distributed. He did, however, know that the Tagali were sneaky, and deployed an Alliance Mechanical Team to root through and pull out whatever bugs there were as soon as the ship was sent off. He'd also received word from Alliance Command that a Commander Daniel Maxson would be captain of the vessel, and only chuckled as he wished the poor lad luck. When the Engineer mentioned a Battle Suit Bay, Hanlon chuckled. "The Alliance doesn't need a Bay for Battle Suits - we don't use them enough". He then turned to Turing, who had said it was up to "Federation Standards", and nodded.

"I'd say so, though they weren't major improvements. Alliance vessels are capable as it is... a lot of this was an... unnecessary waste of money". Hanlon paused, straightening his Alliance Blues, before continuing to speak. "We have her a Captain too. Daniel Maxson, a Commander in the Alliance Marines. Pretty impressive record, if you'd like to see". Hanlon offered the sheet with Maxson's record. His service in the Atlas Marines in the Highbreed Insurrection, Alliance Marines during the raids against Pirates in Alliance Space, and his more recent actions like taking the Covenant Dreadnought in the Lucan System and the like.

[The Greater Gambia]

Orana Shipyard // New Jakala // Vers System
USS Pennsylvania

---

Many dozens of Alliance personnel had been tasked with overseeing the upgrades on the USS Pennsylvania, and already-modern, advanced Frigate that had been constructed just two years ago, in 3153. Lieutenant-Admiral Vice Hanlon had been sent to coordinate with the Federation in it's upgrades, and to make sure that command on the ship was distributed. He did, however, know that the Tagali were sneaky, and deployed an Alliance Mechanical Team to root through and pull out whatever bugs there were as soon as the ship was sent off. He'd also received word from Alliance Command that a Commander Daniel Maxson would be captain of the vessel, and only chuckled as he wished the poor lad luck. When the Engineer mentioned a Battle Suit Bay, Hanlon chuckled. "The Alliance doesn't need a Bay for Battle Suits - we don't use them enough". He then turned to Turing, who had said it was up to "Federation Standards", and nodded.

"I'd say so, though they weren't major improvements. Alliance vessels are capable as it is... a lot of this was an... unnecessary waste of money". Hanlon paused, straightening his Alliance Blues, before continuing to speak. "We have her a Captain too. Daniel Maxson, a Commander in the Alliance Marines. Pretty impressive record, if you'd like to see". Hanlon offered the sheet with Maxson's record. His service in the Atlas Marines in the Highbreed Insurrection, Alliance Marines during the raids against Pirates in Alliance Space, and his more recent actions like taking the Covenant Dreadnought in the Lucan System and the like.

Turing turned to the Vice Admiral as after he mentioned that the Alliance had no use for a Battle-Suit Bay.

"Hanlon, my man, you couldn't be more wrong, as the Alliance does need a Battle-Suit bay. You would do well to remember that this isn't just an Alliance vessel, but made up of members of species all over the Galaxy. Many Federation Personnel have volunteered as well, including the Infamous "Four Horsemen", who have 200 registered kills across their Squad. Not to mention a squad from Ostia will be joining as well, also highly decorated. These Men and Women are highly capable with them, it would not only be detrimental to them to take out the Battle-Suit Bay, but the entire mission as well. Surely you agree." Turing turned back to the ship.

"Besides, while this may be a waste of money for the Alliance's wartime economy, but to the Federation, this is just pocket change, and have covered the cost of the upgrades. While you say that they were just little changes, our technicians say otherwise." The Vice Admiral went on the say that they had already found a Captain for the vessel. Some man named Daniel Maxson. Turing could have cared less about whatever Terran yokel they brought out until he made mention that he was an Atlas Marine. Turing took a look at the records, disregarding the fact that the Alliance still used physical copies of information.

"Atlas you say? It says here that he served in the Battle of Brot...." Turing handed the Vice-Admiral back the sheet. "The same Battle of Brot where Atlas disregarded the local Federation forces pleas for help and instead bombarded their positions. Ruining a salvageable situation." Turing turned his back towards the Vice Admiral.

"Find a new Captain, the presence of a human supremacist will only aggravate xeno personnel and thus jeopardize the mission. We'll postpone launch for a week. If you don't the Federation will take complete control of the vessel and proceed as planned."

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

Cerateal
Skralk was laughing. "Maybe Ralthgath was right for once? This is too easy!" He exclaimed, laughing again. Meanwhile the fighters made another pass at the alien ships, and the corvettes began to surround them, blocking off any escape routs they may have had.

[The Moscow Metro Red Line]

Vers System - New Jakala - Orana Shipyard

Once news reached the higher echelons of the Ostian Government that there was a task-force being developed against the Covenant, certain elite units in the Ostian military were regulated to training duties on the official records. The current roster of volunteers included a team of five battlesuit pilots, three squads of regular soldiers, a commander and a volunteer. The only equipment that was being unloaded were provisions, medical equipment, five battlesuits and assorted equipment for the battlesuits. The battlesuits being unloaded were modified EI-16s, these modified EI-16s had improved armor and speed but required more maintenance then the standard EI-16. Additionally in Ostian battlesuit development history, these modification were based on the failed quasi next-generation battlesuit prior to the EI-17 Hyperion. But none of the Ostians carried any of their own military equipment aside from the battlesuits due to strict arms regulations in the Ostian government.

"Welcome to Nue Dresden!" One of the pilots in the spacious hanger sarcastically remarked. The Ostian volunteers were wandering around the hanger since their commander had ordered them to stay put before moving anywhere else. Some were standing around talking among themselves in a circle, some were laying down on the crates taking a nap, some were helping unload some of the equipment and others were just doing their own thing.

"Alois, can you speak any louder? I think the Covenant can't hear you." Another of the pilots smugly remarked, staring at the first pilot who spoke.

"Both of you be quiet." The lead pilot spoke angrily, he was playing with his knife when the two were arguing among themselves. "This is the first unofficial assignment for all of us. If one of us dies, its due to the training accident."

"Don't need to tell me, Second Lieutenant Messer." The pilot who spoke first replied, and sat down on a nearby crate. "If nobody wants to talk about this assignment, I guess I'll reread the manual to the modified tractors again."

The ship that dropped off the volunteers was officially an Ostian civilian merchant ship. Its stated mission was to trade agricultural equipment in the Federation. So technically speaking, all of the equipment being unloaded is for agriculture purposes. Somewhere else in the shipyard there was a confrontation between the Federation and Alliance military officers. Two Ostian officers were waiting for a pause in the conversation before making their presence known. They were wearing Ostian Military fatigues with no other insignia besides the Ostian hammer and compass on the forage cap. "I'm sorry, what is the problem here?" One of the officers spoke up, "I'm sorry, I am Captain Wilhem Kerper and this is my co-commander, First Lieutenant Minna Linden. We're here for the training duties."

The presumed First Lieutenant Minna Linden merely waved her right hand indicating that she was First Lieutenant Minna Linden. She was smoking a standard issue Ostian military cigarette. Its smoke started to gradually fill the room. But she had two distinct features, ash hair and blue eyes. For those in the intelligence services, they could identify her as Spartacist 24. If a Spartacist was deployed here, that would mean that this mission has some significance to the Ostian Military.

---

Ostia System - Ostia - Nue Berlin - Ostian Armed Forces HQ - War Room

In a dark room in the OAFHQ, five individuals were talking to each other in the darkness. "I take it that this is meeting is regarding Operation Matryoshka", the first individual spoke to the others. "It seems that the Alliance cannot hold their ground."

"I firmly believe that we should cancel this Operation, immediately! Marshall Kruger, the enemy at this point must be well-trained and better-tested than our own. To move to the next phase of the Operation would be foolhardily."

"Fleet Admiral Roth. I understand your concern, but the Covenant is overextended at this point. A precise strike at their supply lines would effectively cause a complete rout. Untrained sailors and soldiers fighting a well-trained and tested Navy."

"And what if you are wrong? We don't have the numbers to compete with the Covenant. Our forces will be decimated by attrition alone." Another man spoke up, attempting to sway the argument.

"Minister Slusser, with all do respect. We cannot-"

The other figure in the room raised its hand and everyone became silent. "I understand all of your concerns. However, this is a must. We cannot sit idly by as these atrocities against our species is being committed. Even if we do not share the same ideals or government anymore."

"With all due respect, your majesty. Perhaps another alternative-"

"No, unfortunately there is no other course. Either we leave our breatheren to die, or we fight for their survival. Even if they have ties to the organization that tried to take my life, I will not allow those sins to take priority over the current situation. This has gone on far enough, and I cannot ignore their cries anymore."

[The NAR]

Orana Shipyard // New Jakala // Vers System
USS Pennsylvania

---

Many dozens of Alliance personnel had been tasked with overseeing the upgrades on the USS Pennsylvania, and already-modern, advanced Frigate that had been constructed just two years ago, in 3153. Lieutenant-Admiral Vice Hanlon had been sent to coordinate with the Federation in it's upgrades, and to make sure that command on the ship was distributed. He did, however, know that the Tagali were sneaky, and deployed an Alliance Mechanical Team to root through and pull out whatever bugs there were as soon as the ship was sent off. He'd also received word from Alliance Command that a Commander Daniel Maxson would be captain of the vessel, and only chuckled as he wished the poor lad luck. When the Engineer mentioned a Battle Suit Bay, Hanlon chuckled. "The Alliance doesn't need a Bay for Battle Suits - we don't use them enough". He then turned to Turing, who had said it was up to "Federation Standards", and nodded.

"I'd say so, though they weren't major improvements. Alliance vessels are capable as it is... a lot of this was an... unnecessary waste of money". Hanlon paused, straightening his Alliance Blues, before continuing to speak. "We have her a Captain too. Daniel Maxson, a Commander in the Alliance Marines. Pretty impressive record, if you'd like to see". Hanlon offered the sheet with Maxson's record. His service in the Atlas Marines in the Highbreed Insurrection, Alliance Marines during the raids against Pirates in Alliance Space, and his more recent actions like taking the Covenant Dreadnought in the Lucan System and the like.

Turing turned to the Vice Admiral as after he mentioned that the Alliance had no use for a Battle-Suit Bay.

"Hanlon, my man, you couldn't be more wrong, as the Alliance does need a Battle-Suit bay. You would do well to remember that this isn't just an Alliance vessel, but made up of members of species all over the Galaxy. Many Federation Personnel have volunteered as well, including the Infamous "Four Horsemen", who have 200 registered kills across their Squad. Not to mention a squad from Ostia will be joining as well, also highly decorated. These Men and Women are highly capable with them, it would not only be detrimental to them to take out the Battle-Suit Bay, but the entire mission as well. Surely you agree." Turing turned back to the ship.

"Besides, while this may be a waste of money for the Alliance's wartime economy, but to the Federation, this is just pocket change, and have covered the cost of the upgrades. While you say that they were just little changes, our technicians say otherwise." The Vice Admiral went on the say that they had already found a Captain for the vessel. Some man named Daniel Maxson. Turing could have cared less about whatever Terran yokel they brought out until he made mention that he was an Atlas Marine. Turing took a look at the records, disregarding the fact that the Alliance still used physical copies of information.

"Atlas you say? It says here that he served in the Battle of Brot...." Turing handed the Vice-Admiral back the sheet. "The same Battle of Brot where Atlas disregarded the local Federation forces pleas for help and instead bombarded their positions. Ruining a salvageable situation." Turing turned his back towards the Vice Admiral.

"Find a new Captain, the presence of a human supremacist will only aggravate xeno personnel and thus jeopardize the mission. We'll postpone launch for a week. If you don't the Federation will take complete control of the vessel and proceed as planned."

"He'll be in command of the vessel" Lieutenant-Admiral Hanlon said, glaring at the Tagali. "Seventeen percent of all current Alliance personnel were members of Atlas. Ninety-six percent of those served in the Highbreed Incursion. You mean to tell me that all those men are Human Supremacists?" Hanlon paused, folding his arms behind his back and looking at the ship. "I don't like Atlas any more than you do, Turing, but Maxson is the best candidate we have available. If there are problems, you may notify your superiors, and we will have him replaced"

[The Greater Gambia]

"He'll be in command of the vessel" Lieutenant-Admiral Hanlon said, glaring at the Tagali. "Seventeen percent of all current Alliance personnel were members of Atlas. Ninety-six percent of those served in the Highbreed Incursion. You mean to tell me that all those men are Human Supremacists?" Hanlon paused, folding his arms behind his back and looking at the ship. "I don't like Atlas any more than you do, Turing, but Maxson is the best candidate we have available. If there are problems, you may notify your superiors, and we will have him replaced"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Turing said coldly towards the Vice-Admiral. "Fine, you can keep your terrorist, but make no mistake, if he makes one move that endangers Federation personnel or any other xeno, the FIS will remove him from the equation." During the whole confrontation, Turing failed to notice the Ostian Officers approach until they spoke up. Turing quickly gave a bow as an apology.

"My apologies, Captain Wilhelm. I was just speaking with the Vice-Admiral here about their choice of Ship Captain. I am FIS Operative Diamond Sparrow, but you can call me Sparrow for short. I must admit, your presence surprises me. I wasn't expecting Ostia to send a Spartacist."

[The Orson Empire]

Titan Station, Gemini System

Trov raised his eyebrows, surprised that Ashur was able to speak the Covenant Standard fluently. Trov suddenly had new-found respect for the man, even if he was with the enemy.

"Got blow off after the Alliance scum raided my dreadnought," Trov replied. He looked down, seeing the stumps that remained from his former legs.

Moresti System

Scans had already revealed that the Alliance had some 65,000 ships in the system, and were once again outnumbered by the Covenant forces. Admiral Dunkirk had his forces spread out in clusters across the Moresti system, rather then having all of his forces lumped up in one giant armada around New Haven. By this tactic alone, High Admiral Jakorr already knew that Dunkirk was more skilled than his other colleagues, who Jakorr had defeated countless times by using the same strategy- force the enemy into tighter and tighter defensive positions until they were completely destroyed. Jakorr would now have to adapt his tactics to defeat Dunkirk.

Meanwhile, the rest of the armada prepared to take down the FTL jammers in the system so that they would be able to enter warp freely. Jakorr had brought along several old and decommissioned ships which would be used to destroy the jamming stations. As the decommissioned ships were sent to the front of the armada, they were sped up to 40% of the speed of light by gravity well ships (with other ships providing assistance with their tractor beams) on a collision course with the jamming stations.

---

Sol Campaign

Alpha Centauri

With the Covenant now having marshaled the invasion force and the resources to support them, Zena herself would give the order for the Sol Campaign to begin. The admirals and the personnel that served them had been preparing for this campaign for weeks, and many were eager for the opportunity to strike at the heart of the Alliance. They would be leading one of the largest invasion forces in Covenant history into one single star system, beginning a battle that would make the entire galaxy look on in shock.

At the edge of the Alpha Centauri system, the Covenant had prepared dozens of small asteroids that were to enter the Sol System and decimate the numerous jamming stations the Alliance had set up in order to prevent an invasion, while some other asteroids were to strike at major space stations and military bases, as the Covenant wanted to cause as much confusion and chaos as possible before the invasion force entered Sol. The asteroids had been equipped with jump drives and shielding to prevent them from being ripped up in warp. Once ad the edge of the system, the asteroids were to exit warp, moving through Sol at a percentage of the speed of light before striking their targets. With Zena having sent out the order, the asteroids were sent into warp towards their targets.

Oort Cloud

The Oort Cloud was a cloud of trillions of objects, ranging from asteroids to comets to planetesimals, extending from 1 to 3 light-years from Sol. Formed during the formation of the Sol System billions of years ago, these objects orbited Sol at the very edge of Sol's gravitational sphere of influence. It was here that the Covenant chose to set up their main operating bases for their invasion of the Sol System, where ships could refuel and resupply, and soldiers could resupply. The Oort Cloud was also far away enough from the eight planets of Sol (where the majority of battles would be occurring) that freighters could safely enter and exit the area without having to worry about being attacked.

After leaving Alpha Centauri, a minor force of some 2,000 ships exited warp in the Oort Cloud. The fleets mainly consisted of light ships (frigates, destroyers, and cruisers), as well as a few battlecruisers (which were the largest ships in the armada). In the vast darkness of deep space, the ships immediately scouted out some nearby large comets and began deploying pre-fabricated garrison bases on the surface of the comets. Additionally, some other ships began to assemble the components of a jump gate, which would allow freighters and warships to enter the Sol System directly from Covenant space almost instantaneously.

[Naretion]

"Access to this knowledge would be most desired by my kind. We would love to study and copy it. It is great news to discover a place such as this on your homeworld. Even with our differences our species may have some similarities yet." Na'sen explored the library, glancing between the many books. "If an embassy is approved you can be sure the ambassador will spend his free time here as well. How long did it take you to compile all of this knowledge?"

"We still aren't done. This entire city was built from the ground up shortly after the United Union of Colonies was formed. There was so much lost in the flames of the war that united my species. It was decided that a place for the storage of knowledge would be a fitting touch to the city. That was a few centuries ago. Every single printed work is stored here. Fragments of scrolls thousands of years old to books published this year. Its all here for the average citizen to enjoy."

"A commendable goal." The Art Mek said. "In the Archives we make copies in as many forms as we can and in as many languages as we can. Some pieces of information have over a hundred different physical and electronically versions in our Archives. A bit excessive, some may say. But we see the preservation of knowledge in as many forms as possible to be an honorable goal. So we may learn from our pasts as well as each others' pasts so that we may better understand each other. Without knowledge, there is life, but hardly living."

[Spindle]

Outer Hull
Wreck of the Serendipity
Cerateal Outer System

With enough distance, even the most cataclysmic events can become insignificant, Orpheus mused. He knew that each of the minute flashes which temporarily lit up the velvet background of night and drowned out the shimmering pearls of the stars was another ship dead. Another step towards the mass bombardment of an entire planet of fifteen million...a step towards a genocide which would inevitably occur. And here he was, stuck on this Gods-forsaken hulk while others died out there.

As his fist clenched on a bared strut, he felt a vibration moving through it. A frown creased his face and he turned back to the CIC to see one of the interlink pods opening. A skinsuited Taari drifted out, almost drowsily in the face of the near-certain death which awaited them in the cold reaches of space. It was almost sad that there was another who would have to die here as well, but Orpheus was injured to that now. He was resigned to their fate.

"Who are you?" The Taari asked, voice crackling through the commlink.

"Lieutenant Orpheus, Sir." He saluted crisply.

"Where are we?"

"Cerateal, Sir." Orpheus frowned.

"Oh, good." The Captain said, and Orpheus wasn't sure if he saw him smiling, "I made it."

And then his body went limp.

CIC
Resolute
Cerateal

Schaffer was the last one left. Resolute was the last one left. Whoever these people were, they'd slaughtered the Cerateal Orbit Guard...but they'd given all they could. That was what mattered, he thought as his mind rested on the counter for people accounted for in the shelters. Over thirteen million...he hoped these creatures would do no more than glass the surface. That way, the majority of the people would survive. But Schaffer could give them one last gift.

The Resolute lurched forwards, aimed like an arrow for the dead centre of one of their enormous conical ships. Fire rippled outwards like rain, tearing into the Escorts which circled around the battered Cruiser with the strength of a cornered animal. For a moment, Schaffer was certain his plan would succeed, but then a wall of particles shout out from the enormous ship. The Resolute[i/] effectively disintegrated under the onslaught and Schaffer barely had time for one last thought before they tore the flesh from his bones and converted his form into a rapidly expanding cloud of gas and plasma.

[i]Not when I'm so clos-

And with such a small flash, the last defending ship ripped itself apart. In the brief pause in weapons fire, the void was peaceful. If an observer ignored the half-molten debris floating around, they might have thought that everything was normal. They would never have suspected that the death warrant of a world was about to be issued, signed and overseen.

[The NAR]

-SOLIS ALLIANCE-

---

---

Sol System

---

Sol was likely the most fortified system in the Galaxy at this point. More than 500,000 ships were stationed there, with tens of thousands of orbital cannons, hundreds of jamming stations, various minefields, and a complex defense system designed by some of the top military minds in both the Alliance and Atlas. When scanners showed small amounts of Covenant forces moving into the Oort Cloud, the Alliance was fast in their response. The meteors sent to destroy Alliance Jamming Stations would be, for the most part, intercepted, though many would strike their targets and weaken the overall strength of the signal. The Alliance, however, was determined to change the momentum of the conflict, and sent a detachment of ships - 10,000 strong - to the Oort Cloud. With three massive Dreadnoughts to support them, the Alliance Forces began to tear through the small Covenant force with brutality and relentlessness.

---

Moresti System
9.4 Lightyears from Sol

---

The Alliance Navy had learned from the tactics used by Admiral Mar in the Sierra System when confronted with similar obstacles, and had prepared for such tactics. The Alliance had deployed strong shields around the jamming stations in order to protect them against objects thrown at them by the Covenant. Of course, any object going 40% of the speed of light would destroy the shields, the station would be saved, just long enough for the Fleets to react. Dunkirk analyzed everything - planning for each and every possible movement by the Covenant. He was outnumbered, yes, but numbers don't always win wars. It makes the mind, as well. Admiral Dunkirk was willing to use any and all methods possible to hold onto New Haven... even if it meant dying.

To further combat the incoming meteors, the Alliance had launched their own, using mathematical calculations to put them on the correct path of interception. In addition, long-range orbital cannon's - massive in size and strength - would open fire from all across the system. Going 65% the speed of light, they would eventually begin to hammer into the Covenant Fleet, likely confusing them as the sheer speed removed all visibility of the cannon shells, thus making Covenant ships simply burst into flames.

---

Orana Shipyard // New Jakala // Vers System
USS Pennsylvania

---

"Spartacist, huh?" Lieutenant-Admiral Hanlon said while turning to the Ostian Captain. "I've heard of them before - pretty tough soldiers if I recall correctly". Hanlon extended his arm, smiling. "Glad to have you aboard, Captain, and thank you for coming to our aid. We may not show it, but the Alliance and all of her people are grateful for your generosity. It takes dedication to fight a war you don't have too, and like I said, we're very grateful".

It was then an Marine in Alliance Dress Blues entered the room, with Commander Stripes, gazing up at the ship in awe. He was young - just 29 years old, but the dark bags under his eyes and wrinkles from the constant stress and death could have made him look forty. Eventually, he reached the three officers who were speaking, smiling weakly, and extended his hand at Lieutenant-Admiral Hanlon. "Ah, Commander Maxson, good to see you made it in one piece" Hanlon said, shaking the commander's hand.

"Glad to be here, sir" Maxson replied, looking at the other two Humans who obviously weren't Alliance. Hanlon would motion to Turing and introduce the two men.

"This is Commander Turing of the FIS. He'll be overseeing the Federation forces on-board the ship".

Maxson shook the man's hand firmly, giving a weak but genuine smile. "Nice to meet you, Commander", before turning to the Ostian to be introduced.

"This is Captain Wilhelm, from Ostia, he's a Spartacist". Maxson shook his hand as well, still having a smile.

"Spartacist? My unit fought with your boys back in the Brot System. Tough as nails - all of 'em".

Lieutenant-Admiral Hanlon turned to Captain Wilhelm to explain. "This is Commander Maxson. He'll be in charge of the Pennsylvania"

[The NAR]

-ATLAS-

---

---

Titan Station // Gemini System // Atlas Space
Atlas Headquarters

---

Ashur paced as he smoked his cigarette, looking at the Covenant Admiral and continuing to speak in the Cho'Dosan native tongue. "Admiral Trov, my friend, you may see me as a racist, a bigot, a supremacist, but before we go on I must say that I cannot stress enough that that is not true. What I do, I do not out of hatred for xenos, but out of love for Humanity". Ashur took a drag from his cigarette, then continued speaking. "And you are in possession of information that is vital to Humanity's safety and security - information that I must know in order to stop the unquantifiable levels of destruction and murder the Covenant has been committing against the Human Race. I do not wish to cause you more pain, Admiral, I just want to stop the pain my people are suffering. Surely you understand".

[Ithalian Empire]

"A commendable goal." The Art Mek said. "In the Archives we make copies in as many forms as we can and in as many languages as we can. Some pieces of information have over a hundred different physical and electronically versions in our Archives. A bit excessive, some may say. But we see the preservation of knowledge in as many forms as possible to be an honorable goal. So we may learn from our pasts as well as each others' pasts so that we may better understand each other. Without knowledge, there is life, but hardly living."

"I that we are in agreement. If you wish we could transfer more of your people planet side, I am sure they would find much interest in the Library. I am afraid that I must attend to other affairs of state, one of which will be the embassy."

First Exploration Fleet

They had left behind a minor diplomat to continue talks with Harandar when so ever Harandar may choose. The lust for new knowledge had taken over every member of the fleet. They were heading out in a general western direction. In the three days they had been travelling they had picked up to emissions signature of several intelligent sources, these were marked and cataloged for further study.

In front of them was an emission signature that was as bright as several galaxies. A gigantic cluster of at least three unique, and large, civilizations. The computer's on board the ships were all working overtime trying to process the vast amounts of information. And they hadn't even scratched the surface of it. Only a bare minimum of several distinct alien languages were compiled, not even enough to hold a conversation.

It would be about a month before the First Exploration Fleet was in the vicinity of any of the large emission sources. The science team was it usual excited self, speculating on the aliens they may possible meet in there trip. The Diplomatic teams were also speculating on how these powers would effect the UUC. The military only had one though on there mind. Can we take them?

[Naretion]

"A commendable goal." The Art Mek said. "In the Archives we make copies in as many forms as we can and in as many languages as we can. Some pieces of information have over a hundred different physical and electronically versions in our Archives. A bit excessive, some may say. But we see the preservation of knowledge in as many forms as possible to be an honorable goal. So we may learn from our pasts as well as each others' pasts so that we may better understand each other. Without knowledge, there is life, but hardly living."

"I that we are in agreement. If you wish we could transfer more of your people planet side, I am sure they would find much interest in the Library. I am afraid that I must attend to other affairs of state, one of which will be the embassy."

"I am sure they would. I will gladly transfer my own so we may study your history. Please let me know if I am needed in the development of the embassy situation. Perhaps they who will decide on its development would like to meet me or one of my people before they make a decision."

[Ithalian Empire]

"I am sure they would. I will gladly transfer my own so we may study your history. Please let me know if I am needed in the development of the embassy situation. Perhaps they who will decide on its development would like to meet me or one of my people before they make a decision."

"We will shuttle them down immediately than. I most certainly call upon you in the near future to come before the Legislature."

Residence of Representative M'kall

"What does he think he's doing!" M'kall screamed in a rage. That fool of a Chancellor had brought an alien. An alien! To the homeworld of all things! He could see it now, millions of it's kind marching up the Capital Strip in black jackboots. That's what he feared most.

An embassy? No, we can't let that happen. But I don't have enough support to override what those fools are going to do. Than get rid of those fools M'kall, you know people who owe you a few favors. Time to cash in than? Yes it is. M'kall had the glimmer of a plot. He would take his people's future in his own hands and damned were those to stand in his way.

[The Moscow Metro Red Line]

Vers System - New Jakala - Orana Shipyard - USS Pennsylvania

Captain Kerper looked strangely at Lieutenant Admiral Hanlon and Commander Maxson, "Forgive my lower status among my superior officers, but my last name is Kerper. Wihlem is my first name. Secondly....." His voice began to suddenly lower in volume gradually, and he glanced for a brief moment at First Lieutenant Linden who gave him an annoyed glance. Captain Kerper was genuinely confused. For one thing, there was an Orbital Knight regiment called the Spartacists in the First and Second Battles of Brot, however the unit that Sparrow was referring too was probably the Spartacist Project, a top-secret Ostian military program for the training and development of psionic users. In Ostia psionic individuals are known as espers, and almost all of them are in the military. The Captain himself did not know much of the program except that the person who was with him was highly-trained and part of the upper tier of Spartatcists. The name Spartacist is a reference to the Spartacist Uprising in the Wiemar Republic on January 1919.

Spartacists, Ostian military-trained espers, fell under the command of the Ostian Army. This ongoing project has been kept under wraps for a long time in the Ostian government and military since the end of the Highbreed War. A rumor regarding the Spartacist project is that it has an over 90% fatality rate for prospective candidates, hence why they keep it a secret. But then yet again, the Captain was briefly told about this Project when Minna was assigned to this unit and the SU-01 was loaded into the craft. The most distinguishing physical features of an Ostian Spartacist is blue eyes and silver hair. While this problem can be solved with just hair eye and recoloration of the iris, many Spartacists keep these features as a mark of pride. Minna had midnight blue eyes and ash gray hair. She puffed a cloud of smoke towards the Captain which made him gag. "God, Minna. Could stop doing that inside an enclosed space?" He retorted immediately, using his hand to dissipate the cloud.

The First Lieutenant merely shrugged and continued smoking. The Captain continued, "Anyways, the Ostian Government wishes to express its support for this operation. However due to complications, my government could only send in one team of battlesuits and three squads of regular infantry. But these three squads specialize in boarding actions and brought some of their own equipment to modify a boarding pod if you wish. The design specifications are the following for a standard Ostian boarding pod. He passed around an Ostian data-slate to the other officers, Maxson was the first. It showed the four stage boarding sequence for a pod. The first stage was actually breaking into the ship. The second stage was an installed explosive device at the front of the door going off and disorienting the attackers. This device can range from flash, shrapnel, to incendiaries. The third stage was the door opening and the installed auto-turret firing at the disoriented or maimed defenders. The fourth stage was the second door opening and the actual occupants storming the area. The purpose of the four stages was clear, kill and disorient as many of the first responders as possible before deploying the troops. "It may seem complicated, but depending on the craft, I am sure the squad can rig it to these standards. But in any case, these decisions are up to you, Commander Maxson. We are under your command."

Ostian Faigues

[The Greater Gambia]

Vers System - New Jakala - Orana Shipyard - USS Pennsylvania

"My apologies, Captain Kerper, it is a side affect from working with Tagali everyday. Their customs have been quick to spread through the other species in the Federations." Turing took a different tone with the Ostians then he did with the Terrans. Many within the Federation held no ill will towards the people of Ostia, as they had proven to be trustworthy allies during the High Breed War. The almost kinship relationship the Federation felt towards the Ostians was not given to the Alliance. To many in the Federation, they were seen as nothing but another nuisance in the galaxy, especially with their thinking that they were the the true government of humanity, a statement many Federation Humans took issue with. The rumors of their affiliation with Atlas didn't increase their standing with the xeno majority either.

"Anyway, I think I speak for both the Federation and the Alliance when I say that we appreciate the support of the Ostian government. I myself will breath more easily knowing that Ostians have my and our Federation crew's backs." Turing already didn't hold the Alliance military in high regards. To him, just because they had been able to repel the Covenant in multiple systems didn't mean anything. The common Covenant soldier was either their for the pay, or a political fanatic, both in fear of their Supreme Overlord, bloody Xena. Now that they demanded that a former Atlas Soldier be the Captain of the ship, Turing's distrust went from thinking them overconfident imbeciles to a large threat. The FIS would surely be keeping tabs on the situation.

[The Orson Empire]

Titan Station, Gemini System

Trov would chuckle, amused at Ashur's attempt to get information out of him. "I could care less about your people," Trov would reply. "Atlas and the Alliance brought this war upon themselves, and they will pay dearly for it. I am a harsh, tough man, Ashur, and I know how your and your goons think; you will never get any information about the Covenant out of me. Even if you kill me, the Covenant will live on. We are legion- there are trillions of us. For ever Cho'Dosan you kill, ten more will take his place."

Moresti System

The scanners aboard the Covenant ships detected numerous meteors heading straight towards the ships at 65% of the speed of light. The sheer velocity of the meteors meant that it was hard for the ships to accurately target them with their heavy weaponry. Nevertheless, a concentrated long-range bombardment from the ships managed to destroy a large portion of the meteors, causing them to break up into much smaller chunks, though some ships were hit by the meteors and completely obliterated.

Jakorr watched from his dreadnought as a nearby battlecruiser was hit by a meteor and completely shredded. The battlecruiser exploded, and debris from the ship spread out in all directions and impacted the dreadnought. Fortunately, the dreadnought's shields were up, but the ship shook as it was hit by debris. Jakorr was now concerned, as the Alliance had installed powerful shields around their jamming stations which absorbed the impact of the asteroids. Jakorr ordered a continuous bombardment of asteroids on the jamming stations and any other space stations in the system.

Oort Cloud

The Alliance Navy arrived in full force in the Oort Cloud to combat the Covenant forces, but they would soon discover that the 2,000 Covenant ships weren't a real fighting force at all. They were actually dummy ships that weren't equipped with any crew or weaponry. The Covenant had used old, decommissioned warships to send into the Oort Cloud and bait the Alliance into attacking them. Even the jump gate that was being assembled by drones was fake and not operational at all.

The Covenant knew that the Alliance would immediately attack if they had attempted to set up bases in the Oort Cloud, and thus, Covenant High Command decided to take advantage of the situation. With the Alliance now baited to attack, a real Covenant armada of some 75,000 ships- the first wave of the Sol Campaign- arrived out of warp near the 10,000 Alliance ships. They were under the command of High Admiral Gira, who immediately ordered the ships to split into two groups and conduct a pincer movement on the Alliance forces in order to quickly destroy them. Gira hoped to draw more Alliance ships into battle, as there was another wave of ships that would soon arrive in the Oort Cloud. If the strategy was successful, a significant amount of Alliance ships could be destroyed before Sol itself was even attacked.

Meanwhile, in Alpha Centauri, another volley of asteroids was sent into warp towards Sol in order to bombard the jamming stations, minefields, and other targets.