Here is a short space battle sequence that is acting as a preview for Sins of the Prophets.
1346 Hours, July 19th, 2552
UNSC Helios (CG-098) In orbit over ONI Research Facility CENTURION, Bosi Province, Federal Commonwealth of Whitefall
24 Ursae Minoris system, URE Outer-Rim Colonies, URE space
As the three Covenant warships: the Silent Alteration (SDV-class), the Great Convergence (CCS-class), and the Swift Punishment (CCS-class); enter the 24 Ursae Minoris system and begin their approach to the human colony of Whitefall. The small Covenant squadron had unknowingly alerted the RSO Templar as they had neared their exit point near the asteroid belt, the three vessels then moved into a loose triangle formation. Meanwhile, onboard the RSO Templar, it's crew worked hard to get the data ready for transfer to Whitefall Command in the capital city of New Prague. They abandoned the station before it's self-destruct countdown was completed, and they hoped that their warning would get to UNSC Planetary HQ. Whitefall was home to a small naval base, where a 14th Fleet task force under the command of Vice Admiral Derek Humel would deploy from, said naval base was important to the defense of the surviving Outer-Rim colonies. The military presence on the colony was limited, over forty thousand UNSC Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force personnel along with a couple brigades worth of Colonial Militia in reserve plus twice that many Law Enforcement personnel.
There has been a recent delivery of a several dozen Ark-, Sanctuary-, and Life-class transports had arrived, to be used in the event of a Covenant invasion, which would supplement the freighters and other civilian vessels that could be repurposed for evacuation duties. Battlegroups and carrier strike groups of Task Force Whiskey-12 would cycle out of defending their homeport every few months, a task that currently fell to Battlegroup Helios, the central formation of the task force. The UNSC was slightly prepared for the Covenant's arrival, a dozen Orbital Defense Platforms had been set up around the colony, but the three-platfom cluster near the UNSC Helios' and two Paris-class heavy frigates' position still had to wait for the ground side generators to come online.
Down in the sprawling metropolis of New Prague, the planet's Defense AI had been observing the disturbances from the satellites in orbit over the colony and it's moon. On the bridge of the Helios, Derek Humel, a man from New York, was observing the planet below, admiring the colors of Whitefall, the blues of oceans and lakes, the greens of the forests, and the tans of it's deserts. His daydreaming was interrupted by a obnoxious beeping noise at his command console, he opened it. It was a notification from Whitefall Command, it must of been important so he hit the play button and listened...
SCANNING...
DATA FROM RSO TEMPLAR RECEIVED...
INBOUND HOSTILES
"Warning...warning...proximty alert...three Covenant vessels have detected exiting slipspace and are moving towards the planet Whitefall."
CCS-U343
SDV-U419
CCS-U117
/ THREE SLIPSPACE RUPTURES DETECTED / COVENANT VESSELS MOVING INTO ORBIT /ALL AVAILABLE NAVAL ASSETS MOVING TO ENGAGE / CHANCE OF NAVAL VICTORY FOR THE VESSELS CLOSEST TO THE ENEMY: 9%/GROUND FORCES AT HIGH ALERT/CIVILIAN EVACUATION UNDERWAY / PREPARE FOR COVENANT LANDFALL / GROUND FORCES MOBILIZING / COLONIAL MILITIA AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT IS PREPARING FOR BATTLE /
SDV-CLASS HEAVY CORVETTE
LENGTH: 956
WIDTH: 399
HEIGHT: 175.01
Weapons
*6 full-sized plasma turrets
*12 pulse laser turrets
COMPLEMENT:
*10+ drop pods
*10+ Type-26 Banshees
*10+ Type-27 Banshees
*6+ Type-31 Seraphs
*4+ Type-25 Spirits
*1+ Type-52 Phantom
CCS-CLASS BATTLECRUISER X 2
LENGTH: 1,782
WIDTH: 862
HEIGHT: 230.8
WEAPONS:
*Several pulse laser turrets
*Several plasma torpedo turrets
*Two energy projectors
COMPLEMENT:
*Type-25 Spirits
*Type-26 Banshees
*Type-26 Wraiths
*Type-35 Damons
*Type-31 Seraphs
*Type-32 Ghosts
*Type-52 Phantoms
ONI RESEARCH FACILITY "CENTURION"
TIER ONE ASSET - HIGH PRIORITY
"Targets have been identified as SDV-class heavy corvette and two CCS-class battlecruisers. ONI Research Facility "Centurion" has been classified as a Tier One Asset. UNSC Splinter Shield, UNSC Perfect Tornado, UNSC Helios, move in to engage."
FFH-674 Splinter Shield (Paris-class heavy frigate, Battlegroup Helios)
FFH-234 Perfect Tornado (Paris-class heavy frigate, Battlegroup Helios)
CG-098 Helios (Marathon-class cruiser, Battlegroup Helios, flagship)
Battlegroup Helios composition: two carriers, four Marathon-class cruisers, two Halcyon-class light cruisers, ten Halberd-class destroyers, ten frigates, five littoral combat vessels, two assault ships, and one prowler
Whitefall
Population: 2,500,000+
Military Manpower: 40,000+
Military Facilities: 38
High Priority Assets: 1
Contacting nearby UNSC Battlegroups for immediate reinforcements.
WHITEFALL DEFENSE AI WTL 0942-6
"This is Helios Actual, thanks for the heads up Command." Humel said as he crossed his arms.
Derek looked to his left and right to see the Perfect Tornado and the Splinter Shield, the two Paris-class frigates in the cluster, moving to flank his cruiser in the same triangle formation. The Covenant ships that the notice mentioned were heading right for his group of ships. He knew that they were armed to the teeth and would wipe them clean if they did something wrong. "Alright charge the MACs, get a solution for the Archer and Rapier pods, prepare to commence evasive maneuvers, all hands battle stations!"
Humel was confident that his group could hold out long enough for the rest of the battlegroup to arrive, thirty-six ships could do a number on three Covenant ships. Most Marathon-class cruisers like his, had two Heavy MACs, seventy-five vertical launch system cells, 32 nuclear missile tubes, forty naval guns that also doubled as point defense guns, two-hundred-and-fifty railgun batteries, and a massive CIWS suite that made it the center of most Carrier Strike Groups, but his has a single MAC for it's purpose as the MCC(A/N). Paris-class frigates each had a Mark II Light MAC, fifty VLS cells that fired standard missiles, eighteen nuclear missiles tubes, twelve (50mm, dual-mounted) naval guns, thirty (50mm, quad-mounted) railguns, and a dependable CIWS suite. However, he know that the frigates would only last minutes, maybe an hour or two if they got lucky.
"Sir, the enemy vessels are preparing to engage, they have raised shield and are powering their weapons up." came the voice of Gerald, the ship's AI.
"I guessed they would." was his reply to the construct. "UNSC Perfect Tornado, UNSC Splinter Shield, this is Helios Actual, do you copy?"
"Tornado here, what can we do for you, sir?" Tornado Actual, Commander William Westbrook, a man of North American descent from Reach, asked him as he appeared on one of monitors on his command console, he had dark brown hair, dark green eyes, and medium build.
"Hallo Vice Admiral, and I"m a little curious myself about the game plan too." was what Lieutenant Commander Diane Krüger said, a young woman from Bonn in her late twenties, Shield Actual asked him as well, she had blonde hair, ice-cold blue eyes, and a slim build. "Don't really like the odds though."
"I want you to deploy all of your Marines and ODSTs to the colony's surface, send a sizable amount to CENTURION Base to reinforce the garrison as well, and I want your Naval and Marine Air Wings deployed just in case." the fifty-five year old veteran said to both fleet officers, watching as the Covenant warships neared the his group's positions.
"Aye, sir, we'll launch our new Broadswords to engage enemy fighters, their shields will the bastards a surprise and we will also deploy our troops planetside too." was Westbrook's response, he had command of the Tornado for the past decade had been transferred from fleet to fleet before landing here, had gotten into numerous battles across the Inner- and Outer-Rim colonies. He then turned one of the bridge crew and started giving orders. "Tell Major Juarez to get his Marines' asses to the colony now. I don't care what the fuck he thinks about the ship's security, his knows that Paris-class heavy frigates won't last long against two Covenant battlecruisers and a corvette, and get the Marine Air and Naval Wings to the surface immediately and to bring what personal items we have on board with them too, just so families have something left. I want the crew ready to evacuate to the lifeboats." William turned backed to the monitor. "We're good to go, sir."
"Ja, we will do the same." Diane said to Humel, she had command of the Shield for past two years, fighting over Ballast last year before being put into the dry-docks over Whitefall for repairs, two months ago. "Inform Major Erwin Dietrich that his men are to go to the planet now...good, and tell Lieutenant Makarov and Captain Goldberg to deploy their aircraft. We are getting ready to deploy our embarked forces and will be taking similar measures as the Tornado."
Within forty minutes the two frigates' D77H-TCI Pelicans, D96-TCE Albatrosses, and a C-106 Atlas aka the Heavy Lift Pod from each frigate began moving personnel, vehicles, and other matériel to the surface, the majority of which would be going to CENTURION Base and the colony's major population centers. Soon after, the twenty-four F-41 Broadsword multirole fighters streaked out of it's hangers, each one equipped with prototype energy shields, two M1075 ASW/AC 35mm cannons, and two M6088 ST/MMP missiles. They were soon followed by AV-22 Sparrowhawk attack VTOLs, AC-220 Vulture gunships, AV-14 Hornet (formerly the MV-14) attack VTOLs, and A-26 Skyhawk ground attack platforms. SOIEVs shot out from their drop bays to the planet below, carrying the cargo of ODSTs and Hellbringers, ready to give the Covenant Army their own brand of hell once they make landfall. With their ground troops out of harm's way, the two frigates moved into formation alongside the modified Marathon-class cruiser and turned to port, ready to meet the enemy squadron and there they were. Humel got out of his command chair and leaned on the railing in front of him.
The SDV-class heavy corvette flanked by two CCS-class battlecruisers weapons hot and ready to face the first responders. "Sir, enemy vessels are nearing weapons range. MACs, Archers, and Rapiers are ready to fire." one of the bridge crew said to Humel. The admiral just nodded, "Good, hold fire." the officer just sat there stunned, but he shook it off and began reporting the enemy squadron's position as they approached them. When they got close enough to the group, the same officer looked back at the admiral, and yelled "They're right on top of us!", his fellow sailors were asking for orders as were the skippers of the two Paris-class frigates.
He granted their request with one word. "FIRE!"
The two frigates fired their MACs, followed by a two-round MAC burst from the Helios, which caused the cruiser to shake, then a spread of Archers and Rapiers from the cruisers. The MACs flew almost like bolts of lightning in space towards the enemy vessels from the God of Lighting Zeus. The MAC from the Shield missed them completely, while a round from the Tornado hit the cruiser on the 'right' flank causing the energy shields to shimmer, and the burst from the Helios hit the one on 'left' side making it's own shields to glow red. The shimmering stopped seconds before the Archers and Rapiers neared them, pulse laser eliminating the majority before they got close, the only ones hitting the 'right and left hand side' cruisers, 13 of them hitting the Convergence, and three nailing the Punishment, but their shields still held.
Then the Covenant returned fire. There was a glow on the bow of the Great Convergence ('right' cruiser) and it fired a plasma torpedo towards the Shield. The crew saw this and began scrambling to the lifeboats, with a third of them launching before the enemy torpedo hit the Shield, causing very a large explosion on her keel. Moments later, the engine units exploded, taking her entire stern with them. Right after witnessing the death of the Shield, the Punishment launched her own torpedo, this one heading for the Helios. Humel immediately ordered the cruiser to turn hard to starboard and when the enemy ordinance hit the ship it only grazed the portside armor belt, destroyed several naval guns, a dozen railguns, leaving a large scorch mark, and rocked the entire ship, sending some to the floor.
"Move us away from here now!"was what Humel said to NAV and she complied steering the ship towards the moon.
As the defeated cruiser made best speed for the moon, the Tornado launched a spread of Archers and Rapiers aimed at destroying the corvette, but it was a inaccurate one and none would hit the enemy vessel. After the missiles sped past her, the Silent Alteration, having sit out the opening moments of the battle, fired six torpedoes from her two forward plasma turrets just as the Tornado. The frigate or her crew had no chance as the torpedoes hit, gutting her from stem to stern. The Silent Alteration and her two escorting CCS-class battlecruisers plowed through the debris field of the Perfect Tornado and went straight for Whitefall, in the direction of ONIRF Centurion and the cities and towns around it.
"Any survivors from the Perfect Tornado and the Splintered Shield?" Humel was desperate to know if there were any survivors from the ships. Even though the crews of those ships
"Yes sir, a third of Shield's lifepod launched before it was too late, but only five got off of the Tornado." that allowed him to breath a sigh of relief. "Scanners also picked up the Shield's command pod too."
"Good, get the SAR birds out there and have the Longswords and Broadswords provide cover." the officer saluted and relayed the order to the Commander of the Helios' Naval Aviation Group.
Humel walked back to his command chair raised the CO of his ship's SPECTRE complement, "Commander Tanis, ready your men, your going planetside." the screen showed that Janet Tanis already got geared up, her modified MJOLNIR/K helmet on desk in her quarters, revealing her father's jet black hair and her mother's piercing green eyes.
"Yes sir." the Reach native replied.
"And take SAPPHIRE Team with you." Humel added.
"But..." the glare Derek sent her made her swallow her protest and her pride. Humel knew Janet's uncle was an ODST, one of the one's that hates SPARTANs with a passion, seems he passed it to her. "Yes sir."
Everyone in his command staff knew what was at Centurion, an ancient AI they recovered at a Trident Coporation dig site near the Eridanus system a couple weeks ago. If the Covenant get's their hands on that AI, who knows what they would do with it. As a Vice Admiral in the UNSC Navy and the commander-in-chief of ONI SPECTRE Division, he was aware of the SPARTANS' capabilities, of how they managed to utterly wipe entire Covenant armies with or without support. The research facility was in good hands now. Many on Whitefall and in orbit all had similar thoughts of dread now that the Covenant have arrived at the colony, but also hope, hope that the SPARTANS will be able to deal the enemy enough losses that will force them to retreat.
"Good luck SPARTANS and godspeed." Humel whispered to himself. The Battle for Whitefall has begun
To be continued in Sins of the Prophets…
This based off of a video I found on Youtube. Ja and Hallo is German for "yes" and "hello" respectively. MCC is an acronym for mobile command center, it operates like the UNSC Infinity and the Mother of Invention.
Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Division also known as Delta-3 Division or more commonly as SPECTRE Division was a Section III black ops unit prior to it's transfer to JSOC that has been known for doing a large number of missions against either the Covenant or the Insurrectionists. They have a massive amount of operatives, including several teams of SPARTANS-IIs and -IIIs. They have assisted in testing MJOLNIR armor for the past two decades alongside Alpha-9 Division and their own SPARTAN: Maria-062. SPECTRE Division is currently under the command of Vice Admiral Derek Humel, a fifty-five year old veteran who's worked with ONI for the past thirty years.