I don't Halo or Mass Effect.
Bold-My Own Words
Bold & Italic-Locations, Time & Calendar
Normal-Narrative
"Normal"-Person Speaking
'Normal'-Thoughts
"Italic"-Foreign Language
'Italic'-Radio/Video Chatter
/Italic\-AI/Computer typing
April 5, 2559
Unknown Space
Slipspace Jump In Progress
Fleet of Divine Fury
CSO-Class Supercarrier 'Walk of Divinity'
Bridge
"Commander, we shall arrive at the coordinates within a quarter hour." The Navigator spoke to the Supreme Commander. The Commander, however, had his mind elsewhere at the moment, and merely gave a "hm" in acknowledgment as he scrolled over the holo-screen before him on his gravity throne. On it, showed a list of all the ships and assets under his possession, something he had been going over more and more lately since recent events. He had started developing a habit of checking and double checking things.
The 89-year-old Supreme Commander was an impressive sight, standing at roughly 9'0", taller than any other Sangheili in the room, and weighing in at nearly 410 pounds. Solid black armor with golden Forerunner Glyphs donned his massive dark brown frame. His emerald green eyes, a trait uncommon amongst the Sangheili, glared slightly at the screen before him, with a notable scar visible above the right eye made from a Human's knife. His name, was Hurok Wattinree, former fleet master of the Fleet of Divine Inquisition of the Covenant Empire; now... merely one of the various Warlords that controlled but a small portion of the once mighty empire.
Many believed that, because he no longer believed in the Forerunners as gods, he would have joined with the Arbiter, Thel 'Vadam, and the Swords of Sanghelios, he didn't, believing that because of all the blood that had been spilled by both sides, peace was impossible and when the humans regained their strength, as they were doing while the Sangheili and other Covenant races squabbled over the scrapes of a dead empire, they would come looking for vengeance and retribution. It didn't help improve his opinion about them when the Human's spy group, ONI, had conducted sabotage missions in his territory and attempted many times to assassinate him, which were paid back with a vengeance.
Regardless of their views on the Humans, that did not stop Hurok from working with the Swords of Sanghelios to eliminate their other foe, the Jiralhanae, destroying their fleets or conquering their worlds one by one.
When the Schism had begun, Hurok had been leading a fleet attacking one of the Human worlds, Ballast. When the reinforcement fleet arrived, a message had been sent throughout Covenant-space that the Sangheili were being purged by the prophets, and the relief fleet that had arrived was a Jiralhanae-led fleet, sent to eliminate him. When this had been revealed, he had been forced to make a choice. Disengaging and calling an unofficial truce with the Humans and the remnants of their fleet, who were dumbfounded and confused as to what was happening, Hurok's fleet of 117 ships disengaged the humans and battled it out with the 145 ships of the Jiralhanae fleet in Ballast's Orbit. Superior tactics and skill beat out the numerical superiority, resulting in the Jiralhanae fleet destroyed at the cost of half of his own. Shortly afterward, a message came from the Imperial Admiral, Xytan 'Jar Wattinree, calling for a regrouping at Joyous Exultation.
His people took priority, so instead of finishing off the battle on Ballast, he recalled his forces and headed for Joyous Exultation. He had mixed feelings about seeing Xytan once more, remembering the first time he met the Imperial Admiral all those years ago, years before the Schism had even begun, and now he would be seeing him once more.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. Upon entering the system, he discovered the colony and its moon had been obliterated, and most of Xytan's Fleet, along with the Admiral, had been destroyed, supposedly by a massive bomb of some sort. Rounding up the survivors, he proceeded to lead them and fight the San'Shyuum and their Jiralhanae servants, right up until the ceasefire.
After the war, and his refusal to join the Swords of Sanghelios, He would continue to expand his power and build up his strength. With just shy of a thousand warships, hundreds of support ships, 18 major colonies, twice as many minor colonies, and tens of millions of warriors at his immediate disposal, he was a force to be reckoned with, arguably one of the 5 most powerful Post-Covenant factions of the post-war era. Even Jul 'Mdama and his fanatical Covenant had chosen to steer clear of him, though he suspected that was mostly more of not wanting to fight a three-front war. Many, Sangheili especially, had been drawn by the self-proclaimed Supreme Commander by a rumor that had spread throughout the domains of the former empire that the Warlord was, in fact, the son of the legendary Imperial Admiral, Xytan 'Jar Wattinree. This revelation had also driven away potential allies, believing that he had shamed his clan by learning, or attempting to learn, the identity of his father; a taboo amongst most the Sangheili colonies who believed that hiding the identity of the father from them would give younglings an equal opportunity to advance and excel under their own merit, rather than off the success, or failures, of the father.
In just 5 years after the war's end, he had become one of the most powerful factions in the post-Covenant era. But that all changed in 2557, when an old enemy reared its ugly head once more, looking to consolidate their power and increase it in the wake of the Covenant's fall.
The Banished.
Marking their official return by attacking one of his colonies, the ancient Sangheili mining colony of Creck, 250 Warships obliterated the meager 50 warships Hurok had to defend the colony, who then proceeded to devastate it beyond any hope of repair. The Banished War had commenced.
For the next 14 months, Hurok would wage a fierce war with the Banished and their leader, Atriox, fighting a fierce war of attrition that had left both of their forces severely depleted by the time the Banished retreated, going where Hurok didn't know. Atriox may have depleted his forces, but Hurok had effectively lost his dominion, the fighting having reduced his realm to a mere 9 unscathed minor colonies and 5 larger colonies that would take decades to recover. Not to mention ONI conducting further sabotage missions within his territory, to the point where he actively started fighting them, hunting down their facilities and personnel and destroying/killing them.
But the damage to his fiefdom had been done, and now with the Guardians running rampant across the galaxy, he... his people was in a dangerous position. But his luck seemed to continue holding out. Recently, a Forerunner portal had been uncovered on one of his minor colonies, Subal, and now Hurok was betting the survival of his people, betting everything, on an enormous gamble. One he wouldn't have taken if he wasn't absolutely sure it was necessary.
He looked over the various lists once more, stopping for a moment to take account of his ships. The ones he had left anyway.
/List of Warships\
(1) CSO-Supercarrier
(6) Brigantine Carriers
(10) CAS-Assault Carriers
(12) DDS-Carriers
(6) OPV-Super Destroyers
(29) ORS-Heavy Cruisers
(52) CPV-Heavy Destroyers
(85) CCS-Battlecruisers
(128) CRS-Light Cruisers
Total Number: 329 Warships
/List of Support Ships\
(85) Carrack Merchant Cruisers
(71) Blockade Runners
(62) SDV-Heavy Corvettes
(54) DSC-Agricultural Support Ships
Total Number: 272 Ships
/List of High-Value Assets\
Total Number of Huragoks: 1,514
Despite being severely depleted and weakened, considering he used to have a thousand warships under his command, his faction was still a force to be reckoned with. But with all the events that have happened lately, with the Banished attacking him, ONI launching raids and sabotage missions against him, and to top it all off the awakening of the Guardians (He had flat out refused immediately when that damned Ancilla sent out its 'offer', refusing to be subservient to anyone ever again.), his military was a shadow of its former self. He ultimately had realized that if he was going to keep his people alive, he would need to form alliances.
Which was why he was currently 'cooperating' with several other prominent remnant leaders, including someone he normally wouldn't dare even go near, lest people thought he was insane.
"Commander?" He was snapped out of his thoughts by the voice of an old friend and mentor walking up to him.
Das 'Zocam, formerly a Sangheili Spec Ops Commander and Mentor to the Supreme Commander during his youth. Though Hurok was large for a Sangheili, Das wasn't small either, standing some 8'4" and weighing over 340 pounds. He was, however, well past his prime at the ripe old age of 144. Many his age would normally be a Kaidon or an elder for a Keep, considering Sangheili typically live to be up to 230 years old. Das had no Keep to call home, his own being destroyed in a rebellion during his youth. This led to him being 'adopted' by Wattinree Keep, taking on the role of a warrior then later in life as a mentor for the younger warriors. Hurok had been one of his students, and the Supreme Commander had come to not only respect the elder during training but adore him as well.
"Mentor! My apologies. I was lost in thought." Hurok confessed, standing up to greet his former mentor and tutor. "What was it you needed?"
"Supreme Commander Luro 'Taralumee is... 'requesting' an audience with you and the other commanders of our... Alliance."
Hurok groaned, "Of course he is." he muttered. He sat back in his throne, "Put them on screen."
The holographic display changed to show three other Fleetmasters, the first being the Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Glorious Retribution, Luro 'Taralumee, standing before him. Beside the Commanders, a listing of all their ships within their fleets was shown.
/List of Warships\
(2) Brigantine Carriers
(2) CAS-Assault Carriers
(4) DDS-Carriers
(15) ORS-Heavy Cruisers
(20) CPV-Heavy Destroyers
(75) CCS-Battlecruisers
(98) CRS-Light Cruisers
Total Number: 216 Warships
/List of Support Ships\
(30) Carrack Merchant Cruisers
(40) Blockade Runners
(54) SDV-Heavy Corvettes
(41) DSC-Agricultural Support Ships
Total Number: 165 Ships
/List of High-Value Assets\
Total Number of Huragoks: 901
The second was the notorious pirate Fleetmaster Rek Thon, a Rhuutian Kig-yar who had assembled a significant pirate fleet of infamy and power.
/List of Warships\
(1) ORS-Heavy Cruiser
(5) CCS-Battlecruisers
(18) CRS-Light Cruisers
Total Number: 24 Warships
/List of Support Ships\
(10) SDV-Heavy Corvettes
(2) DSC-Agricultural Support Ships
(21) DAV-Light Corvettes
Total Number: 33 Ships
/List of High-Value Assets\
Total Number of Huragoks: 12
The last one was rather a surprise for most, if they weren't already surprised by Luro 'Taralumee being amongst the group, was Fleetmaster Sali 'Nyon, who built up his own faction after rebelling from Jul 'Mdama, then took over and commandeered the remnants of Jul 'Mdama's Covenant following his death at the Battle of Sunaion and their subsequent defeat/route from Sanghelios and Hesduros.
/List of Warships\
(1) CAS-Assault Carrier
(9) CCS-Battlecruisers
(22) CRS-Light Cruisers
Total Number: 32 Warships
/List of Support Ships\
(9) Carrack Merchant Cruisers
(14) Blockade Runners
(6) DSC-Agricultural Support Ships
(30) DAV-Light Corvette
Total Number: 59 Ships
/List of High-Value Assets\
Total Number of Huragoks: 46
"Commander 'Taralumee. What is it you needed that required all of us to convene?" Hurok asked, trying to be 'diplomatic', even if he'd love nothing more than to strangle, or behead, the bastard. While he knew Luro was probably having similar thoughts regarding him, they both knew they couldn't, and for the exact same reasons. They needed the others firepower, especially in the wake of a galaxy under siege of a resurgent Forerun... no, an Ancilla, and a rogue human one at that from what he has heard, whose controlling Forerunners machines to use in taking over the galaxy. Also, each of their troops was fiercely loyal to their respective commanders, meaning that killing the other one wasn't an option... yet.
'Taralumee snarled, 'Commander Wattinree,' Hurok didn't miss the slight mock in Luro's voice when he addressed him, 'it appears we have a problem.'
"Oh? And what's that, Commander?"
'My advance scout we sent has ceased reporting. I haven't heard from them in 1 solar day now.'
Hurok narrowed his eyes in concern. While it could be nothing, the scout fleet, which had numbered 1 Heavy Cruiser and 4 Battlecruisers, would still be a considerable force and should have reported back immediately if there was any sign of trouble.
'That's not a good sign.' Sali 'Nyon spoke, voicing his own concerns, 'It could mean we're walking into a trap.'
'Could they maybe just be having communication troubles? If I'm not mistaken, they would have only just arrived by now.' Rek asked.
"On all 5 ships? Not likely. Plus, they were ordered to report in immediately once they had arrived." Hurok answered, "I have to agree with Luro, here. Something is wrong."
He turned to the communications officer, "Send a message to the Fleet, all forces are to be at battle-stations for potential combat." The officer nodded and began relaying the message out.
"I'll have my fighter crafts ready to deploy should we run into trouble. I suggest we have some of our ships hang back and defend the support ships should any trouble arise." Hurok suggested.
'Agreed. I'll have my own fighters do the same.' Luro agreed, nodding along with the other two commanders.
"Very well, keep us posted if something else comes up." Hurok finished, cutting the link before rising from his throne. He turned to Das, "Mentor, you have the bridge. I shall be back momentarily."
"Understood, Commander." Came the reply as Das proceeded to take his place on the throne.
Hurok proceeded to exit the bridge, going down the various corridors and hallways that made the maze within this monstrous ship. Occasionally, he would pass a group of Sangheili warriors or Unggoy assistants, who would bow or nod their heads in respect to their leader, which was always returned by the Supreme Commander. Turning a corner, he began to walk down a hallway that had a gravity lift at the end of it. This gravity lift, however, was special, as evident by the 6 spec ops Sangheili, part of an elite group of Commandos within his Covenant known as the Inquisitors, guarding it and barring anyone from entering the gravity lift.
Save for one person.
The Inquisitors bowed and sidestepped out of the Supreme Commander's way, who simply nodded at the Commandos before entering the gravity lift, and riding it down. At the bottom of the lift, he entered a massive room, which had once served as a vehicle storage bay that led to one of the gravity lift to deploy ground forces. Now, it served a different purpose, with half of its doors welded shut and the other half locked down via a security code, one that only 6 within his faction knew the code for. A half dozen Huragok could be seen floating around tending to various things within the room. In the center of the two-story room, however, was a large Forerunner structure, which stood nearly 10 meters tall and had a rather ornate, geometric shaping and design to it. In the center was a smaller casing sticking out slightly that had three dimly lit green 'eyes'. At the front of this structure, a small terminal was placed.
Hurok stared at the massive Forerunner relic for some time, reflecting on how they had found it in a barren world during one of their raids against ONI's operations. As it turned out, the relic was, in fact, a shard, a fragment of an ancient Forerunner Ancilla. Despite its low power, the Ancilla shard had enough power to converse with the Supreme Commander and inform him of the location of the portal on Subal, claiming that it leads to a Forerunner Refuge. Normally, he wouldn't have trusted this Ancilla, but desperate times called for desperate measures, especially if there was a chance of locating a Forerunner Shield World.
And as much as he hated to admit it, Hurok had been growing desperate in the recent months.
With a growl, he slowly spoke, "I don't know if you're truly looking to help me or if you have some ulterior motive, but know this, Ancilla. I have chosen to place my faith in your claim, risked everything and everyone under my care on the promise of salvation and a new home. Despite every bit of my instincts telling me not to trust you, I have chosen to disregard them this one time. So heed my words, Ancilla. If you betray me, I will make it my life's mission, even if it is my final action, to ensure that your death is as gruesome and painful as possible. My people trusted me with their protection, and I will ensure their safety."
On the small terminal in front of him, it started to flash with several symbols in Sangheili Language. The Ancilla was replying to him.
/If I am correct, then both our objectives can be accomplished.\
'Hm. It's never spoken of any goals before.' Hurok thought, curious as to what the Ancilla could possibly be hoping to achieve. "And what, exactly, is your desire?"
A rather long pause followed, causing the Sangheili Warlord to wonder if it was just going to ignore the question. After several more seconds of waiting, Hurok relented and started to slowly turn around and head back up towards the lift. That is until he heard the terminal come to life once more. Walking back over to it, Hurok could see the response. And a rather cryptic one.
/Atonement... for my many sins.\
April 5, 2559
Intergalactic Space
262,144 Light Years From Milky Way's Galactic Core
Forerunner Installation 00 'The Ark'
CFV-88 UNSC 'Spirit of Fire'
Bridge
'We can't keep this up.'
The Captain glanced over to the holotable, which displayed a hologram of his ship. Over the past week and a half, it had taken significant damage, with burn marks and damage visible all over the hull's superstructure. Their ship had suffered a total 29% damage to the overall hull. Over a thousand were dead, out of a surviving crew of 9,817, those that survived the Forerunner Shield World anyway, all due to an enemy none of them expected.
The Banished.
A Mercenary Faction that had battled the Covenant during the Great War, now having consolidated significant power and strength in the wake of the Covenant's demise. For the past week, the Spirit of Fire and her crew had battle the Faction for control of the Ark, but the UNSC were hopelessly outmatched. Atriox, the Jiralhanae leader of the Banished, had brought his entire Fleet to the Ark in a determined bid to take over the station. He had only been facing a small fleet beforehand, numbering 12 ships, but now he was looking at a Fleet numbering over 250 Warships.
What was worse was that a small battlegroup of 5 Covenant ships entered the area as well, but apparently weren't a part of the Banished, as when they had entered, with the unfortunate luck of exiting Slipspace right in the midst of the Banished Fleet, Atriox's forces destroyed the Battlegroup without delay. That could only mean that other factions were looking to acquire the Ark for themselves as well, and could very well be on their way.
There was hope, however. They had been able to successfully contact the UNSC. A Battlegroup of 1 Light Carrier, 2 Destroyers, and 4 Frigates had arrived a month earlier and had been in hiding from Atriox's Fleet, due to them being vastly outnumbered. They had informed Captain Cutter of the current state of the galaxy and how now the galaxy was being taken over by force by the Created and their Promethean servants. Earth and a good majority of the colonies had already been taken.
They needed to get back home, warn the rest of the UNSC of what had transpired here and help out however they could, but they couldn't allow the Banished to take control of the Ark; but at the same time, they had no way of destroying it. At the moment, the only idea they had in regards to keeping the Ark from falling into the Banished's hands was to locate the Ark's Control Room and set the station to self-destruct, if possible.
The situation was, for a lack of better words, grim.
Captain James Cutter sighed, before speaking into the comms, "Spirit of Fire to Red Team, what's your status, over?"
Spartan Red Team
1 km outside the Cartographer
"Spirit of Fire, this is Red-Leader. All teams are in position and ready to assault, over." Jerome-092 answered as he laid prone on the ridgeline, never taking his eyes off the BR55's scope as he scanned the defenses the Banished had set up. The desert canyon leading to the Cartographer was heavily defended, with 2 Type-27 Mantis AACs set up as well as several vehicles of various types patrolling the area. This had to allow the UNSC to establish only a small firebase nearby for support, meaning that backup was going to be limited. They had already suffered significant casualties as it was. They couldn't afford anymore.
'Roger that, Red-Lead. Bombers are inbound for a strike run. Once they drop their payloads, commence the attack, out.'
The wind speeds increased around them, kicking up a large amount of sand around the strike team. This team in particular consists of Spartan Red Team, the two capable ones anyway, 2 Combat Teams of ODST, and 2 Platoons of Marines. 2 other Strike teams of similar make up were nearby, along with an Armored Company consisting of several Warthogs variants, 8 Scorpions, and 4 of the 6 remaining Grizzlies that Spirit of Fire had at her disposal. They were putting everything on the line here, and failure wasn't an option. He almost snorted, knowing how badly Douglas wanted to be down here, but his injuries sustained from fighting Atriox were too severe, even for a Spartan.
Overhead, they heard the sound of 4 B-65 Shortswords coming in for their bombing run. The Banished, seeing the massive bombers coming in, desperately scattered their troops as the Mantis guns opened fire, trying to down the bombers before they dropped their payloads. The Bombers swayed left and right, trying to throw off the AAC's aim. One bomber, however, was unlucky and got hit in the wing, tearing it off and sending it spiraling into the ground, exploding in spectacular fashion. The other three Shortswords managed to reach the Banished positions and dropped their bombs.
The resulting explosions from nearly a hundred bombs going off sent tons of sand, dirt, and debris in the air. 47-ton Wraith tanks were tossed about as if they were ragdolls, both Mantis AACs were blown to pieces, and untold numbers of infantry, whether they be Unggoy, Jiralhanae, or Sangheili, simply ceased to exist from the attack.
The bombers had done their job and weakened the defenses, now it was up to the Marines to push through.
"That's our queue." Jerome spoke as they all rose up, "Let's go."
The strike team moved down the ridgeline quickly, looking to exploit the battered defenses before the Banished forces could recover.
The Spartans pushed ahead, with the Marines pushing up behind them. As they reached the battered defenses, a bloodied Sangheili stumbled out from behind a destroyed Wraith, with a dazed look and one of its arms missing. Jerome put it down with a burst from his rifle, as the sounds of sporadic gunfire all across the canyon, the Marines finishing off the stragglers. No heavy fighting had commenced, which meant that Atriox had ordered his troops back instead of telling them to hold fast.
That was the one thing they had come to hate about the Banished Leader, Atriox. Unlike other Jiralhanae, he was incredibly cunning and devious, not to mention competent. Instead of ordering his troops to stand their ground and fight to the death, he had any survivors pull back into the Cartographer, where the close quarters fighting would be significantly more difficult for the attackers.
As they pushed up to the base of the massive Spire-like building, Jerome spoke into his comms, "Spirit of Fire, this is Red-Leader. Entrance to the Cartographer has been secured, but the enemy has likely pulled back inside, over."
'Understood, Red-Lead. The Armored Company will maintain a defensive perimeter along with the other strike teams. Your strike team is to continue into the structure and secure the Cartographer, over.'
"Affirmative. Red-Lead, out." Looking back, he motioned to his fellow Spartan, Alice-130, and the Marines, "We're going in. Watch your corners, and call out anything you see that doesn't look right, no matter how trivial it looks."
Some nodded, but no-one verbally replied back, not that it was needed. A week and a half of fighting the Banished had taught them just how devious and fierce the Banished Forces can be. "Let's move in," Jerome ordered as the strike team entered the Cartographer, bracing themselves for whatever the Banished had set up to stop them.
Banished Fleet
CAS-Class Assault Carrier 'Savage Huntsman'
Bridge
A dark chuckle echoed through the bridge as a large, imposing Jiralhanae, sitting on his throne chair, observed the humans entering the Cartographer through a spy drone. "That's right, walk right into your doom, little demons." Atriox finished as he turned over to his subordinate, "Are our troops in position?"
"Yes, and ready to slaughter the humans down to the last." Said subordinate, another Jiralhanae, answered confidently. Atriox grunted, before waving him off to complete said task. His mind was rather focused on the events of yesterday. Yesterday, a Battlegroup of 5 Covenant Warships just entered the system right in the midst of his Fleet, one of which collided with one of his Frigates. The intruding ships were destroyed, and Atriox had ordered troops to board the ships to find out where they had come from and just how they had managed to get here.
Regardless, it meant that someone else was on their way to the Ark.
"Tell me, Sord." He spoke, looking to his right to reveal a San'Shyuum standing at the side, nervously glancing around the room before bringing his attention to Atriox, "Is there any other way to activate the Ark, aside from the Citadel?" Sord Nundo, formerly the Prophet of Intrepidity, slowly answered, "Not... not that I am aware of."
Atriox stared at the San'Shyuum for the longest time, studying the prophet's stature and expressions, looking as though he was mentally interrogating the prophet, before giving out an amused 'hmph', "Very well. I hope for your people's sake, that you're telling the truth."
The only reason he had even known of the Ark's existence was after capturing Sord, who had been at the Battle of the Ark, and was on one of the 3 Covenant Loyalist warships that escaped the battle. After learning of its location, he began seeking a way to reach the Ark, knowing that trying to reach it through the Earth's Forerunner portal would have been suicide. He started questioning the Prophet, but the San'Shyuum refused, and Atriox, growing impatient, began to consider torture.
That was, however, until a stroke of luck ran his way.
A flotilla was discovered by one of his Battlegroups and captured, revealing it to be a 30 ship fleet full of San'Shyuum survivors and thousands of Huragok. The San'Shyuum flotilla was mostly made up of Carrack Cruisers, SDV Heavy Corvettes and DSC Support Ships, was no match for his Battlegroup, and now he had some 92,000 San'Shyuum, quite possibly the last ones in existence, held hostage. Their expertise with technology would come in immeasurably, and invaluable.
Following this turn of events, Sord became very compliant, revealing that his people had discovered that the Portal on Earth wasn't the only one that leads to the Ark, but one of seven such portals and the San'Shyuum had discovered one and were on their way to one such portal, located on a small moon orbiting a gas giant, which housed several significant Forerunner relics. Atriox sent his forces to locate and secure it, and several months later, he had the portal online and sending his forces through to the Ark.
Now, over 2/3 of all the forces he commands are at the Ark, ready to make it his new fortress and base of operations. But first, he needed to secure it. He pulled up a display and took a look at list showing the fleet numbers currently at the Ark.
/List of Warships\
(2) CAS-Assault Carriers
(8) ORS-Heavy Cruisers
(18) CPV-Heavy Destroyers
(51) RCS-Armored Cruiser
(50) CCS-Battlecruisers
(66) CAR-Frigates
Total Number: 195 Warships
/List of Support Ships\
(19) Carrack Merchant Cruisers
(17) Blockade Runners
(32) SDV-Heavy Corvettes
(50) DAV-Light Corvettes
(14) DSC-Agricultural Support Ships
Total Number: 132 Ships
/List of High-Value Assets\
Total Number of Huragoks: 11,401
Total Number of San'Shyuum: 92,403
With another 140 Ships, including his one and only Supercarrier, guarding the Portal back in the Milky Way, Atriox's position was certainly strong, but if another Covenant Fleet was coming, he needed to go ahead and finish off the UNSC stragglers before they arrived. While confident he could win, he would not be fighting two enemies at once. Three if he included the occasional Forerunner automated defenses that would spring up every now and then.
Their victory was all but assured now. He would admit, this Captain Cutter had been an interesting and cunning opponent, causing him several headaches and setbacks with a very limited amount of forces at his disposal; an opponent that, if circumstances were different, he would have had no quarrel working alongside. But, alas, this wasn't the case. It was time to crush the humans once and for all.
Smirking, he gave the order, "Tell Decimus to spring the trap once they have reached the kill zone. It's time to end this little resistance."
"Chieftain! We have news regarding the intruding ships' origins!'' A bridge hand shouted to him. Tapping on his display, he looked at the report to see what the Boarding teams had found out. A burning rage slowly built within him as he learned what was coming to the Ark. Not one fleet, not two, but an entire Armada of warships, numbering over 1100 ships.
Being led by one Hurok Wattinree.
Atriox snarled. His war with Hurok's Fiefdom had been a calculated risk, as he represented the biggest threat to his plans, aside from the Arbiter and the UNSC, but he had considered it necessary. While he may have depleted his forces in the war, Hurok's had been utterly crippled, which allowed the Banished to move unhindered since the Swords of Sanghelios and UNSC had their attention and priorities elsewhere. Now, however, that risk was backfiring badly. Hurok had basically made a deal with the devil and allied himself with several other warlords and pirates, creating a powerful coalition. Atriox had never believed that Hurok, a secular if not outright atheist such as he, would ally himself with a religious fanatic such as Luro 'Taralumee.
He was now faced with a difficult decision. Pull his forces out now and come back when he had sufficient strength, as he could always return back to Jiralhanae space to recruit new members. He had gained quite a number of supporters followers both amongst and from the clans that had managed to escape Doisac to create their own fleets and factions. Or he could try and fight off... no. No, he knew that was foolish to try and do. All he would do is get his forces wiped out. While he was confident that he could beat Luro or Sali 'Nyon, and probably buy off the Kig-yar Pirates, he knew there was no way his 327 ship-strong fleets could defeat an Armada over 1100 ships-strong.
He could give them a bloody nose, but the Banished would be wiped out in the process.
He slammed his fist on the armrest and roared out, causing quite a few heads to turn and Sord to visibly flinch. Months of hard work and sacrifice, now wasted.' He angrily pondered. He had lost the Ark before a battle had even commenced. He needed to begin evacuating his forces before this Armada showed up. The worst part was that if the data from the ships were correct, they had a most a day before Hurok's army arrives. Typing a few commands onto the display, he called up Decimus. Better he gets that out of the way before he launches his trap.
Ark Cartographer Interior
The towering Brute knew as Decimus, along with dozens of Jiralhanae and Sangheili, and hundreds of Unggoy, lied patiently in wait for the UNSC Troops to enter into their trap. After having scores of his troops slain by the humans, he was all but eager to get some revenge on the humans. His Gravity Hammer was gripped tightly in his hands, waiting to be used to crush human bones and skulls.
"They have entered Cartographer." A warlord confirmed, whispering to Decimus. He snorted, "Then get ready to strike." Around him, troops moved into position, with Jiralhanae anxiously waiting, excited and thrilled beyond anything; Sangheili checked over their weapons, making sure they were prepared, and Unggoy nervously awaited the coming battle, with Decimus knowing that many of the short little creatures were going to die. Not that he cared, they were good as cannon fodder and nothing else.
Soon enough, he could hear the humans approaching their position. He grinned. He had been humiliated by the Spartans, following the loss of several Harvesting plants in the last week, a failure that was his to shoulder. Now, he would have a chance for payback. He was so focused on the humans, he almost didn't hear his COM device beeping. Growling, he opened the communication ready to berate whoever had arrogantly just broken radio silence, only for the small holographic display to reveal that Atriox was the one who had called him.
"Atriox? The humans are almost within our trap, Chieftan. We shall slay them momentarily." Decimus reported.
The Banished leader grunted, 'That is unfortunate, as you will not like what I am about to say.'
Decimus' yellow eyes narrowed in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Atriox gave what could only be described as an irritated sigh, 'An armada of Covenant warships is on its way to the Ark, one numbering over 1100 ships. And what's worse is that we have maybe a day, possibly less before they arrive. We need to begin evacuating immediately.'
"What?!" Decimus exclaimed. They were giving up the Ark?! "After all the months we have spent here?!"
'I know...'
"And after the tens of thousands of brothers who-"
'I KNOW!' The Banished Chieftan roared, clearly frustrated as Decimus was, but quickly regained his composure, 'But to stay and fight would all but guarantee our destruction. We must be wise, Decimus, otherwise we would squander all we have worked for; All that we have gained. So, for now... we shall retreat and gather our strength. There will be other opportunities.'
Decimus looked distraught and furious at the news but nonetheless trusted in Atriox's decision. He hadn't led them astray so far. "I shall inform the troops of the... news."
Atriox nodded, knowing that Decimus wouldn't question him. He had enough headaches that he was dealing with already. The last thing he needed was insubordinate troops, which he knew there would be a couple.
'See that it is done quickly. We don't have much time.' Atriox ordered, before cutting the connection. Decimus brooded for several more moments, still furious. After all their hard work and sacrifice, this was it?! Who could possibly be leading an Armada that size? Surely not the Arbiter and his Swords of Sanghelios, they didn't have anywhere near that number of ships in their possession. Regardless, he needed to start pulling the troops out.
However...
He looked back to see that the humans were slowly entering the massive room they had chosen as their ambush, still completely unaware of their presence. While he would never dare disobey Atriox, that doesn't mean he couldn't bend the orders around. These humans needed to pay. Those Demons especially needed to pay for humiliating him. He could spare a few moments to kill off these pests.
Slowly, Decimus raised his hand, preparing to give the signal to strike as he snarled softly. Vengeance would be his, one way or another.
Fleet of Divine Fury
CSO-Class Supercarrier 'Walk of Divinity'
Bridge
Hurok rushed to the bridge, having been informed that they were about to exit Slipspace. He could hear Das speaking over the intercoms, 'Attention! All Warriors on standby. Prepare for potential combat. All fighter pilots report to your Seraphs if you have not already! This is not a drill!'
Entering the bridge, Hurok looked over to the holographic display as Das stood up from the throne. "Commander, welcome back."
"How much longer?"
"Less than a couple minutes, now." Das answered, "I have the troops on alert should any surprises be waiting for us."
"So I heard on the comms. Good work." Hurok complimented as he sat on his throne, ready to do battle with anything and anyone standing in his way. Tapping on his comms, he called upon the other leaders of their Alliance once more, a precaution more than anything. Sure enough, the holographic display showed the three other leaders of their Alliance, with Luro being the first to speak.
'What is it, Wattinree? I was in the middle of leading a sermon!'
Hurok narrowed his eyes in annoyance, "You chose a poor time to do so, Commander, for we are nearly at our destination. For now, I believe that maintaining a channel between us would be wise should we find ourselves in a fight."
'You really think somebody else might be at the Ark?' Rek asked skeptically.
"These days, Fleetmaster Rek, one should be prepared for anything, no matter how absurd or unlikely it may seem." Hurok answered solemnly, before continuing, "Commander 'Taralumee, both of our fleets will be the vanguard, while Fleetmasters 'Nyon and Fleetmaster Thon's fleets will hang back and defend our support ships. We cannot leave those defenseless. Especially the DSCs and Carracks, those carry a majority of our civilians. The Corvettes simply don't have the firepower to hold off a determined attack."
Hurok received no complaints from the plan, they all understood the vitality of the support ships. They couldn't afford to lose them.
"Commander, we are about to exit the Void. 20 seconds!" The Navigator spoke out, "All forces are reporting ready for combat should we find ourselves in it."
"Good. The moment we exit the Void, I want our fighters deployed immediately." Hurok ordered. "Maintain a screen for the defense of our ships."
The order was relayed and everyone prepared for whatever was awaiting them at the Ark. "You know this is likely the biggest gamble we have ever performed," Das commented beside him. Hurok grunted in acknowledgment, "Time to see if it paid off."
As he finished those words, his ship, along with the 1100 other warships exited Slipspace simultaneously. The holographic display changed, and before the Supreme Commander's eyes laid the grandest of prizes. One sought by all in the known Galaxy.
The Ark.
"COMMANDER! ENEMY CONTACTS DETECTED! IT'S THE BANISHED!"
And so, it begins.
So as you can see, this was more of an introductory chapter, more action will come in the second chapter.
I just want to start off and say thanks to everyone who not only has been supportive of this story but also everyone who's been patient with me to let me rewrite the story. I feel like with the rewrite I'm doing to this story, I'll be able to add much more depth and lore to this story than I did with H-ME:AD.
Some are probably wondering why I even decided to rewrite it, to begin with, it largely started with when I began reading another Halo Fanfic, one written by a writer named Slipspace Anomaly. His story, Halo 5: Reclamation, was probably the best Halo fanfic I've read on this site. The amount of depth in the character development and story he put into it was incredible. It caused me to look back on H-ME and, reading through it once more, realize just how much better I could have made it if I hadn't been trying to rush out a chapter every month.
So that's what I'm trying to do now. Granted, it means chapters won't be coming out on a regular basis, but at the very least the quality will be much higher.
Thanks again for all the support and I look forward to providing more for you guys to read. Also, before I forget, I am looking for fellow writers who want to collaborate on any of my stories, and theirs too if they have them. If you're interested, by all means, leave a pm and let me know. Same for anybody with ideas or suggestions.
Thanks as always, and I'll see you next time.
-Azores