The grand construct known only as High Charity sat like a monster lurking in the abyssal void of space, surrounded by a swarm of bulbous purple warships that compared to the fortress were the size of specks of dust. Despite the hundreds of thousands of toiling alien warriors and workers completing tedious tasks, in prayer, sparring, or simply keeping watch of the sea of stars that stretched out infinitely, none stirred as the warship Immortal Valor flowed out of slipspace and came into view.

"Shipmaster, we have arrived." An Elite clad in pale blue armor stated from his station below the raised platform, where his commander stood solitary and silent.

"Have a Phantom ready in the Starboard Docking Bay, I will see to this business myself." The Elite Shipmaster Kryne Ar'chosi turned from the center of the platform and walked towards the door opposite the bridge, the alien lighting tinting his burnished gold armor shades of purple and blue. At the door a pair of Sangheili guards prepared to follow, but he raised a hand and stopped them. "I said I would see to this alone." The two guards backed away, allowing the towering Elite commander to continue down the hallway.

High Charity was the capital of the Covenant hegemony, a symbol of their reach and unrelenting hunger for domination over all others. The towering walls that stretched dozens of feet into the air were commonplace, allowing the chilled air to collect in a fog high above that sometimes obscured the ceiling. Shades of purples, violets, and gold covered every bulkhead and door. Shipmaster Kryne stood at the center of a vast elevator platform while a half dozen Sangheili Honor guards stood at the edge of the platform at attention, he patiently waited for the elevator to reach the top, showing little signs of emotion or even signs of movement as he drifted into a meditative trance. A few minutes past until the elevator came to a sudden halt, awakening the commander.

"Shipmaster, we have reached the Sanctum of the Hierarchs." One Elite guard came forward and met Kryne's snow colored eyes, "I must ask you to hand over all weapons on your person until your business with the Prophet of Mercy has concluded.

"I am well aware of the proper doctrine." Kryne retorted, handing over the pearl colored energy sword hilt and his plasma rifle. The honor guard held the objects in his palms exactly where the Shipmaster placed them and backed away without breaking eye contact. Kryne stepped off of the platform and proceeded down the long and exorbitant hall, a hall meant only for the most holy to tread, only for those deemed worthy of an audience with the Prophets. Yet this was also the place where the most heretical traitors within the Covenant are made to answer for their crimes…

The Elite commander kneeled before a large glowing pedestal where a single frail yet imposing figure sat in a floating throne. "High Prophet of Mercy, I have come as ordered."

"Shipmaster Kryne Ar'chosi. Lord of the Immortal Valor and the Sub-Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice…" The Prophet stated in a regal yet monotone voice, "You may rise."

"What is the purpose of this meeting my lord?" Kryne asked in a careful manner.

"Walk with me, Shipmaster." Mercy floated forward from the glowing pedestal and past Kryne, causing him to turn on his heel and follow beside him. "During your previous engagement in the Ferris Expanse, did you notice anything odd among your troops on the ground?"

"All of the ships sent by Truth insisted on fielding the Jiralhanae, knowing full well how they would work with my Elite officers. They disobeyed my orders and caused the deaths of many of my brethren."

"That is exactly what worries me. Truth is putting too much trust in the Brutes and Regret is too inexperienced to realize there is a problem. The Elites have always been the high protectors of our Covenant, but I fear the Brutes will cause our downfall."

"This is a definite problem, sir. But what is the point in summoning me?" Kryne asked, just as the Prophet of Mercy stopped in the Prophets' private chamber. The large door made an alien humming sound and slid shut.

A hologram of a beautiful world appeared in the center of the room. "In my many years overseeing the research and study of the Holy Dreadnought, this planet came up in many highly encrypted documents. It is supposedly a fortress world, containing weapons of unimaginable power created to combat some infection or plague that blighted our ascendants. If you gain control of this technology, the Elites can keep their place as our protectors and the quest for the Great Journey shall no longer be impeded."

"I shall muster a fleet of my kin and comrades and can be ready within a day!" Kryne zealously exclaimed.

"No! This must be done with upmost secrecy. If such a large fleet massed in a single system Truth or Regret would take notice. You will go with only your own ship, but I have already ordered the transfer of many of the most skilled and hardened veterans of our Covenant to your vessel. I have also taken the liberty of upgrading your troop armories and vehicle compliments."

"I can only be thankful sir, there are no further words to express my gratitude."

"Simply be aware that this world you are going to, it is controlled by the humans."

"With the gifts you have given me they will not be a problem."

"Then take your leave, embark for the planet immediately. I will maintain utmost loyalty to every one of Truth's decisions to remain beyond reproach and suspicion. Notify me when the planet is ours, and I will organize a coup."

"As you wish, High Prophet of Mercy." Kryne bowed once and turned to leave, the huge automatic door reeling as he approached and closed behind him. Mercy stared out through the large window before him, staring at the Covenant city below, and the Forerunner Keyship at its center.

Meanwhile…

The outer colony of Athens, a well fortified vanguard on the fringes of humanity's reach into the void. As the Covenant threat encroached on humanity's borders, a new initiative proposed by the Office of Naval Intelligence, to not only bolster our outer defenses but strengthen ties to the colonies was undertaken. The UNSC sent ships to eight worlds scattered across our farthest borders and turned once insignificant worlds into mighty fortresses.

Athens, the only habitable world in the Sigma system, became the home of project NORTHWEST due to its position in human space. Classified as a prehistoric garden world, the majority of the planet's landmass was converged into a single supercontinent. Over thirty years after its discovery settlements littered the pristine and beautiful vistas. At the center of the supercontinent was a vast and deep lake, so large that from orbit the continent looked like a ring rather than a single landmass. It was here that in 2549 the UNSC set up Atlantis base, a fitting name given the fact they actually anchored the base to the center of the lake. Over the next two years the UNSC, with the cooperation of the uneasy colonists, made the planet prosper. They used the spectacular and endless jungles to hide a network of underground tunnels and smaller bases, they turned their miniscule settlements into easily defendable outposts, created dozens of greenhouses to supplement the infrequent income of food, and eventually the colony became prosperous enough to receive a complement of a few SPARTAN-III supersoldiers, three dozen ODSTs, and one orbital MAC platform.

June 5th, 2551

-Day One-

The tranquil peace of the early summer morning allowed the sounds of nature to be heard throughout the halls of the base. Every room with an open window or a balcony door let the sounds of chirps of tiny birds and the quacks of frolicking swans and geese. The four waterfalls leading to and from the lake roared faintly in the distance. Slightly humid air seeped into the complex and overtook the processed odorless air and replaced it with the smells of the prehistoric world. The endless jungles and untouched habitats filled with unique animals and plants seemed to make one forget the dangers in the void of space.

It was on this date, at approximately six o' clock in the morning, that General Stan McArthur slept peacefully in his quarters. Normally it was considered a 'rule' to not disturb the general on the weekends for any reason whatsoever, but today that rule was broken. A marine in normal fatigues took one step into the general's quarters and was greeted with a shoe being thrown at his face. "Get out of here, Private." McArthur stated groggily."

"Sir, there is a priority alert in effect, we need you at the command center ASAP." The marine replied before leaving, tossing the shoe back into the general's quarters.

"It is 7:13 on a Saturday morning. What the hell is so damn important?" McArthur stormed into the command center, visibly angry.

"We have a Covenant Capital Ship inbound. System entry point and trajectory approximate ETA at eighty minutes." The command center sat at the southern tip of Atlantis, with the far wall made mostly of large windows overlooking the sparkling lake the base sat aloft in and the coastline off in the distance. The rising sun was slightly obscured by two skyscrapers off in the distance, but it still cast bright light into the command center. Men and women in army fatigues crowded around computers displaying reports and scans, all of which the general could not recognize. Some people dashed back and forth between groups, carrying papers and datapads, the room was filled with pandemonium.

"Wake up whoever is in charge of that MAC gun and tell them to go to alert status. Get civilians to bunkers and ready ground forces and air support." The general put his cranky attitude behind him, allowing him to assess the serious situation at hand. Where is Silver Team?"

"Silver Team is five minutes out from GARDIAN Tower 2."

"Get them on speaker, now."

"Silver Team to Command, sir. You rang?" The voice of a Spartan with an obvious British accent echoed over the radio, the general was handed an earpiece so he could reply.

"We read you loud and clear Sierra 254, this is General McArthur. I need you to turn around and head straight to Atlantis Base. You will receive further orders when you arrive, over and out.

Just as expected, the single Covenant Cruiser arrived on schedule, and with it came the ensuing battles. Blowing past the MAC platform with oddly superior maneuvering, it swooped in and dropped hundreds of Covenant soldiers all over the supercontinent. The champion specialist Elites and their underling hordes clashed with the well fortified and well armed human soldiers, the few thousand civilians were relocated to the inner cities and Atlantis base, and the serene tropical jungles of Athens became a warzone.

This is the story of Silver Team; a group of Spartan-IIIs whose actions helped retake the colony and thwarted the Covenant's sinister plot to use what was hidden far below the jungles of Athens. These are their stories.