0700 Hours, November 5th, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ UNSC Achilles/ Over Earth, Sol System
Earth had been found. Humanity's most closely guarded secret... found. Her cities... burning. Her people... dying. HIGHCOM was panicking, diverting all available units to the coordinated defense of Earth. The Covenant had been able to pierce a section of the orbital grid destroying upwards of fifteen orbital guns. At least two thousand Covenant ships were in the assault on Earth, with more arriving by the hour. Only about one thousand UNSC ships were able to hold them off. The Covenant's main point of interest was the city of New Mombasa, in East Africa. The largest concentration of Covenant forces was there, and they had destroyed most of the city. All UNSC and police forces had withdrawn from the area, retreating to bases in the mountains.
Rear Admiral Graham, with an unshaven beard beginning to grow on his face, sat in his command chair on his destroyer, as it weaved between a disorganized blob of human and Covenant ships. It looked like old 19th century naval warfare, with lines of ships engaging each other as they passed. The Achilles' main gun fired twice, ripping through a CFV-class frigate. The explosion engulfed a passing squadron of Seraph fighters. Two Paris-class frigates flew buy, unleashing a storm of missiles unto a CCS-class battlecruiser. The cruiser's shields shook off the rockets, and then destroyed the two ships with plasma torpedoes. Towards the center of the fleet was the Ascendant Justice, a floating battlestation that was to be used as a last resort weapon, or to snipe Covenant ships from afar.
"Achilles Actual, this is Red Wings, we have eyes on an unknown Covenant ship towards the back of their fleet. Permission to engage?" the radio crackled.
"Red Wings, you have a green light to engage. Get us an assessment on their weapons capabilities while you're at it," Admiral Graham replied.
The destroyers' Longsword squadron, with two destroyed, turned and rushed through the battle and towards the unknown vessel. It was at least three times the size of a CCS-class battlecruiser, and had just jumped in with the most recent batch of Covenant ships. It had remained at the back of the Covenant fleet, dormant. Suddenly, it sprang to life, letting loose with an energy projector. A needle thin beam of light shot from it, cutting across the destroyer Minotaur. The beam burned a ten-meter wide hole through the ship, piercing A deck, destroying the reactor, and exiting on H deck near the engines. The destroyer was completely split in half within seconds. Then, it fired once more, destroying the corvettes Callisto, Bum Rush, and the frigates Tripping Light and Buenos Aires. The fighters from Achilles arrived, strafing the Covenant ship. Seraphs and Banshees intercepted them and engaged, and a dogfights ensued. Squadrons from other ships joined in the fight. The sniper ship then began moving away from the battle, appearing to withdraw.
"Get us a lock on that ship! We are not losing it!" Jon shouted.
Ensign DeSemple replied, "Yes, sir! We're pursuing!"
The Achilles picked up speed, on a course to intercept. The cruiser Aurora exploded after being hit by dozens of torpedoes, taking a CRS-class light cruiser with it. Slipspace holes opened about three hundred thousand kilometers away, and a UNSC carrier strike group, consisting of two carriers, four cruisers, seven destroyers, and ten frigates entered the battle. The carriers launched fighters, who went to work on the Covenant fleet. The orbital grid was torn between engaging space forces and destroying Covenant ships in low orbit of the planet. Of course, they had no authorization to fire on the ground, as the risk of civilian casualties was too high.
"Achilles Actual, this is Red Wings. Looks like that ship's got some sorta energy beam thing. Not like anything we've seen before," the squadron leader reported.
"Roger, Red Wings. What else does it have?" asked the Admiral.
"Uh, it also looks to have the standard armament. Torpedoes, point defense lasers, basic stuff," the pilot replied.
"Got it, Red Wings. We're going in to attack, break off and keep those fighters off us," Jon ordered.
"You got it, sir," Red Wings said.
The Achilles shook off two hits from torpedoes, and pushed ahead, through the wreckage of a destroyed UNSC frigate. The 50mm railguns on the destroyer fired, destroying Covenant fighters and chipping away at enemy shields. Then, the Covenant sniper ship came back, firing its beam again. This time, it lanced across the carrier Musashi, severing it in half. Its engines were still burning, even as the aft end floated separately from the bow. Then, the beam cut the destroyer Herodotus in two, its crew helpless as they were sucked into the vacuum of space.
"Sir, we have a clear line of sight on the ship. MAC gun is ready," Lieutenant Covington reported.
"Fire," Jon said.
The Achilles shuddered twice, and two bolts whizzed through space, impacting on the shields. The shields shook off the hits.
"This ship has destroyed six of our ships! We need this thing gone! Covington, I want you to launch every single missile we have on this ship, and coincide that with a MAC volley. Arm one of our remote controlled Longswords with a Shiva, and when the shields drop, I want you to land the Longsword under the ships shields. When they come back up, detonate the nuke," Admiral Graham said.
"Yes, sir," Will said.
Seconds before the volley would begin, Ensign Davidson yelled, "Slipspace ruptures! Less than four hundred thousand kilometers out!"
Hundreds of holes came open in space, and more Covenant ships came in. But then, there were UNSC ships among them. On the scanners, it appeared to be the UNSC Washington, In Amber Clad, Resolution, Paris, Dusk, and Coral Sea. The old dreadnought fired a single Super MAC slug, tearing through the shields and belly of the sniper ship. A massive supercarrier was behind the Washington, letting loose salvos of plasma torpedoes onto the Covenant fleet
"S-sir, the Covenant carrier is opening a link to all UNSC ships," Lieutenant Cortez said.
"Open it," Jon ordered.
"This is Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree, of the Combined Fleet of Righteous Purpose, transmitting to all human vessels. Our leader, the High Prophets, have betrayed us, and lied to us about the Great Journey. With the revelations from the Oracle about the true purpose of Halo, a Great Schism has broken out. Those loyal to the Prophets have begun the systematic extermination of my race, much like we have done to your kind. With me, I bring hundreds of loyal commanders, who are ready to exact their revenge on the Brutes. We... are here to help," a loud Elite's voice boomed over the radio.
The Elites' fleet spread out, and began raining fire on the Covenant armada.
...
"Focus fire on the assault carriers first! Have we gotten the human ships marked as friendly?!" yelled the Imperial Admiral, watching the battle unfold. Some human ships had accidentally fired on his own, but quickly turned their fire onto the Brute ships. The Combined Fleet had launched all of its Seraph fighters, marked with a long green striped going down the center. The Brutes had to divide their fire among the humans and Sangheili, and couldn't focus fire.
"This is Fleet Admiral Terrance Hood, how the hell did you find our location?" a human voice said over the communications.
"I assume that you are the human leader?" Xytan replied.
"Yes, I am. Now, answer the question, before my MAC guns destroy you and your fleet," Hood replied.
"If you kill me, you kill your species' hopes. One Rear Admiral Henry Cain and Commander Miranda Keyes led my fleet and I here to assist you in your struggle," the Imperial Admiral replied. Four of his own battlecruisers broke into the Brutes' main line, tearing them apart. Wings of Separatist fighters joined the human Longsword's in the hundreds of dogfights over Earth.
"Admiral Hood, this is Cain. I know it's treason to lead the Covenant to Earth, but this is no ruse. The Covenant has really fractured. The Brutes have usurped the Elites, taking their place as the dominant military power in the Covenant. They are here to help," Rear Admiral Cain said to Hood.
"Hood, this is Commander Keyes. It's true. I helped the Imperial Admiral and Arbiter deactivate Halo. If you want humanity to survive, you'll let them help us," she said, semi-reluctantly.
After a few brief moments of silence, Lord Hood said, "Very well. All ships, mark all new contacts associated with the Elites as friendly. Repeat, make them friendly."
"Good choice, human," Xytan replied, cutting the line.
The Sublime Transcendence charged headfirst into the battle, releasing an avalanche of torpedoes unto the Brutes. His fleet began tearing the Brutes to pieces, combined with the humans. The human ships began pushing outwards, trying to dismantle to mass of ships that the main battle was being fought in. The orbital platforms began picking off Covenant assault carriers.
...
The Achilles nearly exchanged paint with a passing Elite light cruiser, and fired its main gun into the bow of a Covenant frigate. The rounds tore through the entire ship, exiting near the engines. Hundreds of Longswords were joined by swarms of Separatist Seraphs. They weaved between the warships, pursuing the Brute fighters. The Marathon-class cruiser Longhorn put its engines into full speed, and rammed into a CRS-class light cruiser, pressing through it. The carrier battle group that jumped in just before the arrival of the Elites was in the thick of the fight, raining MAC slugs and rail gun rounds onto the Covenant.
"This is Fleet Admiral Harper! All ships, break and regroup at the North Pole of Earth!" the second in command of the fleet yelled.
The UNSC fleet began disengaging from the battle, and the remaining ships regroup above the ice sheet that covered the top of the planet. Most of the ships had charred black spots on the armor from plasma burns. The cruisers in the fleet, led by Harper's flagship, the UNSC Knossos, formed a lose firing line, and gave a volley of MAC rounds. All ships then reported in. The Home Fleet, at current strength, had fifty four Marathon-class cruisers, sixty eight Halcyon-class light cruisers, forty carriers, two hundred and six destroyers, four hundred and forty four frigates of various classes, fifty corvettes, and multiple support vessels. While they were assembled, all ships were ordered to send their ground forces planetside.
"All ships, if you did not receive the message from Admiral Hood, the Elites have switched sides or something... change your scanners to mark the Elite ships as friendly," Admiral Harper said.
"How do we know who's who?" a UNSC frigate captain asked.
"They have their own separate transponder, different from the Covenant. Look for unknowns, and then mark them as friendly," Harper explained.
"Got it, sir," the captain replied.
The carriers in the fleet launched any remaining fighters to cover the ground troops deploying to the surface. The Covenant fleet started disappearing into Slipspace one by one. The Elite ships did not pursue, and instead fanned out, attacking any remaining Covenant ships. Word quickly reached the fleet that a massive energy shield had been formed over the ruins of New Mombasa, which had been glassed extensively. Not even orbital rounds were able to break the shield. Inside it were multiple Covenant ships. What they doing there, nobody had an idea. For now, the UNSC would let them stay, but there would be at least twenty orbital guns trained on the location, ready to fire at a moments notice. But the pressing matter was the Elites.
...
1230 Hours, November 5th, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ UNSC Phoenix/ Over Earth, Sol System
Fleet Admiral Terrance Hood, Fleet Admiral Steven Harper, Major General Nicolas Strauss, and Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb sat at the large metal table, awaiting the arrival of their guests. Two squads of marines stood guard in the large room, armed with MA5C assault rifles with armor piercing bullets. The old colony ship turned warship Phoenix was designated as the ship for meeting, and as such, it was heavily guarded. The Elites' fleet had assembled around the Moon, and two Phantom dropships were en route to the Phoenix. A flight of Longsword fighters escorted them in. Vice Admiral Cole was still at Reach, assisting with the rebuilding of the planet's defenses. The UNSC fleet had taken defensive patterns, weapons charged.
Heavy footsteps came down the hallway, and the doors to the war room hissed open, and the figures of five Elites appeared. Two armed marines led them in, and then took guard by the door. The Elite in the middle paused, and surveyed the room. One of them had armor that was very different from the other ones, and he stood to the left of the tallest one, who was at least eleven feet tall. The one on the tall ones right wore bright white armor, and was missing a mandible. The two behind the trio appeared to be regular infantry.
The one in the middle approached slowly, and stood in front of the table, staring at the humans. His companions joined him, while the two infantry stood in front of the closed door.
"Greetings," the middle one said.
"Before this begins, could we start with names?" Lord Hood spoke.
"I am Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree. To my left, is the former Supreme Commander now Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee. On my right, Ship Master Rtas 'Vadumee," the middle one replied.
"You are Admiral Whitcomb," Thel said, looking straight at Whitcomb.
"You... you lead the attack on Reach!" Whitcomb replied, pointing at Thel.
Thel nodded, and said, "And many other worlds."
"I am Fleet Admiral Hood," Lord Hood said.
"Major General Strauss," the Army general said.
"Fleet Admiral Harper," the other Navy officer said.
Xytan looked at them, and his gaze fell on Lord Hood, waiting for him to say something.
"Please, take a seat," Lord Hood said, his hand motioning at the three seats on the opposite side of the table.
"Very well," Xytan replied, pulling back one of the chairs, and slowly sitting down into it. Rtas and Thel followed suit. Thel looked at the guards in the room, examining their armament and discipline.
"Should these... negotiations... not go so well, these guards would be quite pointless," Thel spoke.
"Why would you say that?" asked General Strauss.
"Well, just one salvo from our fleet, and this ship goes down," Thel explained.
"And then the combined might of our orbital guns and ships destroys your entire fleet and then moves on to all of your colonies!" Admiral Whitcomb growled.
"Then may it not come to that. If this does not go as planned, we shall take our leave, and you may live in peace," Xytan said.
"Back to what we are here for. Why do you want to be friends with us, all of a sudden?" asked Lord Hood.
Xytan looked at Thel, and nodded. Thel leaned forward, and said, "We discovered another Halo ring. Before our arrival, one of your Demons, the Master Chief, was able to assassinate one of our leaders. As a result, our race was taken from our status in the Covenant and thrown to the dogs. The Hierarchs ascended the Brutes to our status, and handed them control of the fleets. Coinciding with this, they began the slaughter of our people, killing our councilors and Ship Masters. At the same time, they went to activate the Halo ring, where I and my brethren discovered the true purpose of Halo... we stopped the activation and are now at war with the Loyalist Covenant."
"The Prophets have betrayed us, and we wish to exact our revenge," Rtas said.
"So, you glass our worlds, slaughter billions, and now think that we want to be allies?" asked Admiral Harper, angrily.
"If I'm not mistaken, you destroyed many of our worlds, too. Since the beginning of the war, your kind have shown your tenacity, your will to fight, even when you have no hope. That is something that our people respect. Many of us... including myself, tried to convince the Prophets into offering your people a place in the Covenant. It was to no avail," Xytan said.
"Why did you attack us in the first place, then?" asked Hood. "We offered peace."
"The Prophets told us that your kind had destroyed holy artifacts on the planet Harvest, and that you must be erased," Rtas replied.
"And you followed blindly?" quipped General Strauss.
The Sangheili looked at the ground, and then Xytan said, "It brings great dishonor to all of us to now know that we were fooled."
"Our people have been strained from our leaders for some time. As the Brutes gained more power, our distrust for the Prophets grew. When they were given their own fleet, that's when we began to challenge the Hierarch's decisions openly," Thel explained.
"Had things been led by the Sangheili, the war would have been over years ago," Rtas said.
"In what way?" asked Lord Hood, unsure about the context.
"We would have eradicated your kind with the full might of the fleets," Rtas said confidently.
"That's not a great thing to say during negotiations," Admiral Whitcomb replied, crossing his arms.
"Why come to us? Our people hate yours," General Strauss asked.
"You are honorable fighters. We respect you humans. Honor, courage, commitment, that is one of your motto's?" the Imperial Admiral asked.
"Indeed it is," Hood said.
"Yes, it is one of ours too. When we were betrayed, we realized that we were without many allies, outside of some of the Covenant that left with us. Humanity was our best candidate," Xytan explained.
"And you just expect us to accept you with open arms?!" Lord Hood yelled.
"Absolutely not. If you wish, we can resume hostilities right now!" the Imperial Admiral yelled back.
The humans fell silent. The marine guard gripped their weapons tightly, waiting for the Elites to make a move. Across the fleet, word came down that battle may break out, and to be ready to engage.
"No. We don't want that," Hood said quietly, slouching back into his chair.
"Neither do we, human. We wish to help you. We defend each other. We fight as one. We die as one," Thel began. "And if this is to be our species' end, we shall make it such an end that we shall go on in the spirit of song and story!"
Xytan noticed a small smile creeping across General Stauss' mouth. "I approve the alliance," the army general said.
Rtas' mouth opened in shock.
"I second the motion," Fleet Admiral Harper said, semi-reluctantly.
"We shall not betray you. Our word is unbreakable," Xytan said lowly.
Admiral Whitcomb leaned forward and said, "Not everyone will be keen to this, you realize?"
"It will take time," Thel said.
Whitcomb nodded slowly, and said, "I don't like this one bit, but we need any help we can get. Agreed."
Lord Hood looked at the table, and then held out his right hand, "So say we all."
Xytan looked at the small hand, and then took it with his own, giving a small shake. "So say we all."
"So say we all!" everyone in the room chanted.
