1214 Hours, November 17th, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ UNSC Achilles/ Fleet Rally Point / Vela System
Admiral Graham stood in the main hangar bay of his ship, overlooking the deck crew fuel up and arm the Longsword fighters. Squads of marines were lined up, waiting to board their dropships. All five hundred marines aboard the Achilles were either in hangar bays waiting to get on Pelicans, or in the armory, suiting up. The fleet hadn't yet jumped, but it would in a few minutes. Jon looked over the marines; most were young, but were experienced after the crucible that was Reach. In this campaign, he would finally fight alongside his brother, Commander Trevor Graham of the super-heavy cruiser UNSC Colossus. Trevor was five years older than Jon, and, in Jon's opinion, a much better officer. Trevor had never been in a losing battle, and had single handedly held off not one, but two Covenant assaults in the Colossus. He had been made the acting commander of the Second Fleet, while Rear Admiral Cain was overseeing defenses to many of the Outer Colonies.
"All hands, prepare for jump," Ensign DeSemple's voice called over the comm.
The Shadow of Intent and UNSC Invincible disappeared into Slipspace, and then the rest of the eight hundred ship-strong fleet began the jump. Many of the marines began bouncing in place, getting pumped. The commander of all ground forces aboard the Achilles, Major Albert Rodia, approached Rear Admiral Graham, and saluted. "All units are ready and accounted for, sir."
"Good," Jon said, stepping past the Major, towards the marines.
"Marines! Today... today is November 17th. Today is the day that we strike back against the Covenant. I'm not one for speeches, but, let's go. We've been at war for damn near twenty five years. Many of you are as old or even younger as the war. But this campaign... we fight back. We are going in. With the Elites at our side, but mostly because of the UNSC Marine Corps, there is no way we can lose. Good luck, men," Jon yelled to the marines, who were all at attention.
"You have your orders, get to the Pelicans!" Major Rodia ordered. The marines yelled, "Oorah!" And then they rushed into the dropships, clamping their rifles into the weapons clamps. Jon nodded the Major off, and then left the hangar, going to the bridge. When the doors hissed open, he saw his bridge crew hard at work, prepping the ship for battle. Jon walked over to Lieutenant Covington, and put his hand on his shoulder.
"You ready, man?" he asked.
"More ready than ever. It's payback time," William replied, looking back over his shoulder and smiling.
"Good. Good," Jon said, turning around and walking over to Ensign Davidson.
"Ma'am," the Rear Admiral said, standing behind the young woman.
She spun around in her chair, and rose an eyebrow, "How ya doin', Cap... err.. Admiral?"
"Fine, fine. I hope everything is in order," Jon said.
"Yeah, I've got everything set up. Scanners are ready. Everything is golden," she said.
"What's the fleet looking like?" asked the Admiral.
Ensign Davidson spun around in her chair, and said, "We're packing a pretty heavy punch, honestly. For our ships, we've got twelve dreadnoughts and about one hundred and fifty cruisers. The Elites are bringing along around thirty carriers and a lotta cruisers. We're not losing this one. Eight hundred ships. And this is for the first assault."
"We'll make it through all of them, Karen. I don't want you to have any doubts," Jon said. She nodded, and then Jon went off to Lieutenant Cortez.
"Sir, all ships have reported in. We are to deploy all ground troops when we breach the planet's orbit," the officer said, pulling his headphones off and around his neck.
"The marines are ready. How are you holding up, Dan?" Jon asked.
"Fine, I guess. I want revenge for Earth. Bastards took my family in Buenos Aires," Cortez replied.
"We'll get your revenge. Just focus, Dan. Focus," Jon said.
"You got it, sir," Lieutenant Cortez said, putting his headphones back on.
Jon slowly walked over to Ensign DeSemple, the youngest of the bunch. The young officer ran his hands over his face, and sniffled. He pulled out a can of soda from his pocket, and cracked it open. He took a sip, and set it down in a cup holder. The Ensign wheeled around, and asked, "What's up, Admiral Graham?"
"You got your wish. What was that you said before Reach? No action?" Jon teased.
"Yeah, yeah. And since then, there hasn't been a break from it!" Max exclaimed.
"Well, after this, we'll get some leave. You know, hang out on Reach, have a few drinks," Jon said, crossing his arms.
"Of course, of course. I'll try not to freak out this time, okay?" Max said.
"Just follow your orders, and we'll all make it through alive. Got it?" Jon asked.
Max nodded, and said, "Aye aye."
Jon smiled, and sat down in his command chair, looking out into the blackness of Slipspace. He ran a few things through his head, and then Ensign Davidson yelled, "Exiting Slipspace in thrity seconds!"
"First ships in report heavy resistance!" Cortez yelled.
"Everybody ready?!" Jon bellowed.
"Yes, sir!" came the reply from all on the bridge.
...
The Achilles slowed for a second, and then emerged from Slipspace around two million kilometers out from a large brown planet. Directly ahead of the destroyer was a large Covenant fleet, numbering in the dozens. The UNSC Invincible fired broadsides with its secondary armament, tearing into the shields of a Covenant assault carrier. The Elite flagship, Shadow of Intent, weaved between the battle, launching Seraph fighters into space. Two Marathon-class cruisers, the Sapphire and Northampton, jumped in directly in front of the Achilles, and fired a spread of missiles mixed with MAC rounds. Dozens of Paris and Stalwart class frigates jumped in and joined the battle, launching their fighter wings. The UNSC carriers in the fleet held back when they jumped in, protecting themselves with a wall of flak fire, and launched all of their air wings. The Achilles smashed through a Covenant frigate, and fired its main gun at a battlecruiser, dropping the shields. The dreadnought Vanguard then finished off the doomed Covenant ship with a duo of regular MAC slugs. The Achilles then absorbed ten plasma torpedoes, shaking the ship violently. The destroyer then blew up a trio of strafing Loyalist fighters with its point defense guns, following up with a salvo of Archer missiles on a Covenant destroyer that was passing by. Two Halcyon-class light cruisers, the Neptune and Ananke, undercut a Covenant carrier and fired waves of missiles at its underbelly. Four destroyers flew in a V formation, unloading MAC rounds into the bow of the carrier, tearing down the shields.
Of the two fleets, the Covenant were definitely on the defensive. Every few seconds or so, a Covenant ship would explode, sucking its crew into the vacuum of space. The human and Elite fleets were demolishing the Covenant, and were quickly closing on the planet. The Achilles had suffered minor engine damage, and was on the flank of the UNSC Colossus, Jon's brother's ship. The two ships picked off a Covenant frigate from afar, and were then joined by a trio of Elite battlecruisers. The UNSC carriers spun up their engines, and then turned onto a course for the planets orbit. The smoldering wreckage of the Covenant fleet was quickly forgotten by their enemies as the human and Separatist fleet took position over the planet. Hundreds of drop pods shot down from the fleet, carrying Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and Sangheili warriors to the surface of the old human colony. Following the shock troops were hundreds of Pelicans and Phantoms, bringing thousands of ground forces down. The ODSTs quickly formed perimeters in the burned out cities, engaging Covenant ground troops. The Sangheili dueled their former subordinate Brutes, a great clash of energy sword and gravity hammers breaking out.
"Achilles Actual, this is Commander Graham. I'd like to know who your commander is and what you've done with Jon Graham!" the comm barked, a joyful voice filling the speakers.
"This is Achilles Actual, would you kindly take the nearest stick and pull it out your ass!" Jon yelled back, a smile coming across his face.
"It's already there!" the commander laughed, "How the hell are you, little brother?!"
"That's Admiral to you, bro," Jon said as the Achilles and Colossus flew over the planet, followed by an Elite destroyer and two Paris-class frigates. The ships then sent dropships down to the surface.
"Uh-huh. I still have more respect in the fleet than you," Trevor quipped.
"Wanna say that to my face?" Jon joked.
"I would, but I've got a battle to win, Admiral," Trevor chuckled.
Two Covenant battlecruisers closed in on the small battlgroup, launching plasma torpedoes. The Colossus rolled to starboard, and with its engines at full power, swung in a hook and aimed its main guns at the battlecruiser lagging behind. The super-heavy cruiser fired, and the cruiser shook off the hits. The Covenant cruiser then banked, and went on a course for the Colossus. The Elite destroyer intercepted the cruiser with Seraphs, and soared directly between the two capital warships, unloading torpedoes and lasers onto the battlecruiser. The Achilles and two UNSC frigates fired their MAC guns simultaneously, impacting on the Covenant warship. One of the rounds missed, however. A flurry of missiles followed, dropping the shields. "Fire the gun!" Jon Achilles shook, and the slugs ripped apart the battlecruiser. The UNSC ships then turned all weapons on the last Covenant ship, which was bearing on the Colossus. The super-heavy cruiser then began picking up speed, on a collision course for the enermy vessel.
"Admiral, the Colossus is on a collision course with that Covenant cruiser," Ensign Davidson said.
"What are you doing, Trevor?" Jon whispered under his breath. "Put up a wall of fire between them and the enemy. Cover their approach," he yelled.
The Colossus fired two of its Onager cannons on its approach, hitting the shields. Lasers embedded burns into the Titanium-A armor on the super-heavy cruiser. Fighters flew sorties over the Covenant cruiser, dropping bombs onto the surface. The Elite destroyer finally dropped the shields on the Covenant battlecruiser seconds before the Colossus would hit it. Just then, the Colossus veered upwards sharply, avoiding the collision. Moments later, six nuclear missiles left the Colossus, en route to their target. The allied ships then got to a safe distance as the missiles detonated, disintegrating the ship.
"Excellent tactic, human," the Elite Shipmaster said over the comm to Trevor.
"Thanks, friend. Hey Jon, we don't have any more company, right?" Trevor asked.
Jon looked at Ensign Davidson, who said, "Commander Graham, all enemy ships are currently engaging the main fleet over the old continent of Ionesh."
"Thank you, ma'am. Looks like we're capturing the planet pretty fast, according to all reports," Trevor replied.
"Yeah, he's right. All Covenant defenses are rapidly falling, and we've even found bands of survivors from the attack," Davidson said.
"Survivors? Wasn't Hellas attacked in 2534?" Trevor asked.
"Yes, sir. The survivors were found in a bunker under one of the cities," Karen replied.
"Well, that's good. Right, I'm gonna get off the comm. I'll see you soon, Jonny boy," Trevor said.
The line with the Colossus was cut, and the super-heavy cruiser broke formation. The Achilles and the two frigates rumbled ahead, in orbit of the old colony. Scraps of metal floated about in space, much of it ancient remains from the battle that shortly raged many years ago. Only twelve ships had defended the planet from a massive Covenant assault. Of course, the planet fell. Hellas was a resort planet that ran along the thin line of colonies between the Inner and Outer Colonies, and the UNSC never thought about defending it that much. Only about five thousand soldiers, mostly militia, defended the planet. Since it fell, the Covenant began using it as a rally point for assaults into the Inner Colonies, with multiple refueling stations.
The battle over Ionesh was a rout for the Covenant. MAC rounds ripped apart the light cruisers in the defense fleet. Separatist vessels outmatched their Loyalist counterparts, melting away their ships with plasma torpedoes. The UNSC carriers turned their guns onto the main battle while maintaining their distance. The Shadow of Intent hung over a Brute CAS-class assault carrier, dropping torpedoes onto it. Sangheili Rangers left the Shadow of Intent, going to board the Brute carrier. Hundreds of these Rangers left the carrier. They boarded through the opening in the main landing bay, quickly taking it over.
Planet-side, the Covenant defensive positions quickly fell under constant attacks by the human marines and Sangheili warriors. Omega Platoon was dropped in the center of a large city, rapidly securing around half of the city was assistance from two battalions of marines. Scorpion tanks and green Wraith mortar's rolled along the old streets, engaging the dark purple Wraiths of the Covenant platoons of ODST's secured an old listening post on the planet, used earlier in the war for receiving distress calls from the Outer Colonies.
Staff Sergeant Scott Williams slammed himself against a slab of concrete, panting heavily. He wiped dust from his visor, and closed his eyes briefly. Covenant resistance had stiffened, and the battalions of marines assisting Omega with the city were taking casualties. The ODST looked up, and saw two Gladius fighters swoop down, being pursued by a cluster of Banshees. Scott jumped up, and started firing over the debris, dropping a Grunt and ricocheting off of a Jackal's energy shield. The Jackal screeched and began backing away, and then a golden armored Brute captain took its place, wielding dual Spikers.
"Shit!" the ODST yelled, ducking back down as the ape started shooting at him. Private Nichols was next to him, staring at the sky. Above, storm clouds were rolling in, and lightning began to strike the ground, followed by the boom of thunder. Rain started to hit the ground. The younger ODST looked at his superior, and then Scott said, "One of the big gold fuckers."
"Their armors like impenetrable!" the private exclaimed.
"Not if we take him together. Right, on my mark, I'm gonna distract him, and I want you to roll a frag over by him," Scott said as the spikes whizzed over him.
"Couldn't McNamara and Harmon take him out?!" shouted Nichols. Scott looked around, and noticed the two snipers of Omega Platoon engaged in a duel with many Jackal sharpshooters.
"Unh-uh. We're it," Scott said, checking his weapon.
Nichols pulled out a grenade, and primed it. Scott looked at the trooper, and nodded, getting on his feet when the fire stopped. The Staff Sergeant started shooting at the Brute Captain, who returned with a spray from its Spikers. Nichols then poked his head out, and rolled the frag grenade towards the Brute. Previous variants of the hand grenade had enough explosive power to kill Grunts and drop the shields of an Elite, but grenades were meant to kill. Therefore, newer grenades had a higher explosive yield, and could kill a fully shielded Elite or an armored Brute. Scott popped down, and heard the grenade go off. He and Nichols fist bumped, and then got up to see a very pissed off Brute climbing over the debris. Nichols drew his sidearm, but the creature smacked away the young private with a swipe of its arm. It then rose its Spikers towards Scott, who was struggling to reload.
"Foolish human," the Brute said, snarling.
As its finger started the trigger, a large Elite appeared from thin air, turning an energy sword on into the Brutes abdomen. It withdrew the sword, and kicked over the body of the ape. The Elite looked at Scott and nodded. It was the Arbiter. Dozens of other Elites then deactivated active camouflage and rushed into battle. Private Nichols limped over, clutching his side. A Spartan rushed past, firing a battle rifle. The Arbiter then rushed into battle.
"Damn, he got me good," Nichols remarked.
Scott laughed, and then said, "If you're old enough to walk, you're old enough to walk it off."
Just then, Corporal Jones and Private Roosevelt rushed over, almost being ran over by a Warthog. "You alright, Nichols?" asked the Corporal. Nichols nodded, and said, "Yeah, I'm fine."
The sky was filled with Gladius fighters and Banshee's dogfighting, and it appeared as though the Covenant was gaining the upper hand. Gladius fighters were relatively new fighters, designed for in atmosphere fighting, and were armed like an A-10 Thunderbolt II of centuries past. The battle on the ground was much in the allied favor. Omega Platoon and the marines were capturing more Covenant positions with the help of the Elites. However, the air battle was quite discouraging.
Scott and the three other troopers braced against a wall as plasma bolts soared past them and into a wall. Marines ran across the open street, hoping to find a flanking route. Suddenly, a crack of thunder went off, louder than any other, and Eddie's eyes went skyward.
Appearing through the clouds was a UNSC dreadnought, followed by two Charon-class frigates. They hung in the clouds, unleashing a hellstorm of flak fire onto the Covenant fighters. They also launched all available fighters, who quickly assisted their Gladius brethren. Thousands more ground troops hit the surface of Hellas, joining the ground battle. Many Covenant began evacuating using smaller ships that were on the surface, going into space and jumping away.
Within three days, Hellas was under Allied control.
