1830 Hours, November 21st, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ UNSC Invincible/ In Slipspace / En Route to Sol System
Vice Admiral Whitcomb wandered around the cavernous bridge of the UNSC Invincible, surveying his crew at their stations. Officers brushed past him, carrying datapads with information on them. The Admiral stopped every few seconds and looked at his crew's computers before continuing. He then walked down the few steps to the center of the bridge, to the command table. Communications through the speakers were fleet wide, and the Admiral could hear everything being said. Around one hundred ships from other fleets had jumped into Hellas, reinforcing around four hundred ships from the first attack. Word had reached the fleet of the vote in the Senate, that nearly made the humans and Elites enemies again. Clearly, the vote showed that humanity was still very hostile to the Elites.
"Invincible Actual, this is the dreadnought Indestructible, we're experiencing problems with our main gun. When we arrive at Sol, we're going to dock at Guardian Fleet Shipyards over Mars."
"Negative, Indestructible. We need all ships ready. The fleet repair ship will be able to handle what's going on," Admiral Whitcomb said.
The fleet began exiting out of Slipspace over Earth's moon one by one. The UNSC Knossos flew past the main UNSC fleet, and then turned towards Luna, joined by a small group of frigates and destroyers. Longsword fighters weaved between the arriving ships, rolling among them. Earth was no longer a lush blue and green world. It was a disgusting shade of brown, with only few areas being lit by electricity. Debris from the fall still remained, mostly that of the orbital platforms. The portal over Voi could be seen from space; a massive dome shaped storm had formed over it, and in the center, the dark purple sphere could be viewed. The Invincible had laser burns all across the hull, and the hull groaned as it approached Earth.
"Invincible Actual, please redirect yourself to coordinates Alpha Tango Zulu 336," a comm line from the Knossos said.
"Roger that, Knossos," one of the officers on the dreadnought replied.
The fleet took positions over Earth, and the Invincible held position separate from the fleet, waiting for Fleet Admiral Harper's Pelican. Whitcomb waited in the War Room of the dreadnought, reading a biography of Thel 'Vadam by ONI. The doors slid open, and in stepped Harper, who snapped to attention at his superior. Whitcomb said, "Oh stop it, you're higher ranked then me." Harper laughed and stood across the war table from Whitcomb.
"Now we just have to wait on the Arbi-" Whitcomb began, as the doors opened again and two Elites filled the doorway.
"Greetings, humans," Rtas 'Vadum said, ahead of the Arbiter.
"Good day," Thel said, following his friend into the room.
The two Elites stood at one of the sides of the circle, in between Harper and Whitcomb. Rtas looked at the two humans, and then said, "So, Fleet Admiral Harper, what has happened?"
Admiral Harper looked at the Elites, and then explained what had happened. When he got to the Flood outbreak, both Thel and Rtas sighed.
"So the parasite has arrived here?" Rtas said quietly.
"It was, before the Imperial Admiral glassed the area," Harper said.
Thel's eyes widened, and he asked, "The Imperial Admiral is here?"
Steven nodded, and said, "He is at the Portal, gathering his fleet."
"He made a good decision. One single Flood spore can wipe out a species. Were it up to me, I would have glassed your entire planet," Rtas said.
"Buddy, Earth is still home. People survived. I wouldn't let that happen," Whitcomb spoke up.
"But the Flood are wiped out?" Thel asked. Harper nodded, and then the Arbiter sighed, "Then at least that is good."
"And Truth has fled through the Portal with few ships? It sounds like a trap," Whitcomb said.
"Indeed. The High Prophets never go anywhere without a sizable fleet on standby," Thel nodded.
"If we are to go through this Portal, it would have to be with limited numbers. Do we know the quality of vessels Truth took with him?" Rtas asked.
Harper opened up something on his data pad, and said, "ONI Recon reports around eight assault carriers, ten armored cruisers, and thirteen battlecruisers."
Thel placed his hands on the table, and said, "A large fleet will be following soon. Hundreds of ships. But they will only come when Truth's fleet with him is attacked. When this happens, we will need every ship on the line ready."
Rtas nodded in agreement and crossed his arms, "Every one of your dreadnoughts here. All cruisers, carriers, destroyers. What I believe is a sound option is that you use all of your dreadnoughts and a low number of carriers in a swift and deadly assault on Truth's fleet. After it is decimated, a ground attack will commence on wherever Truth is; this... Ark."
"And what will happen when the heavy ships are gone? When this fleet arrives?" asked Harper.
Thel held up a finger, and looked at Rtas, "I see where you are going with this, brother. Allow me to improve on it." Rtas nodded, and then Thel continued, "Instead of using your dreadnoughts, I can lead a fleet of around fifteen ships through the Portal. The Brutes won't stand a chance, with Rtas and I at the helm. Afterwards, when the fleet arrives, you can defend with the full strength of your dreadnoughts and the Sublime Transcendence, while deploying ground troops onto the Ark, whatever it is.
"Fifteen ships? They'd outnumber you two to one," Whitcomb said, surprised.
"You seem to forget that this fleet is controlled by Brutes," Rtas quipped.
"The same Brutes that nuked this planet and killed everyone on it," Harper said.
"We can do it. With the skill of our warriors, there is no conceivable way we can lose," Thel said.
...
"All batteries, focus fire on the target," Rtas said, watching the battle unfold through the screens. His battlegroup had caught Truth's fleet on a wide approach, and opened fire when in range. The Sangheili ships absorbed the hits, and returned fire from their ships. Dozens of Seraphs and Space Banshee's closed in on the battlegroup, breaking their formations and strafing the fleet. The Shadow of Intent dropped the UNSC frigates Forward Unto Dawn, In Amber Clad, and Aegis Fate from its large hangar, as the Elite ships were more precise with their Slipspace drives. The frigates engaged the Covenant in high orbit of the Ark, and dropped veteran soldiers to the surface. Minutes later, when the detachment of the Fleet of Retribution had gained the upper hand, dozens of Cleopatra-class land assault ships jumped in, carrying thousands of UNSC marines, most of them fresh from boot camp on Reach.
...
Fred-104's head rushed as the thrill of entering atmosphere kicked in. The dropship shook violently, throwing loose items around the cabin. The Spartan supersoldiers were silent, holding onto their weapons. John sat nearest to the back ramp, staring at the metal doors. Anton was facing the deck, his hands wrapped around his rifle. Fred quickly looked around the cabin towards the cockpit as the Pelican broke through the stratosphere. The dropship then stabilized and started descending. The doors then opened, and revealed a massive desert stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Touchdown in fifteen!" the pilot yelled.
"Get ready, Spartans," John said.
The following Pelican peeled off and landed on a cliff face, unloading ten marines. Blue Team's Pelican did the same twenty meters away, and then John leaped out onto the cliff, followed by Kelly and Joshua. Anton and Fred jumped out, taking positions on the flanks. Linda and James stepped down, readying their weapons. Another Pelican soared over, and flew over a rock face, disappearing. Isaac and Will were the last out, and then the Pelican lifted off. The Spartans moved forward, linking up with the squad of marines. They advanced through two Covenant camps, killing two Hunters and scores of Brutes. They then moved through a Forerunner tunnel, and exiting in a valley. As they exited, a Longsword fighter was shot down, spinning out of control.
...
Admiral Whitcomb stared up at the scanners, waiting for contact. The bridge was silent, and all eyes were on the screens. Whitcomb stopped, and waited. Seconds later, the scanner beeped, and then the operations officer shouted, "Contacts slipping in, around two hundred, rising fast!" The bridge crew immediately went to work after, and the Invincible began rumbling forward.
"Bring us in slowly, have the fleet follow us in," Admiral Whitcomb said.
The dreadnought led the fleet forward, prepared to fire at a moments notice. Four dreadnoughts, the Indestructible, Indomitable, Vanguard, and Washington followed closely, launching Longswords. The carriers in the fleet were in the center, unleashing waves of fighters. The Elite ships were separate from the main force, going to flank the Covenant. Minutes later, the Invincible fired a quick trio of MAC rounds, destroying an assault carrier. The three other dreadnoughts followed suit, unleashing a storm of fire. Multiple Loyalist ships exploded, catching squadrons of fighters in their fireballs. All human ships fired afterwards, destroying many Covenant vessels. Of course, the volley was answered by a flurry of torpedoes and lasers from the Covenant fleet. It seemed as though every time a Loyalist ship was destroyed, five more would jump in to replace it. Suddenly, a distress call from the Vanguard rang in. Admiral Whitcomb looked up at the main screen to see a view of the Vanguard. The ship was dead in the water, floating through space. Then, multiple explosions began ripping the dreadnought apart from the inside. Vanguard then erupted into one gigantic fireball, the shock wave throwing several smaller Covenant ships off their course.
"Vanguard is gone! What the hell happened?!" one of the officers cried. Sitting in the middle of the main Covenant fleet was a ship larger than a supercarrier. It was clearly not a docking station, as it had the same general form of a Covenant ship yet ten times the firepower. It fired multiple waves of projectiles, and destroyed a cluster of UNSC ships.
"All heavy units, target that unknown vessel with everything you've got," Admiral Harper, aboard the Knossos, said.
The unknown fired again, and suddenly the Indomitable exploded, taking a small group of frigates and destroyers with it.
"That's the second dreadnought in mere moments..," Admiral Whitcomb whispered under his breath.
"Contacts! They're... dear god... they're right on top of us sir!" an officer cried.
Hundreds of Covenant ships appeared between, above, below, and every other direction of the Elite and human fleet. The humans were in disarray, and two Separatist assault carriers were destroyed. Many human cruisers were destroyed, while the remaining human ships scrambled for a good angle.
"God damn it, what the hell is happening?!" Whitcomb roared.
"All units, this is Knossos Actual. Retreat to Reach. I repeat, abandon the operation. We have taken heavy casualties. Dreadnoughts and other heavy units, get out first while the lighters cover you. Out," Admiral Harper said over an open line, sadness in his tone.
The UNSC fleet began jumping away one by one, followed by the Elites. Many refused the order, and stayed fighting, only to be destroyed.
"Sir, the men on the Ark are all alone now," an officer said to the Admiral.
"I know, son. I know."
