Welcome back to another chapter! Sorry for the long wait, been busy with so much lately, but I have a lot of chapters in various stages of completion, so there will be alot of chapters being released over the next few weeks and months. Also, for those wondering, I'm getting some work done on Doom-Dead Space finally, as I know that's probably my most popular story on FF, so look forward to a new chapter in the immediate future.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!


!WARNING!

This story contains content not suited for younger readers, such as Violence, Blood and Gore, Language, and Explicit Sexual Content. This Chapter's Rating will be placed at T-Rated. Future Chapters may, and most likely, will switch back and forth between the T and M ratings.

Regardless, Reader Discretion for this Chapter is advised.


I don't own Halo or Naruto.

Bold-My Own Words

Bold & Italic-Locations, Time & Calendar

Normal-Narrative

"Normal"-Person Speaking

'Normal'-Thoughts

"Italic"-Foreign Language

'Italic'-Radio Chatter

/Italic\-AI/Computer typing


- If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

Sun Tzu

- There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not be attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.

Sun Tzu


Prologue Arc-Episode 10
-Regroup, Replan, and Retaliate-
(Part 10)


1641 PM
October 17, 2543
Sea Island
8 miles from Qushan
UNSC FOB Charlie
Command Tent
Colonel Gale Conway

The rains were pouring down now, pelting the soft earth and turning everything across the island into a muddy sludge as the tropical storm came closer. Traffic across the entire island would be brought to a standstill, as the roads, mostly made of gravel and dirt, would be untravellable in such conditions. In the distance, thunder bellowed out as the tropical storm loomed over the island.

Not that Colonel Gale Conway was paying attention to any of the oncoming storm. As far as he was concerned, the storm had already struck them.

1,507. That's how many were dead as of 1600 hours local time. 1,507 dead and 619 wounded was, when compared to battles against the Covenant, rather insignificant. But things were different here; the fact that they had limited forces at their disposal to begin with complicated things severely. 20,000 soldiers in Expeditionary Brigade Osada, 4,400 of which were garrisoning the various major towns and cities that had been captured by EB-O, while another 600 were moping up resistance in towns that had been encircled. Following the disaster here earlier this morning, encirclement was no longer being allowed. All hostiles were to be eliminated with extreme prejudice, per General Osada's direct order. Eventually, that would free up a few more companies for other duties, but that still only left him two Guard companies.

So 15,000 soldiers available for combat operations on Sea Island, and 9,200 of those were already deployed to Qushan. The only major combat unit within EB-O that 'could' be brought in was the Marine Regiment, the 84th Regiment, that was deployed on the southern end of the island. But they too had reported coming under significant attack by both pirates, a couple thousand, and a small detachment of Shinobi, a couple of squads' worth, but still enough to raise all kinds of hell amongst the Marines, at a town called Sakishima. So until the situation down there was brought under control and Sakishima was firmly in UNSC hands, those 3,000 marines were going nowhere.

That left... what? A couple of Colonial Guards battalions patrolling the island's countryside that could be called in, neither of which had any heavy weapons or equipment save for a few dozen warthogs and bisons in each?

No. They wouldn't make any difference. What he needed was firepower and flexibility. Bypassing the city wasn't an option, though. Especially with an unknown number of shinobi inside the city. They'd massacre the logistics units following behind, then attack whatever unit is trying to bypass the city. On top of that, they could also use that as an opening to slip shinobi squads behind the UNSC's front line and raise all kinds of hell in the rear areas. Another air assault into the city was out of the question, too, as the enemy would now be on alert for such an assault.

Dammit, the Rangers should have never been inserted into the castles. The noble families had been a desired objective, for better intelligence regarding the elemental nations and its overall political structure/situation, but they had not been a priority target for the overall operation of Sea Island. Maybe he should have used the Rangers as a heavy recon force, bolstered by elements of 33rd Mech, to go in before the main body of TFC, instead. Sure, the Rangers would have suffered some casualties and likely bore the brunt of the now obvious ambush and counterattack by the shinobi, but even a few minutes early warning could have made a difference with hundreds of lives that were now lost.

He sighed. It was always easier to have hindsight than foresight. Nothing he could do about it now.

General Osada, after being informed of what happened, had ordered him to maintain what control of the city the UNSC still held on to, but were not to advance under any circumstances. Artillery and air strikes were to be used sporadically and at random targets to discourage any further large scale attacks by the locals. So far, that had worked for the most part. Aside from the occasional probing attacks by pirates and shinobi to test how strong the UNSC's defenses were, no major attacks had happened.

They had quickly learned the hard way that massing troops was a good way to get attacked by artillery or roaming aircraft. The total number of pirates and shinobi killed wasn't known, but as of 1400 hours, Military Intelligence (Whose COs he was growing increasingly frustrated with.) had estimated that somewhere between 3,500-5,000 pirates were dead or wounded (Including the ones killed in the opening attack), over 800 prisoners, and at least 30 shinobi had been confirmed killed, though some thought the number could be as high as 45 or 50.

30 to 50. Whoopty-fucking-doo. And out of how many enemy shinobi that were inside the city? Mil-Int had no clue, but, they were certain that they had no more than a company-sized element. Hopefully interrogations of the prisoners would help shed some light.

"Sir, the General's bird is touching down on the tarmac. Security teams have been increased around the base perimeter and we are at full alert status, per your orders." A lieutenant reported, snapping him out of his thoughts. Conway nodded and dismissed the officer as he prepared himself for what was likely to be his outright dismissal and relieving from command. He already had a resignation paper ready, already acknowledging his failures and taking full responsibility for this catastrophe, as a good, proper leader should do when they screw up.

A combat team of 13 Army Troopers entered first, led by a Command Sergeant Major (To his surprise), all armed to the teeth and looking for trouble. To his surprise, both General Osada AND Rosenbaum entered the room, followed by three more Officers, Air Force Colonel Muljana and two Lieutenant Colonels he wasn't familiar with. Marines, as a matter of fact. Regardless, he still snapped a salute to the two officers entered the room, but Osada quickly snapped at him, "Save us the fucking pleasantries. Report, Colonel. What. The Fuck. Happened. To. My. Army?"

Caught off guard by the woman infamously known as 'Iron Maiden,' Conway quickly collected himself and managed to stammer out, "Ma'am, to put it simply, we got duped. We underestimated the capabilities of the shinobi and their numbers inside the city. Military Intelligence was way off in their predictions for both numbers and capabilities..." Conway paused for a second, before collecting himself and continuing, "And I was overconfident in our abilities and underestimated theirs. I was certain we would steamroll over them, regardless of whether or not they had shinobi available to them." Pulling out his letter of resignation and offering it, he followed up, "I accept my part in this failure and take full responsibility for the current fiasco."

Arching an eyebrow at the colonel, General Osada took the paper, took one look at it, and without even opening it up, tore the letter into pieces.

Conway blinked in surprised at this, but before he could say anything, Osada barked out, "Spare me the fucking dramatics, Colonel; I'm not sacking you. Even if I had wanted to, we're short on officers as it is, and even shorter on officers with a goddamn brain between their ears." She walked up to him, jabbing a finger in his chest as she continued, "So, no, Gale, you're not getting sacked. At the very least, you're accepting responsibility and tried to salvage the situation. So you get to stay in command of the task force, but I'm personally overseeing this battle from now on. Understood?"

"...Yes, ma'am. I understand. I'll do my best."

"Good. Now, do you have every commander in TFC and the naval ships on call?"

"Yes, ma'am, but there have been sporadic attacks all across the front that have been requiring their attention. The UNSC Kashmir hasn't respond to our hails, either." Conway answered, but Osada waved off these concerns, "Get them in the call immediately. I don't care if they're in the middle of a fight or in the middle of jerking off. I want everyone on station for when we plan our next move."

This ended up dragging several minutes as they waited, which Conway took time to speak to Colonel Muljana and the two Marine Lieutenant Colonels, who were in fact the commanding officers of the two Marine Regiments deployed to the Sea Islands. Lieutenant Colonel Eric Taylor, commanding the 84th Marine Regiment of EB-O, and Siliva Timu, commanding the 109th Marine Regiment from EB-R, over on Hondu Island. These two Marine regiments were but 2 of 4 total Regiments that constituted what was now being called the '4th Marine Division,' one of 5 total that the UNSC forces in the Aquarii Star Cluster had available. But, like most of the military, most of these formations were understrength, as the majority had been evacuated and saved from worlds falling to the Covenant. Eleven regiments were at less than a quarter strength (There was talk that these formations would be absorbed into other regiments to bolster their strength), with another nine at roughly half strength. Overall, there were less than 50,000 Leathernecks in the entire cluster. Recruitment drives had been working around the clock to try and get back any retired or discharged marines back into the uniform to bolster the Corps' numbers, as was the rest of the UNSC Armed Forces. Even the elderly and medically discharged were being accepted, albeit in support and staff positions. So far, the results had been mediocre at best. (The consequence of trying to recruit in largely pro-Innie and Innie-sympathetic populations. Still, mediocre success was better than nothing.)

The 84th and 109th Marine Regiments were the only two regiments that were at full strength in the entire 4th Division, and 2 of only 8 altogether that were considered 'full-strength' within the Marine Corps in the entire Cluster. The only reason the 4th Marines had two full-strength regiments as opposed to one was due to Shensei's unique situation and the operation that had been planned out for the Sea Confederacy.

Conway wasn't too familiar with any of the Marine units or their commanders on Shensei, as they had typically been conducting their own operations and movements independent of the Army. Lieutenant Colonel Taylor, though, looked like the typical Jarhead you'd see advertised on recruitment posters or videos. Tall and burly, even for a Marine, the Lieutenant Colonel looked like he could snap a man in half just by looking at them.

"Heard your boys were put through the ringer, Colonel. Got quite the nasty surprise at this Qushan." Lt-Col. Taylor commented as he shook Conway's hand, "Sorry to hear, sir. Never good when we lose troops, regardless of branch."

Conway nodded, "This whole damn planet is giving us one nasty surprise after another, sir. I can't help but wonder if colonizing this world was a smart decision, sometimes."

Taylor contemplated that remark for a moment, then shrugged, "Doesn't really matter at this point. We're here, and we're not going anywhere. Might as well do what we can and make the most of it. If the locals wanna give us trouble, then we'll do what we do best. Kick ass and take names."

"Yes, well, from the looks of it, we're the ones getting our asses kicked right now. No matter how we try to spin it, Qushan was a disaster." Lt-Col. Timu added, looking at the holo-table showing a real-time map of the problem city, noting each of the unit's locations, "We need to mop up resistance and eliminate any opposition ruthlessly before people start questioning us as to why suddenly 1,300 soldiers have been listed as KIA."

That was another problem that no one within the military discussed. Without the totalitarian control of the media outlet ONI had exerted before, (Which, if Conway had to be honest, had been a godsend at times during the Covenant War.) keeping the media under wraps about what was going on had become extremely difficult at times. Sure, reporters still could be refused entry or even arrested if caught trespassing into military zones/areas without permission, and interviews could still be heavily monitored and regulated; but the media, like a shark smelling blood in the water, had seemed to realized that a lot of the restrictions and control placed on them back in UEG space were being eased up on here by the new governments in charge, which seemed to promote and champion individual rights and liberties more so than the UEG had.

And sooner or later, they were going to find out about the fiasco here, and the public would start demanding answers wondering how 1,300 soldiers had been killed.

"Ma'am, we've got every on call. Save for the Kashmir. Still not answering hails." A warrant officer called out, catching the group's attention as Osada answered, "Figure out what the deal is with that corvette. Let's go ahead and get started." She leaned over the holotable, observing the map of the city as she spoke up, "All commanding officers in Task Force Conway. This is Brigadier General Osada. You all know why I'm here and it's not for a social call, so let's get to the fucking point. We got our asses handed to us, and hard. So hard that our entire offensive and overall plan just got halted altogether. I need a comprehensive report on every unit's operational condition and status so we can figure out what we're going to do next."

It took a few minutes, but eventually they managed to have a list detailing the status of every unit within the Qushan AO. What it showed didn't paint a pretty picture for their unit dispositions, as Conway couldn't help but grimace at the report, even if he already knew the total number of casualties.


The 419th Battalion, one of their most veteran if not the most veteran UNSC Army units available to them in the entire cluster, had lost an entire company and an additional 53 in the opening hours of the battle, 207 confirmed KIA, 7 WIA, and 3 MIA, equating to a total of 217 casualties out of the 908 personnel in the battalion. The battalion had been spearheading one of the assaults towards Alpha-1 and the river, under the belief that their experience and discipline would hasten the speed of the overall operation and shatter their enemy's resolve after seeing how easily they were being swept aside. That overconfidence and underestimating had cost them a quarter of an elite unit, who were now hunkered down and fighting off determined attacks by the pirate forces around an old monastery.

The 33rd Mechanized Regiment had suffered the heaviest casualties of all the units. 2nd Battalion had been reduced to 56% of its original combat strength and had lost over 50% of it's combat vehicles, including many of the precious Mastodons and Oryxes that had been issued to it. Gamma Company was gone to a man, and all 4 of the remaining companies had suffered casualties of some kind or another, leaving the entire 1,000-man (Originally) battalion essentially combat ineffective. 3rd Battalion had faired much better, losing only 20% of its forces and only 30% of its combat vehicles, but it too was forced to fall back with everyone else in the confusion as its supporting infantry pulled back. There were at least a couple dozen troopers unaccounted for and missing, wrecked vehicles scattered all throughout the city, and the 33rd Mech had been forced into a supportive role, using whatever frontline units and personnel still operational to bolster the infantry formations trying to defend the frontline. Thank god 1st Battalion, which was down south on the other side of the mountains with the Marines, was still intact.

The 121st Ranger 'Regiment' had taken a severe beating, too. 'Regiment.' That was a joke to still call it that. It was barely 1,500 survivors from various regiments and battalions that been molded into one oversized battalion, 5 Companies and 1 partial Company, essentially all that was left of the entire 4th Ranger Division following its annihilation at the Fall of Alluvion. Some of the Rangers in the 121st weren't even from the 4th Division, instead the 4th merely comprised the majority of the Ranger survivors that had managed to escape Alluvion. 3 of those full-strength companies had been sent into this campaign and into Qushan. Now, they had lost an entire company of veteran soldiers, and the other two were now besieged in castles that they were only supposed to hold for at worst 12 hours before being relieved. Thankfully, the surviving two companies had only suffered barely a couple dozen injured in their assaults, but that would quickly change if the pirates threw more bodies and shinobi at them. (Which they had twice, now.) Looking back, Conway accepted that they should have never been sent into such a dangerous assignment.

The 3rd Hellas Guards Brigade, in some sort of strange irony considering it was the most inexperienced unit, had suffered the fewest casualties out of all the units that had fought inside Qushan, with barely 9% of it's 5,000 personnel now casualties, wounded and killed. However, being it was the most inexperienced unit in Qushan, and on the whole damn island, once its personnel had seen 33rd's 2nd Battalion being outright devastated, along with a quarter of the legendary 419th being annihilated, panic had set in like wildfire. An entire company had actually gotten cut off and surrounded for 2 hours before 3rd Battalion managed to break through and escort them out. The only thing that had kept their panic retreat from turning into an outright route was the handful of experienced NCOs and Officers in its brigade, which had seen service against both Covenant and Insurrection, quickly regaining control of the situation and carefully pulled their forces back.

The Air Force's losses was probably what had baffled many the most in this clusterfuck of an operation. 7 Falcons, 3 Nightingales, an Albatross, a Skyhawk, and somehow, an F99 Wombat that must of had the absolute worst luck. (Or had been flying too low to the ground by its cocky or careless operator.) That's what the Air Force was listing as having been shot down by the defenders, who had no Anti-Air weaponry whatsoever as far as they knew, which meant that the Shinobi must of shot them down. How they had managed to shoot down a drone fighter-bomber capable of going Mach 1.7, Conway had no fucking clue.

The rest of the units, the two artillery companies and 33rd's two support companies, had been left outside the city and had suffered no casualties. But even with that small blessing, there were still almost 2,000 casualties altogether among the UNSC forces, in exchange for a possible 3-5,000 pirate casualties and 30-50 enemy shinobi casualties.


"So, you're telling me that this operation is barely 15 fucking hours old and the task force had already suffered 20% casualties?" Osada said softly as she looked down the casualty list.

"Yes, ma'am." Colonel Conway answered firmly, "We just weren't prepared or aware of what all the shinobi were capable of, and that cost us badly."

"What's the deal with the Kashmir?" Brigadier General Rosenbaum suddenly asked, gaining everyone's attention.

'Sir, we don't know. We've been trying to hail them for hours now and they've been ignoring every hail.' UNSC Stirling's CO, Commander Evergreen, answered bitterly through comms, 'But I know for a fact that they've been sent at least 50 fire missions from forces groundside. Sent, read, and acknowledged by the ship's computer, and those Innie cocksuckers have ignored every call for-'

"Wait a minute? Innie?"

'Yes, ma'am. Kashmir's a URF ship. 'On loan,' as I was told.'

"Why in the flying FUCK is a URF ship being sent to help us and why is it listed as UNSC?! Don't we have at least a couple dozen warships under our own command in-system?!" Osada thundered furiously, causing several personnel around her to flinch.

'Do you want a detailed answer or the quick and simple one, ma'am?'

Osada glared at the display, but motioned for the Navy Commander to continue, 'Simple answer, General, is that the Navy is the most custer-fucked out of any of the branches out here. We have no official structure of command, save for Vice Admiral Cole and three Rear Admirals that are in charge overall. Not only that, but we have no established logistical chains. Naval Academies and Training Centers? Non-existent. And with how slowly our military buildup is going, it'll be years before we have anything established. Therefore, we have no new officers or crews being trained to replace any personnel or to crew any of the new ships being build at the handful of drydocks that we have, which instead should be building replacement parts and munitions for the ones we already have. And we don't even have that many ships available out here to begin with that are under our direct authority.'

"So sometimes, when we're stretched thin, we have to ask the URF for backup? Is that what you're saying?" Colonel Conway spoke up, making sure he was understanding correctly.

'Correct, Colonel. And let me tell you, right now. Both the Vice-Admiral and that URF chick preach about how we're supposed to be working together now, but a lot of the URF have made it very clear that they have no intention being under our authority and jurisdiction when it comes to military ops.'

"Go figure. Cock-sucking Innies always bitch that we treat them unfairly, then they turn around and pull this bullshit." Lt. Colonel Timu remarked, "And they wonder why we don't trust them."

"And these bastards were probably laughing the whole time while our troops, MY TROOPS, were dying on the ground." Colonel Conway growled out, clenching his fists tightly as the realization that the Innies had probably intentionally ignored pleas for help sunk in.

Both Brigadier Generals were silent, giving one glance to one another before silently staring at the display of the Kashmir, which was currently holding position about 2 miles away from Qushan, at an altitude of 800 meters. Conway swore that if looks could kill, Osada's glare would have disintegrated that corvette.

After a few more moments of silence, Osada finally gave an order, "I want the navy to get one or two of its frigates in the AO immediately. I don't care what class, just a UNSC-owned and UNSC-operated ship. After that, I want a strike team to board that corvette and seize control of it. If the crew resists or even acts like they're going to resist, they are to be eliminated with extreme prejudice. Get that corvette under UNSC control. Am I understood?"

'Yes, ma'am. I could get the UNSC El Dorado and UNSC Harbin here in 5 hours, they're in the middle of a resupply of their munitions, and be ready to move on the corvette by the time she arrives. No way she'll be able to stand up to a could Charon-Classes.'

"Do it, now. Colonel Muljana, you will begin an air campaign against Asanobe. Forget trying to capture it, for now. I want Shao Peng's HQ, palace, whatever the hell they call it identified and sent to hell along with any other military targets in the city. With any luck, we'll nuke the fat bastard and most of his command staff. Cut the head off this snake, then tear the body apart like a rabid fucking dog. I've been informed that the Everest will be arriving back in system soon, and I imagine that both Vice Admiral Cole and Lieutenant General Toussaint aren't going to be too happy to hear about what's transpired. So, I want that little mishap under control ASAP." Osada ordered before turning her attention back to Qushan and the UNSC's disposition inside the city, "Now, then. What exactly can Task Force Conway do, given the current casualties it has sustained?"

"Considering current dispositions and casualties, ma'am, I'm not sure if Task Force Conway is capable of anything more than limited offensive action. We could have the 419th push forward from their position with support from the 33rd to eliminate this bulge in our frontlines and shorten the whole front by about half a klick or so. Aside from that, I'm not sure if we should try any kind of large-scale offensive. Maybe conduct a few localized attacks on specific blocks to keep the pirates on their toes and to give us better positions within the city." Conway replied.

"Ma'am, if I may interrupt? What exactly are you looking for my Marines to do? Both our Regiments are spread out across these two islands and I can't imagine you called us for a social visit." Lt-Col Taylor suddenly spoke up, earning the attention of the two Generals and the other officers.

"Both of your Marine Regiments are being redeployed, ASAP. You're the only major force I can have deployed to Qushan on short notice and I need both firepower and experience sent there to salvage the situation quickly. I don't care what you have to do or what naval assets you have to pull to get it done, but I want both of your regiments in the AO within the next 3 hours."

"Understood. If I can make a suggestion then, Ma'am?"

"You can."

"Don't deploy us over with the Army troopers."

General Osada seemed to pause as she pondered this suggestion, before slowly replying, "And why exactly should I do that?"

Bringing everyone's focus to the holo-table once more, Lt-Col Taylor pointed their attention towards the dispositions of TFC and the suspected dispositions of the enemy combatants inside the city, primarily along the western outskirts of the city where most of the combatants were at.

"As far as we can tell, the majority of the forces the pirates have are facing Task Force Conway in the western half of the city, with maybe a thousand or two keeping each of the Rangers companies pinned down. From what we've seen so far, they couldn't possibly have had too much more than what we have on hand in the city, otherwise I don't think they would have stopped their counterattack when they had us on the ropes. I think that counteroffensive sapped away whatever reserves they had available, and now they've stretched themselves thin trying to keep our forces in check," Drawing attention towards a set of hills to the east of Qushan, overlooking the main road leading to Asanobe, he continued, "The bridges are also still intact, though I doubt that really matters much at this point. So instead of trying to slam into them over and over from one direction, we'll force them to split their forces even thinner by attacking from both sides of Qushan. Aerial Recon is also showing that reinforcements from Asanobe are mobilizing and moving towards Qushan from the MSR*. These hills, the trio of hills right there overlooking the road and Qushan? Those hills would be perfect to use to cut off Qushan from the rest of the pirates while we assault it. Get a few mortars or howitzers up there and rain hell from behind and the front. We know that a small but steady stream of reinforcements are coming in from Asanobe, but the air force can't hit 'em without diverting support from ground forces in Qushan. So you have the Marine Regiments land on these hills overlooking their last MSR from Asanobe, cut it off, then use us and the flyboys in conjunction to annihilate anything coming from Asanobe while we fight our way to the river and to the Rangers trapped inside."

"You want to land 6,400 Marines, on the other side of a city, cut off from any reinforcements and possibly exfil, full of freaks that can defy the laws of physics? And then attack?" Conway asked incredulously. After seeing first hand what these shinobi could do, he was extremely reluctant to divide forces up.

"Military Intel indicated that the Shinks have maybe a company at most of these shinobi, did they not? And even if those wannabe-spooks are off on their intel, which wouldn't surprise me, these fuckers can't be everywhere at once. And if they were all on the same level of skill as this little asshole," The holotable pulled up a profile picture for an unknown individual, a shinobi that was now known to be responsible for the annihilation of 2nd Battalion/33rd Mech and A Company/419th Battalion. The person in question, whose name was unknown, couldn't have been a day over 16, with auburn-colored hair that seemed to defy gravity and pale ruby eyes that gave an almost lifeless expression. He was currently being given the designation 'Vesuvius' by Command, who had given explicit orders to eliminate on site with extreme prejudice. "then I don't think you'd have anything of a Task Force left, Colonel. I think this guy, 'Vesuvius,' is one of their premiere shinobi, probably the best they've got or one of the best. And for every one fucker on the same level of skill as him, there's probably 40 or 50 of them that are mediocre at best. Now that we have a better understanding of our enemy's capabilities, we can now clearly see that attacking like a massive sledgehammer from one direction was a bad move. Wasn't any one person's fault in particular, Colonel, we just didn't know much about the capabilities of shinobi and ended getting schooled the hard way. But that allowed them to concentrate their forces for maximum effect, throwing us off completely and backhanding us back into the outskirts. But! Now that we know all of this, and know better, doing the same thing over again is the absolute worst idea we could do. Instead, we need to weaken the enemy's strength along the front and stretch them to the point that they'll break and shatter when we hit them again. Hence why yes, I do think that splitting our forces and attacking in a pincer is a good idea.

"It could backfire horribly for your men, Colonel. If you even slightly miscalculate, you may end up paying even worse than I did for underestimating them." Conway warned, to which both the Marine Officers merely shrugged nonchalant, "Colonel, we're Marines. We're pretty much the go-to unit for leading the charge in any fight in this day and age. And after 18 years of fighting Covie Bastards and 50-plus years of fighting insurgents, we pretty much expect something to go wrong at some point. It isn't a normal day in the military if something doesn't go wrong. Either way, we'll adapt, overcome, and kick ass. Just as the Corps trained us to do. Ma'am, your thoughts?" Lt-Col Taylor turned their attention back to General Osada, who had been quietly listening to the conversation and the Marine's suggestion.

She was silent as she observed the map, considering her options and the suggestion offered to her. "As of now, I could care less if we take this city or not. If absolutely necessary, I'll order the city razed to the ground. What I'm more focused on is annihilating the enemy's forces and saving as many friendly formations as possible. So if, and this is a big if, I were to agree with your plan and deploy the Marines on the other side of the city, how quickly could they make their way to Echo and Fox Company Rangers?"

"If nothing goes wrong, all our equipment works as we wish, and the enemy plays ball? 12 hours on the dot from deployment from the FOB to landing on the hill. Realistically? Probably closer to 20 or so hours if I'm being optimistic, since we've still got to get Timu's unit shipped over here. But that's still quicker and less costly, in both time and manpower, than trying to slug our way to the river, then across it in the face of such resistance and from one direction. They can throw all their weight at us, making it harder to dislodge them. Plus, with the bridges still intact, the enemy will either have to divert troops to hold off this new attack or they'll panic and start trying to flee the city, which'll make them easy picking for our fly-boys."

Even with the inherent risks involved, it was a good plan. Force the enemy to thin himself out and try to defend his position from multiple directions. With air and hopefully by now numerical superiority, they would hopefully whittle down the pirates' ability to resist through sheer firepower and ability to maneuver. Even with the Shinobi augmenting their firepower, the pirates couldn't possibly hope to hold back an attack from so many directions. Any attempts to make a stand would be thoroughly dealt with by air or artillery assets to keep the momentum going, now that the ROE has been lifted.

In other words, Brigadier General Osada had just declared Qushan a free-fire zone. This meant that if it even looked like something was giving them a nasty look, aircraft or artillery would send it to oblivion from the sheer amount of firepower they would bring, once the respective companies had their munitions resupplied.

"Ma'am, what about the allied shinobi from Moon Country? Were we not supposed to have 30 deployed to the city to assist us?" Conway asked. They were supposed to receive support in the city to help deal with potential enemy shinobi in the form of 30 shinobi from Moon Country's Hidden Moon Village. Most of them had been spread out among the various units throughout the Sea Islands, but right now they really needed some shinobi support of their own to tackle the ones opposing them.

"There's about a dozen apiece attached to our Marine regiments. They've been extremely helpful in our Ops, IDing pirate hideouts and capturing HVTs where we would have likely lost them. We could have them deployed along with us to bolster our firepower. Or have them deploy with TFC to bolster their firepower, they probably need it more than us." Lt-Col. Timu responded, with approving nods from the other officers.

"As for the 30 inbound to assist in Qushan, they're still on their way. They were delayed by a heavy guerrilla attack by pirate stragglers at the fire base they were staging at. But, they are still on the way." Glancing at the Air Force Colonel, Osada asked, "Colonel Muljana. You've been rather quite this whole discussion. Do you have any input? What air assets do you have still available for ops in the AO?"

The response was crisp, "Ma'am, I have a full squadron of Wombat/GA drones, another of Skyhawks and Hornets, and at least two squadrons worth of support craft available. Falcons, Nightingales, and what few Albatrosses left that weren't shot down. Just tell me where you need them sent and they'll rain some hell."

"Good answer." Osada acknowledged before turning her attention back to the two Marine officers, "What about armor support? You don't want the 33rd's 1st Battalion sent with you as back-up?"

"While the extra firepower would be nice, ma'am, I think the both of us have reached the conclusion that heavy armor would actually be a hindrance rather than a boon inside the city." Lt-Col. Timu answered, pointing towards the city's layout, "These buildings are tightly packed, and the streets and roads themselves are very narrow compared to ours, giving us little room to maneuver even a hog, let alone a 30-40 something ton IFV. So instead, we'll use our warthogs and whatever ground vehicles that we have and use those to push into the city to quickly secure crossroads and strategic points on route to the two castles."

"MA'AM! SIR!" A warrant officer called out from one of the Communications desk, "2nd Battalion of the 4th Hellas Guards are reporting several platoons and combat teams coming under attack from small strike forces of about 3-4 individuals over the past half-hour. Significant casualties reported! Description of abilities are matching that of Shinobi. At least six platoons occupying towns are also reporting coming under attack from either insurgents or small fireteams of Shinobi and are requesting immediate air support."

"I'm getting another similar report!" Another desk reported, "Alpha and Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Hellas, and Hestati Company of the 18th Engineer Battalion, all currently garrisoning the port of Saigai are reporting they're under attack! Estimated 500 insurgents supported by ten or twelve shinobi. They've struck the supply depot we had built there. Heavy casualties, both military and civilian, reported."

"How the hell did 500 pirates manage to slip past us?!" A warrant officer demanded, quickly starting an argument amongst the staff.

"They must have already been stuck behind our lines and quietly congregated together after they got in contact with their shinobi."

"Where's the air support?! Why weren't they on alert?!"

"Most of the combat wings have been deployed to Qushan and Asanobe to conduct air campaigns! There's hardly anything left to spare!"

"Jesus! We'll have to redeploy some of our allied shinobi from Crimson Island or even cancel those being sent to Qushan in order to hunt down these partisans! We can't have them raising hell behind our lines! Our whole order of battle could fall apart!"

As the staff members began debating and arguing with one another, the senior officers absorbed this new information in silence. Conway knew immediately what was going on, and he suspected that the others in the room had figured it out to.

'So that's what's going on. The bastards weren't attacking us before now because they were trying to study us. Figure out how we operated and conducted warfare. That's how they managed to backhand us so easily and so quickly in Qushan. These small intentionally avoiding our air power when possible and attacking us where we least expect it. They could wipe out several platoons in rapid succession before we could retaliate if they keep this up.

Osada, pondering silently for a moment, turned back to the group and made her decision, "We'll go with your plan, Colonels. I want your both your regiments ready to deploy ASAP. You said 20 hours, optimistically? Then that's how long you'll get. I don't care what air and logi-assets you have to requisition to do so. I'll sign it off, so just get it done and be ready to assault in 20 hours. We'll get the El Dorado and Harbin to provide fire support when we start offensive ops again. Both TFC and the Marines will need it when they commence their attacks."

Colonel Conway started to protest this call, but Osada cut him off, "Conway, I understand that the Task Force is in no condition for a major offensive, but we don't have a choice. If TFC doesn't attack before the Marines conduct their assault, then the pirates are quickly going to realize that's the main attack and will divert a lot of troops to counter them. And I want to give the Marines as much time as possible to reach those trapped Rangers with as little opposition as possible stopping them until it's too late. You'll still get your shinobi support, but in the meantime muster whatever reinforcements you can to replenish your units and get them back up to strength. Whatever we can get I'll get it if possible. But in 20 hours, Task Force Conway are going on the offensive again while the Marines prep for a night insertion. Understood, Colonel?"

"I'll have the 2nd Hellas Guards Brigade redeploy to Sea Island. I can't spare the 1st Guards Brigade as well, otherwise I'll have next to nothing garrisoning Hondu Island. With any luck, we can have their 2nd and 3rd Battalions arrive in time to reinforce Task Force Conway's units while 1st Battalion bolster the security of our rear areas on the island." Rosenbaum added, earning the approval of the other Officers present.

Conway didn't agree with this decision, but knew he had no choice but to obey it. So he merely gave a crisp, "Yes, ma'am." and continued on as the discussion regarding the UNSC's next course of action was discussed. Then, a thought occurred to him.

"Ma'am." All eyes were drawn back to him as he continued, "About that support for the Rangers. I think I have an idea for what we can do. But we'll need to borrow a couple marine companies and the armored platoon."

"The armor platoon?"

"Yes, ma'am. We've been getting hit with all kinds of surprises from the locals, from ninjas that can level whole blocks with fire to giant walking tanks made of dirt and stone." Colonel Conway explained, leaning forward on the table as he did so, "So maybe it's time we introduced them to our own. Give them a taste of their own medicine, for once."


/0017 Hours; October 18, 2543 (UNSC Military Calendar)\
/United Nations Space Command Transmission 18254G-45
/Encryption Code: Yellow
/Public Key: N/A
/From: Major General Rubiano Solomon, UNSC Army, Commanding Officer, Timur Defence Force (UNSC Service Number: 58910-70924-RS)
/To: Brigadier General Klaudia Osada, UNSC Army, Commanding Officer, Expeditionary Brigade Osada, SN: 15780-36215-KO
/Subject: Battle Ready Condition of UNSC Forces within the Timur Archipelago
/Classification: Classified (BGX Directive)\
/Start File\

Klaudia, I know you and Rosenbaum have got a lot going on right now, (There's been unofficial rumors that something happened down where you're operating, but I won't pry into it. I trust you have it under control, knowing you.) but we need to discuss the condition of UNSC forces on Shinsei. The UNSC's situation in this oddball region is precarious at best, especially considering how many people we're now in charge of defending. We have 45,000 troops defending an Archipelago containing over one million people across four islands, and that population is climbing rapidly. Estimates are already putting the population at three to four million by 2545, but we're getting no reinforcements or even new recruits to compensate for this.

In short, we're spread thin on the western side of the planet, and we're going to be spread even thinner now that HIGHCOM has gotten a hard-on for this damn campaign of theirs in the Sea Confederacy. A lot of veteran and full strength units got sent to the Sea Archipelago, leaving a bunch of understrength and inexperienced units to defend what's being considered our 'Capital' in this system. Hell, 75% of our artillery was sent to you and the two Marine regiments left in Timur have maybe 2,500 troops between them. And don't even get me started on our tank company. A third of those damn dinosaurs need overhauls on their weapon systems and suspensions, but we can't get the parts needed to do so.

Right now, New Tripolis is the most at-risk of possible attack due to its close proximity to the native fiefdoms of the region. There's no massive ocean protecting us from attack, just at least 20 miles of sea separating us from a bunch of freaks with magical powers.

Thankfully, we have an alternative. There have been a number of settlements established in an area of the continent of Esura. The colonists are calling the region New Pella, but the locals apparently call it Pelantium. (This source come from our ally Marsh Country, who trade with the Esurans and have acquired a few maps of the continent.) Isolated from the rest of the continent thanks to a massive irradiated zone that covers some 20% of the continent, it's a quiet sector where we've been using to retrain Colonial Guard units to convert them into mainline UNSC Army formations. As of the time this message is being sent, we have some 50,000 troops, largely Colonial Guards, protecting some three and a quarter million colonists there.

But at the same time, this continent has more than enough space to fit all the colonists coming here, but we have them arriving on two separate sides of the planet. It's an unnecessary and dangerous spreading of our forces and personnel. If any kind of emergency, god forbid, were to happen requiring massive military intervention and redeployment, it would take hours for reinforcements of any significant size to arrive.

Don't get me wrong, Klaudia. I have nothing but the upmost faith in both Cole and Toussaint, but as a senior officer responsible for the lives of 45,000 soldiers and the defense a million settlers, I feel that I simply cannot stay silent on the matter and must speak up to HIGHCOM regarding the concerns of both myself and several others. So once your Op is over, I'm going to send a message and requisition to HIGHCOM for one of two propositions:

A) That all experienced UNSC elements are redeployed to guard against possible incursions on Timur Island and double the size of the current defense force.
B) That the UNSC abandons all current holdings, save for the Sea Confederacy due to its more isolated and defensible nature, in the Elemental Nations and prioritizes colonization of the Esuran Continent, particularly the habitable areas uninhabited by the natives.

Given everything going on and with the new tidbits of information we're slowly acquiring on our neighbors and their capabilities, I simply feel that we are playing with fire and tempting fate by remaining on Timur. We don't have a solid defensive ring established around Timur and New Tripolis yet, and likely won't have one complete until early or mid-2546. These lands were invaded by shinobi armies once already, and I don't doubt for a moment that the neighboring countries would do it again if given proper justification (legitimate or fabricated).

All it will take is for one small crack in our defenses to be found, and we could end up fighting them inside Tripolis itself. I pray to whatever deity is out there listening that this will never happen, but one can never be too sure in this age. I hope that both you and Rosenbaum, due to both of your reputations and respect within the army, will back me up when the time comes.

Signed,
Rubiano Solomon

PS: By the way, I have it on good authority that you'll be getting your second star back, and soon. So congratulations in advance. We need all the decent leadership we can get.

/End File\


/0245 Hours; October 18, 2543 (UNSC Military Calendar)\
/United Nations Space Command Transmission 18277D-15
/Encryption Code: Yellow
/Public Key: N/A
/From: Brigadier General Klaudia Osada, UNSC Army, Commanding Officer, Expeditionary Brigade Osada (UNSC Service Number: 15780-36215-KO)
/To: Major General Rubiano Solomon, UNSC Army, Commanding Officer, Timur Defence Force, SN: 58910-70924-RS
/Subject: Battle Ready Condition of UNSC Forces within the Timur Archipelago
/Classification: Classified (BGX Directive)\
/Start File\

Solomon, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you'll be wasting your time trying to talk them into evacing. Too much has been invested from us to simply pull out, and the UNSC can't afford to lose face with everyone here in the Aquarii Cluster, especially with some of the opposition we're dealing with in the political sector.

And yes, those rumors you're hearing are likely correct. We were given one hell of a bloody nose, and we'll likely be getting another one before this battle finishes. After this embarrassment, HIGHCOM won't even listen to the idea of pulling out after all the resources they've poured into Timur. Anywhere we've set up a foothold, we'll be expected to hold it with everything we've got, come Hell, High Water, Shinobi, Covenant, or hell, even Godzilla.

Still, in spite of this unfortunate truth, I do agree with your assessment. We charged headlong into this colonization without thorough and thought out planning, hence now we're paying the price for it. While I doubt they could sneak an entire army onto Timur Island, even a platoon-sized element of hostile shinobi could wreak havoc on our troops and countryside. Once the Sea Archipelago is secured, I'll have as many veteran units redeployed back to Timur ASAP to bolster its defenses. If at the end of our Op in Sea Confederacy you still feel compelled to bring it up with HIGHCOM, I'll back you up as best I can. Doubt it will do any good, either way, but who knows?

Also, pertaining to this rumor of me regaining my Major General rank, don't put too much hope into it. Once this Op I'm leading is done, they might change their mind. I couldn't say I'd blame them, either.

Signed,
Klaudia Osada

/End File\


That's it for now. The final chapter for the Sea Confederacy Campaign will come next (And soon.) and then we'll get this ball rolling forward past 2543 finally. I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time.

-Azores