Things had changed. The Covenant prophets had fallen and the threat from the Gravemind was over. But the Earth was not safe. Covenant stragglers had regrouped under a new banner: revenge.
The Elites and the Humans had formed an unbreakable bond of friendship, which was needed in a time when the Master Chief was dead and the Spartan line almost broken. Jericho, Reach, and Harvest were still under Covenant control, and there were five Halos that still remained.
Throughout this chaos, the UNSCDF assembled a group of the finest the Marines, Navy and ONI still had to offer. This is their story…
General of the Marine Corps. Micah Rodney sat in his office on Cairo Station. He looked at his computer screen and sighed. He'd been charged with the liberation of the planet Jericho, and only four ships to do it with.
All four ships were rebuilt, re-outfitted and based on four ships that fell fighting the Covenant and advancing the human race.
The UNSC Gettysburg, captained by General Tyler Cooper, was given command of an elite unit of Scorpion Tanks and UNSC Hawks. They were called the Top Dogs by some of the men in the Corps. General Rodney had often conversed with General Cooper during the mission briefing.
He was what you would call an elitist. General Cooper knew how to get things done, and wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. The decision to put him in charge of the heavy artillery wasn't an arbitrary choice. The fact that an ODST Commander, General Karl Kramer, was his First Mate added to the ferocity of his force.
The Spirit of Fire, captained by Colonel Jairus Tuya, was the orbital command post. It was a colony ship, which meant that it functioned as the mobile HQ for the Corps. as well as being outfitted with Longswords and SparrowHawk Fighters.
Col. Tuya was new, but capable. He was a bit headstrong, but confident and loyal. Gen. Rodney knew that he was the right man for the job. Tuya had also served on the ship when it was commanded by Lt. Beauclair, a man who had since been assigned to another division, so he knew the ship and crew well.
The Pillar of Autumn was the next ship in this force. It was captained by General Andrew Marelli and outfitted with Pelicans and Hornets. It was also redesigned to be more advanced than the original Pillar of Autumn.
General Marelli was a man who had close connections to both the commander of the Navy, Fleet Admiral Colin Mac Lennan, and the ONI Commander Geoffrey D'Aria. This meant that he was both reliable and trustworthy, a natural pick.
In Amber Clad was actually an ONI ship now. It was commanded by Fleet Admiral D'Aria, the ONI Commander, and given the supply of Warthogs and Mongooses. General Rodney and Fleet Admiral Mac Lennan were concerned about ONI being so close to combat, but their concern waned after seeing him in action.
Not only did Fleet Admiral D'Aria hold up well under fire, but the bureaucratic side of his mind meant that his ship was well maintained and up to code. He was something of a wunderkind.
There was a knock at the General's door.
“Come in,” General Rodney called.
In walked Fleet Admiral Mac Lennan. He walked a few paces and nodded. These men were beyond saluting each other. Rodney passed Mac Lennan a glass of vodka. Mac Lennan chuckled.
“You drink this stuff?” Mac Lennan asked.
“Only when I'm thinking,” Rodney replied, taking a sip.
Mac Lennan set the glass down. “We have the report from the first encounters.”
“How are we doing?” Rodney asked, setting his glass down.
Mac Lennan pulled a small folder out of his briefcase. He set it on Rodney's desk. “It's not good news.”
Rodney looked over the folder. “What are you talking about? My Corps seem to be wiping them out.” He then stopped on one page. “Except that unit…”
“Our overall progress from this round was good. However…” Mac Lennan directed him to a passage further down the page.
“A Scarab? They still got one of those?” Rodney asked.
“Several. This will be a rough week for our men,” Mac Lennan replied.
To be continued…
