Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The hull shuddered as the Infinity was thrown out of slipspace.

"The Mantle of Responsibility for the galaxy shelters all...But only the Created are its masters"

Cortana's speech still echoed within everybody's mind. Humanity is facing another war for survival, only this time they were crippled from the get go.

"Roland, get me a system scan, now" Captain Lasky ordered as he strode up to the central holotank of the bridge, "I need intel on where we are, along with a full status report on ship condition. Weapons, engines, personnel, the whole nine yards." Before Cortana's betrayal, The Infinity had been recalled back to Earth for a resupply.

"Working on it, Captain" Roland said as his holographic avatar appeared at the holotank, "Engines and personnel are all nominal, but Infinity's MAC and missile batteries are at a rough fifty percent capacity"

Lasky nodded at that as he continued to stare at the holotank, as it slowly showed the system they're in, before his eyes widened as recognition hit him like a MAC slug.

"We're in Sol..." Lasky gasped, those three words hung heavy in the air, "Confirmed, sir but..." Roland's brow furrowed as he cross-checked the incoming data against the slipspace coordinates from their jump.

"But what?" Lasky demanded, voice tight as he stared at the system map "It's different, orbital signatures matches early 21st century readings rather than our own" Roland replied as he zoomed the holographic display towards Earth.

The hologram showed humanities home world, Lasky stared at blue-green marble, it looked just like their Earth, yet the difference was there, the Orbital Defense Network was gone, along with the various orbital elevators that dotted the globe.

"How could this happen?" Lasky asked, Roland’s expression flickered with unease, his avatar leaning over the holotank as if proximity might make the data make more sense. “That’s the thing, sir… it shouldn’t be possible. The slipspace coordinates were correct. Our vector was stable. By every metric, we should’ve come out above Sanghelios.”

He paused, eyes narrowing as additional telemetry scrolled across the holo-display. “But the astronomical data doesn’t lie. Stellar drift, planetary alignment, even background radiation — it’s consistent with Sol, just… younger. A few hundred years, maybe more.”

A sensor operator’s voice cut through the conversation.
“Captain, we’ve got three unidentified contacts—bearing one hundred thousand klicks and closing!” she reported. “Profile doesn’t match anything in the database. Too small for Covenant, too bulky for UNSC, and too slow for Forerunner tech. Their speed suggests an intercept course.”

Lasky furrowed his brows at that "See if they're hailing us on any frequency, Roland get everybody on battlestations" Roland nodded at that as his voice boomed within the ships PA system.

“All decks, this is Roland. Condition One throughout the ship. Man your battle stations and secure all compartments. Repeat, Condition One—battle stations!”

The calm blue hue of the bridge shifted instantly to as warning klaxons pulsed through Infinity’s decks as crew scrambled to their stations. Lasky kept his eyes steady as the holotank shifted to show the unidentified ships approach, "Contacts are adjusting formation, Captain, estimate intercept in seven minutes" another sensor operator said, hands flying over his console.

"Ready Point Defense guns and the Onagers, along with Archer pods two to six and Rapier pods twenty-seven to thirty, Roland try and tap into their battlenet" Lasky ordered

"Point defenses are warming up" Roland replied "Onagers are charging- forty second till full readiness"

“Missile crews report ready,” A weapons officer confirmed. “Archer pods two through six are loaded and primed. Rapiers twenty-seven to thirty on standby, targeting uplinks locked.”

“Trying to tap into their battlenet now,” Roland added, “They’re running an encrypted mesh network — strong encryption, dynamic keys, alien architecture. Definitely not Covenant or Forerunner.”

Lasky nodded "Can you get in?"

"Working on it" Roland replied "and done, I'm in, currently running translation algorithms"

"Already?" Lasky asked, slightly surprised yet impressed. Roland gave a half-shrug, a smug smirk plastered on his face "I aim to please sir, Guess they didn't expect someone of my caliber, their securities impressive, but not *Covenant* impressive"

Lasky hummed at that, "Can you translate their traffic?"

"Partially, I've already translated fragments" Roland replied "It'll take longer but I could try and cross reference Forerunner and Covenant ciphers to try and- Hold on.." Roland's expression rapidly turned grim “Captain, They’ve just issued a system-wide alert. We’re being classified as an unknown incursion. They’re calling for reinforcements"

Lasky frowned at that "Figures, Roland anything else we need to know?" Roland pulled up several data windows beside him “Yeah, and you’re not gonna like it,” he said, tone suddenly flat. “They’ve just scrambled what looks like a defense fleet — small craft, multiple drive signatures, accelerating fast." he paused, before enlarging one of the holographic panes he had summoned in front of him. "It seems like they're using fusion reactors like us, but their output is abysmal compared to a frigate, along with that it seems that their main weapons are lasers, hell, most of their weaponry is derived from lasers"

Lasky’s brow furrowed deeper as he studied the highlighted telemetry. “Lasers? All of it?”

Roland nodded, crossing his arms as the data scrolled. “Pretty much. Point-defense, ship-to-ship, even their ground forces from what little I’ve intercepted. They’ve refined the tech to a ridiculous degree—tight beam coherence, fast recharge cycles—but they’re working with… well, peashooters compared to even a Paris-class. Good for slicing through lightly armored targets or cooking sensor suites, but against our shields? It'd take them an hour to do what a Covenant plasma lance could do in a millisecond"

Lasky nodded at that, eyes narrowing "So they're organized but underpowered."

Roland's expression didn’t lighten. “Underpowered doesn’t mean harmless, sir. They’re vectoring in from all over the planet. Coordinated. And they’re intercepting. Someone down there thinks they’ve got the home-field advantage.”

Lasky nodded "Alright, Roland start broadcasting on all frequencies, let's try and defuse this situation before it goes any further" he said "And warm up the slipspace drives. I want us ready to jump the moment they start firing."

Roland gave a short nod. “Broadcasting now, Captain.”

Lasky cleared his throat and began. "Attention to all unidentified vessels," Lasky began, "This is Captain Thomas Lasky of the UNSC Infinity, we are not hostile, we want a peaceful resolution for whatever misunderstanding that we have caused, We request that you stand down and open a dialogue so we can resolve this misunderstanding without conflict.”

Roland silently monitored the outgoing signal for a moment, his projected fingers dancing as he checked multiple spectrums and carrier waves. “Message away on all bands, sir. Translating into their top three lingua formats as best as I can. They’ll hear it.”

Lasky kept his glued to the holotank, watching as more and more ships slowly surrounded the Infinity, numbering at a whopping thirty-five ships of varying class and sizes.

Roland’s expression darkened as more red contacts populated the tactical overlay, each one acquiring a firing vector.
“Make that thirty-eight ships, sir,” he corrected quietly. “Three more just slipped in from high orbit. They’re boxing us in.”

Lasky exhaled through his nose. “Of course they are.”

The bridge was silent except for the hum of consoles and the distant thrum of the Infinity’s reactors adjusting to alert posture. Officers exchanged uneasy glances; even the Marines standing by the bulkheads shifted subtly, hands near their sidearms, not because they expected a boarding action yet—but because instincts honed by the Covenant War told them that situations like this could turn lethal in seconds.

"Roland," Lasky said, looking away from the holotank "Any response?"

"None yet Captain" Roland replied "Parsing through incoming traffic, it seems like they're trying to decide who gets to pick the short straw and poke the heavily armed alien battleship, They’re definitely talking about us—debating, arguing, issuing commands. But no diplomatic channel response.”

Lasky's nodded at that "Terrific."

"Roland, Bring all weapons online and get our ground forces ready, Get Fireteam Osiris and Majestic on standby" Lasky said "Status on our slipspace drives?"

“Warming up. Cycling. But…” He grimaced. “The drives are stressed. We can jump, but not for another two minutes minimum”

A Comms officer spoke up “Captain—new transmission. High-priority. Military encryption.” He paused, then: “Translation filtering now.”

A moment passed before a voice bellowed from the holotanks speakers filling the the low buzz of activity within the bridge— The voice was clipped, filled with authority and professionalism, yet unmistakably female.

“Unidentified warship, you are violating Imperial jurisdiction of Sol. Power down all weapons and prepare for boarding. Any refusal will be treated as active resistance. This is your only warning.”

Roland glaced at him "Captain... their tone suggests that they are not bluffing"

"I know" Lasky leaned forward "Roland, open a channel" Rolalnd nodded before throwing a thumbs up "Channel open. All frequencies"

"Imperial Naval Command, This is Captain Thomas Lasky of the UNSC Infinity, we will not power down and we shall not permit boarding, however we seek a peaceful discussion, but we will defend ourselves if fired upon. Again We seek a peaceful resolution upon whatever misunderstanding that we may have caused"

Lasky cut off his mic, "How's our slipspace drives?" He asked again

"Ninety seconds till ready, Captain" Roland answered

"Roland I need you to punch in Earth's coordinates for our slipspace jump, if they start firing at us we'll need to subdue them fast, Get our ODST's on standby, we hit their headquarters have Fireteam Osiris and Majestic come with them"

Roland nodded at that "Roger that, sir"

"Coordinates for Earth locked" Roland said before continuing "ODST's mustered in dropbays two and three, Osiris is already geared and moving towards the dropbay with Majestic gearing up now"

A tactical officer stiffened. “Captain—enemy ships are reacting to our broadcast!”

Roland flicked his wrist, pulling their battlenet feed onto the holotank—jagged text scrolling in translated fragments.

—‘vessel refuses inspection’
—‘possible threat-class escalation’
—‘Interior authorization pending’
—‘prepare disabling barrage’

Lasky's expression tightened "Archer pods two to six and Rapier pods twenty-seven to thirty along with Howler pods ten to twelve, reconfigure targeting uplinks for disabling, we'll need all the intel we could get"

“Aye, Captain,” the weapons officer replied, fingers flying across his console. The Infinity’s missile pods began cycling, reconfiguring their fire-control solutions. Icons on the holotank shifted from red to amber as the racks rerouted from kill-shots to precision cripples—engines, sensor arrays, comm dishes, not hull-busters.

Roland tracked the shift on the battlenet. “They’re definitely seeing the power spike in our systems, Captain. Their chatter’s heating up.”

"Roland, sitrep?" Lasky asked as the he watched more translated fragments poured in.

"Drives are warm and ready, Captain, shields are also at a hundred percent capacity" Roland said "Ship is ready to jump on your command"

-unknown vessel preparing for FTL—intercept immediately’
-Weapons synced
-Fire

The ship shuddered as dozens upon dozens of laser fire slammed against the Infinity’s shields, "Roland, Shield status?" Lasky asked

"Shields are holding at a nice ninety-eight percent, Captain" Roland said "But they're battering at it like an Assault rifle, estimate suggest that our shields would hold for a while"

Lasky nodded "All weapons green, Disable all ships in target vicinity, Roland, Get the ODST's, and Spartans ready for boarding action"

"Aye, Captain, Fireteam Crimson, Icebreaker, Taurus and Intrepid is armed and moving towards Pelicans" Roland said, Relaying commands and orders towards a dozen channels at once.

Another brutal ripple tore through the deck once more- as hundreds of beams slashed against the Infinity’s shields. The impact a product of vibration rather than force, yet it was relentless.

“Roland,” Lasky snapped, “shield status—again.”

“Ninety-six percent and stable,” Roland answered immediately. “Their fire rate’s high, but their output is… well, sir, frankly it’s pathetic. Like trying to cut through a battleship hull with a welding laser and Captain... they are not taking this well. It seems like this 'Interior' is their form of ONI, and to say the least they're screaming at their navy to ramp up firepower."

Lasky nodded at that "Noted, Get our airwings ready, the moment those vessels are down I need them for clean up on whats left and to escort our boarding parties"

“Aye, sir,” Roland replied, several of his avatars flickered across the holo-displays as he split his processing load. “Also picking up a surge in encrypted chatter between their command vessels. Lots of panic, lots of yelling, and—huh—someone just threatened to ‘personally space’ a gunnery officer. Charming people.”

Palmer’s voice crackled over the command channel.
“Bridge, Palmer. ODSTs are loading. Spartans are already strapped in. You call it, Captain, and we’re burning toward their hull.”

“Stand by, Commander,” Lasky answered. "Fire on my command"

A beat

"Fire"

The Infinity fired, smoke slowly engulfed it's form as missiles left their pods, Howlers, Archers and Rapiers flew and struck true to their destinations, crippling ships in an instant.

Roland narrated as impacts registered one by one.

“Direct hit—enemy cruiser Alpha has lost propulsion. Destroyer Bravo’s main batteries are offline. Multiple strike confirmations across the formation. They’re venting… well, something. Hard to tell, sir. Their engineering seems held together with hope and stubbornness.”

The holotank flickered to light, showing the thirty eight strong formation- reduced into just a few battered, limping hulls.

The return fire was weak and panicked as the surviving ships limped back to Earth, some were shot down and left to drift as the Infinity’s Onager's fired.

“Roland,” he ordered, voice steady, “signal all wings: launch and secure the battlespace. Palmer, you have the go. I want those ships boarded before their crews figure out which way is up.”

Roland grinned at that "Aye, Captain. Broadcasting: all air wings, you are weapons free, bring them down boys"

Across the Infinity, Dozens upon dozens of Fighters fly out of the Infinity’s vast hangars, Pelicans follow soon after, wings angling toward the drifting alien ships like vultures closing in on wounded prey.

"Roland, perform a jump towards earth" Lasky ordered, as Palmer confirmed of a successful boarding, with cleanup and detainment on the way.

Roland’s avatar straightened, posture sharpening as the order registered.
“Aye, Captain. Coordinates locked—initiating jump in three… two… one.”

The lights across the bridge dimmed, the low hum of the slipspace capacitors rising into a vibrating thrum that settled into everyone’s bones. The holotank warped, its projection distorting as the Infinity’s titanic engines tore open a doorway in the fabric of spacetime.

Outside the viewport, reality folded.

Stars stretched into dark ribbons.
The battlefield—shattered alien ships, burning debris, swarms of friendly fighters—collapsed into a single point of blue-white light before snapping away.

Slipspace transit engaged.

The deck shivered once, then smoothed into the familiar, resonant glide of faster-than-light travel.

Roland flickered beside Lasky, hands behind his back, eyes glowing with streams of data only he could see.

"Transition stable" Roland reported "Slipspace corridor is clean, estimate arrival suggest arrival at Luna in... thirty-three seconds."

The holotank scrolled as data was processed by Roland along with slipspace telemetry, the bridge was quiet with the exception of the low hum of the engine and hushed tone of activity

“Captain, prepare for transition back to realspace. Earth should be in visual range the moment we drop." Roland reported

Lasky nodded "Is Fireteam Osiris and Majestic still on standby?" Roland nodded "Good, have them drop with the ODST's, have you found where their Headquarters is located?"

The ship shuddered once more as it transitioned back into realspace, alarms chiming softly as Infinity’s systems stabilized from the transition.

Luna loomed large from the main display- serene and cratered, unaware of the chaos that was about to unfold, beyond Luna loomed Earth, blue and bright.

Roland updated immediately "All systems nominal, Shields are now back to full, And… yes, Captain—Fireteam Osiris and Majestic are still on standby, fully kitted and waiting in the drop bays with the ODSTs.”

"Along with that, regarding their headquarters, Based on intercepted command traffic, their central authority appears to be located on Earth itself. A government complex centered in what used to be Washington, D.C."

Lasky leaned closer towards the holotank, jaw tightening as Earth rotated slowly- Beautiful, Familiar and occupied by a hostile power calling themselves the Imperium, who he had no idea or context for.

"Washington, huh" he muttered "Of course it is"

Roland continued, multiple windows blooming around him—schematics, intercepted field chatter, rough geo-location pings, and snippets of emergency traffic from the alien fleet Infinity had just crippled.

"I'm triangulating based on command-priority relays" He said "Their highest-volume coordination node is in the old National Mall region. Big energy signatures, centralized command uplinks, defensive grids powered and online. Seems like they're mobilizing and are preparing for anything we throw at them"

Lasky studied the information, jaw working, "Estimated response time, if we hit the ground?"

Roland flicked his wrist; deployment rings and reaction timelines appeared.

“Interior shock teams: ninety seconds. Local garrison: two to three minutes. Reinforcements from off-site bases: five to seven minutes. I suggest that we launch our remaining air wings, our escort frigates and to drop our heavier armor and weaponry alongside the ODST's and Spartans"

Lasky's eyes tracked the cascading timelines as Roland laid them out, "Then we have to commit for a full-spectrum drop."

"Have Frigate Berlin, Eclipse, Dawnbreaker and Ode to the Stars to dismount, Berlin and Eclipse is tasked provide close orbit overwatch and lock down the airspace, ship side air support is authorized but keep casualties at the minimum, Dawnbreaker and Ode to the stars would be tasked to sweep the system and pick up our boarding parties."

Lasky swiped his hands across the holotank's display, as he quickly formed a battleplan.

"Remaining Longswords and Baselards are tasked to provide fighter coverage and close air support on ground forces, Second wave would consist of a Marine Expeditionary Force and a Armoured Detatchment"

Roland processed the flood of orders instantly, as he quickly arranged and sent out the various orders around the bridge, "Ackwnowledged, Captain, Frigates are detaching and following mission orders now, Ode to Stars and Dawnbreaker have received system sweep orders, They’re vectoring toward the battle debris now. Retrieval Pelicans are already in position for prisoner pickup and intelligence recovery.”

Roland continued "Berlin and Eclipse is burning towards low Earth orbit, Frigates reporting Anti-Air fire from static positions, permission for Coilgun and missile strikes?"

"Permission Granted" Lasky replied, voice showing no hint of hesitation, "They have full weapons release for counter-battery fire, Coilguns, Archer volleys, whatever they need- shut those emplacement down."

The Holotank flared with brand new data as Berlin and Eclipse, two refitted Paris-class, dove into low orbit, moments passed before the two frigates opened fire, missiles and coilgun slugs ripped from the frigates as they targeted static defense position, some of the missiles were intercepted but the following slugs of supersonic metal weren't.

Sensor grids collapsed as the bombardment continued, Laser arrays following soon after as explosions erupted all across the eastern seaboard.

Lasky watched as the battlefield slowly expanded, SOEIV Orbital drop pods dropped, Broadswords and Longsword bombers burned towards the atmosphere as Pelicans, filled with Army and Marines, followed soon after speeding towards designated insertion zones.

"Fireteam Osiris and Majestic along with ODST's are deployed sir, ETA three minutes" Roland reported

-----

Laser fire burned downrange, Shil'vati marines fighting tooth and nail to hold their ship, "KEEP FIRING!" The officer screamed as she loaded another magazine into her rifle, the ship shuddered as a explosion happened.

The ship was defended by veterans, soldiers who have fought across a dozen battlefields, fighting against pirates and rebels, having participated in the subjugation of Earth.

Yet the moment these unknown hostiles boarded their ship, it had been a slow fighting retreat deeper into the ship.

"Who the hell are these bastards!" A corporal screamed as she clutched her side, medic tending to her wounds as best she can, flexifiber armor compromised by... bullets, regular Kinetic rounds.

The Sergeant yelled at her "No one who should be able to board starship!", laying heavy fire down the corridor with her heavylas, before diving back into cover as more gunfire slammed into her cover "How in the empress name did they breach the hull?!"

*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

Heavy metal bangs rang down the corridor, the Marines barely had time to react before a figure covered in white armor was in the middle of their position, the figure raised it's left arm and aimed a pistol straight into a privates face firing once, twice, the private crumpling to the ground before she even knew what happened.

The Sergeant screamed, her heavylas firing, Palmer lunged forward into the Sergeant's line of fire, kicking the gun away before unloading with her smg straight into her chest, until the gun clicked empty.

Two Shil'vati surged forward, roaring, hoping to use their size and strength to pin her down, big mistake.

Palmer ditched the smg, the first Shil'vati reached her in two strides, arms wide to grapple. Palmer stepped into the charge rather than away from it, sending a kick to her stomach and sending her flying into a wall.

**BANG BANG**

Two shots rang from her pistol, one to the back and one to the skull, making sure that the alien was dead, Palmer didn’t even watch her slide down.

The second Marine was already on her—a mountain of purple muscle and fury, swinging a wide haymaker meant to take Palmer’s head clean off. Palmer ducked under it smoothly, feeling the wind of the blow brush her helmet.
She came up close, inside the Marine’s guard, and fired a quick double-tap upward with her M6.

**BANG. BANG.**

Both rounds punched into the alien’s ribs at point-blank range. The Shil’vati snarled, staggered, yet didn’t fall, Big. Tall. Annoyingly tough, these bastards are starting to remind her of the brutes.

Palmer seized the alien’s forearm, pivoted, and used the Marine’s own momentum to throw her over her hip. The heavy warrior slamming against the deck hard, armor ringing against metal.

Before she could recover, Palmer planted a boot on her sternum, pinning her in place, and leveled the pistol at her visor.
The fallen Shil’vati got one last look at her—
then BANG. The purple giant went limp.

Palmer looked around, the fight lasted no longer than half a minute, several seconds slower than her best record, annoying. Probably due to the fact that these bastards are like the brutes.

Her visor swept across the bulkhead, before it landed upon the last two alien, at the far end of the corridor, ('how the hell did they get past me?') The only surviving pair huddled behind some barricades.

One was aiming a rifle, using the barricade as a makeshift stand clutching a wound on her side. The other was a medic, desperately trying to stabilize the wound, probably opened back up when they repositioned. Palmer’s boots echoed as she walked toward them, pistol lowered but not holstered. Her stance screamed choice—not mercy.

"Troopers, fall in" Palmer said into the team intercom, voice calm, shifting her weight to keep the two survivors pinned under the threat of her presence alone.

"Copy that, Commander," A calm clipped voice replied back, "Bridge is secured and officers are cuffed and extracting"

Palmer hummed at that, stopping a scant couple of meters away from the duo.

“Got two stragglers,” she said, eyes glued on the rifle barrel. “One wounded. One medic. Both contained.”

Behind her, boots thudded as Fireteam Icebreaker rounded the corner in a tight stack, weapons up, visors scanning, armor battered and slagging after a fresh firefight.

The marine swallowed, gripping her gun harder. She tried to muster defiance, something to look less helpless in front of an enemy who had just cleared a corridor filled with vetarans in under a minute.

Palmer spoke "You're on a crippled hull, ship's venting atmosphere from stern to hull in three decks and we own the bridge, your officers are dead or cuffed, and no reinforcements are coming, and even if you found a way to get around us, we have fighters doing constant sweeps" she raised her gun, not aiming "Just give up, we'll treat you in accordance to first contact procedures"

Palmer watched and listened as the medic tried to persuade the wounded marine to surrender, of how the marine interjected and argued back against the medic.

"Miora, she's right, we can't hold this corridor, we're at a dead end and we can't escape, we need to surrender" The medics voice trembled as she continued to treat Miora's side

Miora hissed as Nirari placed a sealant on her wound, "We're Imperial Marines, we do not give up just because some..." She eyed the figure standing at the hall, covered in stark white armor with red highlights "thing tore our fireteam in an instant" Miora said, her tone defiant yet Nirari could hear an undercurrent of reluctance and fear.

Nirari looked at her before glancing at the thing standing at the corridor surrounded by humans, "Miora, look at me. Look at me."

Miora didn't listen keeping her eyes trained down the corridor

"*Look at me*"

Reluctantly, the wounded marine turned her head.

"We can't hold this corridor, we need to surrender" Nirari said, "we're boxed in and outnumbered, we're outmatched by whatever that thing is, we need to surrender"

Miora shook her head "“We stall them. We make them pay for—”

“They already paid,” Nirari said "They've torn through corridor after corridor filled with veterans, with little losses" Nirari pressed a second sealant on another wound "If we fight, we die in the next two seconds, That’s not courage—that’s waste. And I won’t watch you die for pride.”

Miora growled, fury bubbling through her being "You don't even know what they'll do to us. What would the Empress say when they learn we surrendered?"

"The express is not here, she doesn't even care if we're alive or not," Nirari softly said "If we die here, your family gets a folded banner and a name carved onto some wall. If we live… they might still have you.”

Miora’s shoulders sagged as Nirari’s words sank in.

Across the hall, Palmer didn’t move. Didn’t speak.
Just watched—waiting, unhurried, unthreatened.
Like she already knew the answer.

Nirari raised her hands, palms outward.

"Miora" she whispered, "please"

The wounded marine looked between her and Palmer, Her fingers flexed on her rifle stock—
tightened—
loosened—
then finally, with a small clatter, she laid the weapon flat on the deck.

“…Fine,” she breathed, shame thick in every syllable. “We surrender.”

Nirari lifted her hands higher.
Palmer’s visor tipped a fraction, acknowledging.

Behind her, Icebreaker began to advance.

"Palmer to Infinity, Ship secured, prisoners are detained and ready for transport" Palmer questioned

"Copy that, Commander" Roland replied "And by the way, you're on the lead, eighteen minutes and thirty seconds"

Palmer smiled at that

-----

The SOEIV pods burned through the atmosphere like meteors, what's left of the Shil'vati anti-air fired with fervor, filling the skies with laser fire and missiles.

Locke kept a clinical eye as he quickly dissected the intel packet that Roland sent him, the pod shaking hard enough for his teeth to rattle his teeth. Target points, enemy disposition, projected strongholds and weaknesses, the likes, the details scrolling across his HUD.

“Roland wasn’t kidding,” Buck’s voice crackled across the squad net, his pod tumbling end over end as he executed evasive maneuvers as a couple lasers barely missed. “These ladies are throwing the whole kitchen—whoa, hello—and the sink at us!”

“Maintain vector,” Locke said, tone steady despite the jarring turbulence. “Pods Three through Six, adjust two degrees starboard. They’re bracketing you.”

"Copy, Correcting!"

A laser stitched past Locke's pod, hitting a nearby descending pod, the laser punched through the pod, killing its occupant and burning it in re-entry.

"Pod 12 is gone!" Tanaka snapped, voice tight

A pair of C712 Longsword bombers dived from the atmosphere, their fusion engines burning at full throttle, before releasing their ordinance of Archer missiles and burning away.

"Navy and the Flyboys are putting in the work" Buck quipped, before whistling as the Anti-Air fire lessened in an instant "Gotta thank those boys the moment we get back"

Roland's voice came back "Remaining AA density is down to eighteen percent on the surrounding area" he said, voice calm and steady "Osiris, Majestic and the 32nd ODST Platoon, will push in and take the central command note as fast as possible, You'll have priority Air support and equipment requisition placement, Goodluck out there, Roland out"

Locke watched as the altimeter ticked down
3500
3000
2500
2000

The SOEIV pods automatically released their drag chutes, altitude thrusters kicking in to stabilize the pods, the pods jerked violently the sudden deceleration slamming Locke against his restraints.

1500
1000
600

The pods retro thrusters fired, the metal coffins slowing down violently like a theme park ride.

550

WHAM.
The retros hit full burn.

Locke’s breath caught in his chest as the force pressed him harder into the padding. The pod’s interior rattled like it was trying to tear itself apart. Warning runes flashed amber across his HUD—stress fractures, heat bleed, shock dispersion at maximum tolerance. All within acceptable limits. Barely.

400
300
200

**IMPACT**

The pod slammed into the ground with bone shattering force, the shock absorbers screamed as dust enveloped the surrounding area.

Several moments passed before the Pod's explosive bolts detonated sending the hatch flying at break neck speed, before clattering against the ruined street, Locke broke free of the Pod's restraints and grabbed his BR-75.

"Osiris, Report" Locke snapped, gun scanning the street.

"Alive" Buck replied, coughing "Landed with Majestic and half of the 32nd moving to secure secondaries"

"Copy that, Vale, Tanaka" Locke said as he left the pod, boots stepping over the cracked pavement, moving deeper down the street.

"Green" Vale replied "Pod Fell through a building, but fine moving towards your position"

"Behind you" Tanaka said

Locke nodded as she fell into step beside him, MA5D sweeping the across the boulevard— abandoned civilian vehicles left on the side of the road, as shattered glass litters the street as gunfire and distant detonations fills the air.

"We're two blocks north," Buck added over comms. “We're already tangling with Shil armor. Purple armor everywhere.”

Vale emerged from a nearby building, a Pair of ODST's following her, plaster and dust clinging and falling all around them, "Building did not appreciate my arrival,” she said dryly. “No hostiles in the floors below.”

Locke nodded "We push towards the main objective, clear and hold until Majestic, Buck and the rest of the 32nd can reach us and then we call in extraction"

"Copy" Vale said as their group started moving down the street, moving towards their objective, glass and rubble crunching beneath their feet.

Chapter Text

The D-96 Albatross shook as it landed, its landing struts buckling as the Albatross landed hard. Within the Cargo bay, the M808C Scorpion lurched forward, it's treads clanged against the ramp as it rolled out into the battlefield, its turret swinging towards an enemy position, firing a high explosive round.

"Move! Secure the perimeter!" A marine said as the marines dismounted from the Albatross, their boots pounding against the ramp and cracked ground, as they spread out and took cover, laser fire whizzing past or nearly missing them.

Above UNSC aircraft fights tooth and nail against Shil'vati interceptors and fighters as they try and keep air superiority in their hands, a second Albatross landed delivering a platoon of Marines, One purple fighter broke from the furball, lining up a strafing run at the LZ-

Before a wing of S-14 Baselards intercepted it, their 30mm rotary cannons shredding the fighter before it could do anything.

"Air superiority is still contested!" A voice cut through the chaos of the comms, voice fighting to be heard over the roar of jets and the thump of distant artillery, "Be advised to all infantry and logistics ships, exercise extreme caution when entering the drop zone!"

A thunderous boom punctuated the warning as a dogfighting Longsword and Shil’vati interceptor tore past low overhead, a launched missile missing its mark and hitting the ground, their contrails spiraling wildly as both planes fought to gain the upper hand. The shockwave rippling across the LZ, rattling every man, woman, and vehicle on the ground.

Another pair of UNSC fighter tore through the haze, as they escorted a couple of Longsword bombers, as they released their ordinance, their bomb bays opening to release dozens of air to ground missiles.

The missiles arced toward the densest concentration of Shil’vati anti-air still firing from the far end of the boulevard, before several concussive blasts rippled across the area as the Anti-Air site was obliterated, thinning the already dwindling AA fire.

-----

The bunker shook again—dust drifting from seams in the metal plating, light strips flickering as if afraid. Another detonation hammered the surface above, the kind that didn’t sound like conventional artillery. It was heavier. Deeper. Deliberate.

The Shil’vati troopers inside felt it.

These weren’t green recruits. Every woman in the bunker wore the violet crest of the First Wave—veterans of Earth’s initial subjugation, the ones who had fought through cities burning, against defenders who refused to break even when outmatched, who had fought in cramped bunkers against heavily armed defenders.

They were the best of the best, And they were terrified.

News traveled fast, of how an unknown dreadnought appeared on the other side of the system, of how the Navy failed to even damage it and how they were all crippled in just a few moments, of how it used a never before seen form of Faster-than-light travel and arrived faster than any known ship above Earth's moon before evrything went to shit.

The bunker shook again, General Besava paced around the holotable, she watched as the display stuttered between showing static and the battlefield, data and telemetry scrolled past showing false positives or fake targets.

"Report" Besava snapped to a waiting Corporal.

"Seismic readings shows repeated seismic impacts across the local area" The Corporal said "Non-plasma, non-laser. Like we're in the middle of a meteor storm"

Besava nodded "Kinetics?"

"Seems like it ma'am" The Corporal said as she handed her the datapad

Besava huffed at that, Kinetics, the tech was relatively primitive and outdated by their standards, most Shil'vati ships were armed with high powered lasers capable of burning through some of the toughest armour that the Consortium or Alliance could hope to put in their ships, even when Kinetic weaponry were added on a ship, they acted as secondary batteries or were relagated for orbital bombardment.

"Status on remaining sensors?" Besava asked, she already knew what the answer was

The Corporal grimaced "Most are unresponsive or jammed while others are in the fritz" she said as she pointed at the holotable, "The only things we got that's working straight is the seismic sensors and the radios, but those are even jammed beyond the bunkers."

Besava’s jaw tightened. The holotable flickered again—terrain blurring into a wall of static before snapping back to a ghostly wireframe. Every few seconds, anomalous signals pulsed across it, like phantoms brushing the grid.

“Wonderful,” she muttered. “We’re blind, deaf, and have no idea if we're winning or losing.”

The Corparal seemed to say something before she thought better of it, "Is there something on your mind, Corporal? You have permission to speak freely" Besava asked, leveraging her rank to know what's on the troopers mind.

The Corporal straightened before answering "Ma'am, I was wondering if there has been any news about the Planetary administrator", 'Oh right the Nobles' Besava thought, the last she had heard of them was before the dreadnought arrived on Earth, they were being moved underneath the upgraded bunker complex of the White house.

Besava sighed before answering, she couldn't fault the Corporal, Nobles were always on someone’s mind—command chains, PR officers, and political overseers had drilled that reflex deep, "None yet I'm afraid" she softly answered and as truthfully as she could "The White house complex had been silent, but that could've been just due to jamming, if anything on this planet is still intact, it’s there" she didn't add the rest of her thoughts '*if they're still alive, that is*'

She knew that the White house complex were some of the most heavily fortified places on the planet even before the Imperium arrived, being purposely turned into a easily defendable labyrinth, before being upgraded by Imperial engineers to withstand orbital strikes, plasma detonations, and days of sustained siege, but the overwhelming superiority that these unknowns have brought has put all those facts in jeopardy.

Besava pushed the thought away and continued, more for the Corporal’s sake than her own.

“The Administrator and her staff will have had the best protection, the deepest shelter, redundant power, redundant oxygen, and a full regiment of Household Guard protecting them. If they’re silent…” She shook her head. “It’s the jamming. Has to be.”

Another low, rolling impact quivered through the bunker, Besava was also thankful for the upgrades that the Pentagon received, it may not be as extensive or top of the line as the one thats within the White house, but she was grateful for it.

The Corporal swallowed before nodding and returning back to her duties, reassured only by Besava’s rank rather than absolute certainty.

Besava looked at the Holotable, the tactical map flickered again— once, twice— before stabilizing, the sensor ghosts and false positives being cleared and showing what was actually attacking them.

Dozens of missiles and Kinetic rounds were being launched from an unknown ship, it's design was blocky, looking more like a floating brick with weapons than an actual space capable vessel, yet it was reminiscent of older Shil'vati designs.

The Corporal looked at it, her eye gleaming as much detail as she could from the hologram, "Ma'am, It resembles a Nezri-class frigate,” she murmured. “Old colony-era gunbricks. The kind we retired centuries ago.”

Besava nodded, the Nezri's were some of the first combat-capable space vessels that the Imperium ever devised, being fielded across various battlefields until being relegated to rear echelon units and mothballed when newer and better ships were created, most being scrapped with some becoming iconic museum pieces.

Yet the ship was larger, a hundred meters longer than the Nezri's 435 meters in length and 64 meters wider than it's 135 meters in width, before Besava could say anything else, several high speed contacts appeared beside the ship.

It was too slow for any of the missiles released by the ship, yet it was also too controlled, and that meant precision which meant intent, "Gett all troopers on red alert now! Have our EXO's ready for anything, I want them patrolling the complex as soon as possible"

Besava’s voice cut clean through the growing panic, snapping the command center back into disciplined motion. Officers and technicians scrambled, hands flying over consoles, alarms shifting from amber caution to hard, blaring crimson.

Her eyes kept locked at the unknown pods, just as dozens of dropships started moving towards the Pentagon.

-----

Being part ONI meant being capable of doing the wrong things to advance and protect humanity, however it also meant being part of some of the biggest bullshits you'll ever see.

Laura speed walked through the various security checkpoints, flashing her ID to the Marines to let her through the Infinity’s main bridge, The security gauntlet to the UNSC Infinity’s bridge wasn’t ceremonial, ODST's or Marines in full kit lined each checkpoint, rifles held at low-ready, visors sweeping everyone who passed, Laura flashed her ONI clearance each time, the small black datacard buying her entrance and silence.

Red emergency lighting flooded the Infinity’s halls, pulsing, it was a not so subtle reminder of what's happening outside, of how much of a clusterfuck the last couple of hours had been.

For the first time since the Covenant attacked Harvest, ONI didn't know who the hell they were actually fighting.

She arrived at the final bulkhead, the Marines letting her in with no fuss nor questions, the bridge was buzzing like a hive of bees as officers coordinated the impromptu planetary assault.

Captain Lasky and Commander Palmer stood around the holotank, as Roland talked to them "...The planet is on full alert sir" Roland said as Laura got within earshot of the conversation, “Local garrisons are digging in, but their command structure is being scrambled by our jamming, along with that large scale uprisings and resistance movements are happening planet-wide, seems like our arrival may have caused that. Additionally, Osiris, Majestic, and the 32nd Helljumper Platoon have completed their secondary objectives and are regrouping at the main objective.”

“Captain Lasky, Commander Palmer.” she said with a short nod as she came to stand at the opposite side of them.

Lasky nodded, sending Roland back to coordinating the invasion, before looking at Laura "Commander Bishop— Good to have you join us. Tell me, has ONI gleaned anything yet from the data that Roland pulled from the Shil’vati?"

Laura nodded, "Yes sir but it'll take a couple more days before we can actually gleam anything useful" she said "other than that, most of what we've gleaned, Roland had already relayed, the Imperium is a massive hegemon made up of several subjugated species like the Covenant, but unlike the Covenant they're a monarchy driven empire that answers to a single Noble family and an Empress"

"They're currently deep in a Cold War between two other near peer enemies, that being the Cosnortium, a Corporatocracy, and the Alliance, which consists of various alien species banded together against the Imperium, they're a colorful bunch, Oligarchy's, Dictatorship's, Republics etcetera. "

Laura said as she slid a pair of datapads towards Palmer and Lasky "Everything you need to know about the Imperium is gonna be in there, it'll update whenever we find or glean more intel about them."

Lasky hummed a tone of approval "Great Job, Commander" He said as he laid the datapad down "Anything else we can use?"

Laura shifted the holotank, pulling up two faint, ghostly schematic—shaky lines, fragmented geometry, incomplete depth markers. "One of my men was able to find some schematics from the data that Roland pulled, two sprawling bunker complex are situated within D.C, we believe that if we want the Imperium garrison to stand down and listen to us, we would need to break through these bunkers and find their superiors. Specifically, the Local Planetary governess and the North American marine general"

Lasky exhaled as he looked at the fragment of the bunker, Blast doors thinker than the frontal hull of a tank, automated turrets hidden within the walls, chokepoints by the dozens, it reminded him of Bravo-6 “Those are… extensive.”

She tapped a section of the hologram. It zoomed in on a massive, central vault buried deeper than any conventional bunker built by humans.

“This one,” Laura said, “is the upgraded White House complex. The local Planetary Governess is supposed to be here. Having been moved after we beat their Naval garrison" Laura continued, shifting the view to a second bunker—more angular, more militaristic, with reinforced corridors connecting to the old Pentagon sub-levels.

“And this one is the Pentagon complex. Heavily staffed with multiple EXO detachments. According to the Shil’vati files, the Marine Commander of the Americas operates out of here.”

Palmer nodded "We can send several teams of Spartans in, Osiris, Majestic and the 32nd could continue with assaulting the Pentagon, what with reinforcements arriving to help them"

Lasky agreed with her "Look like we've got our objectives, anything else?"

Laura nodded. “Yes, sir. But there’s a complication.”

"From what we can gather from their remaining communication, They think it’s an ancient Shil’vati gunbrick design. They believe they’re fighting an unknown empire with better and archaic tech," She hesitated for a moment before laying it bluntly.

"They don't know we're human"

-----

James ducked his head down again as another of those unknown planes passed over his position again, the M16 in his hands pointed across the street, waiting for a squad of... well anything really, a squad of Shil’vati, Rakiri support squads.

His squad had been fighting against the Shil for the past four years, ever since they arrived, they were all part of the Washington National guard once, before the Shil’vati ever invaded, back when they uniforms matched and ammo was standard and food wasn't scarce.

Back before the sky belonged to an alien empire.

"Psst, James" Corporal Morales whispered, crawling beside him, they'd set up inside the second floor of a convenience store, overlooking a intersection.

Morales wore a mismatch of gear, a PASGT helmet jury-rigged to mount a scavenged fuel cell at the back for a Shil'vati visor being the most notable of them, "You see anything?" She asked.

"Not yet" James muttered back.

Just as he said that, A second aircraft flew past, this one big and chunky looking, a dropship if he had to guess, he watched as it swung around before it's engines angled downwards, looking like one if the Marine Corps old Ospreys, on the aft of it clamped a jeep.

"Contacts" Morales hissed, the thing wasn't anything they've seen the Shil’vati use, they watched as the thing landed for a moment, dropping the jeep, before landing itself, ramp lowering.

James didn't knew what he was expecting, maybe some huge tentacled thing, or a bunch of worms formed into a shape of a person, but whatever it is, he didn't expect them to be—

"Human?" James said, suprise evident in his tone "Hold your fire" the radio crackled as Michael ordered, they watched as more and more soldiers exited the dropship, totaling to 14 soldiers, some of their uncovered faces unmistakably human.

They watched as a second dropship arrived, a tank hanging at its aft section, like it weighed nothing, It wasn’t any design any of them recognized. It had a sleeker turret, a wider chassis and a quad track design, yet it was definitely a tank in all sense of the word.

"Alright! Listen up, you dirtbags!" One of the men yelled, "Currently the Spartans and ODST's are moving in for the kill, Our objectives is simple, hold and dig in, make sure that no purple sonuvabitch, gets through us. It's that clear?!"

"Yes, Sargeant Dubbo, Sir!"

Chapter Text

The Nornfang barked, the stock kicking into her shoulder, the custom 14.5mm round punched clean through a pair of Shil’vati a kilometer away, the distant figures collapsing in near unison.

Linda swiveled, her hands steady as she scanned her surroundings, she watched as a battered troop carrier crash-landed at the front lawn of the White House, as a Broadsword flew overhead.

Linda lined up a shot, checking over the dozens of MQ-96 drones doing overwatch over the city, the dumb Ai controlling them feeding telemetry, information and updates, several figures disembarked from the dropship with more coming out.

Injured, disoriented, Linda adjusted elevation by a fraction. Wind shear from the fires below nudged the calculation; she compensated without thinking.

*Crack*

A figure dropped, the group scattering to find cover or running back inside the dropship, "Blue team, Be advised, contact on the north lawn, disembarked troops are injured and disorganized" Linda said as she lined up a second shot, firing at a Shil that was peeking around a corner.

*Crack*

The second shot echoed a heartbeat after the first. The Shil’vati who’d dared to peek around the shattered stone corner snapped back out of sight and didn’t reappear.

"Copy that" Fred's voice responded, gunfire echoing from the other side of the line "We're moving to intercept, keep pressure on them"

"Copy" Linda fired another shot, before tagging the crashed dropship, with a secondary priority marker, before she swept her scope along its hull.

Several moments passed before a pair tried to make a run for it, running towards a nearby service entrance or tunnel hidden by some debris.

*Crack, Crack*

The pair fell moments after the other, Linda reloaded Nornfang with practiced ease, letting the magazine drop before seating a fresh magazine, the bolt cycling smoothly to chamber a new round.

Below, the north lawn had gone quiet, the survivors hiding in their cover, Linda mentally ordered one of the MQ-96 drones to get her eyes on the survivors, "Remaining dropship survivors are suppressed and pinned" Linda said, green lights lit up as blue team confirmed.

The drone feed slid into the corner of Linda’s HUD—thermal silhouettes huddled tight behind broken masonry and the scorched flank of the dropship, heartbeats loud even at this distance. No coordinated movement. No push. Just waiting and hoping, She watched as Blue team's IFF inched closer to the north lawn.

Below, John stepped into view, Mjolnir armor catching the light of nearby burning debris, Kelly following along the perimeter with Fred covering the rear.

Blue team moved clinically as they rounded the corner, shooting those who tried to fight back, while detaining or cuffing the ones that surrendered, "Survivors detained and secured, Pelican is on its way to pick them up," John reported "Linda, Move up"

"Copy, chief" Linda locked Nornfang to the magnetic clamps on her back and jumped off the communications tower, moving quickly to regroup with blue team.

-----

The M20 clattered with deadly intent, every burst wounding or killing its target, Vale moved with practiced efficiency, sending suppressing fire down the hall, as either a Marine or a ODST pushed upwards.

"Supressing!, Move up!" She barked, as a Marine with a Spartan laser ran towards the next piece of cover, the bunker was a complicated death trap for any attacking party, Majestic and Osiris having only advanced by a inconsequential amount of distance.

"Rockets away!" Thorne yelled as he fired his SPNKr down range, The rocket shrieked down the corridor, its exhaust scorching the walls before it slammed into a recessed barricade of alloy plating. The explosion wasn’t just loud—it was contained, the bunker’s geometry swallowing the boom and turning it into a brutal, concussive thump that rattled everyone’s teeth.

Shrapnel and debris flew everywhere, some embedding into some poor bastard, while others slammed uselessly against the Spartans shields.

Vale reloaded her gun, the action having been drilled into her when she joined the Spartan program, Hoya pushed forward, his M739 SAW firing at full blast.

Several Marines and ODST's joined Hoya, moving up with him firing their guns at whatever body they came across as they pushed deeper into the breach.

The dust cloud slowly settled, with Majestic, Osiris, the ODST's and Marines pushing deeper into the bunker.

"Push, Push!" Locke yelled, as he quickly broke from cover, boots pounding against the floor as he slid in beside Hoya, his MA5D chattering alongside Hoya's Saw, accurate three round bursts accompanying Hoya's spray and pray.

"Left corridor, Contact!" An ODST shouted, M7S smg coughing as the ODST fired short disciplined bursts, Vale snapped at the callout, her M20 aimed as the dust thinned a tiny bit more.

Jagged shadows move and break into motion as Vale and the ODST fired, some of the shadows fell as they retreated.

"Frag out!" Someone shouted as a grenade flew down the hall, it bounced once, twice—

*Whump*

The blast doors slammed shut in front of pair, sealing the left corridor, a moment later an explosion hammered from behind the blast door as the grenade detonated, "Shit" the ODST said "Left corridor is sealed!"

"Doesn't matter!" Locke said "Main corridor is still open, Keep pushing!", the combined forces of the Spartans, ODST's and Marines kept pushing forward, moving past the sealed corridor, inching closer and closer to tying the noose with every meter taken.

-----

High above the smoke choked skies of D.C, A F-41 Broadsword yanked left, launching a pair of air to air missiles towards a retreating interceptor, the craft tried to dodge, popping countermeasures and evasive maneuvers—

But it was too late, One missile detonated just off its port side, the shockwave tearing armor plates free and sending the craft off-course, as the second punched straight through the fuselage.

"Splash one," the pilot reported as he turned back into D.C, within a couple of hours, the Local airspace around D.C is now within UNSC hands.

Any large scale response from nearby Shil'vati bases having been largely neutralized or driven off, with the UNSC Berlin and Eclipse used as mobile large scale Anti-Air sites, turning the skies into a killing field that no Shil’vati pilot wanted to test.

What few Shil’vati craft that remained focused on assisting ongoing evacuations of wounded allies or on retreating away from the death trap that is the skies above Washington.

A unspoken deal seems to have been made between the Shil’vati and UNSC crafts, with most UNSC aircraft ignoring their Shil’vati counterparts unless provoked, some even escorting transport craft carrying wounded out of the city, either our of altruistic intent or to make sure that the crafts are actually escaping away.

On the ground, Shil'vati marines either evacuated to designated Evac/extraction zones or surrendered to roving bands of UNSC marines, leading to scenes reminiscent of those during the opening days of the Shil'vati occupation, Hordes of surrendered troops being moved towards designated areas.

Long columns of disarmed troops were marched through ruined streets, hands bound, heads high or bowed depending on the individual. Pelicans settled into scorched intersections and parks, ramps dropping as prisoners were guided aboard under the watchful muzzles of MA5s and BRs.

Logistic dropships flew around the city, as D-82-EST Darters and D-96 Albatrosses flew in much needed supplies. While Pelicans and Condors ferries wounded and critically injured Marines back towards the waiting hospital bays of the UNSC Infinity, Berlin, Eclipse, Ode to the stars and Dawnbreaker.

Outside the city, Shil'vati forces ready themselves, slowly digging in and fortifying defenses, as more and more troops gather to encircle the city, with planet side air forces being put on high alert.

-----

It was weird, to see dropships flying overhead, especially Human made ones, James watched as the "Pelican" landed, its ramp opening to reveal more people, Engineers, medics the likes, as they spilled out and quickly started getting to work.

James sat down "You know" he started "I can't see why they'll call it a Pelican, it doesn't even look like one"

Morales snorted as she kept eating the UNSC-issued MRE, her eyes flicking over to the big, green dropship "Yeah? If anything it looks like a brick someone bolted engines onto.”

A marine jogged past them, red cross slapped on top of the combat armor, a pair of engineers following, hauling a massive portable generator between them, the feeling was foreign to say the least.

After years of being in hiding, of never having enough food or ammo to go around, of barely scraping by day to day, the sheer excess of it all felt surreal.

The air felt... louder, not with gunfire or explosives, but with movement, engines idling as Radios chirped with reports, boots hitting the ground without the frantic edge of 'run or die', it reminded him of his old posting as a National Guard.

Michael approached them, the tension in his shoulders was gone, his walk felt more confident and less paranoid, "You two good?" He said as he stood in front of the pair.

James looked at Morales, before nodding "Yeah" he said, a faint smile on his lips "Yeah, we're good, how's the others?"

Michael sat beside Morales "They're being treated" he said, pulling out a cigarette "these 'UNSC' folks said that they'd be fine, but they're gonna be bedridden for a while, they don't know how long" he finished as he lit the cigarette.

The hummed at that, A steady silence fell on the trio as they reflected on the years, Michael exhaled, the smoke from the cigarette wafting away as another Pelican arrived.

“Orders are to sit tight, get checked by medics, then we’re getting folded into a larger perimeter. They want locals who know the ground.” Michael said, taking another drag from his cigar "They're gonna be pushing a cordon around a kilometer away from the city outskirts, Air cover’s locked in. If anything big moves, they’ll see it before it sees us.”

Morales huffed a quiet laugh "Locals huh?" She repeated "Guess that what we are"

“Guess so,” Michael said. He hesitated, then added, softer, “You did good. Both of you. We all did.”

James leaned back, closing his eyes just for a second. For the first time in four years, he didn’t feel like he needed to keep one open.

“Hey, Morales,” he said.

She glanced over. “Yeah?”

“If this sticks…” he started “…I wouldn’t mind being bored again.”

She smiled at that "Same"

-----

From: Dr. Henry Glassman
To: Cpt. Thomas Lasky, Sprtn. Cmdr. Sarah Palmer
Subject: Infantry concerns about insufficient penetrative power

Good afternoon,

it has come to my attention from several after action reports from both ODST's, Spartans and their conventional infantry counterparts have raised several concerns about our current fielded ammunition, specifically regarding its penetrative power when engaging against regular Shil’vati infantry.

While some of out current small arms platforms (Specifically, the MA5 and BR series, M392 and 395 Designated marksman rifles) remain effective at engaging our current opponents, some are rather ineffective at dealing with Shil’vati armor (specifically our stocks of M90A CAWS, M45/D Tactical shotguns and M7/20 SMG's) in sustained engagements, particularly at anything beyond close range.

Conventional 8 gauge Buckshot, 5x23mm and 5.7x28mm have shown consistent failure to penetrate Shil’vati body armor at longer ranger, resulting in ineffective hits that neither incapacitate nor supress the target which results to casualties and wounded on our side.

In multiple instances, ODST and Marine units have reported Shil’vati infantry absorbing initial volleys and remaining combat-effective long enough to return fire or maneuver, increasing friendly casualties and slowing momentum during breaches.

I can assure you that we are currently trying to find a quick stop gap solution for this problem, we are currently testing an upgrade for our existing stockpiles of 5.7x28mm and 5x23mm rounds, along with this we are currently urging the increased production and distribution of more specialized shotgun loads (Sabot slugs and penetrator slugs) however it will take a considerable amout of time for these ammo and upgrades to be issued en masse.

In the meantime, I strongly recommend that we put these weapon types in secondary and rear echelon units before we expand beyond the D.C theater, where terrain, preparation and overwhelming Spartan and ODST support currently mitigates these shortcomings.

Respectfully,
Dr. Henry Glassman
Chief engineer of the UNSC Infinity

Chapter Text

-----

Locke fired his magnum, three consecutive bangs rang out as all three rounds hit their mark, purple blood erupting from the Shils chest before she crumpled, letting go of the Marine she was strangling.

The Shil’vati hit the deck, dead, her grip loosening enough for the Marine to stumble back, gasping, one hand clawing at his throat as he dropped to a knee.

"Get clear!" Locke yelled as he grabbed the marine and pulled him behind a support column, as laser fire sizzled past where the marine had been earlier.

Tanaka fired a three-round bursts down the hall just as an EXO came into view, "Contact front! Heavy" Tanaka shouted over the heavy gunfire all around them.

Vale leaned out first, firing her M20, the rounds pinging uselessly off the EXO's chest, with Hoya joining her.

The Exo fired its lascannons, as it swept across the hall cutting some poor Marines and ODST's in half who hadn't been in cover.

The corridor erupted into chaos, as Marines and ODST's dove for anything solid to use as cover, Bucks shields flaring white before shattering as he dove back into cover, waiting for his shields to recharge.

Madsen broke cover firing his DMR with Hoya following suit, as his SAW resumed thundering as he laid a brutal stream of fire into the hulking machine.

The hail of bullets was seemingly enough to draw the EXO's wrath as it turned to fire at their direction, sending the pair of Spartans back into cover, yet it this momentary distraction was enough.

As Naiya Ray broke cover, running with all the might given to her by her Spartan 4 augmentations, she rushed at the hulking machine and jumped, her Mjolnir's thruster pack kicking in sending her half metric ton weight into the EXO.

The impact was catastrophic.

Naiya slammed against the EXO like a Kinetic missile, as she slammed shoulder first into its torso, the collision ringing like a gong through the bunker. The EXO staggered, as its servos tried- and failed- to compensate for the sudden hit.

Naiya ditched her MA5D and began punching the machine, utilizing her shorter stature to out maneuver the EXO.

Thorne aimed the SPNKr, his finger ghosting the trigger but Naiya's proximity with the EXO complicated the situation, "Cant take the shot!" He gritted, Buck shook his head, locked his gun to his back and with a huff Buck ran and joined Naiya.

He slid beside her, planting his boots against the deck and shoving his shoulder into the EXO’s flank. Naiya instantly matched him, the two Spartans moving as one, as they forced the towering machine into a brutal close quarter brawl. Dodging, ducking, and weaving for every heavy blow that was meant to crush them.

Slowly but surely their fists slammed against the EXO, it's armor slowly being battered and dented until-

Buck drove a punch straight through.

The armor gave way with a sharp crack, and Buck ripped his fist back, fragments clattering to the floor. Through the torn plating and shattered internals, he caught a glimpse inside the cockpit.

The Shil’vati pilot stared back with wide eyes and terror on her face at the hole within her mech suit, as alarms blared and sparks flew from within, and with that Buck went flying as the EXO swung at him, with Naiya ducking and jumping back.

*THOOM*

With that Tanaka fired, the ARC-920 railgun in her hands kicking as it fired its 16x65mm slug, The shot screamed through the corridor and punched straight into the EXO’s arm, severing it violently, sparks flying everywhere.

The mechanical beast staggered, before a secondary shot from a marine's Spartan laser severed it leg from the joint down, sending the wounded frame toppling against the floor.

Buck pushed himself upright, rolling his shoulder with a grunt. “Ow,” he muttered, Naiya walked up to him offering him a hand up, “Up you go,” she said as Buck took it, letting her haul him to his feet. He gave her quick nod. “Remind me to send Tanaka a thank-you card.”

Locke ran up to the pair "What you two did back there was reckless" He said as he handed Naiya her rifle back "But great work, you two, we’ve got a semi-intact EXO and a live cockpit interface. Science teams back on the Infinity is going to love this.” A pause "ONI especially"

Locke keyed his comms "Marines, secure the area, check up on the wounded, tag the EXO for recovery, everyone else push forward"

Acknowledgements crackled back over the channel as Marines fanned out, with medics already moving towards the injured.

With that the ODST's, Osiris, and Majestic fell back into motion, boots thudding against the hard concrete floor, as they advanced in unison deeper into the facility.

-----

General Besava slammed her fist at the Holotable, having just watched a Death's Head Commando piloting a EXO lose against two of those freaks that these humans seem to employ.

"Just what are these monsters!" She yelled as she's watched these... things rip through her bunkers security, Veteran Marines, EXO pilots, and Death's Head Commando's. She'd watched these freaks shrug off munitions capable of destroying tanks and EXOs.

"General" The Corporal, Viarhin if she remembered right, said, her tone filled with worry and concern "They... they're getting closer, ma'am, maybe we should-"

Besava looked at the corporal again, her eyes burning with rage, annoyance and a hint of fear "Are you suggesting that we surrender?!".

Viarhin stiffened, straightening despite the tremor in her hands. “No, General. I’m suggesting we survive.”

That gave Besava pause.

The holotable chimed again. A warning glyph pulsed crimson: INNER PERIMETER BREACH. Less than two hundred meters and dropping.

Besava stared at the new warning that popped up "Close all remaining bulkheads and order all units to pull back" Besava ordered her voice measured as she gripped the edge of the holotable as hard as she could.

She knew Viarhin is right, that they need to surrender, but she'll be damned if she'll just let these freaks get her without a fight.

Viarhin hesitated for half a heartbeat—then nodded sharply. “Yes, ma’am.” Her fingers flew over the console, relaying the order. Across the bunker schematic, icons began to withdraw, defensive lines collapsing inward like a wounded animal curling in on itself.

A feed flickered to life, it showed the closing of the doors and she watched as one of the bastard kicked a piece of prefab barricade to stop one of the doors, a barricade that weighed 150 kilo was moved like it weighed like nothing.

She watched as one of the things, a blue armored one, activated some kind of thrusters on its back and bash through one of the doors with another one doing the same, the cameras cutting out as they did these things.

She straightened, drawing herself up to her full height, armor plates settling into place as if answering her resolve. “Open a channel to all remaining forces,” she ordered. “Priority command code.”

Viarhin complied, her voice trembling only slightly as the bunker-wide broadcast went live.

“This is General Besava of the Imperial Expeditionary Force,” Besava began, her tone iron-hard. “You have fought with honor and bravery, against an enemy that should not exist, and to that i am grateful”

Her eyes flickered at the quickly moving markers, closing in deeper and deeper into her fortified command and control room, "Fallback to point redoubt, destroy any sensitive systems you can find, destroy any data caches, deny them of everything."

She paused, then added the words she had never expected to speak.

“If capture becomes inevitable… lay down your arms only on my order. Not before.”

Viarhin snapped at her, her eyes wide with shock and horror "General, please think" she said "So many lives have already been lost-"

Besava cut her off "If we are surrendering then it will be on our term" she pulled her gun from her thigh holster "Ready your gun, Corporal, that is an order"

Viarhin froze at the command, and for a moment, Besava thought the corporal might refuse—might finally break under the weight of it all, the bunker shook again as an explosion rippled just down the hall, 130 meters, gun rang out as the last of the bunkers defense systems and defenders laid their life to protect command center.

Before Besava could even order the Corporal again, Viarhin pulled her gun with practiced efficiency and aimed it at her "No" she gritted out as the guards within the room aimed their guns at her.

"You gave your order and I am disobeying it" She said, her words forcing itself through the fear and nervousness "What you're doing is gonna get us all killed for nothing, so call them off"

Besava stared at her, incredulous and angry "What you're doing is treason!" She yelled "Drop your weapon!"

"No!" Viarhin yelled "Not unless you call them off, NOW!"

The words echoed in the command chamber, sharp and raw, cutting through the distant thunder of detonations and tearing metal.

"You are out of line, Soldier" the General said, snarling "Lower that weapon before i‐"

“They’re already inside the inner ring,” she shot back, voice cracking but loud. “You know it. You’ve seen the feeds. You can’t stop them—and ordering everyone to die just so you don’t have to say the word surrender won’t change that.”

The guards lowered their weapons a bit, hesitating to either to shoot or not.

"You taught us that lives come before pride, to command with responsibility, so" Viarhin said "Live by it, please"

Besava stared at her, the air felt heavy and oppressive, moments passed before Besava’s gun clattered against the floor as she exhaled a long, shaky breath.

"...Call them off" Besava said at last, the words tasting like poison. “Issue the ceasefire order. All units.”

Relief washed over Viarhin so fast her knees nearly buckled, but she stayed upright, snapping a sharp nod. “Yes, ma’am.” she replied as her hand flew at the Holotable, as she transmitted the order across all available channels.

“If they take us, they will know we did not break easily.” Besava said as she straightened, shoulders squared, reclaiming what dignity she could. As the distant gunfire began to falter.

The Pentagon complex has been neutralized

-----
[White House complex]

Chief ripped the metal to the side, the hatch screeching as it was forcefully opened, revealing the pilot within, she was able to fire off a few shots from her pistol before he grabbed her throat and threw her out of the disabled EXO.

Kelly ran past the pilot, gunning for the quickly closing bulkhead, she rolled before squatting and stopping the thing dead in it's tracks.

Linda gave covering fire, her Nornfang firing as it sent 14.5mm APHE rounds, the rounds punching through cover and killing their intended targets, as Fred ran to help Kelly with the bulkhead.

Blue team moved like a finely tuned machine, they had burned through the bunkers defenses like plasma through titanium.

The pilot hit the floor hard, skidding across the concrete floor, "P-please, spare me!" The pilot yelled as she scrambled away from the 7'2 green giant.

The seven-foot-two set of armor stared at her, visor and body language unreadable, for a long second, he just looked at her, before he opened a compartment and produced a pair of cuffs, “Hands where I can see them,” he said, calm and absolute.

She obeyed instantly, arms shaking as she raised them, before the giant slapped it on her, the cuffs clacking close around her wrists before a fist flew to her face, knocking her unconscious.

Her head snapped to the side, as she collapsed bonelessly on the floor "Prisoner detained" Chief said as he moved towards Kelly and Fred at the bulkhead, Linda already waiting on the other side of the door.

With every member ready to go, Fred and Kelly dropped the bulkhead, closing it behind them, "Hostiles are falling back" Linda said switching her Nornfang with the DMR on her back "They're disorganized"

"Well, they're running out of places to run" Fred said reloading his BR-85 "Command center's just up ahead, they're definitely consolidating their forces"

"Which means they're desperate" Kelly said "Doors are all sealed tight, what's the plan Chief?"

"Then we knock" Chief deadpanned as he ran and activated his Gen 2 Mjolnir's thruster packs, the combined speed and weight helping John to break through the bulkhead.

-----

Bright lights welcomed Deeld as she opened her eyes, the last thing that she remembered being a fist approaching her face.

She looked around the room and noticed a human standing guard beside a door along with having her hands chained at a table "What is the meaning of this?" Deeld demanded, tugging at the restraints. “You will release me immediately.”

The guard didn't obey her, disregarding her entirely as he kept staring straight ahead, Deeld began to open her mouth, ready to go into a proper tirade— about her rank, protocol, the consequences of mistreating an Imperium officer— when the door softly hissed open.

The guard saluted as a pair of figures entered the room, the first being a human male, he wore what is unmistakably a Naval officer's battle dress uniform, his vest carries his rank insignia marking him as a ship' captain. He carried himself with quiet authority yet there was a gravity in the way that the room seemed to orient around him. His expression was calm, thoughtful, eyes sharp as they briefly took in Deeld.

The woman that followed was different, She wore a tailored black field uniform that looked just like the officers own with slight differences, it bore no marking other than a triangle with a circle within, she had the air of someone who knew more than they let on, she carrying herself like an Interior agent, and that terrified her.

"At ease Sargeant" the man said as the guard dropped his salute and retured to his previous pose, silent once more.

The man stepped forward just short of the table, "Hello, my name is Captain Thomas Lasky, Commanding officer of the UNSC Infinity" the man introduced himself, a friendly smile on his face, his voice even.

The woman moved next, slowly circling the table, her boots barely making the faintest of sounds against the hard deck, until she was right beside her, her eyes never leaving Deeld.

"You can call me Commader Bishop" the woman said "You were recovered alive after we disabled your ship"

Captain Lasky pulled the chair in front of him sat, folding his hands in front of the table. The friendly smile didn't leave his face yet it softened to something moreeasured, professional and patient.

"First things first" he started "You are not injured, we've treated you and all your fellow soldiers in accordance with our law, no one here intends to mistreat you. Your restraints are... procedural to say the least."

"I am a commissioned officer of the Shil'vati empire, detaining me is a grievous—" Deeld bristled before she was interrupted

"Mistake that will come to bite you in the ass blah blah blah" Laura said as she pulled the chair beside Lasky and sat "Yes, yes you Imperials all recite the same script. Rank, law, outrage, threats of future consequences. It’s comforting, really—predictable."

Lasky didn’t flinch at Bishop’s blunt interruption. If anything, the corner of his mouth twitched, like he’d expected it.

Deeld's jaw tightened "Then why am I here?"

"Because you know things, you are Captain Deeld T'kari of the Destroyer Wish upon a star" Laura replied as she leaned closer to the table "So let's just get this over with, we know that you know things, ships, their armaments, nearby fleets and their numbers so on and so forth"

Deeld’s eyes flicked between the two humans, lingering on Laura a fraction longer than was polite. “If you already know my name, my rank, and my ship,” she said coolly, “then you hardly need me.”

Laura hummed, "That's the funny thing about intelligence work" she started "just because you know of something doesn't mean you'll know how it'll be used"

Lasky finally spoke again, his voice steady, almost conversational. “Wish Upon a Star,” he repeated as he pulled a datapad from his side of the table. “Chimera-class Destroyer, part of the Earth occupation fleet and sent on an intercept course with the unknown dreadnought"

"According to this," Lasky continued "An unknown contact appeared near Jupiter, Local FleetCom sent a nearby patrol for an intercept course, a minute passed before the patrol reported about an unidentified dreadnought, with that local FleetCom mobilized all the ships that they have and sent a courier ship towards the nearest system for reinforcements"

Laura nodded at that "Now our questions," she said as her tone shifted to something more surgical, "First: What ship type was the courier ship? And how fast can it go and get to the nearest system? secondly: how many hulls does that system have, more importantly what types do they have?"

Deeld's jaw tightened, she weighed her options, her eyes drifted to the datapad in Lasky's hands, she weighed how much damage her silence or answers could cause.

"You humans don't waste time" She finally said, sighing as she straightened in her chair, as she defaulted to the posture of an officer giving a report "The ship was a Voraxis class relay cutter" she said, confident "Minimally armed and armored, with its only purpose being to relay and deliver messages, it's one of the most important asset in a fleets toolbox."

"They're fast, faster than anything other than something built for speed." She said "It's equipped with a highly specialized jump drive capable of reaching up to 3 to 5 lightyears per day, assuming that it was clean jump"

Laura's eyes narrowed slightly "And the nearest system?"

Deeld hesitated before replying "and what's in it for me?"

Laura hummed as if contemplating before answering "Well, I don't torture you or send you to be dissected by our scientists for one, and trust me you wouldn't want any of that, and for two," Laura tilted her head, considering Deeld more "You stay relevant."

Deeld frowned at the threats, but Laura just leaned forward, enough to make the light darken her face.

“Right now, Captain, you are a captured officer from a ship that made hostile first contact with a force your Empire fundamentally misunderstood. That puts a clock on you. When the situation escalates— and trust me, it will if you don't answer us—people like you tend to become afterthoughts.”

Lasky remained silent, letting the ONI agent set the tempo, "But," Laura went on "If you're cooperative, accurate and useful, you become a source. Sources get protections. Sources get bargaining chips. Sources get... 'remembered' when lists are made.”

She leaned back "and a list will be made at the end of this day"

Deeld exhaled slowly, her bravado draining just a little, "You're asking me to betray my empire" she quietly said.

Laura shook her head "No," she corrected "I'm asking you to face reality, your courier is already gone, with your reinforcements already moving or growing in numbers, nothing you say here will change that. What it does change however, is how much blood would be spilled before someone realizes that this was all just one big misunderstanding"

Lasky finally spoke, his voice steady and measured yet it also carried a sense of care and understanding "Please, help us understand what's coming, so that we can prevent more unnecessary violence and stop this bloodshed."

That, out of all the threats, seemed to go land.

Deeld looked away, jaw tight, before she spoke, shame evident in her tone “The nearest system is Point Orion,” she said quietly. “A regional staging hub. Not a core world, but its critical.”

She took a deep breath in before continuing "With Earth being considered a vital system, Orion would constantly have a powerful fleet stationed there, as of my last briefing, the fleet consisted of two Oryx class carriers, four Riven class heavy battleships, two Dravok class light battleships, ten Chimera-class destroyers and a two dozen Seraphim class frigates"

Deeld paused before continuing "But they aren't expecting something like this ship," she said "You have technology that is, at most, theoretical to the entirety of the galaxy, along with having enough weapons on this ship to flatten every city on Earth"

Lasky’s fingers tightened together. “That assessment comes from where, exactly?”

Deeld looked at him, confused "Your ship outputs enough power to keep several large cities running for decades to even centuries, it was able to withstand the collective fire of thirty-eight ships, no ship has ever survived anything of that magnitude"

Laura raised an eyebrow at that "So you're saying we scared them?"

“No,” Deeld corrected. “You've confused them.”

She leaned forward slightly despite the restraints, her officer’s composure returning in fragments. “The Imperium understands strength and escalation. What it does not understand is discontinuity. You don’t fit into any projection model we have.”

"Which makes Orion cautious" Laura exhaled as she rubbed eyes in the way of an incoming headache.

"Potentially," Deeld replied "but caution can quickly escalate into fear."

"Orion Fleet Command would assume that this ship is unique and one of a kind, an anomaly that contains technology that'll give them the edge they need against the Consortium and Alliance" she added "With that in mind, they will probably contact high command and forward all information they have about you and your ship, if the report is treated seriously, Orion's fleet will become exponentially larger, with the fleet going to either cripple the ship or kill it."

Lasky absorbed that in silence, his expression unreadable for a long moment.
“Cripple,” he repeated at last. “Not negotiate.”

Deeld shook her head. “Negotiation comes after superiority is established. If they believe your ship is a singular advantage, they won’t risk talking first.”

Laura let out a slow breath. “So from their
perspective, we’re a prize. Or a threat.”

“Both,” Deeld said. “Those categories are… flexible.”

Lasky leaned back slightly, folding his arms. “How long,” he asked, “before Orion can meaningfully reinforce?”

Deeld didn’t answer immediately, as she leaned back in her chair, contemplating and thinking about it “Best case for you?” she said. “Three to four days before additional hulls begin to arrive in-system. Phase travel isn’t instant, and massing a fleet always leaves traces. Worst case?” She hesitated. “A week, and you’re looking at a sector-level response.”

Lasky stood up "And that's all we need for now" he said as the door to the interrogation room opened as another guard entered the room "We thank you for your cooperation, Captain Deeld, we would contact you again in a couple of hours, in the mean time, rest"

Laura followed soon after exiting the room first as the guards moved to escort Deeld out of the room "Oh and one more thing, who gives the orders for Orion?" Laura said

Deeld looked at Laura "Fleet matron Vael’Ryn. Oryx carrier Unbroken Oath. She has full discretionary authority.”

Lasky and Laura shared a brief smile at that “Good,” Lasky said. “That’ll make the conversation smoother.”

He turned and exited the room as the chain securing Deeld’s handcuffs was unhooked by the guards, allowing her to be moved more easily back to her cell.

-----

CLASSIFIED // EYES ONLY
UNSC NAVY – OFFICE OF LOGISTICS & MATERIAL READINESS

To: Cpt. Thomas Lasky
From: Cmdr. A. K. Rowe, Logistics & Readiness, UNSC Infinity
Subject: FINAL EQUIPMENT ASSESSMENT – UNSC Infinity (INF-101)
Date: October 17, 2558 / 2022

 

---

Captain Lasky,

Per your directive, the following is the finalized and verified inventory of all active, deployable, and mission-capable equipment currently embarked aboard the UNSC Infinity. This assessment reflects post-engagement audits, combat losses, rapid field modifications, and emergency reactivations conducted since arrival in-system.

This document supersedes all previous interim reports.

I. VEHICLES

3x M510 Mammoths (Note: 3 M510 Mammoths were left back on Earth for repairs and refits)

210x M808 Scorpion Tanks

25x M850 Grizzly Tanks

180x Mantis Exosuits

510x M12B Force Application Vehicles "Warthog" (Note: These includes all variations that is currently in use)

70x M15 Razorbacks (Note: The majority of these were left behind on Earth during our retreat from Cortana)

100x M247R Mongoose

II. AEROSPACE & ORBITAL ASSETS

Out of our compliment of 10 frigates, a pair was left behind after being recalled for retrofits and upgrades, the following listed below are what is currently in our docks:

FFG 1026 - UNSC Berlin, Mk2 Paris-class Heavy Frigate

FFG 923 - UNSC Eclipse, Mk2 Paris-class Heavy Frigate

FFG 2931 - UNSC Dawnbreaker, Mulsanne-Class Light Frigate

FFG 573 - UNSC Ode to the stars, Anlace-Class Light Frigate

FFG 3348 – UNSC Long Night’s Promise, Strident-class Heavy Frigate

FFG 2012 – UNSC Wayfarer, Strident-class Heavy Frigate

FFG 1417 – UNSC Perseus, Strident-class Heavy Frigate

FFG 1109 – UNSC Valiant, Strident-class Heavy Frigate

92x D77-TC Pelican Dropships
(Includes troop transport, medevac, and logistics-configured variants)

38x D96 Albatross Heavy Dropships
(Capable of delivering MBTs, Mammoths, and prefabricated base modules)

64x F-41 Broadsword Strike Fighters
(Air-to-air and precision ground-attack capable)

41x Longsword Interceptors/Bombers
(Mixed C709 and C712 variants)

12x Sabre Aerospace Fighters
(Stored, flight-ready, limited deployment due to maintenance constraints)

III. INFANTRY SMALL ARMS, HEAVY WEAPONS & INFANTRY SUPPORT SYSTEMS

All infantry small arms are ready and operational, with ammo stocks capable of lasting us 7 months of low intensity operations to 4 months of non-stop fighting.

Field reports confirm reduced effectiveness of shotgun and SMG platforms against standard Shil’vati infantry armor. Issue is currently under review by Dr. Glassman, Science Corp and Engineering Corp for ammunition and platform adjustments.

IV. PERSONNEL & FORCE READINESS

Spartan assets:
Spartan assets are all ready and on standby, with limited deployments to help fortify key locations and reinforce conventional infantry elements.

ODST Complement:
At 96% effective strength. Casualties minimal and morale assessed as high.

Marine Infantry:
Combat-ready. Integration with local resistance elements ongoing under ONI supervision.

Engineering & Medical Corps:
Fully deployed planetside in rotating elements. Capable of sustained casualty treatment and rapid infrastructure repair.

V. LOGISTICS & SUSTAINMENT

Fuel & Power:
Reactor levels are all nominal and sufficient for extended orbital and atmospheric operations. Fusion reserves remain within optimal thresholds. (Note from Dr. Glassman: Preliminary analysis indicates that Shil’vati fusion reactors uses deutrium compounds, that are chemically and isotopically similar enough to be adapted for UNSC use with only needing a bit of calibration, seizing their local fuel mining and processing facilities would prove rather vital if we are to keep humanity safe.)

Ammunition:
Orbital and ground stocks stable. Select precision munitions classified as controlled-use pending further escalation. (Note: While the Infinity is perfectly capable of producing some of its ship side ammunition, some of its more exotic armaments would need rather extensive infrastructure, it will be vital that we start planning for forward production and resupply if we intend to protect the Sol system)

Repair & Fabrication:
Infinity’s onboard fabrication bays operating at 82% capacity. Field-expedient repairs to vehicles and MJOLNIR systems ongoing.

VI. OVERALL ASSESSMENT

The UNSC Infinity remains fully combat capable and able to continue and sustain its current operational tempo for the foreseeable future, provided current expenditure rates and casualty levels remain within projected parameters, With proper logistical foresight the UNSC is well-positioned not only to defend Earth—but to dictate the terms of any further engagement.

Respectfully submitted,
Cmdr. A. K. Rowe
Logistics & Material Readiness
UNSC Infinity (INF-101)
// END REPORT //

Chapter Text

-----

"Roland" Lasky said through his neural lace "How's the situation on the ground"

"Well sir, do you want the good news or the bad news?" Roland said, his voice filling Lasky's earpiece, as Lasky rounded the corner, the ship felt alive, as crews moved with purpose, reactors softly humming.

"The bad news first" Lasky said as he entered the Infinity’s vast mess hall, "Shil’vati reinforcements are digging in and around the city, they're bringing in any and everything that they could, along with that atmospheric fighters and such are now being pulled from everywhere, seems like they're getting to bring down the hammer down on us"

Lasky sighed at that grabbing a bottled water and a sandwich "and the Good news?" Lasky asked, "Well Osiris, Majestic, and the 32nd was successful, they've apprehended the General underneath the Pentagon, A woman named Stauc Letis Besava, she's probably capable and sending the stand down order for the troops outside D.C, Along with that Osiris and Majestic are on their way to help Blue team at the White House Complex"

Lasky hummed a tone of satisfaction at that, "Anything else?" he said as he sat at a table "Based in my calculations from Captain Deeld's intel, reinforcements from Point Orion are almost certainly mobilizing. Best estimate places the First elements could arrive in-system in days. Maybe less if they push their phase drives hard."

"Hm, Issue our remaining frigates to undock and have them go on patrol, have Dawnbreaker stay on low Earth orbit near D.C" Lasky said as he unwrapped the tuna sandwich and bit it "It'll be a while, but if the Shil’vati think like we do they'll definitely send in stealth ships to survey the system before the main fleet arrive."

Lasky continued "Anything with our resident ONI agents?" Roland nodded "Yes sir, Commander Bishop is already preparing a secure channel to push a stand down order using General Besava's credentials— assuming she agrees of course."

Lasky bit into the sandwich again "and Besava?", Roland replied almost instantly "She's cooperative" he said "She's angry, prideful and proud, but she's cooperative, after action report from Osiris tells us that a junior officer from within the bunker forced the general to issue the order under gunpoint"

Lasky’s ear perked at that "A mutiny?" He said, intrigued.

"Localized, but yes" Roland said "A Corporal, Viarhin Corlise, from what I can gather, she's a prodigy to say the least, she served underneath Besava for over five years, climbing the ranks, three during the occupation after a assassination killed the previous General"

Lasky chewed slowly, nodding along, urging Roland continue "Service record also shows repeated instances of operational initiative—borderline insubordination, but with results. High survival rates among her units. She’s been reprimanded twice, never demoted.”

"Based from the recovered bunker black box, she assessed that continued resistance would result in unnecessary loss of life and the death of the command staff, she acted based on preserving remaining forces."

A pause before Roland continued "ONI is very interested in her."

Lasky finished his sandwich, opening bottle and taking a swig of water "I'm sure they are, based on what you've just said, she sounds like she'll be a great asset for us"

Lasky stood from his table "If Besava follows through the stand down order, I'll need you to get Corlise away from the rest, separate her. Medical check, food, water, no interrogations for 24 hours unless it's under my direct order."

Roland seemed surprised at the order "What are you planning sir?"

"She just stopped a slaughter" He said as he exited the mess hall and headed for the nearest elevator "people like that don't respond well to more pressure, let her calm down for a while, along with that flag her file as a potential asset."

Roland nodded "Noted sir, anything else?"

Lasky shook his head "No that's all"

"Aye sir" Roland said before going back to his duties.

The Infinity shook as it released its remaining frigates, one by one they undocked themselves and flew off, before going their separate directions, the four Strident-class Heavy Frigates split off, moving to patrol the surrounding system.

-----

Chief ran, Armor and augmentations pushing him faster than any human or alien, he jumped above the barricade, following Kelly as she charged the remaining defenders of the last room, Fred's MA5D screamed as he laid supressing fire as Linda picked them off one by one.

He punched as he rounded a corner, his instincts and intuition carrying him forward as he gunned down two more soldiers with his magnum down range leaving the marine aside, The punch broke marine's ribs and sternum, sending her flying into a wall, Kelly finished her off, shotgun barking as it sent a slug into the incapacitated marine's chest.

The final hard point was eliminated in under a minute, the last defender being gunned down by John.

"Clear" John said as he moved towards the final door of the bunker, Fred and Kelly moving towards the door, sizing it up, "This thing looks like it'll take more charges than we have left" Fred said.

John looked to the side, seeing a terminal, he approached, it was alive, John inspected it a bit further, it's casing was cracked, a couple bullet holes riddled the outer layer with the walls beside it being scorched from near misses.

“Security node,” Linda said from behind him, rifle still up, as she scanned the terminal "I might be able to do something" John moved aside as Linda started to tinker with the terminal, a couple moments passed before—

"I'm unlocking the door" Linda said as the terminal chirped—once, sharp and decisive "Get ready"

Fred and Kelly stacked against the other side as John readied a flashbang, as the bunker's locking bolts disengaged.

The bunker doors split down the middle, the flashbang going in, then detonating with a sharp concussive **CRACK** of light and sound.

Kelly went in first, blue and silver blur going through the widening gap, shotgun already barking twice in rapid succession, Fred following immediately, controlled bursts accompanying Kelly's shotgun.

Chief entered last, rifle snapping up with mechanical precision as he quickly dispatched his own set of targets.

It was over fast, with the final defenders dropping their weapons or injured on the floor, The Planetary governess sat at a bed by the corner, she was surrounded by a couple of human males, they were all in various states of undressed.

"W-we surrender!" The governess yelled, a Noblewoman named Kelyha D'naza, throwing her hands up in surrender.

-----

Roland roamed the vast space of the Infinity’s datacenter, projection shows that ship building capabilities would take weeks to even months to start.

If the UNSC intends to defend Earth, it'll need to get as much ships as possible, a panel appeared in front of Roland, it seemed like one of his 'systems' was done sorting through some of the intel.

He looked through them before his eyes caught something interesting "Huh" Roland exclaimed, intrigued, he started digging further. Roland pulled up various outdated UNSC schematics, as he started digging through the various empires technological development.

While the Alliance, Consortium and Shil’vati empire are in a Cold War, trade relationships between the trio are still relatively stable. Roland pulled a schematic of a pre-covenant war fusion reactor, he compared it to a high end civilian reactor used by all three empires.

A plan slowly formulated as he compared various UEG and UNSC technology against their alien counterparts, while some of their tech are better, if not more superior, compared to their human analog, most were either inferior or rather inadequate.

Roland ran a new set of projections and calculations, one if the UNSC started it own shipbuilding infrastructure and another if they bought it off the Alliance and Consortium, shipyards, materials and equipment, anything that the UNSC can start up and build out of.

A domestic and Localized shipyard would take 18 to 24 months to build and start showing a net positive, too slow and the Shil’vati may give Earth 18 months before they invaded and tried to retake their holdings. On the other hand, buying shipyards and bulk fabricators off the Consortium or Alliance, projected time frames indicate it'll only take weeks to acquire the shipyards and have the first hulls to leave the assembly lines.

Roland nodded at that, forwarding an outline of outdated technologies that they could trade with the Consortium or Alliance to Commander Bishop.

-----

Besava stared at the console in front of her, hesitating, it has been a day since she agreed with giving the stand down order. She was sitting inside one of the Human ships, inside a interrogation room.

The console softly pulsed in front of her, her fingers hovering above the button, the display had been reconfigured for her—Imperial glyphs translated cleanly into human-standard, every option laid bare with unsettling clarity.

The room itself was quiet, almost deliberate, no guards loomed over her, with the exception of a human officer, who was standing a respectable distance away from her, pose neutral.

The channel designation stared back at her as she stared at it.

IMPERIAL COMMAND AUTHORITY — VERIFIED
GENERAL BESAVA, STAUT LETIS — ACTIVE

Her credentials. Her authority. Still valid. This fact weighed heavily on her better than any restraint could.

"If you don't do this, thousands more would die before someone else reaches the same conclusion" The officer said, breaking the silence of the room.

Besava let out a heavy sigh, "If I gave this order, I would be disgraced..." she said "It'll mean that I miscalculated... that I started a war with an unknown species because i panicked"

"I will be used as an example" Besava said, tone weary "This entire thing will be archived, my failure would live on through the minds of new officers as I am used as a warning in what not to do."

The officer looked at her, a neutral expression plastered on his face, a moment or two passed before finally, he spoke up, his tone was calm, almost gentle "With respect, General... history often treats those who stopped wars better than those who fought them perfectly."

Besav looked at the man with tired eyes, examining him further before replying, he was unassuming to say the least, five foot something, broad shoulders and a rather sharp jawline "Sounds like the boast of a victor"

"Or someone who've seen what war does to good people" the officer replied, before continuing "Look, we both know that if this fight continues, both of our sides would lose people, good people, so please think about the consequences if this continues"

Besav closed her eyes and pressed the button, transmitting to all Shil’vati military channels, "This is General Stauc Letis Besava, Imperial Expeditionary Force, Sol system, stand down and disengage all hostilities" she said, filled with discipline.

"This directive will supersede all previous orders, all remaining orbital, atmospheric and ground elements are to cease all hostilities and return to their respective bases" her tone slowly shifted into something firmer

“…effective immediately,” Besava continued, her voice hardening into the unmistakable cadence of command. “This is not a tactical pause. This is a strategic termination of engagement.”

"All unit commanders are to acknowledge receipt. Any hostile action against any human force is to be considered as disobedience in accordance to direct Imperial high command and shall then be treated as treason" she continued "This conflict has exceeded acceptable risk thresholds, we shall not escalate futher without explicit authorization from High command. Besava out"

The console beeped softly, as the message was sent across the entirety of Earth.

-----

The M20 barked in Glassman's hands, the experimental bullet punching clean through the flexifiber at a respectable three hundred meters.

Preliminary tests has shown that Shil’vati flexifiber are made from some sort of Non-newtonian material like oobleck, which have proven itself to be extremely effective at dispersing force thrown at it by going rigid.

However this material is not invincible, being able to be circumvented by various means, based on reports Roland was able to get from Shil’vati databases, Flexifiber is able to be pierced by anything going slow or fast enough, to even repeated impacts can cause the material to fail, along with these enough force could still penetrate the armor.

Glassman placed the M20 back at the table, before moving to inspect the ballistic dummy, the flexifiber failed, the entry hole being surrounded by cracks and fractured polymer, the material having tried to harden in response, yet failing.

"Armor suffered a complete catastrophic failure" the technician said "No elastic recovery, that answers that I guess"

Glassman hummed at that, the newer rounds were one of the dozens of ideas that was created and discarded post-war, a improved 5.7x28mm round imbued a plasma core to increase the penetrative power of the round.

"Cost per round?" Glassman asked the technician, "More than a standard HVAP, but it's cheaper the other options" the technician answered "Existing production lines could be modified and adapted but the plasma is gonna be hard to produce in large quantities."

Glassan grimaced at that, going back to the table, where several dozen experimental bullets lay, neatly arranged within foam inserts. "That's always the catch isn't it?" Glassman muttered "the clever part never scales"

He picked one of the plasma rounds, Inside, the plasma core sat dormant, "How hard is the plasma bottleneck?" Glassman asked.

The technician exhaled. “Right now? Very. We can make it. We just can’t make enough of it fast. We'll need dedicated facilities and specialized equipment and containment"

"So this isn't a general-issue solution?" Glassman said as he placed the round back down, "No, sir at least not yet" the technician said.

"Hm, Start low scale production," Glassman said as he picked up the M20, "We'll need to improve the design more, we also need to do a field test issue it to Spartans and select ODST teams"

-----

Fleet matron Tesum Vael’Ryn inspected the fleet gathered at the jump point, It had taken nearly three full days to gather this many hulls without stripping the nearby systems of their own fleets.

When the relay cutter arrived with news and reports that the Sol system was under attack by an unknown dreadnought, Vael’Ryn had dismissed the initial reports as a hoax, an unknown ship being able to bypass this deep into Shil’vati space without being detected was blasphemous.

Yet the evidence was undeniable, as she watched the recording of the 'fight', if you can call thirty-eight ships being disabled in under a minute a fight, she watched as the 'dreadnought' withstand the collective fire from thirty-eight ships.

Vael’Ryn exhaled slowly as she expanded the fleet overlay, her large fleet of forty-two cutting edge hulls had grown into a mighty eighty-two hulls of various classes, yet it still felt like it isn't enough.

"Is this all that we could muster?" Vael’Ryn asked as she closed the overlay "No, ma'am, more are en route to the system, but it'll take longer" her aide said.

Fleet Matron Tesum Vael’Ryn let the silence stretch after the aide’s reply, the hum of her flagship filling the void left by unspoken doubt. Eighty-two hulls.

On paper, it was a formidable armada, new generation Cruisers, Various classes of Carriers, New battleships with heavier armor and modern emitters. It was the kind of force that you'll see in the frontlines of a war.

"Eighty-two hulls," Vael’Ryn said at last, her voice measured, carrying the authority given to her as a Fleet Matron "Against something that treated thirty-eight as a minor inconvenience"

"Have we identified it's origin?" Vael’Ryn asked as she pulled up a still of the Dreadnought, the scale estimate alone was impressive, it was larger than anything other than the defensive fortress above the capital, with power readings that placed it near Planetary sector level.

"None as of yet, Matron" the intelligence officer said "Hull geometry doesn’t correspond to any known peer-state, additionally none of our deep cover assets have uncovered even a rumor of a program capable of fielding something like this.”

"Signal the fleet, defensive posture only, no provocative maneuvers and no target locks unless they have my authorization." She said before adding "And prepare a diplomatic channel, it seems that whatever this thing is, didn't want to start a war."

"Yes matron" The aide bowed before moving to relay her orders.

Chapter Text

-----

Lasky stood on the bridge of the Infinity, watching the holotank as Condors and Albatrosses streamed out of the Infinity’s hangars, prefabricated modules slung tightly from their cargo holds.

The Infinity had once been stocked with vast amounts of colony-starting and terraforming equipment, intended for the worst-case scenario—Earth’s fall. Much of it had since been removed or scrapped when the gargantuan vessel was repurposed into the UNSC's flagship.

"Surface teams are already establishing hardpoints at Outpost Alpha," An operation officer reported "Power and life support are expected to come online within the hour"

Lasky nodded once, "Keep me updated"

He swiped his fingers across, the holotank dissolving and transitioning from a birds eye view of the outpost into a wide, rotating star map of the Sol system.

The Frigates moved down their designated patrol routes, Anlace and Strident-class hulls took layered orbits stretching from Mars all the way out towards Neptune. Under normal circumstances, UNSC doctrine dictated that each patrol element shall consists of two to three hulls operating in mutual support.

However, with the Infinity’s current predicament and lack of a sizable fleet,  the gaps between patrols were rather impossible to ignore, in order to compensate, sensor buoys had been deployed along carefully chosen locations.

Each buoy fed passive data back to the Infinity, forming a loose yet persistent early warning system, it was enough to help cover the various blind spots that the patrols weren't able to cover.

"Coverage gaps between Neptune and Uranus are within acceptable limits," The sensors officer reported "however, anything smaller than a corvette or a stealth ship could still slip through"

Lasky sighed at that "We'll take acceptable for now, tell the Frigate Captains to keep active and passive sensors on high and to stay on high alert, I don't want anything getting through"

Roland's yellow avatar appeared at the holotank, his World War II-era pilot uniform contrastjng against the star map as he folded his arms, "So have you read the plan?" Roland said as he started to pace around the holographic sun.

Lasky didn't look away from the holotank as Roland circled the glowing representation of Sol, the AI’s boots passing harmlessly through Jupiter’s orbit, "I've read the summary" Lasky replied "but let's move to somewhere private"

Lasky didn’t wait for a response. He made a short, decisive gesture, and the holotank dimmed, the star map collapsing into a single point of light before vanishing entirely.

"Bridge, I'll be in the ready room" he said, already turning to leave "You have the watch"

"Aye, Sir."

Lasky exited the bridge, with Roland jumping within Lasky's neural lace, "You want my honest opinion?" Lasky quietly muttered "This could end badly,"

The ready room door slid open at Lasky’s approach, sealing with a quiet hiss before sealing shut behind him. The room was sparsely decorated, a table, chair and his own computer sat at a corner forming his personal workstation, his bed sitting at the opposite side.

"First of all, we don't know what the possible repercussions that this'll cause, along with that, the possibility of the Shil'vati getting their hands on these techs could lead to them getting a huge boost"

Roland appeared on small holo projector, letting Lasky continue "Second of all, this ties us to outside powers in ways we don’t fully control. The Alliance and the Consortium aren’t stupid. The moment they realize how far behind we really are, they’ll start hedging—leverage, contingencies, quiet side deals, the works, and from what you've told me, while their ships aren't as powerful as the Covenant's, they have the numbers, industry and economy and we don't, if they want Earth or any of our tech they could just invade us."

Lasky stood still crossing his arms "We both know how bad intelligence leaks are, once somethings out it's out, and you’re suggesting that we hand them Pandora's box"

Roland didn’t answer immediately. His projection steadied on the desk, smaller than usual, less performative—yellow light pooling softly instead of flaring.

"You're right" Roland started "Every concern you've raised has been valid, especially the first one"

“Technology leakage is inevitable,” he said plainly. “Not possible. Inevitable. The question isn’t whether someone gets their hands on our work—it’s what they get, when, and how incomplete it is.”

Lasky frowned slightly but didn’t interrupt.

"All three factions have spies deep in their enemies, of course they do, however what I'm proposing isn't opening Pandora's box" Roland said "I'm proposing that we hand them outdated scraps, scraps that we can control"

Lasky turned slightly, leaning a hand against the edge of the desk. “Explain.”

Roland pulled up a reactor schematic, the familiar lines of a pre-Covenant fusion stack rotating slowly above the desk. "This is a Mark Twelve fusion reactor, it was used back in 2408 and was capable of generating upwards to three gigawatts, reliable, resilient yet it had a fatal flaw."

"Pushing the reactor beyond its tolerance bricks the entire thing," Roland continued, rotating the schematic, “and once that happens, the reactor locks itself into an inert state. Core vitrifies, control pathways fuse, restart is impossible without a full rebuild.”

Lasky hummed, "And when they start poking?"

"They'll hit walls" Roland said "The Mark 12 was extremely flawed, even if they start trying to reverse engineer it, but the moment they find out, it'll be too late"

"They'll waste time, months if not years of it, trying to improve on something that's inherently flawed" Roland finished

Lasky’s eyes stayed on the rotating schematic, the old fusion stack casting pale light across his face. “And they won’t realize the flaw is fundamental?”

Roland shook his head. “Not at first. The Mark Twelve looks improvable. Better materials, tighter tolerances, smarter control software—on paper, it invites optimization."

Silence filled the air, with only the soft hum of the room's air scrubbers, the silence seemed to stretch for minutes before Lasky nodded once, “Draft the framework,” he said. “Tiered access. Kill-switches baked into anything that leaves our hands. And I want ONI crawling over every clause with a microscope.”

Roland smiled before nodding "Yes sir, Already looping them in"

-----

It's been three days since they've arrived, On paper, the UNSC now has free reign on Earth ever since the stand down order was given, however most of the marine contingent are ordered to stay within Washington's boundaries.

Dubbo and his squad of marines patrolled the streets of DC, it was weird to say the least, most civilians looked at them with a mix of relief, awe, and apprehension, as if hoping that they didn't just trade one oppressor with another.

Dubbo adjusted the sling of his MA5, leading his fireteam down the avenue, he watched as a convoy of Warthogs drove down the road, transporting various debris, as the squad turned a corner and nearly ran into a group of resistance fighters.

"G'day" Chips Dubbo greeted, Australian accent evident in his voice "You boys doing alright?"

The group wore a mismatch of gear, a mix of human made rifles and Shil'vati ones were slung over their shoulders, their faces all tell the same stories— tired, unshaven and hollow eyed, they looked like some of the veterans who fought during the Covenant War.

"...You...UNSC?" The man asked, his eyes flicking between the Marines, he wore a battered plate carrier with a faded US patch.

"Last I checked" Chips joked, as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offering it to the man "Look, I know you lot don't really trust us, but here, seems you boys need it"

The man hesitated for a moment, his eyes narrowing at the offer, before grabbing it, taking one out and handing it to his squad mates, "Thanks" he muttered as he took out a lighter from his vest, his hands shaking just a bit as he lit his cigar "Been a while since i had one"

The lighter flared, casting a brief orange glow across faces that hadn’t seen much warmth lately. The man took a slow drag, coughing once before steadying himself, shoulders sagging just a fraction as the nicotine hit.

“Yeah,” he said after a moment, voice rough. “Been rationing everything. Ammo, food… comforts.”

Dubbo nodded, understanding etched upon his face as his mind drifted back during the Covenant War "War back home taught us much" he said, tone somber and understanding "You boy's did good considering your situation before we arrived"

That got a few weird looks, before one of the resistance fighters spoke up, she was younger than the rest "So what now?" She asked adjusting the strap of her rifle.

Dubbo looked at her thinking for a bit, before responding "Well, I don't really know, we haven't gotten any orders yet but I'm sure Captain Lasky will do the right thing"

“Stand-down’s holding,” Dubbo continued. “Shil’vati troops are pulling back or staying put, UNSC’s keeping a light touch, and no one’s bombing someone unless something goes real sideways.”

-----

Vael’Ryn walked down the hall, her uniform crisp and clean, as she headed towards the bridge, a quick reaction fleet had arrived last night, boosting her already formidable armada by up to sixty ships.

However, several diplomats had also arrived, while the arrival of bureaucrats had inconvenienced her, she could leverage the increased presence of Nobles to bring herself a new promotion.

The bridge doors hissed as she approached it, The guards threw a crisp salute as she entered the bridge.

The diplomats had called for a meeting hour, she knew that the news of the unknown dreadnought had reached high enough that a Quick Response force had been authorized.

"Captain" her aide moved to her side as she took her place at the central dais, "Status?" Vael’Ryn asked.

"Quick Reaction elements fully integrated, Fleet Matron,” an aide replied. “All ships report green readiness. Diplomatic delegation is secured aboard Carrier Radiant Authority. They are… eager.”

Vael’Ryn scoffed "Of course they are" she muttered as she approached the holotable, the table flickering as it established a clean line with the other carrier.

Vael’Ryn folded her hands behind her and straightened as the faces of the Nobles— Diplomats, Military liasons, so on— appeared before her "Fleet matron Tesum, I'm glad you were able to make it in time" the diplomat said "You have been called before us to discuss the upcoming operation, rules of engagement and potential first contact protocol"

"The fleet are at full readiness, Ma'am" Vael’Ryn replied evenly "Though I should note that before we discuss operation, I suggest that we first align on the facts"

One of the Nobles– An older Noblewoman with a general's dress uniform– raised an eyebrow "By all means."

Vael’Ryn gestured, the holotable shift to show the dreadnought, "I am sure you've all read the reports, am I correct?" She said, the Nobles nodded "Then you all know that what were seeing is an unknown variable"

"This vessel was able to withstand the combined forces of thirty-eight hulls and was able to neutralize all of them in under a minute, Even with the combined fleet here, we would fail" She said calmly

"Then what are you suggesting?" A diplomat said, Vael’Ryn did not answer immediately. She let the question hang, giving it the weight it deserved.

"I am suggesting" Vael’Ryn started "That this is not a problem that we can solve through with a massed engagement"

A ripple of murmurs passed through the assembled Nobles, the general frowned "Then what do you recommend, Fleet Matron?" She asked, voice dripping with venom.

Vael’Ryn inclined her head slightly, acknowledging the challenge without yielding to it. "This vessel has already shown three critical facts, First: it possesses defensive systems far beyond our current combat models.
Second: it chose disablement over annihilation.
Third: after achieving local superiority, it did not press its advantage.”

"What I am suggesting is for us to contain, observe and contact it" Vael’Ryn said

A younger diplomat scoffed. “You want us to talk to it?”

"No" Vael’Ryn started "I want us to negotiate with it"

"If we engage this vessel, our people who have been left behind would be in danger" she continued "I'd like to remind you all, that by the last count, Earth has over 25 million troops currently running counter insurgency operations all across the planet. Along with that, several minor and major Nobles were stationed and on vacation when the dreadnought arrived"

"Over 25 million troops," she went on "Their loss would not only be a catastrophic military setback, but the following political backlash and aftermath would be the end of all our careers at the minimum"

The silence that followed was heavy, moments passed as quiet murmurs went around the diplomats, the general spoke first "...Very well" she spoke, tone cold and measured "Draft your proposal, Fleet Matron. But understand this—if your negotiation fails, the responsibility will be yours.”

Vael’Ryn bowed, precise and unwavering, "I accept that responsibility.” As the holotable dimmed and the Nobles’ projections winked out one by one.

-----

ONI and the Infinity’s science teams tore through the captured Shil’vati technologies with the fervor of a starving animal. Scientists, Researchers, and Engineers dug through the caches of weapons, vehicles and armor, examining and learning from them.

Shil rifles were stripped, reduced to their various components to be examined and evaluated, while Shil’vati power cells were wired into diagnostic rigs, to be tested and compared against their UNSC counterparts.

Armor suits were suspended in magnetic frames, layers peeled back to reveal composite structures that defied several UNSC material assumptions, while vehicle hulls were cut open, their sleek alien lines giving way to a mess of exposed conduits, gravitic plates, and control nodes.

Every discovery was noted down and evaluated, most discoveries would take months if not years to fully integrate, however the weaknesses learned however would be implemented instantaneously.

Chapter Text

-----

At 4:32 am Sol standard time, One hundred and forty-two ships appeared at the edge of the system, Strident-class Heavy Frigates "Perseus" and "Valiant", who were patrolling Neptune and Uranus respectively, are ordered to retreat deeper into the system.

Lasky ran, alarms and klaxons pulsed through the hallways, "Roland, Situation!" He yelled as he hurried to put on his uniforms jacket.

Roland's voice came through Lasky's neural lace “One hundred forty-two contacts just jumped at the edge of the system, Phase drives and hull geometry matches Shil’vati ships— fleet has an heavy emphasis in carrier's and line cruisers"

Lasky slipped the jacket on just as he got on an elevator, "Fleet posture?" He asked as the thing started moving up.

“Unknown,” Roland replied. “But they’re not posturing. Formation remains non-hostile", Lasky nodded "Start Scanning all frequencies, see if they're hailing us"

Seven ships against one hundred and forty two. The number weighed heavily in his mind, If the situation goes hot, the numbers aren't in their favor, even if Shil’vati ships are leaps and bounds weaker it didn't matter if you're outnumbered twenty to one.

The elevator chimed as it reached its destination, Lasky forced himself through before the doors even opened fully, before running straight towards the bridge.

The bridge doors opened to reveal controlled chaos, sensor feeds updated in rapid succession, officers calling out contacts, Lasky approached the holotank, the glowing red arc of Shil’vati ships doting the edge of Sol.

"Any hails" Lasky asked, "Still scanning" the comms officer replied, he nodded "Keep at it, Roland, give me a sitrep with our fleet"

"All Strident-class Heavy Frigates are moving deeper into the system, plan is to regroup and consolidate defensive coverage, Dawnbreaker is moving out of Earth to reinforce" Roland reported as he highlighted the ships and their current locations, already moving towards preplanned fallback vectors.

Lasky's jaw tightened as his eyes studied the holotank. "Captain" the comms officer said, voice tight, “I’ve got something. Tight-beam transmission, high power, encrypted."

"Put it through" Lasky ordered, the holotank dissolved as it switched from a wide view of the Sol system into a projection of a purple skinned woman, her eyes flickering with suprise when she finally realized what she was looking at.

"H-human?!" The Shil’vati blurted, her discipline slipping and her mouth working before she could stop it.

"Yes, Captain Thomas Lasky of the United Nation's Space Command" Lasky said, as he straightened his posture and clasped his hands behind his back, "You are speaking to a human vessel under my command."

The declaration seemed to shake the stunned diplomat out of her trance, she visibly swallowed as she turned to the side– likely to her aide– before snapping her attention back to him.

"We have arrived to negotiate with your people" the diplomat said, her voice neutral as she fell back to her diplomatic training "we are willing to seek a peaceful resolution, the Imperium have no desire to escalate this conflict that was born out of a misunderstanding"

'They’re being careful' Roland whispered through Lasky's neural lace, Lasky nodding along "Very well, a ceasefire has been in effect for over three days now, under the direct orders of General Besava, and we intend to keep it that way during our negotiations"

The diplomat nodded, "I Understand, Fleet Matron Tesum Vael’Ryn is offering to discuss and negotiate this more thoroughly face to face, preferably somewhere neutral."

Lasky considered her for a moment, eyes steady, expression unreadable. The bridge lights reflected faintly off the holotank, casting the envoy’s image in sharp relief.

“Neutral ground is acceptable,” he said at last. “But it will be truly neutral. No armed escorts beyond personal security, no hidden sensor arrays, no fleet movements during talks.”

The diplomat smiled, "We accept those conditions," she replied "Fleet matron Vael’Ryn has anticipated such demands, which is why she had chosen Mar's, "

Lasky hummed at that, "Mars" he said "A surface meeting then? If so then I propose that we should just negotiate back on Earth, specifically Washington or the UN Headquarters in New York"

The diplomat looked to the side, as she seemingly asked her superiors on how to respond, several long moments passed before the screen switched, as the diplomat was replaced by another woman who wore the insignia of the Imperial Navy.

"Captain Lasky," the woman started " I am Fleet matron Tesum Vael’Ryn" The woman said "You're proposition is currently being reviewed, however, I want to offer a counter proposition"

"I'm listening" Lasky cordially replied, "There is a Shil'vati orbital station that is in geosynchronous orbit near, what your people call, China" Vael’Ryn started "I'm proposing that the meeting is tobe set there, as the station has the capability to broadcast through the entire planet"

Lasky's expression didn't change, as he considered the proposition before finally—

“From our perspective, Fleet Matron, that station represents occupation. Optics matter.”

Vael’Ryn inclined her head, acknowledging the point without conceding it. “Which is why I am offering concessions before you ask,” she replied. “The station will be placed under joint security for the duration of the talks. Imperial marines will withdraw from all internal sections involved in the summit. Your personnel may conduct independent sweeps, deploy counter-surveillance, and even bring your own communications infrastructure.”

'She's giving ground' Roland murmured from his neural lace 'Just enough for us to think this isn't a trap' he said before adding 'And even if it is a trap Blue team and Osiris would be with you during the negotiations and the Infinity could jump near the station to provide support, You'll be in safe hands Captain'

A couple more moments passed before Lasky finally replied "Then we have a deal, in exchange any and all armed Shil’vati vessel are to keep at a minimum sixty thousand kilometers with ground aircrafts being grounded until the negotiations are over, the same will happen to our military."

-----

The Condor flew silently through the inky blackness of space, it's thrusters burning as it carried the delegation towards the station.

The transport bay was cramped to say the least, with nine Spartans, with a couple of ODST's sitting or standing around the bay, with Osiris, Blue team, and Palmer, occupying most of the space through sheer mass and volume alone.

Lasky would have called the amount of Spartans accompanying him to be overkill, however optics matter and as a soft show of force, nine seven foot tall super soldier's is a pretty good show of force in his opinion.

"You nervous?" Laura said as she softly jabbed Lasky's thigh with her finger "Your foots tapping like a jack hammer against the deck"

Lasky glanced down, only then realizing his foot had been bouncing against the deck. He stilled it with a conscious effort before clearing his throat "Hard not to," he replied "Especially since one wrong move can drag us into a war we're not prepared to fight"

Palmer chuckled, the noise being modulated by her helmet "If it helps you calm down, sir, you're doing a great job handling the situation considering how fantastical it sounds,"

An ODST laughed, "Tell me about it, Ma'am, Time travel? Another universe? Shit sounds like the plot for some movie" that seemed to get a kick out of the other ODST's, the troop bay erupting in laughter, with Lasky smiling at the comment.

Another ODST joined, "Hey, careful" She started "if this is a movie, we'll be the extras who die in the first act, so ease up on the daredevil attitude"

That got another round of chuckles, "One wrong move," another trooper added, as he shook his head "And boom- galactic incident, so no pressure or anything, Cap."

Lasky smiled at the laughter, the tension within him easing as the noise washed over him, moments passed before the laughter and banter between comrades tapered off.

"Jokes aside" Lasky started "This is real, no matter how absurd it gets, so I want all of you to act professionally, they're going to be watching how we handle ourselves now"

Palmer nodded "You heard the man, helmets tight, safeties on and eyes open"

"Yes ma'am!" The ODST's replied just as the pilots voice came from the intercom "Sixty seconds" the Condor shook as it entered the stations hangar, the artificial gravity adding weight back to the craft.

Blue Team stood first, moving towards the ramp just as the Condor landed, with Osiris following after, weapons slung but ready. The ODSTs formed up along the bulkheads, helmets turning in unison as amber status lights flickered to green.

Lasky took a step forward, stopping short of the ramp, through the narrow viewport, he could see the hangar– it was vast, yet it was unmistakably utilitarian looking more like one of the dime-a-dozen hangars that the UNSC uses, only painted in purple.

Shil’vati Marines seemed to line every corner of the hangar, with several EXO's seemingly in attendance, Lasky straightened his uniform and squared his shoulders just as the ramp began to drop.

The ramp finally hit the deck of the hangar, Blue team and Osiris was out first, their imposing figures seemingly enough to change the very air within the hangar.

Lasky followed suit, Palmer by his side as they stepped off the Condor, walking across the  hangar as the delegation moved to meet them halfway.

"Captain Lasky" the diplomat said, a friendly smile plastered on her face, as she offered her hand "It is an honor to meet you", The diplomat was flanked by two Shil'vati Exo's, more armored and advance than the ones that the UNSC fought on Earth, Lasky smiled as he shook her hand "Likewise" the diplomats grip was firm, deliberately so, she was larger than him, standing as tall as Chief.

"My name is Sulith Ditrirev" She introduce herself, releasing the hand shake "Senior Liaison of the Imperium. On behalf of Her Imperial Majesty, welcome.”

Lasky nodded in return "Acting fleet admiral Thomas Lasky, UNSC, Thank you for receiving us."

Sulith gestured with an open palm toward the far end of the hangar, "If you would follow me, Captain, Accommodations have been prepared, and a secure conference chamber is ready. Neutral ground, as requested.”

Lasky nodded as Sulith turned and began to walk, her EXOs falling in step beside her, the UNSC delegation following her deeper into the station.

-----
Infantry weapons

MA5M (Magnetic)

Caliber: 7.62x51
Magazine: 32-rounds, 36-rounds, 60-rounds (Interchageable)
Fire modes: Semi-automatic, Full-Automatic
Fire rate: 660rpm

Description: The newest member of the MA series of rifles, while not that different from its previous brothers, the MA5M is one of the first weapons that was upgraded after the treaty of 2022. Based upon the existing stock of MA5D's and utilizing the Shil'vati's own laser weapon technologies, such as their laser focusing rails and coil stabilization systems, the MA5M integrates magnetic coils along its barrel to accelerate the bullet beyond conventional means.

Upons firing, the propellant initiates the round as normal, but milliseconds later the barrel coils energize, providing an additional electromagnetic impulse that accelerates and stabilizes the projectile mid-bore, this results to faster muzzle velocity, flatter bullet trajectory, improved armor penetration and more consistent terminal performance.

While production of the weapon is in full effect, it is still relatively rare to see I'm the hands of regular infantry.

Remington M7

Caliber: 7.62x51mm
Magazine: 20-rounds, 25-rounds
Fire modes: Semi-automatic, Full-Automatic
Fire rate: 600~rpm

While the invasion and occupation of the Shil'vati empire destroyed vast stockpiles of modern military hardware around the world, not everything was destroyed. Civilian armories, reserve depots, private manufacturers, and deep-storage logistics sites across the world survived—either overlooked, deliberately spared, or simply buried deep enough to avoid detection.

With the need to fill logistical gaps, the Remington M7 was born, built using surviving tooling and production lines originally intended for the M4/M16 family, the M7 is a stop gap solution currently employed by UNSC forces, meant to bridge the gap between older, traditional style rifle’s like the M4 and AK-74 and the UNSC's Bullpup design, bridging the logistical gap and capable of being produced rather quickly and cheaply.

In practice, the rifle is most commonly issued to second‑line UNSC units, planetary defense forces, and resistance formations transitioning into formal UNSC command structures. Its familiarity is one of its greatest strengths: soldiers trained on pre‑war Western rifles can pick it up and fight effectively with minimal retraining.

-----

Ships active under the Earth Space Navy

Constellation Class Heavy Corvette

Length: 280 meters
Width: 75 meters
Height: 65 meters

Mass: 31,000 metric tons

Crew: 20-55

Main propulsion: 2x Sinoviet SL-5D Fusion drives

Armor: 40cm of Titanium-A armor, 8cm of Titanium-A structural plate

Armaments: 1x 20DA1C2 Light Coil MAC, 2x M42 Missile pods, 3x M58 Missile pods, 8x M870 rampart point defense guns

Description: Based upon the old Gladius class corvettes, the Constellation Class is a modified design, built to help fatten up Earth's defenses after the treaty of 2022, Unlike the older Gladius, the Constellation incorporates more advanced point defense systems and heavier missile payloads, allowing it to operate both as a fleet escort and a forward patrol platform. Its Coil and MAC provides precision anti-ship fire, while the combination of M42 and M58 missile pods allows for flexible engagement against capital ships and smaller vessels alike.

Chapter Text

-----

A/N: I fuckin hate writing political scenes, this entire thing fucking sucks and i hate this, just imagine the conference room as the UN general assembly room but more regal.

The conference chamber was vast, with huge rolling 'windows' that seemingly showed the inky blackness of space along with the Earth's circumference and huge ornate patterns dotting the room, it was rather beautiful in Lasky's opinion.

Yet he knew that it was also a soft power play, of who owned the most power and influence, the chamber’s layout subtly reinforced it.

The Shil’vati seating rose in gentle tiers, polished and elegant, while the human delegation’s section sat on a smooth, unadorned platform at the center. Not lower—never insultingly so— but isolated, framed, placed so that every eye naturally fell upon them the moment they entered. Equality is presented but the hierarchy is implied.

"Clever" Bishop muttered as they took their seat, across the table, Shil’vati diplomats look down upon them from their elevated platform, giving them a clear, commanding view of the chamber, as Sulith settled down with practiced grace.

Blue team, Osiris, and Sulith's EXO bodyguard's spread out in loose deliberate positions, taking obvious firing arcs towards Lasky and Bishop, as Blue team and Osiris does the same.

"Good morning, Captain Lasky, Is it?" A general, it seemed, asked, her tone indifferent and measured "I assume that your journey here went off without a hitch."

Lasky met her gaze evenly, "It did, actually" he replied in a measured yet kind tone. The general studied him for a moment, her eyes briefly flickering towards the Spartans as if to inspect them before-

"Then let us continue with the negotiations" The General said at last, as holograms bloomed at the center of the room between them, showing the system, showing Earth's concurrent population, resource flow from mining and refueling depots, remaining Imperium orbital stations and in-system assets and much, much more.

"Now Captain, would you kindly tell us what your... people want, before we go any further?" Sulith asked as she leaned forward.

Lasky knew that what he says could mean the difference between war and something resembling independence, 'One step at a time' Lasky thought as he cleared his throat "Thank you, one of our request is several copies of your empire's borders" the General raised an eyebrow, confused at the nature of the request "Just a general outline so that we may not wander within your sovereign territories"

The diplomats nodded along, "Continue" Sulith said as she wrote down something, "Second we want the Imperium to transfer their control of the Sol system over to us"

That request seemed to have already been anticipated, as the diplomats nodded along and let him continue "and Third, we want the formal recognition of the United Nations Space Command as the sole sovereign authority within the Sol system."

-----

The request was anticipated, of course it is. Sulith knew and most, if not all, of the council members knew that these upstarts would ask for the system.

The system that, for the past four years, they've done nothing but send trained troops and equipment to suppress one of the heaviest resistance movements they've had to deal with in nearly three decades.

She let the silence stretch itself out, before she finally replied "Would that be all?" She asked, he tone measured and calm.

The man before her, Lasky, nodded once before replying to the answer "Yes, and in exchange all remaining forces and POW's would be let go and returned to Shil’vati custody"

Sulith nodded before replying "Captain Lasky, I hope that you are joking" she started "But you are asking us, in exchange of Twenty-seven million souls, to just give you our empire's new crowning jewel. The jewel that have, by recent estimations, bled our empire nearly ten million souls in the hope to supress the planets rebel movement, we have paid for this system in blood and political capital. Which we had invested untold billions, if not, trillions of credits to develop, in our eyes your offer is nothing short of predatory"

The human woman beside him cleared her throat just as she finished her tirade, "In exchange, we also give you schematics for tech that is league's above what your Empire, might be working on"

A small pad came into view in front the woman before it projected several schematics, "What you're looking at is a Mark 12a reactor, a standard military reactor that we use in our corvettes, based on what we can get from your database regarding your own military reactors, it's regular output is nearly thrice than what your counterparts could produce."

The General from before raised her hand "That containment structure, most tests done with that type had ended in catastrophic failure, how did you keep it from collapsing?"

Bishop smiled at the question, "We rely on a more dynamic containment structure, The moment a fluctuation begins to form, the lattice shifts phase and bleeds it off before it cascades.”

The general nodded before speaking again "I see, you may continue", Bishop nodded "We would like to gift you this along with others in exchange for our demands."

Sulith leaned back, her face impassive as she thought about the offer, "This still isn't enough," she said "What else do you offer?"

Bishop reached for the holographic projector, the projection changing from a schematic into a star system "Based on data that we have, this planet over here" she started as she highlighted the third smallest planet that was within the goldilocks zone "has over twenty Billion metric tons of extractable minerals such as heavy metals and rare elements" Bishop continued smoothly, as if she hadn’t just stepped completely off-script. “Preliminary surveys suggest minimal tectonic instability, stable atmosphere, and orbital positioning ideal for long-term industrial development.”

A pause, "and depending on extraction rates, could sustain a major shipbuilding point for at least two to four decades"

Lasky was shocked at the proposition "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear "That wasn't on the script!"

Sulith stared at the planet "Twenty Billion metric tons" she repeated "and you are certain that this system is not claimed by another power?"

"Based off the star maps that we were able to recover from your public databases on Earth no, the system hasn't been discovered by the Consortium or Alliance" Bishop said as the hologram changed again to show the systems location "In fact, we believe that the system is rather close or is inside where your border may lie in, possibly having been largely ignored or bypassed by your survey teams."

Several Imperial advisors began speaking quietly among themselves as the system projection rotated above the chamber, spectral scans and mineral overlays painting the world in layers of gold and crimson. One of them expanded the orbital chart, another highlighting nearby slip routes and potential relay positions.

"Missed by our survey teams?" Sulith said as she stared at Bishop "that's a rather bold claim, Ms. Bishop"

"It wouldn't be the first time" Bishop said, evenly "Your Empire is massive, and with such a massive empire, a few systems could be missed or bypassed during expansion."

Sulith's face was impassive for a few moments before finally she spoke again, voice even "We would need to take this towards our superiors, in the meantime, recess for thirty minutes"

-----

The Negotiations are going well, at least in Bishop’s opinion.

They were escorted into a small room, a few dozen meters away from the main meeting hall, the room was sparsely decorated, less ceremonial and more functional. A tray of refreshments sat untouched at the center table while UNSC personnel spread themselves throughout the room in practiced patterns.

"Roland, scan the room and disable any bugs you find" Lasky ordered, "On it, boss" Roland replied.

"What the hell was that, Bishop?" Lasky asked as he turned around to face her.

Bishop didn't even look up from the datapad in her hands "I was negotiating" She answered, short and neutral.

"Negotiating? You just gave up the location of UNSC mining system, a system which we could've used to build up our forces" Lasky snapped "I could have you detained and court martialed for what you did back there."

"Oh get off your high horse, Captain" Bishop snapped back, placing her datapad on the table "we walked into that chamber asking an empire to surrender a strategically valuable system they spent years occupying.”

Lasky's jaw tightened as Bishop continued "What exactly did you think was going to happen? That they’d politely hand us Sol because we asked nicely?”

Lasky stepped closer to Bishop "You overstepped Commander, that system wasn't yours to bargain with."

The tension within the room was palpable, the temperature seemingly dropping by a few degrees, Bishop scoffed "I don't know if you noticed this, Sir, but we do not have the necessary industry or political capital. We are not in any position to negotiate from pride alone."

Lasky's face hardened "And throwing systems around like bargaining chips fixes that?”

"It gave us the leverage we needed" Bishop replied, Lasky sneered "Yeah and it also gave them an insight on how desperate we are."

“They already know we’re desperate,” she shot back, Lasky took another step closer, jabbing his index finger on her chest "And you just showed how desperate we are, You don’t just suddenly start offering strategic survey data because the room gets uncomfortable.”

Bishop laughed, short and humorless "Uncomfortable?" She repeated as she swatted his hand away "Uncomfortable? Captain, that room was two steps away from politely telling us to leave.”

"You don't know that" Lasky replied stepping back, "Oh I absolutely do, the moment they realized that we had nothing tangible and immediate to offer them, their tone shifted, they stopped negotiating and started calculating how long they could stall us before we folded" Bishop replied as she picked up her datapad again.

Bishop exhaled "Look," she said calmer "I'm not trying to undermine you, both of us know that at a time like this the UNSC and ONI can't be seen bickering, but right now we're flying by the skin of our pants, we're improvising first contact post-occupation negotiations, and strategic stabilization simultaneously while sitting on top of a galactic powder keg."

"The only reason that the Shil even is considering us right now is because of the Infinity, not because humanity became a peer power overnight, the moment they seperate the two this entire balancing act collapses"

Lasky sighed, less exasperated now and more tired, the anger was still there but exhaustion had finally started bleeding through it "I know,” he admitted quietly as he rubbed his eyes.

“Humanity spent nearly thirty years surviving the Covenant by refusing to die,” he muttered. “Now we’re sitting here trying to convince another empire we’re useful enough to leave alone.”

-----

Hecate had been running calculations and simulations simultaneously for the past thirty-six hours, from tech vectors, threat Assessment and theoretical fleet composition and had come to the same realization she came to eighteen hours before.

Unless a second UNSC or allied fleet arrived, Humanities chances of survival within the next four years hangs in the balance, with the probability of the Shil'vati empire attacking and forcefully retaking Earth being around seventy-eight to ninety-two percent likely.

She sighed, something she's beginning to do more and more these days, before sending her observations to her human counterparts.

She'd been activated days before, having been given the enormous workload of decrypting and cataloging the various data that has been handed to the Infinity's ONI contingent, her avatar moved between the various data stacks, like many AI she had a form, and for her it came in the form of a steel-blue woman in her mid-thirties with sharp features, dressed in a simple dark jacket bearing a faint ONI insignia along the collar.

[Roland]: You good?

The inquiry appeared at the edge of her vision, she let the simulation run as she focused on the question.

[Hecate]: Define 'good'

[Roland]: Sheesh, that bad huh? Want me to help you?

[Hecate]: What do you want, Roland?

The message lingered for a moment, Hecate dismissing the previous simulations results and running another simulation before Roland responded.

[Roland]: Sheesh, am I getting that predictable?

Hecate rolled her eyes as Roland's yellow avatar materialized beside one of the suspended data columns, hands stuffed into the pockets of his old pilot jacket as streams of translated Shil’vati data scrolled through him harmlessly.

"Wow, and here I thought I had layers" Roland said in mock hurt, he began walking around her work space, grabbing one of the various report windows she had open.

"Nice threat dissertation" He commented as he skimmed through her report of the Alliance "Really uplifting, especially this part 'While the UNSC and the Alliance is theologically and objectively compatible, continued exposure to Alliance economic frameworks may result in gradual strategic dependency within twelve to sixteen years,' Real sunshine-and-rainbows stuff here Hecate"

Hecate dismissed all of her work, data streams collapsing and disappearing instantaneously, relegated to background noise and other programs. "What do you want?" She said as she finally directed her focus to Roland.

Several moments passed before Roland spoke again "Doctor Glassman believes that a lot of the UNSC's systems are uncolonized in this universe," he said as he began projecting the UNSC's pre Human-Covenant War star charts, "either due to the different method of FTL travel that the various species here uses or because nobody just bothered to look that far out"

"You are proposing colonial expansion?" Hecate said, immediately understanding what Roland is proposing.

"Not quite" Roland said "We don't even know if those planets are colonized or not in this universe, so Doctor Glassman is asking for a reconnaissance mission first. Check out some of the UNSC's inner colonies Reach, Tribute, etcetera" he said as his hand made a vague so-so motion.

"Basically just... poke around and see if this universe went the same way that ours did."

Hecate stared at him crossing her arms, "Poke around?" Roland pointed at her defensively "You know what I mean, besides I know that ONI keeps two sub-prowlers inside Hangar four and we can use that to gain some more first hand with our neighbors."

Hecate tensed slightly at the mention of the prowlers, "Yeah, I know about the prowlers," Roland continued, making a vague gesture with his hand. “Kinda hard not to when some dumbass filed them under ‘Terraforming Equipment’ when I can literally pull up every terraforming package the UNSC uses and see none of it weighs that much.”

Hecate pinched her nose, sighing as Roland pulled up the manifest of the two Winter-class Prowlers, UNSC Black Diamond and Convenient Alibi, both operational and hidden under layered security partitions and falsified cargo labels.

"Even if I ignore the questionable legality of this operation, the strategic risks are staggering" Hecate held her hand up "We don't even know if our stealth systems would work properly against local sensor technology"

Roland snapped his fingers and a live feed of the Shil'vati fleet appeared beside him "Counterpoint, we have an active fleet at our doorstep that we can use for testing"

Hecate closed the feed with a wave of her hand "Are you suggesting that we fly an stealth ship near an foreign fleet DURING a negotiation?!" She yelled, incredulous.

Roland held his hands up "Now hold on, when you put it like that, it sounds stupid, but hea-" Hecate cut him off "I am not hearing you out, Roland. This plan can lead to open hostilities with the Shil’vati Empire and right now two of the and right now Infinity’s officers are actively trying to prevent exactly that.”

"That's why we're not flying them near the fleet" Roland said, "We've already tapped into the local sensor in Sol, while some are offline or just straight up destroyed, we have enough of them that we can start testing and seeing if Glassman's plan is even possible."

Hecate stared at Roland, urging him to continue "OK so" he opened a in system map, Dozens upon dozens of Imperial installations dotted the map, some big some small, some were still active, others had been abandoned "We've got access to a couple dozen abandoned sensor arrays, and thanks to Besava’s stand down order, most of these arrays are intact or relatively intact"

"We take Convenient Alibi, we take some technicians and engineers into one of these array and we do some tests" Roland said "See what the array can detect. See what it can't detect. Figure out what frequencies leak through our stealth coatings. Figure out whether local sensor technology is fundamentally different from Covenant-era systems."

Hecate stayed silent for a bit before she highlighted a single station, it was stationed at the edge of the system.

It sat near the outer edge of the system, beyond Neptune's orbit, a lonely sensor platform hanging in the darkness between the major patrol routes. Its transponder had gone silent during the fighting and, according to the latest reports, nobody had bothered reclaiming it since Besava's stand-down order.

"From previous reports" Hecate started as a hologram of the station appeared between them "This array boast all known sensor tech that the Shil’vati empire uses, it also boast a few dozen human crew members mixed with the Shil’vati, so you may find some sympathazers that would help us"

Roland grinned "I'll notify Doctor Glassman and Captain Lasky" and with that Hecate was left to her own device's, Hecate sighed before focusing on her work again data stacks and reports appearing around her.