[center][b][h2]Major Robinson and Captain Leroux[/h2][/b][/center]

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[color=violet]”We will not be rushing out of the room to get to the ship, but we will not be making any delays to this mission. We have reason to believe that our target will be acting within a few days.”[/color] Major Robinson answered to Yalu. At the very least, there were no objections to skipping training, but she viewed such enthusiasm as a double-edged sword. The Spartans would likely be able to work together intuitively, but they [i]all[/i] needed to learn how to coordinate together, despite vastly different military backgrounds. Against the type of odds they were likely to be facing over the course of their missions, they would not likely be able to rely purely on individual skill to get them out alive, much less complete the mission. For this first mission, though, there was no choice but for them to act quickly. Still, there needed to be [i]some[/i] measure of patience at the moment. [color=violet]”I do not questions your combat experience, Spartans, but I do recommend you take preparation seriously. I know some of you have coordinated with Swords of Sanghelios teams before, but none of you have ever been a [i]part[/i] of one. All of you will need to learn to fight together as efficiently as you would among your own respective species. At any rate, we will begin the briefing once Captain Leroux has arrived. He has the most recent mission files.”[/color]

Fortunately for Aegis team, the Captain was not far behind the rest of them. It was only a few minutes before he entered the conference room as well. He calmly waited for the door to slide shut behind him before he continued to the table. Unlike many of the others who had seen Aegis team, he had no hint of surprise or discomfort. Even the sight of the Hunter did not influence his composure. He was a man in his late thirties, perhaps early forties, with fair skin and light brown hair. He wore a grey and black UNSC naval uniform that prominently displayed his rank. 

The Captain stepped up alongside Robinson. After they exchanged a salute, he spoke, perhaps unsurprisingly, with a distinctly French accent. [color=aqua]“Aegis Team. I apologize for the delay. May I assume you have all had time to become acquainted?”[/color]

[color=violet]”Yes, we can get straight to the briefing.”[/color] Major Robinson answered rather quickly. She consciously avoided sounding too brusque. 

The Captain gave a nod, then inserted a data crystal chip into the holotank in front of him. The AI within soon manifested its avatar near the center of the table. The avatar had a mostly uniform, light blue tint and depicted a Chinese woman wearing the clothing of a 19th century sailor. 

[color=aqua]”Shih, if you please?”[/color] Captain Leroux remarked.

The AI acknowledged the Captain, then brought up a hologram of two CCS-class battlecruisers and one SDV-class heavy corvette at the center of the table. [color=lime]”The clan of the Brute war chieftain Brakabus. It is a rather minor, independent clan of Brutes that splintered off from the Covenant after Truth’s death. Their chieftain likes to boast about their strength as survivors, but basically, they took a few ships, gathered as many weapons as they could possibly horde, and ran away once things started to fall apart. At first, they ran far from any settled part of space, but presumably, they quickly realized that they couldn’t actually [i]eat[/i] guns and had to start raiding for supplies. For all of their bragging about their strength, their leader is at least somewhat pragmatic. Over the last five years, they’ve only raided easy targets, then ran before a response fleet could get to them.”[/color]

Pausing a moment, Shih displayed several images showing what seemed to have been a massacre of twenty or so Humans inside what appeared to be a prefabricated structure, commonly used on colony worlds. Aside from being a rather gruesome sight, what could be easily gathered from the images was that the damage to the bodies, as well as the interior of the structure, was done primarily with plasma weapons. [color=lime]”Last month, this attack was carried out in the Lulnanit province of Andrakis, a colony in one of the Joint Occupation Zones. The victims were the recently-elected governor of the province, and anyone else who happened to be in the building. It was a quick, brutal, and efficient massacre. An EMP attack took out the settlement’s power, and by the time any reinforcements could come, the attackers were gone. How does this relate to the Brute clan? Well, our analysis of a few weapons that were seemingly left behind found some subtle, but distinctive markings that link back to Brakabus’ clan. Now, nothing about this attack matches the normal motivations or methods of this Brute clan, but we did manage to locate their ships. Based on initial investigations, we believe these Brutes have made a deal to trade some of their weapons to a rebel group for supplies. We have not identified the rebels in question, but we believe their objective is to spark conflict between the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios. Tensions have already been rising between Human and Sangheili colonists on Andrakis as a result of the assassination.”[/color]