EliteCommander

The Apotheosis Arcanaeum

I'm still here. My character is done, so I'm just waiting.

Halo: Aegis Team

”It is possible your intuition is correct, Spartan.” The Major answered to Ryker. “ONI has accepted that as a possibility as well. Should you arrive to find the situation is drastically different from our predictions and are unable to contact us, then you should exercise your best judgment to act in the interests of the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios. But, the evidence we have does lean more strongly towards rebels being the guilty party. Shih, if you please.”

The AI brought up a different set of images, this time close-up shots from multiple angles of the weapons recovered from the attack, two plasma rifles and an energy sword, as well as detailed shots of some of the plasma damage on the walls. “The markings were found on the energy sword, and were not prominent. Based on previous patterns where it has been seen, it may be a custom of this particular Brute clan to mark trophies they take, perhaps as an insult to the previous owner. They could have been mistaken for battle damage, and the rebels may have not realized they planted marked weapons. If we are right, their goals with the attack were still successful. We may be careful and methodical in our investigations, but the court of public opinion is not so patient. Tensions on the planet are already rising as the colonists blame each other. The rebels may be taking the strategy of driving a wedge between us and the public.”

”Whether it is rebels you find or another threat, it is still our job to act. Aegis is not merely a strike team. You all were not just chosen for your combat ability, but also your loyalty, judgment, and adaptability. In this mission, and others, you will be called upon to go into uncertain situations that are too dangerous or time-sensitive for traditional espionage. You will need to investigate on your own and act in the best interest of our respective governments.” Major Robinson added.

Halo: Aegis Team

I posted. Also, @Aristocles and @Crab Bane, Franklin Mendez was the officer in charge of training every Spartan-II and Spartan-III, in case his mention means something to your characters.

Halo: Aegis Team

Major Robinson, Vael ‘Virisusai, and UNSC AI SHI 1203-8

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Major Robinson, this time, wasted no time in addressing Aviza’s questions, at least to an extent. ”You are partially correct. The UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios have come to an arrangement for the leadership of this team. It is…unconventional, and it will mean you will need to learn to work more closely together than you may have been expecting. We will address the command structure of Aegis Team at the end of the briefing. As for the rebels, they almost certainly are the guilty party for the attack. This Brute clan has just those three ships, and barely enough Brutes and Grunts to operate them. Their Jackals left them years ago. However, the Brutes are not your primary target. They are hardly more than a pest; it is the rebels that are dangerous. We know little about them, other than that they are likely a small, but well-trained group. The most concerning detail of your mission, and the primary reason that Aegis team has been selected for it, is to where we have tracked the Brute ships, and most likely the rebels: Sarcophagus.”

Vael’s eyes widened slightly upon the mention of Sarcophagus. Not everyone present would even know about its existence, likely just the Spartans that had been trained on the world as it had once been known: Onyx. Although, the world that they knew had been replaced by something far different. The secret was not so tightly kept outside of the UNSC, but Vael had only been informed of it as a result of his selection as a leader of Aegis Team. The description he had been given had felt almost unbelievable.

The AI Shih resumed her briefing once prompted by the Major. “An ONI Prowler tagged the Brute ships and tracked them into the interior of Sarcophagus, formal designation Shield World 006. We believe that the Brutes are making another deal with the rebels for more of their weapons, which means that Paxopolis is almost certainly their next target. The heads of security for the settlement, Franklin Mendez and Kasha ‘Hilot, have been informed to prepare for threats, but we would prefer this be dealt with quietly, and especially without danger to the colony. So far, the settlement has not detected the presence of the Brute ships.”

Vael had put aside his data pad and now looked curiously at the artificial construct. “How is it that capital ships, even just in a small group, could go undetected by the settlement? I had been told that both of our people have fortified the settlement with warriors, and even ships.”

”You don’t understand how massive Sarcophagus truly is. I doubt anyone in this room does. However large you think it is, you are wrong. It is larger. Halo rings? The Ark? They look like children’s toys in comparison.” Shih explained, though she soon decided to represent it visually. She first created a hologram in the center of the table that almost reached to the ceiling depicting a star, one not too different from the sun. Then, she “zoomed out” to show the orbit of a planet around the star, then again to show a second planet farther out…then yet again to show a third. Only after the third planet did she zoom out far enough to show the Dyson shell around the star’s entire inner solar system. At this point, the hologram covered nearly the entire room, which she had no doubt done intentionally for emphasis. ”Sarcophagus is a solid shell that orbits at about one astronomical unit. It has an approximate surface area of two hundred and fifty-fife quadrillion square kilometers, and has three planets orbiting a star inside it. Our settlement, our little ‘city of peace’, is just a speck on its surface.”

As stoic as he usually was, even Vael’s awe showed through in his demeanor. Even just trying to imagine the scale of this creation of the Forerunners felt like an impossible task, and a reminder of the incredible power their kind had once wielded. Major Robinson too hesitated, but she did eventually speak up. ”As Shih has…demonstrated, Sarcophagus is a place where the rebels could very easily go into hiding, despite our presence there. Your mission is to follow these Brutes, observe their deal with the rebels, then follow them back to their main encampment. Once you find them, you will strike quickly and decisively. Capture their leader alive if possible, but your main priority is to ensure that their operations are ended permanently. We cannot afford to let them get away, so you must remain undetected until you have identified the rebel encampment.”

Halo: Aegis Team

@krismer22I was re-reading something on the wiki, and I realize I was probably wrong about your character's rank, since the UNSC Marines are considered to be a part of the Unified Ground Command. I think you were correct with Corporal. My apologies.

Halo: Aegis Team

Major Robinson and Captain Leroux

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”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.” 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 all 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 some measure of patience at the moment. ”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 part 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.”

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. “Aegis Team. I apologize for the delay. May I assume you have all had time to become acquainted?”

”Yes, we can get straight to the briefing.” 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.

”Shih, if you please?” 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. ”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 eat 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.”

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. ”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.”

Halo: Aegis Team

@SkyrteIf that is something you want to write, it could make for some extra background for Tasuma. You don't have to, of course.

I'm currently working on a post as well, though it will probably be tomorrow before I finish it.

Halo: Aegis Team

I have created a Discord server for the RP. If anyone wants to join it, the link is here, and also on the first post of the OOC: Discord

Halo: Aegis Team

@AristoclesI'll make sure to remedy that when I next reply.

Halo: Aegis Team

I haven't replied yet because I want to give everyone a fair chance to reply. I'll make sure my next one gets the briefing going, though.