Battle of Lorn V

The system known to the UNSC as Lorn was near complete silence. The only activity to be seen were UNSC naval patrols looking for any unwanted intruders, and the normal bustle on the primary colony of Lorn V. There was an important reason for this silence. Lorn V was an 'Dark' colony, meaning most of the general public had no knowledge of the colonies existence, and it was under direct control of ONI Section III, the Special Warfare and Information department of ONI. (ONI stands for Office of Naval Intelligence, think CIA of the UNSC) Lorn V was the planet on which ONI stored all information considered to much of a threat to be released publicly. All data on the actual defeats and victories, casualties, which mainly included the Spartans who had fallen in battle, and all data on technology stolen from the Covenant Empire. The sheer importance made it extremely valuable to anyone, and now General Falumee and the Fleet of Harmonic Retribution had its sights set on Lorn.

Originally, Droa had learned of the existence of Lorn V from a captured ONI lieutenant who was freshly deployed from the system. As the Fleet was refueling with a Supply Fleet from Sangheilios, Droa's Artificial Intelligence, Thel, had discovered a UNSC Marathon-Class Cruiser and a small Prowler, which was an ONI espionage ship. As the decided what to do, Thel had listened in on some of the transmissions and managed to interpret what they were saying. Apparently a ONI official was aboard the Cruiser, and that he was to be transferred to the Prowler so he could be brought to a "classified system". Droa was curious, so he decided to capture the ONI official. The 'Light of Honor' and some Destroyers quickly assaulted the pair, and disabled their engines. After that it was easy enough to board the Cruiser, find the Lieutenant, and bring him back for interrogation. M'tha, Droa's Navigation Officer and Expert Ship Boarder, found the official as he was trying to escape on an Lifepod. Before he could however, M'tha clubbed him with his Focus Rifle. He then drug the body back to Droa, who after confirming he was still alive, brought him back to the 'Light of Honor'. Once they were back from the Cruiser, the Fleet fired and destroyed both the Prowler and the Cruiser. It took some time, but with enough effort and 'enhanced interrogation techniques', the young human cracked. He revealed the coordinates of the system known as Lorn and its importance. Having no further use of the Lieutenant, Droa executed the incompetent human and tossed his lifeless body out of an Airlock, his body floating in the infinite of space. General Falumee then returned to the Bridge. "M'tha plot these coordinates and prepare for Slipspace Transition. We have a new target." The officers cheered in excitement. Finally they would have a new battle ahead. Droa felt elated. Soon he would be able to prove his worth once more. All of the sudden, Droa felt someone staring at him. He then looked over and saw Amda. She grinned at him, and Droa knew she was excited too, She then stood up and beckoned for hi to follow. So Droa stood up and followed her out of the bridge. "Droa, it has been a while since we saw combat." "Yes it has. Not since we aided the Imperial Guard on Kronus." "True. So what was it you meant to tell me earlier? Something about a feeling?" She then winked at him, and Droa knew exactly what she was talking about. "What? That I love you?" She then grinned. "Do you not care if people see that? You know that fraternization is illegal." "Why do I care? Amda, I love you, and I do not care if the crew knows." "Droa, I want to go into battle with you next time. I want us to fight side by side." "Of course Amda. Nothing would make me happier." She then suddenly stopped and shoved Droa into the bulkhead. "What about this?" She then forcefully kissed him, and Droa felt himself blush. But he kissed back, and held her close. Even though the woman probably had more kills than him, and she was an Assassin, Droa trusted her completely and he loved her. Suddenly a song played in his head. An old human song, nearly 500 years old.



OOC: Now you guys go through battle preparations. I will assault a small butte and use it as my base. But that comes next.

Arlunis finished a chat with a fellow commander. He looked around in this bunker, a hideout underground which proved as headquarters for mission strategies and counciling. It was dark, with only a few bioluminescent lights around the corner to proved vision. Arlunis walked down the hallway, passing two bodyguards, and stopped before a large table. Around the table were some high-ranking Sangheili strategists and commanders. They were all looking down at a map on the table, but looked up at Arlunis when he approached. A commander, Quarno Endulee, detailed in light-brownish armor, had said to Arlunis "Ah, Arlunis, your finally here. I'm guessing youv'e heard the mission details from General Droa?" he said to Arlunis. He responded "Yes, I've just been recently alerted my pilots to the coordinates. I have yet to tell my forces about it, though. Are you determining which areas we seek first?" Quarno then answered, looking back down at the regional map, "Yes, we've just signaled some of our troops to gather nearby a planet to regroup there, and launch the attack. We're still waiting for you and Freshum Berguree (pun for 'fresh burger' ) to invite your troops to this destination." He pointed to the destination on the map, far in space, yet close to the planet Lorn V, and the other commanders and strategists were looking at it too. Arlunis saw the area, and agreed to it. "So, Arlunis, shall you meet us there by tommorow at noon? Freshum should get there by sunset" Quarno said to Arlunis. Arlunis then said "Yes, I'll alert my men and be sure to arrive on time. Now, as for the assault..." Quarno then looked at the map, and pointed to an area near a snowy cliff. That was the area that they would attack. "Ok?" Quarno asked to Arlunis. "Yes, I now shall alert my forces and prepare them They are getting quite anxious." Quarno, being the Second in command during the upcoming fight, said "Very well, Arlunis. My forces are anxious as well. May we defeat the enemy with great pride and power. We will meet again soon, my ally." Arlunis then turned and exited the area, going to the upper level of the bunker to board his ship and tell his crew of the details.

"Now, as you may know, we have all been assigned to a very special mission. We are going to attack the UNSC base on the planet Lorn V. We will meet the rest of the fleet tommorow at noon to gather up together, and strike preemptively with ground and arial forces. Any questions?" Arlunis said to his crew on board his Battlecruiser, the Great Silver. They were all quiet, and looking at each other for recognition. All of them agreed. No questions. Arlunis then said to them all "Very good. Now prepare your weaponry and armor for battle. I want all of you ready by tommorow."

After Droa and Amda had finished their session, both went to their Quarters to equip their weapons and armor, and to prepare for the coming battle. As Droa donned his Combat Harness, he couldn't help but feel empowered by it. His armor had gotten him through some of the worst times. The Assault on Arcadia, Jericho VII, New Constantinople, and every other battle he was involved in. While he repaired his armor after every mission, it still bore some of the scars from battle. There was a blackened slash across his chest from a duel with Hera's lover, a indent from an Spartan's last action, and a single bullet indent from an Sniper Rifle that was meant to kill Amda. As he equipped his Combat Helmet, he felt an metallic click letting him know that his armor was secure. He checked for any holes or damage to his body suit, and proceeded to examine his weapons. His Carbine was in perfect working order and he felt an warm hummmmm as he slid the first magazine into the receiver. His Plasma Repeater sparked to life as soon as he pulled the charging handle. Finally he checked his Sword. It worked perfectly, because as soon as he thumbed the activation switch, a blade flashed into life. His equipment was ready and prepared. Now he had to plan his assault on the planet.

Droa and Amda returned to the bridge, both fully equipped. the rest of Droa's officers had already prepared, and now his army was beginning to mobilize. From a camera overlooking the Main Hangar, Droa could see his troops preparing for the coming battle. Individuals were cleaning their weapons, vehicles were being cleaned and armed. Even the Baneblade was undergoing fresh preparations and testing for its first battle. Droa then decided it was time to plan out his attack. He called forth his officers and they gathered around a massive holographic table. On it, a display of Lorn V was slowly rotating, with individual red dots indicating targets that both Spy Drones and the 'Silent Messenger' had discovered. As the officers looked at Droa for orders, so he began to explain his plan. "Men, as you well know this Ice Rock is our next target. I know it does not look like much, but this is a vital base to the UNSC. Thanks to our prisoner, we now know that this planet is home to a massive Information Storage Base. Any bit of info that the UNSC must keep secure is kept here. Technology, Propaganda, Plans, and even locations of their worlds, including their homeworld, Earth." When they heard this, a stunned look appeared on their face. Croh then spoke. "Sir, why would the humans keep such important information so close to our own space? It makes no sense." Droa said bluntly "I do not know how these humans think, but we must continue anyway." He then turned to the holographic display of Lorn V. "I will not lie men, we are not at an advantage. They have a defense fleet that outnumbers us nearly 10-to-1. Not even some of the best fleets could withstand such odds. We must not risk the entire fleet. So I came up with an different plan." Droa then zoomed the map out, showing the entire Lorn system. The officers could now see individual UNSC battle groups within the system. Droa pointed at a small, empty spot near the planet of Lorn V. "While we do not stand a chance head on, we can take them by surprise. If we can exit from Slipspace from this point, we will bypass any defensive fleets in the system. This will allow us to launch a small strike force to attack the planet." Xtan, his Weapons Officer, then voiced his question. "It makes sense sir, but what is our target?" Droa then zoomed the map back in, this time to the planets surface. There Droa pointed at a small Plateau about two miles from their primary target. "A small Sangheili strike force will assault and capture this Plateau. Once we have that under our control, we can construct a base in order to bring in more forces. After that we will assault the primary base. In the meantime, our Warships will hunt down any UNSC battle groups in the area. Certainty the confusion will cause them to lose cohesion and will make them easy targets. Now are their any concerns or questions?" The Sangheili Officers all shook their heads in unison. "Good, then prepare for battle. We arrive in two hours." And with that his officers left and got their troops ready.

OOC: Join us now, cause next post I am assaulting the planet. Let me lead the charge.

Arlunis was aboard his battlecruiser, and approached several ships that were awaiting him. "Allow me to board the vessel. Open up the hatches. He has been waiting for us" Arlunis said to his control pilots. The hatches elongated and met to the other ship. Arlunis walked down and through the hatch, with his 2 guards. Upon getting out of the hatch, were 5 Sangheili waiting for them. "Ah, Arlunis, you made it!" Quarno said to Arlunis. They hugged and patted each other on the shoulders. "Good to see you, comrad!" Arlunis said,m with a smile. "The battle is almost upon us. Where has Droa went? Is he with us?" Quarno said "Well, we belive he is on his way. He should be meeting us soon." Arlunis looked over to his guards and said "You may go back to the ship. I will saty here for a while and chat with Quarno of the battle descriptions and ovverview the tactics." The guards nodded in aggreement and headed back through the hatch to the Great Silver. Arlunis turned back to Quarno and said "Ok, the first deployments shall be infantrymen, and then transport the vehicles to the surface. We will strike from around a cliff. I shall go with my Wraith tanks and be accompanied by ghosts. What as for you?" Quarno siad "Me and my highest ranking infantrymen shall go and use active camoflauge to met with our units already down below." Arlunis then semed a little suprised, and then said "Have they anything to report?" "No, they have not met anyone, no UNSC in sight, as those were their words. My Spectre's and us will meet up with them, and meet up with you."