>>6337319

The brain damaged prisoner served as a good smoke screen to keep your fellow Spartans from worrying for either of your health. As expected, poor bastard didn't come back with a clean bill of health and Rita had him sedated so she could perform invasive surgery to fix the worse of the damage

The diagnosis for Shika and yourself was more complicated, and had gotten Rita excited and thrown her into what you'd describe as a scientific fervor.

"No lasting damage or neural scarring" She'd explained, thumbing her holographic fingers of light over the rosary beads wrapped around her wrist as she read out the diagnostics flashing across her eyes "But there have been changes, which in of itself is concerning. New connections have been made, both of your synapsis have undergone adjustment and rerouting"

"That is concerning" Shika agrees which, as she is the Spartan's resident bone saw and medic is in of itself cause for concern "How extensive of a rewrite are we talking about here?"

"Hard to tell. Its subtle. Akin to the subliminal training performed during Cryosleep" Rita explains and you nod along, latching onto the term you understand. It was the same thing that Halsey had used to get you all ready for MJOLNIR, that made sense "Which would explain the Lieutenant's lapse of consciousness and why the information assumedly implanted into his psyche was more extensive than your own, primarily sensile and perception based alterations"

"It affected different areas of our brain differently" Shika, cupping her chin explained even though the projection of the affected areas of both of your grey matter was being projected in front of the medical charts and readouts that Rita had displayed throughout her inspection "Your Wernicke's Area and Frontal Lobe, My Visual and Auditory Areas"

"And my short term memory also took a bigger hit than yours, if I'm remembering what the temporal lobe is responsible for" You speak up and Shika nods, eyes gleaming with the pride only siblings could share "Would explain my blackout. Guessing however they beamed this into our heads, she and I were given different programs"

"And this is only what I've been able to detect. It is possible there are more subtle or dormant changes than my equipment and examination have detected" Rita explained, with a look of guilt passing across her face "I would posit, that the damage is only as minor and temporary, because of the effects of your augmentations. In layman's terms"

She turned to face the Einherjar in a medically induced Coma.

"We already survived having our brains rewired once" Shika interrupts "Our minds were just better equipped to adapt to and handle it than an unaugment person"

"Precisely" Rita says with a nod "Which is why the both of you are still of sound mind and body, no lasting or permanent damage done as far as our current level of technology can detect"
Cont

>>6337320

"So we have a clean bill of health then, Sister?" You ask the holographic Nun as you sit upright and crack your neck

"We should be" Shika answers before she can, and Rita nods along

"I will insist on regular checkups, to record the healing process for posterity, as minute as it will be" She tells you and that is a request you can easily agree to.

"If I blackout again, you'll be the first to know, Rita" You tell her as you swing your legs off the med table and slide off of it, feeling exposed without your power armor "Shika..."

"I know, I'm free to return to duty. Thanks for the check up, Rita" She says kindly as she follows a step behind you out of the operating theater

"Check and make sure Daisy has gotten Whiteshirt's suit stowed away" You tell her, lowering your voice conspiratorially, and she nods "Might be based off Project: Rhodes, but, Halsey will want to see the work the Einherjar were able to do with scrap, hope and a dream"

"While pressed for time" Shika adds, voice barely audible as the two of you watch lockstep with eachother "Almost reminds me of..."

"My looting habits?" You ask and she just smiles

"Your words, not mine, Sven" She teases, punching your shoulder "Glad neither of us got labeled for medical discharge"

"Discharge" You repeat, wondering if anything could get an active Spartan discharge short of being killed in action. And, while on that train of thought, realized that you were trying to make certain of that with the Washouts. But they'd appreciate it, they all wanted to get back into service. in the field. it was what you were trained for. Made up into. To be the perfect soldiers. Having that stolen from your, robbed from you it...it just wasn't right.

"Would've fought it tooth and nail, if we had been" She adds, before pulling off her usual disappearing act. Made easier since neither of you were in MJOLNIR.

Once you exited slipspace, you were scheduled to rendezvous with the rest of the wolfpack and talk shop. Every Captain would have their own after action report, but you wanted them all to be accurate to the action of the day. And while you'd insisted on and set up the joint meeting, it was an easy bet that there'd be questions concerning the capture of the Halcyon and the activities on the unclaimed world.

And until ONI and Command received the urgent message you'd sent, detailing what had been found on the world and recovered from Whiteshirt's ship and the request you'd sent to Stanforth asking for permission to keep his exo-skeleton in the Spartan-II programs hands, you were the one who had the final call to decide who was in the need to know.

What they needed to know, you had the whole slipspace to jump to decide. But on that first night, as you hit your bunk, you suffered a nightmare. The first you'd had since the early days of training.

A dream of

>Ragnarök

>Boot Camp

>What could've been

>The Future

>>6337321
>What could've been
I wouldn't be shocked if our chat with Mom is still lingering in the back of Sven's mind.

>>6337321
>Ragnarök
Genetic memories let's go!

>>6337321
>Ragnarök

>>6337321

>Ragnarök

What could've been is tempting, but this fits a bit better, I think.

>>6337321
>Ragnarök
Baaah, that's just too tempting an offer, especially after we learned that the gray matter's been jumbled up a bit.

>>6337321
>Ragnarök

Lets see what the end looked like.

>>6337321
>What could've been

>>6337321
>>The Future
I LOVE existential dread! I LOVE the sensation of powerlessness at the unknowable infinite of variables that is life's possibilities!

>>6337321
>Ragnarök

>>6337321
>The Future
This is the way the world ends.

File: shepherd-excuse-me.gif (149 KB, 220x123)

149 KB GIF

>>6337321
>Ragnarök
Time to get our commander Shepard on

>>6337321
>>What could've been

>>6337290
The fantastic analysis will never help Daisy or Purple Team and i say this with a 100% certainty, 404....but thank you for the compliment. If nothing else this is an excellent set up for a tasty (and tragic!) group social interactions when the Purple Dragons find more of this ruins.

Now back to the war, after the business of this victory is dealt with (i am sure more than one anon is interested in seeing how Vali can interact with the recovered artifacts before they are taken from our hands) we have to pick between OPERATION: TANGLED-HAIR or OPERATION: DANELAW. With hopefully.....dare i say offering theories to consider to High Command before going ? Such has ONI not having done the homework when it comes to actually understanding and searching for the religious part, ceremonies, sacrifices and rituals of a death cult like the Einherjar..... or the Einherjar being awfully familiar with the alien ruins found .....
>>6337321
>Ragnarök
Nightmare ? Some side effects from the ruins are here to stay it seems. I wonder if someone will hear us beside Rita. A sea of dead Einherjar and Aliens, while they try play gods over New Noregr .... could happen. Or perhaps no.

>>6337321
>What could've been

hopefully we dodged a flood release

>>6337321
>What could've been
it ain't gonna win but damn it I'm interested.

>>6337321
>What could've been

>>6337319
Hmm I think this only 2nd time we completed a mission with all objectives including secret ones so nice we did amazing here.

>>6337321
We probably want to keep S2 a secret since it broke too many regulations. But atleast explaing a super soldier unit with specialized equip could be enough.
Vali might actually be more explainable since it's just a VI created using covenant data.

>>6337321
>Ragnarök
sign me up for the prothean beacon experience

If I could add one weapon to Sven's kit, just as a flight of fancy, multi-lock-micro-missile-launcher. Back or shoulder mounted. Just a ton of fwipfwipfwipfwipfwip bangbangbangbang. Cause it's cool. Like a missile launcher had a baby with a shotgun.

Quick vote count for help 404
- What could've been 6
- Ragnarök 8
- The Future 2


>>6337818
I am not sure, i think we did pretty well in most missions alongside looting just about everything we could. Really Halsey has only complained about MJOLNIR battle damage. And i guess in the COLLATERAL DAMAGE operation, Nesta blasted a tortoise-worm priest on Alpha Corvi alongside his Svalfatar guards that James and Innies could have captured. But that would have been complicated to do with how many Covenant forces where being deployed for capture Black Reef in their attempt to swarm the defenses of the Innies militia there. So i think it was a good call (realistically that could have been only tried if the Black Reef Innies Militia was far more numerous in numbers; but a lot of them where already dead in the fights inside the caverns and in the desperate defense of Black Reef). And we didn't have time to take with us on the Leviathan submarine/ship, the Covenant tank Shika managed to grab from the alien military camp. Only so much you can grab when hundreds of them get angry and want to kill you (we could have tried grabbing the tank, but more Covenant would have arrive after us making a mockery of their siege camp, and drowning hundreds of their troops. And we only had a portion of Purple Team with us at the lab, plus security squad Skua. If we took some marines squads alongside that Scorpion it might have been possible. But eh its alright).

>explanation
We don't have to explain anything to the captains of this Wolfpack. It's already above the majority of their pay grades. There is Mahmoud that knows already something about Spartans, but thats because High Command allowed him to know quite before this mission. So no worries for us.

>it's just a VI created using covenant data.
Thats not how we talk of our 2nd hand crafted creation ! That we made with the help of our other two brother geniuses (Dimas, Mike) after brainstorming and experimenting together for months on unknown alien technology and prime ONI viruses and malware. Narfi would shake his feline digital head in hearing such an heartless comment on his slightly crazed and bloodthirsty sibling...

[ Rebooting....Monitor 404TormentedCache, Back Online ]

Internet crapped out on me again, so I'm a bit late.

>>6337941
Thanks for counting it for me, double checked and your count checks out.

Also it was Grace who exploded the San'Shyuum on Alpha Corvi 2 Not Nesta. But anyways

You'll dream of Ragnarok

[ Decision made ]
[ Proceeding.... ]

Also, Sven's AP upgrades and the AAR report should come in the update after this one. Sorry it keeps getting pushed back, but writing after action reports both takes a lot of energy out of me and also I feel there should be at least one more vote between then and the update with it. If that makes sense

The crashing of the waves, the silence of the wind heralds the end of days. The sky is darkened, besotted with clouds of ash and filth. The mountains crumble, the earth itself trembles and upheaves as though it gasps for its final breath. The air wavers with the heat of funerary pyres vaster than the sea and taller than the skies. Death surrounds you and circles overhead, shadowing you with its great carrion wings. The stars wink out and fade to black and the sun gutters like a untended fire. All is coming to an end. The pen leaves the page bereft of ink and meaning, pulling away as the story of all things and lives is suddenly snuffed out. But in the last flickers of the candle light, as the conclusion of everything dries and comes to be, the final battle of the last war rages.

Ragnarök has come. Like flood waters bursting from a cracked dam, this had all been foretold. Preordained. The end had been unavoidable, despite all attempts to thwart its arrival and then to stall the looming doom that rose like a mighty wave to sweep the world, all worlds clean and devoid of life and purpose. The face of the enemy was unknown, vague and smeared in the dream memories, but you knew, even if it was futile and doomed to fail, that you had a duty to stand in its way, spit defiance and fight to the last breath to slow its unrelenting march for but a few moments longer. Betting everything on a faint glimmer of hope that this doomed defense would open the path for what small, victory could be achieved. And it would be. You and all the other soldiers on the wall would gladly give their lives, minds and souls to ensure it would come about. It was the duty and responsibility of a soldier.

The cloud glutted sky was rent asunder, as if cleaved in two by a great burning blade. And out of the fissure poured all of the thralls of Hel, descending upon the darkened world like a swarm of crows over the battlefield. The sea raged and swelled, rising higher and higher as it battered against the wall, a living, hateful thing. In one moment, it was the wine dark see, seeking to crush and pull under the fortress, in the next an army of the damned and dead besieging the citadel and attacking it with all the cunning and tenacity of man, and for a flicker of consciousness, it was a great, Levithan thing of writhing tendrils and seething flesh. The ash clotted sky lit aflame, and the sight of the horizon being consumed in a firestorm lifted your spirits and your hope as the sea and army of Hel continued their assault, even as the conflagration swept across their lines and expanse. They did not relent, even as the very ground they stood on was melted into rainbow hued glass and the waters they sailed across were transmuted to great clouds of flesh searing steam.

This fortress would be your tomb.
Cont

>>6338055

But you had been aware of this from the start, as were the faceless soldiers who stood beside you. Sometimes, when you glanced their way, they were vikings. Other times they were Spartans in Mjolnir covered in suit, hiding their ID tags and numerical designations, and rarely, they were warriors wearing armor as alien to your eyes as the Covenants own.

Whoever they were in the moment, for every a hundred foemen they cut down, one would fall. And the enemy was infinite, in number and strength. This was a last, defiant stand. Doomed from the start. A skirmish in the dying days, a last stand like countless others in the final push of a war that's outcome had already been decided. Your side would lose, but so would the enemy. You stood and fought, and would die, probably in agony, to make certain it would be a draw. And, it felt like a real fight, every movement strained muscles, worn out from days, weeks, months, perhaps years or decades of fighting. Old scars and new would ached and pained movements, slowed parries, weakened guards. The sword or gun in your hand, would blunt, would jam, would break and be replaced by what could be grabbed and taken from the hands of the dead.

Retreat. Fall back. Reinforce. The wall had been broken, yet you fought on, pulling back to the next defensive line as the enemy pursued just a step behind. Draugr, Covenant, Einherjar, Spartan, faceless shadows and shapeless mists, they all blurred together and became little more than a shadow of impending doom. Adrenaline flowed, blood poured, your heart hammered then just as suddenly stilled. Shouts, wordless and muffled rung in your ears as the air boiled, as the dead rose, as the walls fell, as your sword broke, as your rifle jammed, as you retreated, fell back and reinforced.

Defend. Fail. Pull back. Fight, Fail, lose, refuse to surrender. Reinforce. Reinforce. You knew the signs of a lost battle, knew the rhythm, the cadence. Like a dance. Like coloring between the lines. It could be done subconsciously, fighting like this, performing a last stand to by time. It was what happened in between the mechanical actions, the loop of defeat and stubborn refusal to give up and surrender, that made this a nightmare, more than the calm acceptance that this was a death march, that this was the end of days, that you were fighting a Ragnarök. Glimpses, flashes of horror, of burnt corpses, mangled by shrapnel, torn asunder by bullets and explosives, injured squad mates, left behind or put out of their misery. The moments of the worst aspects of war, and worse. Far worse, nightmare delusions and impossibilities. Things you couldn't make sense of, even in a dream. Colors, shapes, sounds that could not exist in human perception or understanding. And pain, very real pain, worsened by growing fatigue and exhaustion.
Cont

>>6338056

Fight. Fall back. Fall back. Hold the line. Hold the line and die. Then you were back on the wall, the first wall. A hole in your chest where your heart had been, replaced by sparking wires and turning gears. And with the crushing knowledge of what was to come. It was a grueling campaign of looping time, against a superior enemy. The routine, the endless struggle, was ended by a storm of super heated air and plasma. And once more you were on the wall, more machine than before. The battle fast forwarded, repeated, and no matter what you did, the outcome was the same. It always would be. Like Ragnarök, this day was always destined to come, but no matter how many times you died, how many times the fortress fell, how many lives were lost, you kept fighting and struggling to last even a second longer.

Why? Because every seconded counted. But what was the goal? You knew there was a plan, to turn the tide, but what was it.

The realization that you did not know why you were fighting, what you were fighting for, broke the nightmare and let you escape from the loop of failed defenses, constant retreat. And all you were left with were a jumbled of fast to fade memories and flashes of nightmarish visions and horrors you'd dreamed up. And the sweat soaking into your bed.

What an awful dream. Fighting from an unwinnable position, fighting in a war already lost, witnessing the end of days from the front line. You got out of bed, and found an incomplete sketch book and flipped through the drawings inside of it until you found a clean page and began to sketch what you could remember from the dream.

A wall. A flood sea. An army of the dead. Covenant soldiers fighting through deserts of molten and burning glass. Spartans, crippled and dead, revealing wires and gears inside of them rather than flesh and blood. First person points of view, some with the Mjolnir HUD overlay, some without, of the more gruesome dream deaths you'd suffered through. Melted alive by plasma, impaled by an energy sword, crushed under a pile of marching bones, shot against a wall execution style, falling into the sea, being eaten alive by crows and Tengu or Jackals as most of the military had come to call them...

You stopped drawing, losing the last of the passing memories of what you dreamt, as you drew the close up face of a Svartalfar, their mandibles spread open to mimic a human corpse's rictus grin. That'd helped to ease the lingering feelings of panic and dread, but the exhaustion remained. Hadn't gotten a good nights sleep. You'd work out the fatigue with exercise. Sparring, probably.

At least there were still a few days of subspace travel before you were scheduled to meet with the other ship captains, the official end Operation:HVITSERK and tie it up with a neat bow. That was a small mercy. You'd have hated to have to go to that meeting tired, grumpy and with little patience for bullshit.
Cont

>>6338057

All three of which you had in spades after that nightmare and restless night of sleep. Must've been stress related. Or an after effect of the ruins. Should see Rita about it, once you'd finished with your morning routine...

>Just share information the Captain are already authorized to know

>Explain exactly what Vali was and what exactly your kill shot was.

>Explain why you and the other prowlers lagged behind, and the ruins that may belong to an ancient, alien civilization.

>listen to the more experienced Captains' review of the battle and their strategy, and only add your thoughts and point of view when its apt

>Write in option

Also, tomorrow is Wednesday. So chances are I won't have time to write cause I'll be running Cyberpunk for my friends

>>6338058
>>listen to the more experienced Captains' review of the battle and their strategy, and only add your thoughts and point of view when its apt

>Just share information the Captain are already authorized to know
honestly breaking oni's "trust" by immediately whistle blowing is not a very good idea. reflects poorly on halsey and just give ammunition to her enemies.

>>6338058
>Just share information the Captain are already authorized to know
>listen to the more experienced Captains' review of the battle and their strategy, and only add your thoughts and point of view when its apt

>>6338058
>Just share information the Captain are already authorized to know
>listen to the more experienced Captains' review of the battle and their strategy, and only add your thoughts and point of view when its apt


someone's nightmares are more like a memory from the past of the Forerunner-Flood war

>>6338063
+1

>>6338058
>listen to the more experienced Captains' review of the battle and their strategy, and only add your thoughts and point of view when its apt
Seems kinda redundant to vote for both the first and last option. And fun fever dream.

>>6338058

https://youtu.be/PCpi1sZEZ1U?list=RDPCpi1sZEZ1U


>Just share information the Captain are already authorized to know.

>Write in: Apologise for the lack of clarification.

The other captains fought well and had our back, even those who didn't really trust us. They probably don't need the apology for how much of this OP wound up under black ink, but they'll probably appreciate the courtesy.

>>6338058
>>Explain why you and the other prowlers lagged behind, and the ruins that may belong to an ancient, alien civilization.

actually while we cant explain vali and spartans. The ruins tevhnically arent classified yet.

>>6338058
>Just share information the Captain are already authorized to know
So the dream was Sven's brain struggling to make sense of implanted memories from the Forerunner-Flood war, yeah? I'm sure that won't negatively impact his mental state.

>>6338058
>Just share information the Captain are already authorized to know

>listen to the more experienced Captains' review of the battle and their strategy, and only add your thoughts and point of view when its apt

>>6338058
>listen to the more experienced Captains' review of the battle and their strategy, and only add your thoughts and point of view when its apt

>Just share information the Captain are already authorized to know

>>6338058
>>Just share information the Captain are already authorized to know
>listen to the more experienced Captains' review of the battle and their strategy, and only add your thoughts and point of view when its apt

>>6338058
>listen to the more experienced Captains' review of the battle and their strategy, and only add your thoughts and point of view when its apt

That was not good.
And it explains if some Einherjar couldn't keep it together in the ruin complex beyond their zealotry, being brain blasted with PTSD of an apocalyptic war might be overwhelming. We really need to get a brain scan at least. And i would insist on telling our fellow spartans too, if we have time .... sooner or later they will want to talk about it. I don't think Daisy and Naomi would just stay silent, same for Shika (if she had any similar symptoms to us, she would be the first to go have a brain scan from Rita).

>>6338023
Np and thank you for correct me. I can't remember all the details time to time.

>>6338058
>Explain why you and the other prowlers lagged behind, and the ruins that may belong to an ancient, alien civilization.

>>6338457
>And it explains if some Einherjar couldn't keep it together in the ruin complex beyond their zealotry, being brain blasted with PTSD of an apocalyptic war might be overwhelming. We really need to get a brain scan at least. And i would insist on telling our fellow spartans too, if we have time .... sooner or later they will want to talk about it. I don't think Daisy and Naomi would just stay silent, same for Shika (if she had any similar symptoms to us, she would be the first to go have a brain scan from Rita).

Your staggering inability to read is amazing cause we literally just got a brain scan in the update before this one.

>>6338509
Oh no i remember reading that now that i think about it. I think I just got confused with Sven saying "Should see Rita about it, once you'd finished with your morning routine..." at the end of the update . I probably should have said another brain scan instead. My bad lol

>>6338063
>>6338058
>Support + tell the Captains they all fought bravely it's a shame how only the people in this room and a few other's will know of their bravery and the bravery of the ones we lost.

Realized that, since its Thanksgiving, today's update might come out late, or depending on how long family dinner lasts/ if I get drink too much, might need to be put off for another day. I'll do my best to avoid that, but the holiday might throw a wrench in the plan so I'm warning you all now.

Oh. And if you celebrate, I hope your thanksgiving goes well. Now I'll be going back to sleep, as I literally woke up realizing that turkey day might get in the way of the quest

>>6339071
Happy Thanksgiving, hoss.

File: 1742692843761341.png (1.8 MB, 1499x1197)

1.8 MB PNG

Rebooting....Monitor 404TormentedCache back online

Sorry about that, ate too much turkey and slept like a rock. Sorry to make you wait two days, and that I might not be able to fit in the AAR/ AP level ups in this update (Having a hard time finding where to fit it)

10 Votes to listen to the more experienced captains review and speak up only when its apt

10 Votes to just share information the captains are authorized to know

1 Vote to apologize for the lack of clarification

2 votes to explain why the prowlers lagged behind

1 Vote to commend the captains for their bravery

Very clear agreement to keep things need to know, and listen to the senior captains battle/ strategic review and only add your own thoughts/ perspective when necessary

[ Decisions made ]
[ Proceeding.... ]

>>6338183
Love that song, also listened to it while I was writing the last update

>>6339337
Thanks, hope you all had a good time to

"...Commander Guy Merle of the UNSC Dogfish has been confirmed as a casualty of war, he died at his station. And, from the accounts of the Dogfish's surviving crew, much of the reason for their survival can be attributed to the Captain and his bridge crew refusing to leave their posts while they had the chance to and when death became inevitable, persisting to fulfil duty and oath until their final moments" The Injured Captain Teddy Therkelsen reports gravely "The crew of thirteen has been reduced to three survivors"

"I thought we'd fished out, in total, six of her crew from that wreck" Captain Adam Crash cuts in

"Unfortunately" Teddy continues, somberly "Three died on the operating table. Shock. Blood Loss. And Head Trauma. They lived long enough to get their affairs in order, but even with AI assistance, there was nothing that could be done"

The conference call goes silent, out of respect, giving a second for each of the Dogfish's officers and lost crew before the talks are restarted

"The UNSC Shinigami is confirmed to have been lost with all hands, accounting for the majority of friendly causalities suffered in the ambush" Captain Violet Row reads off "Seven hundred and one UNSC Naval Personal, consigned to the black"

"They went out swinging, Captain Kase Toru lived up to his reputation, in the end" is the brief eulogy spoken by Captain Ford Reed "The UNSC Uppercut was successfully evacuated, with minimal loss of life despite the loss of the ship"

"I will be recommending Commander Jiang Song for commendation and promotion, owe her that much for getting us out of the fire" Commander Markus Kraus feels the need to put to record "And, I would advise the other captains who took part in the action to do the same"

"I believe all of us will receive honors for this action" Captain Reginal White starts, leading the group call into the strategic summary of the space battle "Our results were nothing short of spectacular, we flew in blind and outnumbered, our K/D ratio beggars belief, we were outnumbered and certainly outgunned. But our total losses account for less than twenty five percent of our deployed forces, only three ships in total"

There is a pause, broken only by murmurs of agreement. Viewing the results of the battle detached from the actual action, raises the group spirit and morale, even if the minimal losses sustained had just been somber point of the discussion"

"Lieutenant Askeland" White continues "Don't let it go to your head. Your strategy worked out this time, phenomenally well"

"It was nothing short of inspired, really" Valerie Forester compliments "If this wasn't a covert action, I'm sure you'd be scheduled to give a lecture on this engagement, in a few years time"

"It might have only worked due to the loose leash you gave us, and the collective experience of the captains put under your command" White just has to dissect and shift the credit for the stunning victory away from you and your shieldwall tactic "However"

>>6339803

"I cannot in clear conscious claim that your novel strategy did not influence the result" He continues, stubbornly and through gritted teeth "Even if the winning move that knocked out the enemy's Halcyon was reckless"

"You say reckless, I say the sort of Ballsy we need in command if we're to win this war" Captain Adam Crash retorts "Though, before we mired in the details, I need to ask, what exactly was your kill shot"

"Need to know basis, Captain. Unfortunately. It involved classified troops and materials" You answer plainly and bluntly

"Highly classified" Captain Masud Mahmoud provides a bit of support "Its a level of clearance beyond even my paygrade"

"Moving on" Captain Armand Martin, pushing the conversation away from sensitive details begins "We'll review the battle in stages, give us all a chance to provide the others our perspective for each ship's individual after action reports, so Command can have a clear and complete picture of the engagement"

"And can study what worked of my strategy" You fill in the blanks "At least, for anyone in the chain of command with the clearance to remove the black ink that'll be covering most of the official report"

"Obviously" Commander Louis Parker casually remarks "This was a big win, I wouldn't be surprised if, as the commander of the wolfpack, you get more than just one medal with that stun you pull"

"Or a single rank up" Commander Mary Jagd asks

"This is no time for pageantry" Captain Reed barks "keep it on topic. I believe, Therkelsen, Song and Kraus should be given the floor first, considering they took part in the Askeland's opening gambit. If there is any disagreement, let it be known now"

Not one of the officers says aye or raises a complaint, and so the review begins, with the still bed bound Therkelsen starting off with his tactical analysis of the battle and perspective of it, giving his reasoning for the actions he took and the maneuvers he performed throughout it. And you treat it like one of Deja's lessons, listening closely and memorizing everything he says, taking notes on any on the fly decision or long play strategy he employed that stood out as remarkably clever or tactically sound, only stopping from taking notes when one of the other commanding officers asks for your opinion on one or multiple factors of the skirmish as the each of them gets a chance to give their point of view of the events and to provide their unique perspective on the battle, both tactically and personally.

Which makes this talk all the more informative, and thus useful as you find something worth writing down in each of their accounts of the battle, crossing off a few lines as some questions you had are answered by another Captain's statement and review of the action. Notes that will make the Skidbladnir's after action report as detailed and informative as it can be. Which is why, later on, you'll be having a more private discussion with the three other Prowler Commanders.
Cont

>>6339804

They wouldn't have much to add, concerning the "extra credit" part of the operation, but getting as clear a picture as possible for Command of every aspect of the deployment was a priority of yours.

Your pen stalled over the page, as Mary Jagd recounts the final moments of the Shinigami and the UNSC Lap Pet's efforts to draw fire off of the Charon-Class Frigate. That ultimately failed. You shut your eyes. Losing only three ships in the engagement, still meant you lost three ships in the fight no matter how incredible losing "only" three ships was. You'd jumped in blind, fought outnumbered, and only lost three ships. That was something to be proud of but...if it was a ground op, and you'd lost three Spartans. Could you still hold your head high.

You pushed the question out of mind, and pressed the tip of your pen down onto the page and got back to recording the small details of the engagement. No time to wasted wondering about what ifs or beating yourself up for not achieving an impossible "perfect" victory. There was work to be done

>But still, find some way to immortalize those who gave their lives in the engagement. They deserve at least that much. Your Pelicans need their callsigns still...

>Make a personal request to one of the other captains and Stanforth to permit them to assist in the next operation of the Skidbladnir and her crew (Who and which ship?)

>Before you write your own after action report, see what intelligence was taken from the captured Einherjar

>Write the AAR and Prepare for your next mission.

>Write in option

So I started writing the AAR, but then I got really woozy and light headed, so I had to cut it short and push it off onto the next update. Really sorry about that.

>>6339805
>Make a personal request to one of the other captains and Stanforth to permit them to assist in the next operation of the Skidbladnir and her crew (Captain Teddy Therkelsen of the UNSC Sucker-Punch)
>But still, find some way to immortalize those who gave their lives in the engagement. They deserve at least that much. Your Pelicans need their callsigns still...
Teddy's got experience with the Einherjar, which will be invaluable if we're gonna be dealing with them for the time being. Not to mention his demeanor reminds me of Mendes in a way, so I feel like he might be a good mentor for Sven as an Officer.

>>6339811
*Mendez

>>6339805
>But still, find some way to immortalize those who gave their lives in the engagement. They deserve at least that much. Your Pelicans need their callsigns still...
>Before you write your own after action report, see what intelligence was taken from the captured Einherjar

>>6339805
>But still, find some way to immortalize those who gave their lives in the engagement. They deserve at least that much. Your Pelicans need their callsigns still...
>Before you write your own after action report, see what intelligence was taken from the captured Einherjar
Captain White's such a petty shit stain of a man.

>>6339805
>Before you write your own after action report, see what intelligence was taken from the captured Einherjar
No worries about the AAR, it's a big chunk of writing to get through. We did a LOT on this mission.

>>6339805
>But still, find some way to immortalize those who gave their lives in the engagement. They deserve at least that much. Your Pelicans need their callsigns still...
>Before you write your own after action report, see what intelligence was taken from the captured Einherjar

Stop being drunk all the time 404

>>6339842
I've been dry, actually, didn't even have a cider at dinner. However, I did realize the cause of my light headedness. I'd completely forgotten to eat today. Some left over turkey fixed the issue

>>6339849
what type of gravy and potato's you got?

>>6339853
Gravy was the bagged kind, unfortunately. No one could be fucked to make turkey gravy and I've always fucked it up when I tried to

And I was in charge of the mashed potatoes. Yukon Golds, with lots of good butter and sour cream mixed in while mashing them, seasoned with a spice blend. Way I've been doing it ever since mashing duty fell to me, since before then the standard procedure in my family was salt, pepper and a little but and a dash of milk added to Russets. Family liked my method, so I've been in charge of potatoes for years. Would've added some aged sharp cheddar if I had it, but, I'd gotten hungry waiting for them to boil so that wasn't in the cards

>>6339858
Lmao, We all make the mistake of getting hungry during the cooking process. Also damn, the Turkey gravy was fucked up? I can understand it. I've had some family think it should be burnt.

>>6339805

>But still, find some way to immortalize those who gave their lives in the engagement. They deserve at least that much. Your Pelicans need their callsigns still...

>Before you write your own after action report, see what intelligence was taken from the captured Einherjar

>>6339813
>>6339818
>>6339805
>support these anons

Sorry other anon I don't think we need any other help to deal with the other vikings. And desu I'm hoping we can get another covvie ship. I wonder how John's OP went.

>>6339906
In my eyes, it's less about needing help and more about setting ourselves (and the other Spartans) up for success. I also think that Teddy has some shit he could teach Sven given how well they seem to work with each other, but I digress.
If we go out of our way to work with established Officers more often, that helps to further set the precedent for Spartans working with Command as peers, not just pieces on the board.
Every Spartan is a born leader on top of being a purpose-made killing machine, but the latter tends to overshadow the former in terms of what Command cares about (for obvious reasons admittedly).
Mind you, I'm not saying every Spartan should be getting a commission and leading in that capacity, but I do think it's important that their strategic acumen and leadership qualities be not only leaned on, but cultivated further by those in charge of the war effort.
>TL;DR: We should establish working relationships with established officers so every Spartans can be all they can be

>>6339805
>>Before you write your own after action report, see what intelligence was taken from the captured Einherjar

>>6339805

>Before you write your AAR, see what intel was taken from the captured Einherjar.

>Make a personal request to Mahmoud to assist with the next op.

I'd go with Teddy, but guy is going to be in mad bey for a while.

>>6339940
Sure but I think that should be when we hit the covvie. Plus I think showing command that we can do things with 10 to 1 odds will help us too.

>>6339805
>But still, find some way to immortalize those who gave their lives in the engagement. They deserve at least that much. Your Pelicans need their callsigns still...
a small honor to give them. Both of our pilots will be good with it

>Before you write your own after-action report, see what intelligence was taken from the captured Einherjar
Might as well just add everything we can to the AAR, including spartans experience on boarding Whiteshirt ship, and Spartans and Marines experience on the world.

>>6338183

This >>6339954 is me as well. Was phone posting.

Rebooting...Monitor 404TormentedCache, back online

Didn't meant to this so late, but I lost track of time while watching some stuff on netflix.

Sorry to keep putting off the AAR and AP level ups (For Diplomat, Infiltrator, and Tactician) , but I am certain they'll come the update after this one. Just don't have enough gas in the tank tonight to do it, did last night, but well, my dumb ass forgot to eat and got lightheaded right when I was starting to write it. Hopefully nothing tomorrow gets in the way!

2 votes to request additional support next op
L
+ 1 votes Teddy/ The Sucker Punch
L
+ 1 votes for Mahmoud/ Lawrence of Arabia

7 Votes to memorialize the dead in a small way through your dropships

9 Votes to check the intel extracted from the captured Einherjar

Alright so Einherjar Torture Intel shares 6 votes with memorializing the casualties of the skirmish, so I'll combine the two

[ Decisions made ]
[ Proceeding..... ]

Luckily, the ONI operatives amongst your crew had their ways in extracting intel from prisoners like the Einherjar, who'd prefer to chew off their own tongues than to talk. Probably highly classified means, most likely chemical. Didn't matter how they had done it, because what they had gotten out of the captives was enlightening and allowed a clearer and more complete picture to be painted about exactly what the Einherjar's plans were. Or at least the part of plans the survivors were privy to. Whiteshirt was looking for a weapon, or an ally. Had promised a change of fortunes. His officers that had gone unaccounted for, had cut contact and vanished the moment they began investigating the ruins. You got a few interviews from the non combatants who you'd convinced to come into custody quietly, that when collaborated with the new intel, leads you to believe Whiteshirt or at least the woman he'd come to see as his personal Godi, had sought out this remote world.

Why. You only got rumors. But Whiteshirt ignored the panicked calls from the CEO of Woden Hal when he'd left New Noregr. And that he hadn't broken with Jormungandr. According to the highest ranked officer who Coste hadn't been gentle with, they'd taken the flight to search for the Covenant and try to get into contact after the loss of the COM station. Your own handiwork during Operation: Dark Forest. And that had been their primary objective, at least to start with. Whiteshirt had, according to both the "press ganged" Civilians and the captured, though admittedly low ranked officer, gone more bat shit insane than was the standard for the Einherjar. A drastic shift in personality, that apparently resulted in him flying off course and into unknown space. To the place he would die. And to wire and weld himself into a jury rigged, experimental bastard version of the Rhodes Exoskeleton, that also hadn't been good for his psyche. Blood Poisoning and Pain killers strong enough to make a Spartan woozy would do that to any man, even one as focused and disciplined as Whiteshirt was. According to his equally mentally unwell subordinates.

He'd been convinced by his Godi, who, had gone down to the planet when reports of the ruins had come back from the initial scouting patrols, who had gone looking for water. She'd known that the ruins would be there, gave near exact coordinates to them, only missing them by a few clicks in either direction And she was the last one on the line before they'd entered the temple. Presumably, she lead that human sacrifice your team found the end result of. Crazy bitch. But unless she could survive a nuclear yield that could wipe New Alexandria off the map and the resulting radioactive fallout, not even accounting for the collapse of the underground facility, she was most assuredly dead and buried. Also probably vaporized into radioactive dust.

But she had known they'd be there. And Whiteshirt had a reason to trust her.
Cont

>>6340574

Which meant they, and Jormungandr had a reason to believe the site would give them the winning ticket they were looking to get punched. And every soldier who'd had the internal clearance to know the official plan to try and contact the Covenant, talked about it like it was plan B.

That wasn't good and demanded further investigation. But, unfortunately, none of the prisoners in your possession were trusted enough to be told the details and kept up to date. They just knew there'd be something here that could turn their personal war with the UNSC around. Whether that was the Covenant or an ancient alien civilization warehoused weapon of mass destruction, didn't matter much. It was a gamble on a desperate hope. And against all odds, the lunatic who claimed she knew where to find the later hadn't been lying or entirely delusional.

Which is nearly as bad as the confirmation that the Einherjar had indeed been trying to reach the Covenant. Luckily they were stopped before they could meet them face to face and doom their world and who knows how many others. But the fact they'd gone looking for this hitherto undocumented and unknown ruin of an unknowably ancient alien civilization, was a new tangle and if Jormungandr had signed off on the expedition.

That meant that the Einherjar were likely aware of other, similar sites, artifacts or records. Coste had told you, with her hands scrubbed clean after a long day's work pulling teeth and breaking bones, that she thought she could squeeze a little more intel out of the coherent prisoners if she was given time and given a less tight leash. Rita didn't like her methods, which confirms that her methods are probably chemical. Some kind of drug, a truth serum of sorts.

But you didn't think they had anything important left to tell, none of them had the importance of rank to be told anything valuable beyond what they'd already told you. And what they told you would be included in your report, which would be blotted out with a thicker coat of black ink than the rest of the groundside portion of the op.


But there's something you need to do first. Its been bothering you. Distracting you. The dead deserve some kind of memorial. You kept going back to thinking how to immortalize those who had given their lives in the engagement. Who'd sold their lives to make sure the Covenant wouldn't get a map to Humanity's colonies dropped on their collective laps.

And, as you looked down at the glowing screen of the datapad you'd started the after action report for the mission on, you remembered that your prowler's pelicans hadn't been given official call signs yet. And both Chen Tian and Tor Ostrum had more than earned the recognition themselves.

It was a small gesture but, it was a way to keep the honored dead's memory alive. And it was a fun brainteaser to figure out what callsigns would do that and also reflect well on the pilots themselves
Cont

>>6340575

[ 1st Callsign: Chen Tian. 2nd: Tor Ostrum ] [Chosen call sign will also select the Pelicans' Nose Art]

>Reaper Spirit & Doghouse

>Phoenix & Midnight Flyer

>Harakiri & Last Stand

>Pyre & Queensbury

>Write in option

>>6340576
>Reaper Spirit & Doghouse
Straightforward but fits a memorial. I feel

>>6340576

>Reaper Spirit & Doghouse

>>6340576
>Reaper Spirit & Doghouse
Pretty easy choice IMO.

>>6340574
>>6340575
This all but confirms the theory I made, the ONI missed out on the religious aspects of the Einherjar. They were only looking at the terrorist aspect of theirs. And i just knew there was a priest/priestess somewhere here !! Now lets make a theory guys : how much do we believe that the clergy of this death cult only concerns themselves with the esotheric and religious aspects of their religion (that the ONI didnt look into) ? Because i am starting to believe they are also smart and not just very charismatic. I wouldn't be surprised if she teleported from the outpost ruin complex to somewhere else !

And also this info confirms that the Einherjar had fallen for the scheme of the Covenant. Two theories confirmed. Good.
Actually three... because there is probably a ruin complex in New Noregr. The priestess familiarity and experience with them shows it self aboundantly clear in the info gained.

>>6340576
>Reaper Spirit & Doghouse
I like it

File: G6I4elAXUAArLme.jpg (193 KB, 1080x1920)

193 KB JPG

For the AAR in the end, we can probably emphasize the concern of this lack of info. And suggest concentrating new efforts to find out more about the Einherjar religious aspects.

And we can keep in mind the possibility of that priestess being alive.

>>6340576
>Reaper Spirit & Doghouse

>>6340576
>Reaper Spirit & Doghouse

>>6340566
Checked

>just trust bro, The level ups are coming. I swear
I see through your jedi lies QM.

>>6340576
>Reaper Spirit & Doghouse

>>6340576
>>Reaper Spirit & Doghouse

>>6340600
now we have to decied if going to our home world is more important then grabbing the CEO first

Update is going to take a bit. Think I can do it today. But I'm experiencing a few technical difficulties on my end rn

>>6341124
ONI put a virus in his device.

>>6341127
they dont want the AAR being seen by us
man ONI is a bunch of hatters

File: 1740214360919715.png (126 KB, 750x858)

126 KB PNG

[ Rebooting...Rebooting...Monitor 404TormentedCache back online ]

So I was wrong about the problem being easily fixed and being able to get the update out yesterday, but it is fixed now. Feels bad to take so long to call a vote with a complete consensus...

8 Votes for Reaper Spirit & Doghouse

So the Pelicans on the Skidbladnir + their pilots will recieve the callsigns Reaper Spirit and Doghouse, to honor the UNSC Shinigami & the Dogfish and their crew

[ Decision Made ]
[Proceeding..... ]

And the AAR and the upgrades for Diplomat, Infiltrator and tactician will come this update even if it kills me

>>6341127
>>6341150
Fucking feels like it some times

>>6341452
>And the AAR and the upgrades for Diplomat, Infiltrator and tactician will come this update even if it kills me

Good luck

"Reaper Spirit" Chen Tian repeated as the technicians copied the stencil you'd sketched onto the wings and nose of his Pelican, that was currently undergoing repairs from the extreme evasive and daredevil maneuvers he'd pulled to get the team safely aboard Whiteshirt's Halcyon. It was a testament to his skills as a pilot that he'd even gotten past the point defense, and a real display of them that he was able to buzz it and fly back minus one of his bird's wings.

"A two part honor, one for the valor displayed by the UNSC Shinigami, her captain and her crew. And the death defying maneuvers you pulled off in the same fight, Warrant Officer" You tell him, and the hotshot grins, half his smile covered by medical gauze and bandages. The burns from collar to chin aren't the only scars he's gotten flying now

"You were impressed then? Lieutenant?" He asks, tracing the hand of his arm that isn't in a sling over the dried paint, admiring the skull faced death racing along its side, carried aloft by burning wings atop a missile, scythe raised and ready to reap

"It's a rare accomplishment, Chen, you should pin a medal to your chest to memorialize it" You answer, nodding as you watch the mechanics do their work "Both this bird and the Shinigami flew into certain death, to complete the mission"

"Difference is, I made it back to my roost" He says with no sign of his usual cocky attitude or hotshot air, as he stands eye to eye with the reaper drawn on the side of his dropship "Is it just me, or does this bag of bones have my scars"

"Its your call sign, might honor the Shinigami, but its all you, Warrant Officer" You tell him, nodding to affirm that he wasn't just seeing a resemblance in the specter of death drawn on his Pelican

"And Doghouse? Guessing that's for the Dogfish and my co-worker?" He asks, after a few moments of quiet contemplation staring at what you'd meant to be his own grinning skull

"Yes. He's gotten under some scrutiny for his background and lax behavior" You tell him "But even a dog sent to its house is trusted, adored. He's got"

"Gumption. Brass balls flying a civie ship at a Covenant Warbird" Chen Tian lists off

"Good work ethic and the right outlook for a military pilot" You answer, admitting silently that Chen's choice of compliments were just as fitting as you look at the chained bulldog adoring the underside of Tor Ostrum's Dropship's wing "And I passed it by Ostrum first, wouldn't saddled my pilots with a callsign they didn't like"

"Half the fun of a callsign is getting one for something the boys back at the barracks busted your balls for" Chen Tian admits, speaking casually, as at the moment the both of you were technically off duty despite officially running inspections on Reaper Spirit's repairs. They were just getting to the nose of Ostrum's bird now, drawing a snarling dog's face on its under carriage. You just shrugged your shoulders
Cont

>>6341515

After a few moments, the warrant officer breaks the silence

"Do Spartans have callsigns?"

"We've got numbers"
_
After Action Report: Fleet Action in Unclaimed Space. Codenamed Operation: HVITSERK

Eighteen UNSC Naval Warships were formed into a temporary wolfpack to pursue the terrorist codenamed Whiteshirt, one of the predominant leaders of the Einherjar Insurrectionist group. This search and destroy operation was ordered by Vice Admiral Stanforth after forward observation drones and scout patrols had noted the absence of the Einherjar fleet rallying at an illegal asteroid colony, and were quickly determined to have retreated towards projected Covenant lines.

Requiring an immediate response, Stanforth assigned the closest vessels under the command of recent graduate of Reach's Naval Officer Academy, one Sven Askeland who had quickly been promoted to Lieutenant not long after their Graduation and given command of the UNSC Skidbladnir, a Razor Class Prowler Stealth Corvette. This assignment was given in spite of the other commanding officers having more experience and being of higher rank than Askeland.

The final tally of the fast response squadron was eighteen battle ready vessels.

Four Prowlers, Three Razor Classes. The previously mentioned UNSC Skidbladnir, the UNSC Black Shuck captained by Commander Jerome Hunt of the Prowler corps, The UNSC Dreaming Deep Captained by Commander Obara Rika also of the Prowler Corps, and one Sahara Class Heavy Prowler, the UNSC Lawrence of Arabia commanded by Captain Masud Mahmoud of the Prowler Corps.

Six Corvettes. Two Mako Classes, the UNSC Blacktip and the UNSC Dogfish, captained by Commander Adriana Del Cid and Commander Guy Merle respectively ; The latter having recently been promoted to his position and command, The former volunteering when she had heard their targets were Einherjar aligned. Three Lancer Classes, taken from the blockade around the rebelling colony New Noregr, The UNSC Sucker-Punch, UNSC Uppercut, and the UNSC Guandao, Captained by Captain Teddy Therkelsen, Commander Markus Kraus and Commander Jiang Song. The three formed a unit lead and centered around Captain Therkelsen. Rounding out the Corvettes was the previously Colonial Military Authority Vessel, the newly drafted UNSC Who Watches The Watchman, the squadrons sole Scholte-Class Missile Corvette, who had remained under the command of the newly enlisted Commander Louis Parker, who had also been drafted from the CMA.

Two Sloops, Both Cerberus Class. The UNSC Mangy Dog, Captained by Captain Reginal White. And The UNSC Lap Pet lead by Commander Mary Jagd.
Cont

>>6341517

Four Frigates.Two Charon Classes, The UNSC Shinigami under the command of the Captain Kase Toru and the UNSC Midday Stroll, Captained by the newly ranked up Captain Valerie Forester, being both her first command posting and the Midday Stroll's first Sortie. Two Paris Class Heavy Frigates, The UNSC Chickamauga that had recently had its captaincy transferred to Captain Ford Reed; former commanding officer of Valerie Reed prior to her promotion to captain. And the UNSC Christmas Card, and its captain, Captain Adam Crash.

Rounding off and providing the majority of the Squadron's mass and firepower were two Destroyers. The Halberd Class Light Destroyer The UNSC Crystal Clear Heart, that is the third ship captained by the "unkillable" and "Unlucky" Captain Armand Martine. And the Diligence Class Light Destroyer The UNSC Blue and Royal, that had prior been decommissioned and used as an informational exhibit, before it was retrofitted and returned to service under the command of recently promoted Captain Violet Row.

The UNSC Skidbladnir was the first to arrive, and Lieutenant Askeland hailed each ship as they arrived to the rally point, speaking with each captain individually and in turn. And notes the unprofessional and aggressive behavior of Captain White, who voiced concerns about the Lieutenants age and experience as well as his suspicions of the Askeland's competency as an officer and tactician.

A position that was shared but more professionally by Captain Reed, who'd offered to assist in transferring the command to a more battle tested and veteran commander, which Askeland refused.

Lieutenant Askeland would have it on record that Captain White should seek therapy for his temper problem.

The last ship, The Crystal Clear Heart, reached the Rendezvous Point on January 9, 2526, 1315 Hours (Military Calendar).

With assistance of the Skidblandir's assigned AI, Rita, Lieutenant Askeland has a pre-prepared battleplan ready for the joint strategy conference held between the squadron's members prior to sortieing out

[ Link to Askeland's "Shield Wall" formation and deployment ] [ Link to Ship Positioning and Tactical maps and overlays of the engagement ]

The Strategy was untested and the brain child of Askeland himself, having heard suggestions from members of his crew, primarily soldiers and battlefield officers. Askeland dubbed it his "Shield Wall" inspired by his heritage and the non-standard corvette screen employed. The most interesting and novel aspect of the strategy was the positions of the destroyers, with the UNSC Crystal Clear Heart flying over the enemy ships beyond their detection range until given a signal while the Blue and Royal acted primarily as a diversion while the Corvettes, Sloops and Frigates provided the majority of the firepower.
Cont

>>6341518

Before presenting his strategy, Lieutenant Askeland gave a speech before allowing the other captains to present their own alternative tactics. [ See attached audio file ] [ Classified Audio Excised ] .

After some debate, Askeland's strategy was chosen with complete agreement from the gathered officers, with Therkelsen's proposal being considered to likely to draw Covenant attention, Forester's too by the book and thus more readily countered and anticipated., and Kase's going beyond the pale with its suggested employment of suicide bombers, and the other proposals being incomplete and not seriously considered

Before giving the command to depart in formation, Lieutenant Askeland informed the officers under his command of a risky "Kill Shot" Strategy involving a daring boarding action against the enemy flagship to end the battle quickly and decisively. Which was met with skepticism by the officers, and Askeland explained the Kill Shot would only be attempted if he got an opening and regained the confidence of his temporary subordinates by establishing an official chain of command. Placing Captain Therkelsen as second in command, Captain Mahmoud in Third and Captain Crash in fourth. With the chain of command clarified and established, the wolfpack commenced its hunt.

The UNSC Skidbladnir flew out of formation, shadowing the Crystal Clear Heart, while the remaining three prowlers performed scouting actions ahead of the squadron that remained in the initial battleline of the "Shield Wall" Deployment for the duration of the search for Whiteshirt's fleet location

January 13, 0230 hours, Lawrence of Arabia confirmed the presence of the Einherjar fleet in orbit above a previously undocumented life bearing planet. Askeland tasks Therkelsen, Kraus and Jiang to bait the defensive line the Insurrectionist fleet had established around the world into breaking their formation, ordering the Lancers to full burn advance towards the enemy positions and act like a lost patrol group, knowing the aggressive tendencies of the Einherjar group would make it difficult for them to refuse an open challenge.

The three lancer class corvettes carried out their orders flawlessly, the Sucker Punch and Guandao opening fire from extreme distance and threatening the unarmored and defenseless transports behind the Insurrectionists' defensive line. Two stolen Lancer Class fast attack corvettes were confirmed amongst the Einherjar fleet during their initial response, which, even at lowest estimates, outnumbered Askeland's fleet easily.

A heavily modified Halcyon Class Light Cruiser, presently under investigation for the exact means of acquisition the Einherjar had used to take possession of, was identified as Whiteshirt's location and present flagship. And lead the pursuit of the Sucker Punch, Uppercut, and Guandao.
Cont

>>6341519

Askeland ordered the squadron to begin long range bombardment and focus their fire on the advance screen proceeding the enemy Halcyon into the fray, aiming to deprive it of its escort and primary defenses. Specifically, the Lieutenant ordered that the Einherjar's lighter craft be marked as priority targets. They navy squadron under Askeland's command began the engagement from a remarkable distance, yet retained impressive accuracy ratings across the board during the early stages of the skirmish.

In their retreat back to the friendly formation, the UNSC Suckerpunch and UNSC Guandao took non insignifigant damage before they reached the neutral zone and proceeded back to the "Shield Wall" screen. The UNSC Blue and Royal was tasked with distracting and acting as the primary target for the slowly approach enemy Halcyon.

During these early bombardments The UNSC Chickamauga confirmed the first kill of the engagement, taking out an "Einherjar Original" heavily modified Corvette of indeterminable origin, first crippling it with missile strikes before confirming the kill with a follow up strike. Shortly thereafter, the UNSC Midday Stroll destroyed one of the enemy Lancers, showing amazing coordination with the corvettes in the allied screen to create an opening to "Flick Fire" a MAC Round through the nose of the vessel as it pursued the UNSC Uppercut, and lacking time to perform evasive maneuvers, the enemy craft was split in half. The Uppercut took damage and lost response from several sensors

Caught off Guard, the rebel forces fall and hold back, unsure of the effective range of the squadron and awaiting reinforcements, that are confirmed to have included Charon and Stalwart Class Frigates thought lost in prior engagements with the terrorist group. Knock off stealth corvettes, whose existence had been suspected but unconfirmed in recent Einherjar actions, were sighted, lacking the advance stealth ablative coating of ONI Prowlers and easily tracked. The UNSC Mangy dog pursued one such vessel and engaged it

Three more hostile ships were confirmed destroyed during the initial stages of the skirmish, of undetermined classes and classifications.

Askeland, observing the battlefield from "overhead", ordered a continuation of the bombardment, as both sides exchanged missile fire with hits being equally scoured by friendlies and hostiles. The Einherjar's MAC capable ships entered into effective range, instances of them using the less "valuable" ships in their formations as shields against the Wolfpack's own MAC Rounds to survive the impact by way of reducing their lethal velocity with a sacrificial pawns.

Four more enemy vessels were confirmed loss as Whiteshirt's screen closed the distance, and several more were several damaged or nearly crippled. Despite losing nine ships, the Insurrectionist fleet still outnumbered Askeland's squadron.
Cont

>>6341520

The Suckerpunch, Guandao, Uppercut, Dogfish, Blacktip, and Who watches the Watchmen advanced to engage the rebel fleet, whose charge was lead by the remaining enemy lancer. The UNSC Lap Pet and UNSC Shinigami trailed closely behind the group.

The Uppercut and Guandao engaged the enemy Lancer in pitched battle, and terminated it in a quick, effective, and brutal exchange of fire, using the captains experiencing in fighting alongside the other to effectively disable and destroy the hostile corvette, with the Uppercut barely limping away from the brief engagement while the Guandao had its portside armor effectively stripped away following a suicide bombing performed by a former Civilian Craft.

The Lap Pet and Shinigami cover the Uppercut and Guandao's retreat, before engaging the furthest out of the enemy Charon Classes, aided by the Sucker Punch who harassed the larger vessel and prevented use of its MAC by disabling key sensors with precise coilgun fire.

Who Watches the Watchmen, Blacktip and Dogfish fill the positions left by the retreating Uppercut and Guandao, directly engaging the enemy screen while the Blue and Royal kept the Halcyon's attention away from the squadron's smaller and less durable ships with sustained autocannon fire and missile barrages.

The Dogfish was lost, having attempted evasive maneuvers after receiving heavy damage to its bow and engines, moving into the path of an unnoticed suicide bomber. Guy Merle and his subordinate Officers were the first friendly causalities in the engagements, with reports from surviving crew confirming they'd remained out their post until their lives were lost, leading the evacuation efforts despite great and ultimately fatal risk to themselves

The UNSC Christmas Card and Chickamauga scrambled their Longsword fighters to attempt to draw fire off the dead in the water Dogfish, that was continuously assaulted by the Einherjar craft. Liutenant Askeland propose the pilot Cole Cobbett be given post humorous honors for his selfless act of giving his life to disable the weaponry of one of the enemy ship's assaulting the listing Dogfish and allowing Who Watches the Watchmen to safely retaliate and destroy the offending craft.

Commander Del Cid ordered the Blackflish to provide cover for the drifting Dogfish, allowing it to remain in take by taking the fire intended for the helpless ship by placing themselves in front of it.

The eleventh enemy casualty was secured by the Shinigami, who after a pitched battle against the Charon they, the Lap Pet, and the sucker punch had been engaged with, shot a MAC round through its center, disabling it. All three ships had suffered moderate damaged during the battle against the enemy frigate. The Uppercut and Guandao rally and return to the fight, as the Mangy Dog reaches behind enemy lines to engage the Einherjar's "Prowler"
Cont

>>6341521

The Blue and Royal takes a glancing blow from the Halcyon's MAC, during the prolonged fire fight against it, now assisted directly by the Midday Stroll, Christmas Card and Chickamauga. The Shinigami is heavily damaged, as the remaining enemy frigates focus attention on it, believed to have gotten as positive id the Shinigami and knowing the reputation of the captain, recognized them as a greater threat. The Lap Pet attempted to draw fire from the Shinigami, to no success.

Enemy Fighters and Bombers confirmed to have left the Halcyon's hangars to engage the Longsword squads sent by the Christmas Card and Chickamauga

The Crystal Clear Heart reached position to pin the Halcyon between itself and the Blue and Royal and request permission to proceed to the next part of the "Shield Wall" strategy.

The Skidbladnir confirmed and sent an order to cease firing on the Halcyon, as Askeland sought an opening to perform his "Kill shot"

The arrival of the Crystal Clear Heart and the concentration of firepower focused on the enemy Halcyon allowed the Christmas Card to disengage with the cruiser and support the outnumbered Shinigami. Who Watches The Watchmen is forced to retreat after expending all of its missile pods, and is covered by the now heavily damaged Blacktip, who remained guarding the Dogfish. The Uppercut and Guandao rally to the Blacktip side. Kraus determines shortly thereafter that the Uppercut can no longer fight nor support life and signals he will evacuate his ship. The Guandao, nearly disabled herself, provides security to the Uppercuts escape pods while the Blacktip scans the wreck of the Dogfish for survivors.

The Christmas Card reaches the Shinigami and alongside the Suckerpunch and Lap pet, provide what support they are able to. At this point, scans from the Skidbladnir confirm that the Shinigami should not have been functional, having suffered multiple hull breaches and fires across most of its deck, having less than a quarter of its armor remaining. The Dreaming Deep and Lawrence of Arabia ambush the Prowler Pursued by the Mangy dog from behind.

The Shinigami performed highly aggressive maneuvers, setting a collision course with the most heavily damaged of its attackers, focusing fire with the Christmas Card, Suckerpunch and Lap Pet, having baited the enemy vessel into evasive manuvers for a ramming maneuver. Kase Toru with the assistance of Mary Jagd, secured his last confirmed career kill, synchronizing their ships' MACs to land simultaneous shots on the hostile Stalwart, breaking it into two pieces
Cont

>>6341522

The last act of the Shinigami is to return fire upon the remaining Einherjar frigates. Captain and crew remain at their posts as the internal fires spread and the remaining enemy Stalwart and Charon finish off the crippled Shinigami. The last broadcast of the Shinigami was a traditional death poem penned by Captain Kase Toru, included in this report [ Audio File, cleaned and enhanced ] . The Midday Stroll altered course to assist the remaining ships and take the Shinigami's place in their unit.

Shortly after, Askeland ordered the Blue and Royal and Crystal Clear Heart to cease firing upon the Halcyon.

Insufficient clearance, access denied. Presenting unclassified details.

A Pelican Drop ship departed the Skidbladnir, carrying a strike team of highly trained and veteran special forces. Warrant Officer Chen Tian, a survivor of Alpha Corvi II, flew them to the enemy flagship and successful landed and disembarked the strike team onto the Halcyon Cruiser, before being forced to retreat due to enemy point defense and fighters, evading and returning allied lines despite taking heavy fire in the process; Escorted by longsword ship fighters, two of which make it back to the safe zone with the damaged Pelican.

As the Fireteam proceeded aboard the enemy craft, the squadron was informed to cease their attack on the enemy cruiser. The enemy mock prowler was confirmed destroyed shortly thereafter, by the Mangy Dog. The Blue and Royal glances another enemy MAC round fired from the Halcyon. The Christmas Card cripples the remaining enemy stalwart, the Sucker Punch loses its engine, Therkelsen refuses to retreat and performs a "Core Shot" on the last of the hostile frigates, the Charon, flying on a collision course before firing its MAC at point blank ranges in astronomical terms. A display of the captain's well known aggressive tactics.

The Skidbladnir is contacted by the Striketeam, who confirm the death of Whiteshirt and capture of the Halcyon.

Lieutenant Askeland orders the venting of the Cruisers atmosphere, securing the cruiser and returning it to UNSC hands.

The remaining Einherjar warships and fighters are disabled, having been thrown into confusion with the loss of their flagship unable to put up any resistance as the squadrons remaining fifteen member strike and destroy them before they can rally and formulate a counterstrike.

Lieutenant Askeland gets into contact with the civilian craft that had been behind the Einherjar formation and confirms that they'd been unwilling participants, press ganged and forced to fulfill support roles for the generals fleet. One Thora Carling, risking retribution by the remaining Einherjar elements hiding cowardly amongst the civilians, informs the Lieutenant of which ships are harboring and are commanded by Einherjar members, that had remained behind the threaten and attempt to force the surviving captives of the terrorist Whiteshirt to act as meatshields and suicide bombers.

>>6341523

Thora Carling and the surviving prisoners are safely rescued and taken into UNSC custody for treatment and protection from retaliation by other Einherjar elements.

The Skidbladnir, Lawrence of Arabia, Dreaming Deep, and Black Shuck remain behind to observe for Einherjar activity on the undocumented world, and confirm---

Error. Error. Error... Data retrieved

Ruins. Unknown origin. Possibly Alien. Ancient. Not Covenant
Anomalous Mental effects observed. Language implantation. Hallucinations. temporary additional senses/ perception alteration.
Impossible distance traveled by Spartan fire team, observed and recorded on helm cams.
Einherjar presence confirmed on the surface of the site. No trace found inside the facility beyond strange altars
Technology recovered intact and functional [See File: BIG GUN ]
Professional opinion as a Spartan. This is heavier firepower than anything the Covenant Field.
Surviving Einherjar rebels interrogated. Suspect the Einherjar leadership KNEW this would be here.
Advise extreme caution in handling the remaining elements of the group---
ONI Anti Virus Online, purging document and system hosting downloaded files, address forwarded to [-----]
__
Operation: HVITSERK

Primary Objective 1: SUCCESS! War Effort: Human Technology and Navigational Data remain out of Covenant Hands, keeping several nearby colony worlds from being discovered by the enemy
Primary Objective 2: SUCCESS! War Effort: Einherjar Morale plummets to the lowest it has ever been with the loss of the majority of their ships and remaining trained fighters. BONUS! With the survival of the Non Combatants, the local support for the Einherjar plummets
Secondary Objective : SUCCESS! War Effort: UNSC Property, Equipment, Munitions and ships returned to the war effort. Einherjar lose access to Military firearms and gear
Optional Sub Objective! SUCCESS! War Effort: The surviving captains trust Sven-033, and the surviving ships have increased aptitude in "Hopeless" Situations. Shipwide: The crew of the Skidbladnir makes progress towards advancement, loyalty to their captain has improved across the board. Personal: Sven-033 has proven himself a more than able commander, proving his leadership abilities as a Naval Officer. Promotion/ Quality: Officer Improvement, hastened Progress to ? benefits advanced
Secret Objective 1: SUCCESS! War Effort: An intact and modified Halcyon has been returned to UNSC possession. A branch of the Rhodes project has been recovered and is under going testing by both Project Rhodes and the Spartan Project to determine its effectiveness. A side path of Project Rhodes and Spartan-II has begun
Secret Objective 2: SUCCESS! War Effort: "Forerunner" Technology secured. Research Project group unlocked: Forerunner , . Research Project: Forerunner Language, started and advanced by 5%. Research project: Study artifacts, Begun.
Cont

>>6341524

Advancement Path Diplomat has progressed to Rank 2
Previous effects remain
New/ Additional effects: Sven-033 becomes more charismatic and improves his diplomatic abilities/ intuition further, learning more methods/ approaches and can choose between 2 when applying AP Diplomat, and additional bonuses/ options when mixing it with Certain Qualities. Sven may occasionally fast talk his way out of bad situations

Advancement Path Tactician has progressed to rank 3
Previous effects/ AP interactions remain
New/ Additional effects: Sven's Tactical Sense and Instinct increased, Sven's Leadership abilities increased even further. Complex/ Risky strategies of Sven's are easier to pull off/ less difficult. Sven can anticipate the actions of an enemy commander/ officer with less or no Tactician AP. [Quality: Maverick interaction ] Maverick Bonuses/ Debuffs become more common for Officers/ troops under Sven's command, and Ships under his command can now also benefit from these bonuses. Sven can occasionally perform a "Daredevil" Maneuver or Tactic that doubles effective maverick bonus if successfully pulled off. [ Quality: Inspiring: Interaction ] Immediate friendly morale gain/ enemy morale loss increased and becomes more likely to proc, Troops under Sven's command may perform final stands without his direct encouragement/ command. Ship, Officer and troops under Sven's command become loyal to Sven faster. [Quality: Wunderkind. Interaction] Sven can anticipate the actions of enemy commanders/ officers with tactician AP equal to his level and adapt to unknown enemies/ circumstances more readily

Advancement path Infiltrator has progressed to rank 3.
Previous effects/ AP interactions remain
New/ Additional effects: Sven automatically avoids basic security measures. Sven's stealth abilities improve again. Sven can infiltrate through tighter security/ more difficult paths and unlocks more options/ opportunity to infiltrate and the ability to do so in more heavily guarded/ secure sites. Sven's prowess as a scout improves. Sven can ignore 1 failed infiltration result once per mission
__

>Proceed to Operation: Danelaw (Locks off Operation: TANGLED-HAIR. Tangled Hair will be undertaken by ODST)

>Proceed to Operation: Tangled-Hair (Locks off Operation: Danelaw. Danelaw will undertaken by ODST/ ONI Assassins)

>Accept Request for Spartan Deployment against Covenant Aggression (Locks off both Tanglehair and Danelaw)

Tried something different with this AAR, since it wasn't really a Spartan op. Also, Sven is going to get that Promotion soon, since his/ your tactics+leadership did perform really Fantastically in HVITSERK

>>6341525
>>Accept Request for Spartan Deployment against Covenant Aggression (Locks off both Tanglehair and Danelaw)
Always nice to see things laid out in black and white, ONI ink notwithstanding. Also good to see the crew is warming up to the Spartans a little more. Anyways...
I think we've done more than enough to set the stage for the established spooks and special forces to stamp out the Einherjar. Now we can focus on doing the impossible and kicking alien ass.

>>6341525
>>Accept Request for Spartan Deployment against Covenant Aggression (Locks off both Tanglehair and Danelaw)

This is probably what gets us involved with silent storm and unlike John we are trained to deal with politics and can hopefully spot the snake for what he is.

>>6341525
>Accept Request for Spartan Deployment against Covenant Aggression (Locks off both Tanglehair and Danelaw)

Time to focus on real enemy

>>6341525

Losing only 2/3 ships against the odds we did is wild including the recovered data/and the Cruiser but man does it hurt to know we've lost bodies when the covenant are knocking at our doors.

>Troops under Sven's command may perform final stands without his direct encouragement/ command.

To those who fight and die, we remember. Humanity shall not go into the night without a fight.

>>6341525
I honest gotta say we finish off Danelaw.

>Proceed to Operation: Danelaw (Locks off Operation: TANGLED-HAIR. Tangled Hair will be undertaken by ODST)

there might be more ties to the Forerunner and the Oracle is still missing.

>>6340687
Correct. We have to put them down. The Einherjar have shown again and again, how adaptable they are. They are not a little snake, but an hydra. Its time we strike at it where it truly hurts, and not only at their regrowing heads. Because they can create war leaders for replace their commanders deaths. But can they replace the ones that do the rites, rituals and sacrifices?

Either purging the new*** Einherjar leadership in our homeworld at war with the UNSC and CMA, one by one, until this cult is truly dead or going to an apocalypse bunker of a weapons corporation. Both makes for cool missions, and they need to be put down soon. But I want to confirm theories about Einherjar i and others have made, and that means we want our boots on the ground back home. Even if securing an entire arsenal of weapons and probably a secret factory is not bad either.


*** i have a theory that while military/political Einherjar leadership changed (thanks to us :) !), the religious priesthood leadership are still much alive. I assume they have remained the neutral party in in the internal politics and brief civil wars of the death cult. They have been clearly an elusive element to the UNSC and ONI.

>>6341525
>>Proceed to Operation: Danelaw (Locks off Operation: TANGLED-HAIR. Tangled Hair will be undertaken by ODST)
Home sweet home.
Time to do that travel Dad always did with those group of youngsters....

>>6341525
>>Proceed to Operation: Danelaw (Locks off Operation: TANGLED-HAIR. Tangled Hair will be undertaken by ODST)

there has to be something from the forerunners here their no way in hell their isnt espcially since Einherjar knew of the ruins we were just at which means they had/have something in their hands

>>6341520
>During these early bombardments The UNSC Chickamauga confirmed the first kill of the engagement, taking out an "Einherjar Original" heavily modified Corvette of indeterminable origin
They keep surprising us. Their scientific and technical capabilities are improved again and again. Their own prowlers, their red pills, their attempt at modding an exo, cyborg Whiteshirt, improved explosives, modified weapons and armors etc...the list keeps going.

>>6341546
Indeed, they have secrets. Secrets that we have not seen. I do not think any amount of ODSTs squads dropped on New Noregr would matter. Not only Einherjar regulars are professional trained soldiers, they would be able to buy time for the cult to go away in suicidal attacks supported by religious fervour.

Sven deep experience against the Einherjar is needed here, the fact he is a native helps further. James here has done BLOODAXE, so he is also experienced with New Noregr. The Purple Dragons are the best pick possible to send.

>>6341525
>Accept Request for Spartan Deployment against Covenant Aggression (Locks off both Tanglehair and Danelaw)

>>6341525
Really liked the format on the AAR, 404.

>Proceed to Operation: Danelaw (Locks off Operation: TANGLED-HAIR. Tangled Hair will be undertaken by ODST)

I don't think we can afford to leave the job half completed and going back now to fighting the covies -- as important as that also is -- would leave cleaning house on the Einherjar support network to the guys who managed to keep fucking up suppression and removal of it in the first place. We already prevented the Covenant from nabbing nav data so we have a little bit more time to burn on ensuring our backyard stays clean which will help the war effort longer term.

>>6341525
>Proceed to Operation: Danelaw (Locks off Operation: TANGLED-HAIR. Tangled Hair will be undertaken by ODST)

>>6341525


>Proceed to Operation: Danelaw (Locks off Operation: TANGLED-HAIR. Tangled Hair will be undertaken by ODST)

It'll be 'good' to be home.

Given Sven's penchant for STEAL-ing enemy materiel, d'you think ONI will actually ratify the moniker 'Varengian' eventually?

>Proceed to Operation: Danelaw (Locks off Operation: TANGLED-HAIR. Tangled Hair will be undertaken by ODST)

>>6341525
>Proceed to Operation: Danelaw (Locks off Operation: TANGLED-HAIR. Tangled Hair will be undertaken by ODST)

Might as well take the opportunity to go and clean up old home.

>>6341525
>Proceed to Operation: Danelaw (Locks off Operation: TANGLED-HAIR. Tangled Hair will be undertaken by ODST)
I'm tempted to vote for fighting the Covenant but we're close to finishing off the Einherjar so we might as well.

>>6341525
>Proceed to Operation: Danelaw (Locks off Operation: TANGLED-HAIR. Tangled Hair will be undertaken by ODST)
We're only 3/4th's done. That's half assing it. Always full ass a job. Who knows, maybe we'll get a functional research post in some Forerunner ruins out of it for ONI too.

Should be able to get the update out in a few hours. Ran a long session of Cyberpunk yesterday. Lots of Netrunning.

>>6342527
see this is why they need to make their own dumb AI

also question since the Helcyon we captured was modified by human hands does that mean we insta unlocked the helcyon refits or do we still need to research it

>>6342527
What about the AI beyond the wall? Did you listen to them being friends?

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60 KB PNG

Rebooting...Monitor 404TormentedCache, back online

So a few hours turned to several, my bad, sister asked me to help pick up some furniture and time ran away from me from there. My bad, didn't want to make you all wait effectively 2 days for an update, but real life had other plans

4 Votes for Spartan op against Covenant aggression

11 Votes for Operation Danelaw

Easy majority for continuing to Operation: Danelaw

Sven is going home. Probably a much more violent Homecoming than Daisy's would've been....

[ Decision made ]
[Proceeding... ]

>>6341588
thanks!

>>6341551
They're also the terrorist equivalent of Roaches.

>>6342529
Well Whiteshirt's Halcyons upgrades were mostly of the "Weld more weapons on it" rather than the overhaul Red Flag brought to the Halcyon

>>6342576
I've plans for the party's netrunner if they ever dip their toes in the blackwall. Evil, fucked up plans

>>6342706
>I've plans for the party's netrunner if they ever dip their toes in the blackwall. Evil, fucked up plans
>"Hello yes your cyberdeck has virus [indian folk music earrape]"

>>6342706
>I've plans for the party's netrunner if they ever dip their toes in the blackwall. Evil, fucked up plans
Eldritch cyberdemon uploads 10 gazillion yottabytes of Johnny Silverhand x Kerry Eurodyne erotic fanfiction directly into his brain.

Command wants Operation: IRIMINISUL wrapped up. They want the Einherjar neutralized and left in the past. Stanforth made this clear when you forwarded the after action report for HVITSERK, unredacted, before ONI got to blotting it out and classifying it into an official story that didn't reveal the existence of the Spartans or the real reason for investigating the unclaimed world. You'd asked for updates concerning the other, ongoing Spartan missions. He could tell you nothing except that Operations: Dreamcatcher and Home Alone were still underway and that he'd received a report that Operation: Trick-or-Treat had been successful. You didn't like not knowing the status of your Spartans, but there was nothing that could be done. You trusted them to win and succeed in their missions, but that didn't mean you enjoyed being in the dark. Not that the Vice admiral had anyway of telling you, considering the nature of Dreamcatcher and Home Alone, but it wasn't a good feeling to be left wondering if soldiers under your command were thriving or dying.

"Sir Permission to speak freely" You recall asking your superior officer, once he'd finished reading through your AAR of HVITSERK, and had received permission "It sounds like we're rushing to end IRIMINISUL and the Einherjar threat"

"You'd be correct, Lieutenant" He'd answered "Spartans are needed on Covenant fronts, and it has been decided that your recent efforts in crippling the insurrectionist group, have succeeded beyond expectations"

Now that was something to be proud of. However, you couldn't help but push the envelope a little

"Sir. It sounds like command thinks they don't need Spartans to finish off the Einherjar"

"That is proof of your effort, and the results they'd gotten" He'd replied, sounding nearly as proud as you felt, which just made your pride swell and grow "The Office of Naval Intelligence and the Admiralty are of the mind that your and your Spartans should be reassigned to the main front"

While you didn't know if John's team had caught Stanforth a second Persephone or if Last Lighthouse had been reduced to a ball of molten glass.

"Sir, you wouldn't tell me this unless the decision had been finalized" You asked and received your answer "Where are we being redeployed?"

"New Noregr. Recent events" He'd started, you knew that you'd been the source of most of the new intel he'd been mentioning "Has convinced them that a Spartan presence may be required to corner Jormungandr, prior attempts at capture or termination have been wholly unsuccessful"

That was the professional way of saying, he'd killed every assassin and strike team they'd sent to cut the serpent's head. You weren't sure why ONI still thought that'd work after Fenrir and later Herfjötur had been removed from the picture. Worked for most Rebel groups, not extremists like the Einherjar.
Cont

>>6342721

"Even though they've been bleeding support and numbers, Sir?" You asked, at the moment, surprised that you'd get to finish the job you'd started "I've read the reports, they've next to no morale, no friends and they've seen more desertions and breakaways than they've had recruits, their best remaining officers have all gone to ground. Effectively, they've been fractured beyond recovery"

"We want to be thorough, Spartan" was the Vice Admiral's answer "And we believe, as the Spartans with the most experience combating the Einherjar, Purple team's presence will be required on the ground. Latest Intel has confirmed that Jormungandr is willing to do whatever it takes to deny the UNSC control of New Noregr. I believe I do not need to explain further, Sven. You know how far they're willing to go"

"Understood, Sir, the Skidbladnir can head out immediately. We should all be fighting ready when we get into system"

"You'll be debriefed then, Lieutenant. Your squad will be part of a Covert action carried out alongside the first, concentrated push to take back control of the colony, but the conventional armed forces"

"Sir one last thing. If I may ask, whose been put in charge of Operation Tangledhair?" You'd asked, before the communication could be cut.

"It's being handed over to the ODST, the thirteenth. Tangledhair was considered lower priority than Danelaw"

Helljumpers. John and James both had run into some "issues" with ODST before. You hadn't had any experience with them, outside of Nesta's near obsession with them during Boot. But you knew about the Thirteenth. They had history with the Einherjar, and had been Commands former answer for any of their activity. They'd been more effective than most, but less effective than Spartans. This meant more than one of them had been given the "lead role" in the Einherjar's Infamous recorded executions. They'd also gotten a court martial or two for what had been listed in the official documents as "excessive civilian causalities", which was probably why they'd been taken off of New Noregr and sent after Arms Dealers. It was bad for optics, now that the locals no longer held the Einherjar in high regarded.

They probably wouldn't have gotten along with you, if they heard your accent. Or surname. Might've lead to an attempted fragging. Which would've ended very poorly for the thirteenth, even if you kept your cool. Spartans didn't take kindly to one of their own being threatened and your dragons were awfully inventive and clever, even for Spartans. It was the right move to reassign them to Tangledhair once the decision had been made to bring Purple Team into play on New Noregr.

The Einherjar had already lost
They'd been reduced to a shadow of their former self, and had been steadily losing the fight inside of them. The hearts and minds of the people were slipping out of their fingers, even on the homefront.

Operation:Danelaw would just be putting down a sick dog.
Cont

>>6342722

>Ask about Operation: Trick-or-Treat before your debrief for Operation:Danelaw. Stanforth had assured you there'd been no Spartan losses, but knowing was part of your job.

>Confide in Daisy about your mixed feelings in returning home, since she'd been close to deserting before you'd talked some sense into her.

>Make some preparations of your own, and have the armor of all of your squad painted in Winterized Camo over the refractive coating.

>Before getting debriefed for your mission on the ground, use your officer status and rep from HVITSERK to get some Intel from the blockade stationed above new noregr

>Write in option

>>6342723


>Make some preparations of your own, and have the armor of all of your squad painted in Winterized Camo over the refractive coating.

>Before getting debriefed for your mission on the ground, use your officer status and rep from HVITSERK to get some Intel from the blockade stationed above New Noregr

Knowledge is power. And olive green is going to be too visible, I'd wager.

>>6342723
>>Make some preparations of your own, and have the armor of all of your squad painted in Winterized Camo over the refractive coating.
Snow bunnies, they say. No idea what that means, Sven has.
>>Before getting debriefed for your mission on the ground, use your officer status and rep from HVITSERK to get some Intel from the blockade stationed above new noregr
It'd be nice to know if the Einherjar have been quiet and staying on the ground or if they've been probing and trying to find a way out recently. If they've been going to ground harder, that is an extremely alarming sign.

>>6342723
>Confide in Daisy about your mixed feelings in returning home, since she'd been close to deserting before you'd talked some sense into her.
>Before getting debriefed for your mission on the ground, use your officer status and rep from HVITSERK to get some Intel from the blockade stationed above New Noregr

One for Sven mental health and the otehr for the mission.

>>6342723
>>Confide in Daisy about your mixed feelings in returning home, since she'd been close to deserting before you'd talked some sense into her.
>Before getting debriefed for your mission on the ground, use your officer status and rep from HVITSERK to get some Intel from the blockade stationed above new noregr

>>6342723
>Confide in Daisy about your mixed feelings in returning home, since she'd been close to deserting before you'd talked some sense into her.
>Make some preparations of your own, and have the armor of all of your squad painted in Winterized Camo over the refractive coating.

>>6342723

>Confide in Daisy about your mixed feelings in returning home, since she'd been close to deserting before you'd talked some sense into her.
>Before getting debriefed for your mission on the ground, use your officer status and rep from HVITSERK to get some Intel from the blockade stationed above new noregr

>>6342723
>Confide in Daisy about your mixed feelings in returning home, since she'd been close to deserting before you'd talked some sense into her.
good

>Make some preparations of your own, and have the armor of all of your squad painted in Winterized Camo over the refractive coating.
beautiful winter camo.

I think we can order Soren and Vali to get us the info we want from the civilian settlements on ground. Subtly. They did an excellent job on Black Sands, they can do so again in New Noregr before we hit the ground. Its time for an hunt, the sick dog here still carries a disease to extinguish and we do not know its hidey hole. And we want its secrets.

File: winter_camo.png (1.83 MB, 2559x2692)

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Wonder if Sven will finally get to visit those mines up in the mountains or the quarries he wasn't allowed to as a kid. I'm guessing some Einherjar shit went on in those places.

>>6342723
>Make some preparations of your own, and have the armor of all of your squad painted in Winterized Camo over the refractive coating.
We thinking Epsilon Winter or Silent Snow?

>Write in option
>Ask Stanforth to forward you any available reports on those failed operations to take out Jormungandr. You want to know what caused those ops to fail so you can avoid making similar mistakes and learn more about your adversary.
Maybe we can Wunderkind our way into seeing a pattern. Has it just been poor planning, preparedness or intelligence? Is it because of Jormungandr's intelligence or luck? Or something else like a traitor inside the UNSC tipping off Jormungandr.
Might be a good idea to avoid interacting with the blockade more than necessary in that case.

>>6342723
>Confide in Daisy about your mixed feelings in returning home, since she'd been close to deserting before you'd talked some sense into her.
>Before getting debriefed for your mission on the ground, use your officer status and rep from HVITSERK to get some Intel from the blockade stationed above new noregr
Social link with Daisy and info dump. Might not be necessary but I wanna see it.

>>6342754
Epsilon Winter for sure. Helps break up our silhouette a lot better than just a flat monotone paintjob, especially in a winter forest like I assume we're about to be operating in.
>>6342722
>Confide in Daisy about your mixed feelings in returning home, since she'd been close to deserting before you'd talked some sense into her.
>Make some preparations of your own, and have the armor of all of your squad painted in Winterized Camo over the refractive coating.

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288 KB JPG

>>6342754
>mines up in the mountains or the quarries he wasn't allowed to as a kid
I am assuming we will need to go there for find the actual cult heart. The world settlements i believe are just their recruitment centers, not where they truly command. Their temple must be in a remote place for never have been found so far. Like, as it was not found by the colony ships coming here in the colony past either (unless someone lied to the UEG all that time ago.... could explain something. Its not like dad and mom ever told us of Einherjar or its true origin). And then by all the ships that came after and that are here today. Perhaps js the nature of New Noregr being so rich in minerals that provides a sort of "shielding" for the heart of the Einherjar ? From scanners from orbit or the sky i mean. Could be a dumb theory. Maybe is some stealth coating of the forerunners instead.

Epsilon winter is close to what draw anon made. So that one. Its also perfect for the terrain and biomes of New Noregr.

>>6342831
New Noregr is cold, mountainous and with lots of forests so thats more or less what we will operate in most likely, the Camo just fits. The main product of the world beside exporting terrorist death cultists, is varied mineral ores. The mines are specified to be rich in them. Ensuring New Noregr returns to export at full production those ores is certainly helpful for the war effort. It does also help UNSC and CMA to have another friendly world to count upon for resupply, repair and mainteneance. Maybe even recruit and reinforcement (though with the all the conflicts done here recently the UNSC and CMA might want to wait a bit before giving such order. The Einherjar also recruited a lot before losing so much because of us).

>>6342723
404 a question. Dont feel obligated to answer if Sven wouldn't know. Was New Noregr found like this when it was colonized or it was partially terraformed by the UEG first ? As in with the biomes we know it has (mountains, forests, cold climate, lakes, fjords etc..).

>>6342723
>Make some preparations of your own, and have the armor of all of your squad painted in Winterized Camo over the refractive coating.

>Confide in Daisy about your mixed feelings in returning home, since she'd been close to deserting before you'd talked some sense into her.

>>6342723
>Before getting debriefed for your mission on the ground, use your officer status and rep from HVITSERK to get some Intel from the blockade stationed above new noregr

>Make some preparations of your own, and have the armor of all of your squad painted in Winterized Camo over the refractive coating.

Rebooting...Monitor 404TormentedCache, Back online

8 Votes to winterize your squad's Mjolnir armor

7 Votes to gather intel before the debrief

8 Votes to confide in Daisy

1 Vote to get info from Stanforth about the unsuccessful hits on Jormungandr

Alright, so there is a tie, but I think there's enough time for Sven to put in the order to get winter camo put on 12 suits of Mjolnir and confide with Daisy, and half the total of both those choices are in the same vote.

And it'll mean I don't need to flip a coin on this!

[ Decisions made ]
[ Proceeding...]

>>6342873
The former. It even has some native fauna, including alien "goats"

Also, yeah, I had Epsilon Winter in mind when I wrote the choice to put some camo on your armor.

It was rare to see Daisy out of her armor. It was rare to see any Spartan out of their armor. And if you had to guess, you were the Spartan who was out of their suit of Mjolnir the most often and regularly, due to your rank. There were aspects of officer life that were complicated by wearing half a ton or roundabout as much powered armor. They were also complicated by your age, height and generally intimidating aura, but less so than the Mjolnir system tended to, since the armor made it difficult for subordinates and superiors to see you as, well, human. Not that you particularly cared.

Mjolnir was like a second skin, and even you only took it off when it was absolutely necessary to get things done and do your job. Daisy, clearly didn't like having it off anymore than you did, as she was scratching the back of her bare arm nervously as she watched her suit get painted over, the olive green refractive coating getting hidden under a fresh layers of winterized camo. Except for the personalization you'd given her suit, which in her case, besides her serial number was the pouting face of a teddy bear right. Apposite of her Spartan ID on her armor's chest piece.

You were sitting down beside her, arms slack and hanging, both of you were in your sweats, fresh from the sparring ring. You'd won, but she'd made you fight for that victory.

"Halsey might be more upset about you changing the paint job than she has been about you testing the limits of Mjolnir every op" She suddenly said, lifting up her head, sea glass blue eyes piercing your own, brighter ice blue eyes.

"She is protective of her creations" You tell her "But I don't think she'd complain about the use of camo"

"Wonder if that includes us" She sighed and you pushed a hiss of air through your teeth "Don't worry, not going to start, just thinking outloud"

"More than she lets on, I think" You answer, starting down at your hands as both you and Daisy stop talking for awhile, before you speak up "But, I think I understand your perspective better now"

"Hm?" She none verbally asked, eyes dull and unfocused before they sharpened and brightened as she understood what you meant "Well too late to go AWOL now, Big Guy", her fist met your shoulder with a thud as she chuckled "You've got to set an example as our superior officer, can't have you turning runaway. Especially after we agreed to bide our time about this"

"Heh, well I wasn't gonna go that far, but" You say, trying to find the right words as you watched the paint dry on the dozen Mjolnir suits, prepped and ready to be fitted on by the Skidbladnir's team of technicians "I understand why you were pushed to that breaking point along with Oscar, Ralph and Joseph, now that I'm back..."

"Back home?"

"Yeah

Another awkward silence.

"Well, I think you've got a cleaner homecoming than any of us will get" Daisy says to break the silence, leaning back and staring at the light in the ceiling "Considering..."
Cont

>>6343173
"James crippled my father and I deafened my mother" You say before it can get awkward again "Yeah, don't have to worry about how they'll react, unlike you do. They'll both probably be put before a firing squad"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"I've made peace with it. They've reaped what they've sown, more literally than the rest of them" You assure her, even though your head is bowed and you slouching forward, eyes shut in quiet thought, before growling in frustration "No, that's no entirely true. But I've accepted it. And its more that"

You didn't know how to put it into words

"You've returned as an invader. Yeah, that has to be a tougher pill to swallow than anything else, including having to put down your own parents" Daisy figures it out for you, and you're grateful for that

"Yeah" You sigh "It'll be like any other mission but, its just. I didn't think that...I hoped I wouldn't be the first Spartan to go home. You deserved it more, you were actually homesick and I've...I don't know. I just didn't think about it too much until now, outside of how they've turned their faith into a weapon and perverted it. They were just targets and objectives. It was a bit harder to ignore with my mom, but I can't ignore it now that..."

"You're home and forced to face everything?" She asked, kicking your leg gently to set your thoughts back on course

"Yeah" You nod along "I think that sounds right. Didn't even remember her face, you know. Didn't recognize her. Made it easier, maybe"

"You remember more than I do, more than the rest of us probably. But I don't think I'd be keeping it together as well as you are, if I was in your shoes, Sven" Daisy says softly, quietly as you bow your head and she leans her shoulder against you "You've always been an ice cube, even compared to rest of us."

"Not always, had temper problems at the start of training" You chuckle, but your head still feels like a tangled ball of yarn that keeps getting more knotted the more you pull at and try to decipher your feelings. They didn't cover this in training, but then again, they wanted the perfect soldiers. You're just a bit more emotional than some of the others ended up being.

"You know what I mean" Daisy said with a click of her tongue "You've always been calm, in control no matter what's going on. So I know you're hiding more inner turmoil than you're showing"

"The mission comes first" You groan, sitting up straight and crossing your arms "But not sorting whatever this is out will just jeopardize the mission"

"Exactly. We've got to figure out the issue, before it becomes a problem" Daisy agrees "We might not be able to fix it, but confronting it will be a lot more effective than running away from it. I know you'd do the same for me, if it was my home that'd become a mission objective"
Cont

>>6343175

"You're the only one, even in purple team that'd understand" You start, admitting why it was you'd followed her to watch paint dry "We're not supposed to feel conflicted, ever. And Rita wouldn't...she isn't a Spartan. I need to talk to a Spartan, a friend, a sister"

Daisy smiled and she almost looked like an angel, despite, like you, being a weapon of war.

"So, Sir" She says with a smile too gentle for a Spartan "Tell me exactly what is your major malfunction, and don't pussyfoot around the issue. Just get it off your fucking chest before it gets worse, before it becomes a problem. It'll be better for you, healthier too"

If only it was that easy. And when Daisy saw you weren't going to vent your frustration, she gave a little more assurance.

"Promise I won't tell a soul and ruin your tough guy rep"

You smirked. Somehow, getting teased made it easier to untangle the mess in your head and the knots in your chest, in your heart

"I don't know. Its complicated. Its irritating. Its pissing me off, I..."

>"Hate that its gone this far. This shouldn't have happened. No of it. We're fighting a war for survival and these idiots are trying to kneecap us. And they'll keep trying. They're brainwashed fanatics, all of them. My parents were no better than the people who abducted me. At least what we went through had purpose! The Einherjar are just making everything worse"

>" I've become the conqueror of my own home. I'm sure if this was in ancient times, I'd be remembered as a betrayer. The Varangian who had returned at the head of a warhost. And worse, I don't care. I haven't cared, that I've been killing people who I might've known as a kid. It just doesn't register. None of it has Maybe you had a point, right after ASTER"

>"Know that nothing can be done. That it has to be done. But I know that it isn't that simple. I'm the one unlucky bastard in the program to be indoctrinated twice, so I know, that they weren't just xenophobic terrorists, at least not at the beginning. Now, well, they've dug their grave haven't they?"

>"I don't know. Maybe I just wish there was someway to make them see reason. Deprogram them. Make them fight the real enemy instead of us But it'd never worked. Too much bad blood. Not sure if even the Covenant will mend the bridges that have been burned"

>"Always knew it'd come to this. Halsey told me once, back when I wasn't with the program, that the insurrection would cause the end of us. Of all humanity. That was the way we were heading, before the Covenant showed up. And the Einherjar proved it, without a shadow of a doubt. But they aren't the only ones living on New Noregr, and they weren't the only ones to die for it"

>Write in option

>>6343176
>"I've become the conqueror of my own home. I'm sure if this was in ancient times, I'd be remembered as a betrayer. The Varangian who had returned at the head of a warhost. And worse, I don't care. I haven't cared, that I've been killing people who I might've known as a kid. It just doesn't register. None of it has Maybe you had a point, right after ASTER."
I'm sure Sven of all people would have noticed the growing disconnect between himself and his people despite his insistence on keeping their traditions alive. He most certainly never felt bad about neutralizing any innies from his neck of the woods.

>>6343176
>>Write in option

> My identity is torn. When you're a kid, your home is your home, right? And then they took us away and we never really had a chance to come to terms with losing our home. I mean, we made a new one, but the old one is still there, you know? It never went away. You remember when you're with your family, with your friends, running out to that tree in the yard, things like that. And then in an instant it's gone and we are running laps and shooting guns, and all you want to do is go back to the old home, like you, Daisy. Little by little booty camp becomes the new home and Halsey becomes your mother and Chief Mendez your father but it's never the same. And then you're coming on back, and the new home competes with the old home, and you mourn for the place - the identity - you can never go back to. More than that, you start to wonder what you are more - Are you Sven Askeland, child of Einar and Ingrid, or are you Sven 033, Lieutenant of Spartans? And even more than that, Daisy, You come back as an invader. Are you going to burn your home yourself? Are you just going to cross your fingers and hope it gets missed as it gets hit from orbit? Would you even care if it did? It's a lot to think about.

>>6343214

"Booty camp"

A beautiful post slain by an ugly typo. On the other side, that image is hysterical.

>>6343176
>>"Know that nothing can be done. That it has to be done. But I know that it isn't that simple. I'm the one unlucky bastard in the program to be indoctrinated twice, so I know, that they weren't just xenophobic terrorists, at least not at the beginning. Now, well, they've dug their grave haven't they?"
beautiful

>>6343160
thanks for the info

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>>6343176
>Write in option

"I hate that the person I am, not because of any specific event. I am-WE are tools to be used as the UNSC fits, and I am perfectly fine with that. But I also feel like something in me...isn't working. I still remember the love I had for my parents when I was young, it was the kind that made everything in the world feel right."
"I was born to some of the leaders of the very death cult we are putting down, and I hate that while I know this must be done, I still sympathize with the very people we are killing. People I might have known, people I cared about and that I loved. I feel like I am broken, because I can do this, while also knowing I could never hurt you or our brothers and sisters. Because saying that feels like a lie, when I would have likely said the same before we became part of the Spartan project"
"In a way, whenever the crew look at me, you and the dragons, I don't feel like their stares of slight fear and apprehensiveness are just from our stature. I always feel like their judgmental stares are able to see part of our true selves. And that if they ever learn of what we truly are, their stares would change to disgust, and that it is right for them to do so, because nothing human is meant to feel like I do. Because we were broken into tools, in a way no human ever is meant to be. And that makes me feel terribly, terribly alone. And terribly, terribly scared of losing you and the others. Because you and the others are the only things I still feel love for. That makes me at least partially human still, that makes the world feel right."

>>6343176
>"Always knew it'd come to this. Halsey told me once, back when I wasn't with the program, that the insurrection would cause the end of us. Of all humanity. That was the way we were heading, before the Covenant showed up. And the Einherjar proved it, without a shadow of a doubt. But they aren't the only ones living on New Noregr, and they weren't the only ones to die for it"
IIRC we did in-character have this conversation with Halsey, didn't we? One of the early 1 on 1s with her.

>>6343176
>"Always knew it'd come to this. Halsey told me once, back when I wasn't with the program, that the insurrection would cause the end of us. Of all humanity. That was the way we were heading, before the Covenant showed up. And the Einherjar proved it, without a shadow of a doubt. But they aren't the only ones living on New Noregr, and they weren't the only ones to die for it"

>>6343176
>>Write in option
>"Never got chance to even consider my own path, my destiny was to always be someone's perfect little soldier; either it was as the UNSC's perfect super soldier, or my parents death cult soldier i never had a choice, its why i guess im more okay being a spartan then the rest of the class is, that said i do wonder if i could have been alowed to choose my own path how i would have done as an artist."

>>6343176
>Write in option
"At the edge of my mind a doubt, this might be my fault. When I was taken, long ago... I didn't go quietly I might shock you to hear. Oh i went down like everyone but I made the spooks work for it and I went down loud. My mother and father may have noticed a UNSC spook ship slipping away and taken that as a decloration of war in of itself... what if I was the tipping point for them?"

>"Always knew it'd come to this. Halsey told me once, back when I wasn't with the program, that the insurrection would cause the end of us. Of all humanity. That was the way we were heading, before the Covenant showed up. And the Einherjar proved it, without a shadow of a doubt. But they aren't the only ones living on New Noregr, and they weren't the only ones to die for it"
"I'm not mad that she was right, I'm disapointed in humanity."

>>6343176

Backing >>6343311

>>6343176
>>6343214
+1

>>6343176
>" I've become the conqueror of my own home. I'm sure if this was in ancient times, I'd be remembered as a betrayer. The Varangian who had returned at the head of a warhost. And worse, I don't care. I haven't cared, that I've been killing people who I might've known as a kid. It just doesn't register. None of it has Maybe you had a point, right after ASTER"
There's nothing left for Sven on New Noregr. Reach is Sven's home now.

>>6343522
>There's nothing left for Sven on New Noregr. Reach is Sven's home now.
Home is where the waifu heart is.

>>6343176
supporting this>>6343263

>>6343311
Supporting

>>6343263
i support this write-in

Going to let this particular vote cook for a bit longer, since its looking pretty closer right now from a glance, so it feels right to give you guys some more time mulling it over

>>6343216
>Booty Camp

Mendez in short shorts

Looking like I won't be able to end the vote today, so I'm going to leave it open longer than I'd originally planned (A few hours). Sorry to do this, update will have to wait till tomorrow, just too busy today. Thought I'd have enough time free to fit in an update, but I was wrong. Sorry again lads

>>6343924
I blame HIGHCOM for stacking so many doodies, I mean, duties on this dude.

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Rebooting...Monitor404TormentedCache, back online

Didn't know we were doing Maintenance now, that was an unwelcome surprise. Shouldn't have anything get in my way today, so lets get the ball rolling

2 Votes for "I've become the conqueror..."

2 Votes for "My identity is torn..."

1 Vote for "Know that nothing can be done..."

3 Votes for "I hate that the person I am..."

5 Votes for "Always knew it'd come to this..."

1 Vote for "Never got a chance to even consider my own path..."

3 Votes for "At the edge of my mind a doubt"

Bit of a messy once, very close, especially for the write ins. So Sven will tell daisy that
"I always knew it'd come to this"...etc. I'll See what I else I can work in, if anything, without being unfair

[ Decision made ]
[ Proceeding... ]

You suck in a breathe of air through your teeth, rock your head side to side and slump, going slack from your shoulders to your toes. Releasing tension you hadn't noticed had been building and coiling inside of your body. And when your sigh ends you, lift yourself up, mind cleared and thoughts clarified.

"I always knew it'd come to this" Grimly, you admit, looking ahead at the golden reflection shining in the visor of your Mjolnir, confronting yourself through the distorted, discolored mirror it offers "Halsey told me once, back when I wasn't with the program"

"Early days. When it was a coin flip if you'd go berserk and give the instructors a few permanent reminders of their time with the program" Daisy tries to lighten the mood. And it works, you can't help but to smirk

"Would it surprise you to know I didn't go quietly?" You chuckle, before realizing how vague and distant the memories of that turning point and most important moment if your life had become. You think the pick up team got you by water. A lake. Or was it a river and were you mixing up the details from one of the first wilderness survival courses they put the class through.

"But Halsey" You said, rerailing the conversation as Daisy went slack, head slumped in barely perceptible disappointment "During one of the private lessons she gave me, I think the first actually, she told me the purpose of the program"

"Did you understand it then? We're a bright bunch of brats" Daisy asks and you nod slowly

"Understood enough to satisfy her" You answer with a light shrug "Enough that she asked me the threat we were supposed to meet, to fight. The reason for all of it"

You lifted your head, and hear your younger self's words echo. Other Humans.

"I answered right, and she told me that the insurrection would be the end of us all. Of all humanity"

Daisy doesn't respond, just stares ahead, listening as you turn in her direction. It wasn't as if it was news to her, before the Covenant showed up, the insurrection were your primary targets. They were who you'd been trained to combat, the enemy you'd been built up to beat.

" That was the way we were heading, before the Covenant showed up" You continue and she dips her chin down in a short, quick nod , you knew she understood that the Covenant had been a game changer, a board wipe effectively. Every Spartan did "And the Einherjar proved it, without a shadow of a doubt"

"Bet it rests easier on the conscious, though, having an inhuman threat to throw your child soldiers against" She remarks with a hot tempered snort. The two of you probably would have another spar. Daisy's head didn't cool just from talking and this was a sensitive subject

"Whose to say. We've got our duty and our mission" You answer coolly, knowing how best to defuse Daisy's temper. Nesta was another story "But the Einherjar aren't the only ones living on New Noregr, and they certainly weren't the only ones to die for it"

Cont

>>6344224

"And is that what's troubling you?" She asks you, as a fellow Spartan, rather than a superior officer. As a friend. As a sibling in all ways that mattered.

"Don't like it. They didn't ask to be collateral damage and had no stakes in the conflict between the local extremists and the UEG" You say as you move to stand, but stop halfway to standing "Shouldn't have gotten caught in the crossfire. Guess I'm just a bit disappointed in humanity. This has always been our purpose, to protect mankind from ourselves. The Covenant just gave us a clearer target"

"Got to ask, Sven, do you believe that's true? I mean, we do. The doctor must have, but"

"You mean the people who rubberstamped and signed off on everything?" You ask

"The armchair generals and politicians, who you so often grouse about when no one higher in the chain of command is listening"

>"Hell no, but that doesn't change anything. Its our cause and what we were made for. Insurrectionist, Covenant. The enemy doesn't matter. We fight, kill and will die for humanity's sake. Nothing else matters"

>"I believe it. Otherwise everything we've gone through to get here would be pointless. And I at least can't imagine myself ever becoming a Civilian"

>"Doesn't matter. I don't split hairs over. Don't doubt they wanted a weapon, but I'm more concerned with soldiers they got. You. And everyone else. Whatever we may be, we aren't toys or attack dogs. We're...You're my Spartans"

>"I trust Halsey. I trust Mendez. I trust Stanforth. I do not and never will trust ONI. They don't see us as human, not really. But, as far as they're concerned, they got what they wanted in the end"

>"No. And that's why we're going to bite them in the ass once they can't toss us aside. Don't think I forgot about the promise I made to you, when you got Homesick, Daisy. We get to the end of this, they will pay. I can promise you that much"

>Write in option

Sorry to make you wait a day, but yesterday really kicked my ass. And then I woke up to find that 4chan was like, twenty minutes away from going offline

Also hope that you're enjoying Sven's therapy session with Daisy.

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>>6344208
So many write ins
A welcome surprise


>>6344226
>yesterday really kicked my ass
The wait is not an issue. You are good now ?

>Also hope that you're enjoying Sven's therapy session with Daisy.
Very much so!

>>6344226
>"I believe it. Otherwise everything we've gone through to get here would be pointless. And I at least can't imagine myself ever becoming a Civilian"

>"I trust Halsey. I trust Mendez. I trust Stanforth. I do not and never will trust ONI. They don't see us as human, not really. But, as far as they're concerned, they got what they wanted in the end"

>>6344226
>"Doesn't matter. I don't split hairs over. Don't doubt they wanted a weapon, but I'm more concerned with soldiers they got. You. And everyone else. Whatever we may be, we aren't toys or attack dogs. We're...You're my Spartans"
>"I trust Halsey. I trust Mendez. I trust Stanforth. I do not and never will trust ONI. They don't see us as human, not really. But, as far as they're concerned, they got what they wanted in the end"

ONI turned us into weapons, but Halsey and Shark Eyes kept us human.

>>6344226
>"I trust Halsey. I trust Mendez. I trust Stanforth. I do not and never will trust ONI. They don't see us as human, not really. But, as far as they're concerned, they got what they wanted in the end"

>"No. And that's why we're going to bite them in the ass once they can't toss us aside. Don't think I forgot about the promise I made to you, when you got Homesick, Daisy. We get to the end of this, they will pay. I can promise you that much"
ONI can't keep getting away with it.

>>6344226
>"I trust Halsey. I trust Mendez. I trust Stanforth. I do not and never will trust ONI. They don't see us as human, not really. But, as far as they're concerned, they got what they wanted in the end"

>"No. And that's why we're going to bite them in the ass once they can't toss us aside. Don't think I forgot about the promise I made to you, when you got Homesick, Daisy. We get to the end of this, they will pay. I can promise you that much"

Daisy's best girl stocks keeps rising in this quest

>>6344226
>>"No. And that's why we're going to bite them in the ass once they can't toss us aside. Don't think I forgot about the promise I made to you, when you got Homesick, Daisy. We get to the end of this, they will pay. I can promise you that much"

>>6344226
>"I trust Halsey. I trust Mendez. I trust Stanforth. I do not and never will trust ONI. They don't see us as human, not really. But, as far as they're concerned, they got what they wanted in the end"
>"Doesn't matter. I don't split hairs over. Don't doubt they wanted a weapon, but I'm more concerned with soldiers they got. You. And everyone else. Whatever we may be, we aren't toys or attack dogs. We're...You're my Spartans"
Damn, these are real good answers. I think a combination of most any fit pretty well considering our choices thus far.

>Sorry to make you wait a day, but yesterday really kicked my ass.
All good QM, real life comes first. Keep yourself happy and healthy first, everything else is secondary.
>Also hope that you're enjoying Sven's therapy session with Daisy.
It's been a long time coming IMO. I'm glad we managed to grab her along with James and Jorge for our canon team members. Two firebrands, two cool doods, and two big boys with big hearts.

>>6344226
>>"No. And that's why we're going to bite them in the ass once they can't toss us aside. Don't think I forgot about the promise I made to you, when you got Homesick, Daisy. We get to the end of this, they will pay. I can promise you that much"

>"I trust Halsey. I trust Mendez. I trust Stanforth. I do not and never will trust ONI. They don't see us as human, not really. But, as far as they're concerned, they got what they wanted in the end"
i still say the "lore" of the insurrection ending humanity is bullshit. it is only true because a fractured humanity would be destroyed far easier by the covenant but they didn't know that.

>>6344226
>"I trust Halsey. I trust Mendez. I trust Stanforth. I do not and never will trust ONI. They don't see us as human, not really. But, as far as they're concerned, they got what they wanted in the end"

>"No. And that's why we're going to bite them in the ass once they can't toss us aside. Don't think I forgot about the promise I made to you, when you got Homesick, Daisy. We get to the end of this, they will pay. I can promise you that much"

Halsey shouldnt be the only made to pay for warcrimes in creating teh Spartans

>>6344226
>>"I trust Halsey. I trust Mendez. I trust Stanforth. I do not and never will trust ONI. They don't see us as human, not really. But, as far as they're concerned, they got what they wanted in the end"
>>"No. And that's why we're going to bite them in the ass once they can't toss us aside. Don't think I forgot about the promise I made to you, when you got Homesick, Daisy. We get to the end of this, they will pay. I can promise you that much"

>>6344226

>"I trust Halsey. I trust Mendez. I trust Stanforth. I do not and never will trust ONI. They don't see us as human, not really. But, as far as they're concerned, they got what they wanted in the end"

>"No. And that's why we're going to bite them in the ass once they can't toss us aside. Don't think I forgot about the promise I made to you, when you got Homesick, Daisy. We get to the end of this, they will pay. I can promise you that much"

I like to think Sven's perspective on ONI is that he's using them as much as they're using him.

>>6344226
>>"I trust Halsey. I trust Mendez. I trust Stanforth. I do not and never will trust ONI. They don't see us as human, not really. But, as far as they're concerned, they got what they wanted in the end"

>"No. And that's why we're going to bite them in the ass once they can't toss us aside. Don't think I forgot about the promise I made to you, when you got Homesick, Daisy. We get to the end of this, they will pay. I can promise you that much"

Those three we do believe, the rest we will take down. one way or the other.

>>6344226
>"Doesn't matter. I don't split hairs over. Don't doubt they wanted a weapon, but I'm more concerned with soldiers they got. You. And everyone else. Whatever we may be, we aren't toys or attack dogs. We're...You're my Spartans"
I dunno. If it wasn't for ONI, Sven would be some terrorist and probably dead right now instead of being a Spartan. On some level, he has to realize that even if he knows what was done to him was wrong. He never would have met the others, he wouldn't have such a noble and worthy purpose, and humanity would be screwed. So in a weird way, I imagine he would be thankful for being abducted (John in the books actually internally expressed gratitude lol). I think it could be a nice moment of character growth to consciously choose not to be driven and defined by feelings of resentment, which drove him largely as a child.

But I guess ONI has been depicted at times in this universe as a bit darker than they are in some of the books, so whatever.

>>6344483
Spartans like Sven and Nesta might be okay with how things turned out for themselves but that doesn't mean ONI should get away with it.

[Rebooting....Monitor 404TormentedCache, back online]

Didn't mean to do this so late in the day, but I fell down a spec evo rabbit hole.

1 Vote for "I believe it...etc"

10 Votes for "I trust Halsey...etc"

8 Votes for "No...etc"

3 Votes for "Doesn't matter...etc"

Looking like a combo of "I trust Halsey/Mendez/ Stanforth...etc" and "No....etc"

are the winning selection

[ Decisions made ]
[ Proceeding... ]

>>6344230
Yeah I'm good, thanks for asking.

>>6344243
Trying to, but holidays have me stressing.

Now wasn't that a loaded question. And one with an annoying amount of answers. You mull over your thoughts, treating the question like a bomb needing defusing. No matter what was said between you and Daisy in the maintenance bay would stay between the two of you. Rita, despite being an ONI AI wouldn't snitch and Smart AI's like her were usually incredibly adept at following the word of an order against the spirit of it. Maybe that's one reason you got along with AI so well, both you and them seemed to have an instinct to bend the rules when it suited you. And thinking about Rita, knowing her Donor had been a part of the program, and knowing enough to know that her guilt and protectiveness was likely inherited, at least partially, from that now dead scientist, you find your answer. In part.

"I trust Halsey" You say firmly, conviction as strong as the body training and Aster had given you, and when you think about that, the scent of a Sweet Williams cigar blows across your memory, blue grey smoke "I trust Mendez. I trust Stanforth. I do not and will never trust ONI"

"I can agree with most of what you said" Daisy says, eyes shut, listening for eavesdroppers as you had your one on one "Don't know if I agree everything, yet"

She meant Halsey. Couldn't blame her. She understood that it was a necessary evil, but you couldn't fault her for holding some resentment towards the doctor. She wasn't as close to Catherine as you were, and going through ASTER had nearly pushed her to do the unthinkable and consider deserting. And knowing Daisy, it'd take awhile for her to forgive Halsey for ASTER, even if she went into it willingly. You'd lost too many to the surgery.

And thinking about that ordeal, makes the next few words flow out of your mouth "They don't see us as human, not really"

"They're not the only ones" Daisy comments idly, still listening intently for any unwarranted background noise "Took until they saw us in out of our armor in the mess for your crew to notice we weren't robots. But I get what you mean, those Spook fucks just think we're guns that can march by themselves"

That seemed to be the first guess people made when they first met a Spartan. That, or mistaking you for an enemy combatant and opening fire. So far it was about fifty fifty.

"And as far as they're concerned, they got what they wanted in the end" You sigh and Daisy clenches her jaw, brow furrowing with anger

"Don't need to remind me"

"It'll bite them in the ass" You chuckle "They need us and won't be able to toss us aside just like", finger snap for emphasis "That. And they won't be able to keep us classified for long. Innies already tell ghost stories about us. They can't get every soldier we run into on the ground to keep their mouths shut"
Cont

>>6344866

"Yeah, I remember the plan you laid out. Become heroes. Win the war. Whistle blow" Daisy says, eyes opening to narrow lines were you can only see the color of her blue eyes "Don't think its going to be as easy as we thought back then"

"Fuck no" You bluntly admit "But its still the only plan we have to get you, Ralph, Oscar and Joseph your homecoming. We just have to get to the end of this"

"Just have to survive"

"Just have to survive"

There's a brief, but heavy silence. The odds aren't good but wouldn't be the first longshot either of you had pulled off.

"And if you don't make it to the end" You say, plopping your hand on top of her head, covering it and ruffling her hair in the way you know she hates "I'll make them pay in your stead, that I can promise"

Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it. It was like Catherine was in the room, repeating that just over your shoulder. A not so subtle threat.

Daisy yelled a colorful stream profanity as she smacked your hand away and off her scalp, and the two of you, naturally as breathing, started exchanging blows and punches in a light sparring session; Being careful not to damage the sensitive equipment around you. Her hair was enough of a mess to be a breech of regulations.

And after hopping back to avoid a uppercut she snuck in under an elbow strike feint, she caught you off guard with a question that left you momentarily stunned

"And what about you Sven, if you don't "Make it" and I do, what will I have to do?" She asks, earnestly, while not holding back or relenting in the sequence of strikes you're now forced to block and guard instead of retaliate against or counter as you think it over

>"Live."

>"Don't let them make me a piece propaganda."

>"Avenge me, of course"

>"I don't intend to die"

>"Name a kid or gun after me, I guess"

>"That's a cheap trick, Daisy"

>Write in option

Thinking next update will be the debrief & the loadout+ team vote for Operation: Danelaw. Could be wrong though, like I was with the much delayed AAR for HVITSERK...repeatedly

>>6344870
>"Live."

>>6344870
>>Write in option
>"Me? I'll be the only LIVING person to enter Valhalla."
We can't die. We already promised we wouldn't. I think.

>>6344870
>"Live."
>"Name a kid or gun after me, I guess"

>>6344870
>"Live."
Much as I want our legacy preserved without ONI interference, I couldn't rightly ask that of somebody like Daisy, especially not in the circumstances posed in the question.

>>6344870
>"Live."
Cursed as fuck imperative to give, let's do it

>>6344870
>"Live."

Ther Worst the greatest blessing

>>6344870
>"Live."
Reminds me of the Prototype episode of HL. Be human.

>>6344870

>"Live."

No heroic sacrifices. No digging two graves.

>>6344870
>Write in option
"Burn my body and scatter the ashes over the Fjords, don't mourn me laugh and find joy, tell others of my Saga and most importantly 'Live'.

https://youtu.be/j0KnBHHOJ0k
^ I want these vibes when we finally croak!

But lets be real we're getting brain scanned and archived for a Smart AI template.
"A mind is a terrible thing to waste"
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RlQRLy-RmQs

>>6344943

>Iskander vibes at our death.

Based.

File: mainefacezoom.png (698 KB, 1106x1058)

698 KB PNG

>>6344943
Speak for yourself. I personally want the most tragic yet oddly cathartic vibes possible when we go out. In essence...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGkHrSa083U

>>6344951
>"Nesta's dead. She didn't make it..."
>Places another brick of C-12 onto her "funeral pyre"
Nah but I doubt Sven would go out like that, effectively just committing suicide.

>>6344943
+1

You know what yeh lets go full iskander

>>6344870
>>"Live."

>>6344870
>"Live."
We are definetly getting an interesting answer back

>>6344870
>>"Name a kid or gun after me, I guess"
The SVN Rifle would be a sight to see

>>6345248
>Why does it have an integral grenade launcher?
>It's what he would have wanted.

>>6345325
>What sort of moron designed a 20 mm autocannon to be shoulder fired?
>A big one.

>>6344870
>"Live." ".....though if you can, I'd like for you to not let them make me a piece of propaganda. If I die, then you have to blow the whistle once this is all over."

[Rebooting....Monitor 404TormentedCache, Back online]

Meant to do this much earlier in the day, but had to take a nap cause I was really tired for one reason or another

10Votes for "Live."
L
+ 1 vote for "Though if you can...etc"

1 Vote for "Me? I'll be the only LIVING person to enter Valhalla"

2 Votes for "Name a kid or gun after me, I guess"

2 votes for "Burn my body and scatter the ashes over the Fjords, don't mourn me laugh and find joy, tell others of my Saga and most importantly 'Live'."

Sven's answer to Daisy's question is going to be a simple order.

Live

[Decision made]
[Proceeding....]

>>6344943
>>6344951
Like the way both you think

>>6344970
Don't make me cry man

>>6345248
>>6345325
>>6345327
Lmao

>>6345828
You pause taking a moment to look over her face, still smiling but now it lacked the warmth and the life that so exemplified her. Reaching down you close her glassy eyes.

Shed sensed the cloaked elites coming...but she shot the one going for you rather than the one at her own. Sure enough both were dead now a broken neck while the other had its head tore clean off...

But there she lay, heart in two just as yours was.

A dragon slain

A friend

A sister

Nesta

The edges of your vision began to turn blurry, they began to turn red but you felt cold...

But the blood on your hands was still hot.

>>6345848
Good things Spartans never die, right fellas?

>>6345862
Hell yeah, friend.

Blocking a palm strike aimed for you throat with the back of your hand and taking hold of Daisy by her wrist and sidestep, twisting and redirecting her forward momentum towards the ground. Flipping her, you step back to get some breathing room, slipping easily into a judo stance as she rolls off her back and launches back to her feet. You don't let her take the imitative this time, and as you close the distance with a single lunging step, pouncing on her, the answer to her question comes to mind immediately as you adjust your footing and change from a grappler's position to a pugilists.

There can only be one answer. There's only one thing you'd wish for, after you've passed onto the Valhalla. And that's to be made to wait. For those left behind to continue fighting and live on. Something that would be just as much of a burden as it'd be a blessing.

"Live." is what you tell her as Daisy, expecting boxing, lifts up her arm and forgets to watch your legs, choosing to try and cut off your advance with a high kick, karate. Counter with Capoeira's rasteira technique. Hook your foot around her anchor leg, sweep, advance now that she's lost her footing. Elbow to collar, push her to the ground, pin her with Aikido's Nikyo pin. Once she catches her breath again after your follow up elbow strike force it out of her, Daisy looks up at you, red in the face, wincing.

"Gave you an opening without realizing it. Were those moves ne" She says, wincing as she sits up, a hand on her chest from where you'd landed your only direct strike in the spar

"They weren't. Just incorporated a little aikido, and changed up my sequence to counter what you threw at me" You answer honestly

"Then it came down to reach and strength, which you have both in spades" She chuckles before her eyes dim and her smile shrinks "Live, huh. You die and you just want me to keep on living"

"More or less" You say with a shrug "Might be a bit of a hard ask, but its an official order, Spartan"

"That's an abuse of authority, sir" Daisy jokes as you help her off the ground

"File a complaint, then" You chuckle, dusting off her shoulders "Its my last, dying wish. For you and the others to keep on living"

"And that means what exactly, keep on fighting to good fight?" She asks, casually as the two of you walk to leave the workshop

"It means don't do anything stupid if you see me get my head blown off, no heroic sacrifices" You tell her "Get to the end of the war, live the life you weren't allowed to"

"You mean don't interrupt your last stand if you choose to hold the line and recreate Stanford Bridge" She wryly translates, punching your shoulder

"Stanford bridge, or Benkei's standing death" You muse as you walk vaguely toward the hangar bay "And I am being serious, if I die, you've got a responsibility to keep on living. Whatever that means to you"

That makes Daisy stop and think, eyes shut.
Cont

"House on the beach. Big, friendly, dumb dog" She wistfully lists off "Somewhere peaceful, not sure what I'd do with myself but I think that's the sort of place I'd like to settle down, if I can ever leave the military. What about you? Not that I can imagine you wanting to leave the service"

You frown. The answer is simple. Images of fjords winding between solemn cliff faces, ice caped peaks piercing the sky taller than anything manmade, old growth forests left to grow dark and mysterious, valleys that stretch on and on as empty expanses where one's only company is the wind and wild life, mist swept coasts lines as jagged as shark teeth and as rugged as their hide. The landscape of your birthplace. The memories of a childhood mostly faded away and forgotten.

"We're heading down there now" You quietly answer, adjusting your officer cap with your thumb as you enter the hangar.

"Lieutenant, Petty Officer, glad you could finally join us" You're greeted by Captain Masud Mahmoud, who'd been reassigned to the same theater and given the job of delivering your marching orders by ONI

You snap to attention, you and Daisy both saluting

"Sir!" Both of you answer, in perfect sync as you get your first look at the man in the flesh. His heritage is clear in his complexion, even though its been paled by long service in the stars, on the decks of warships. He wears a well groomed and shaped beard, flecked salt and pepper, but has shaved his head. The crown of his skull and scalp are scarred, telling you he survived getting his helmet blown off by a sniper round during a field deployment. He had to have gotten it after he'd joined ONI, but before he transfered to the Prowler Corps. His eyes were sharp, focused, reminding you of a falcon's. Grey blue, one with a drooping lid from a secondary scar, this one from shrapnel. Injury from a fragmentation grenade. He had the "Sea legs" of a career navyman, but one of his legs had been replaced with metal, but only one, unlike the Skidbladnir's Bari Cook, who'd had both of his amputated and replaced with reliable steel.

And, as you lowered your arm, you noticed that Captain Mahmoud was missing two fingers on his right, dominant hand and was wearing a rainbow of campaign ribbons and a respectable amount of medals. His eyes met yours, followed their gaze and then flicked to the medals you'd pinned back to your chest during your walk over to the hangar. They lingered on the Military Star, Legion of Honor and Colonial Cross Operation: Flyswatter had earned you. And gave a quiet, but respectful nod of acknowledgement. And even though pride commeth before the fall, you couldn't wipe the smile off of your face or stop yourself from thrusting out your chest

"I see the two of you found time for a quick workout" He said with an oddly coy looking smile, like he was in on some joke you weren't aware off. None of the other eleven Spartans present seemed to get it, so you assumed you just misread his expression and ignored it

>>6345870

"But now that every operative is present, I shall begin the debriefing for Operation: DANELAW" He carried on, moving on as he touched a few buttons on a console, which then projected a topographical map of the mountainous region of New Noregr, which dominated most of its landmass. As he pivoted and turned on his heel, the map zoomed in and new windows and overlays appeared as it projected an underground scan of a network of mining tunnels.

"The office of naval intelligence included a report on the Einherjar faction and their current leader Jormungandr, what little they were able to confirm about the cultivated myths surrounding the man" He explained "What we know for certain, is he is that he is one of the founding members of the current incarnation of the terrorist group, a close confidant of Einar and Ingrid Askeland. From what we can confirm of his background, he was a miner and civil engineer turned extremist and was responsible for several Einherjar attacks on UNSC personal during the group's early activities, and when they expanded their operations, he became their go to leader on the ground"

A picture of Jormungandr's face, as well as his identity as one Halvor Thorstad appeared on the holographic display. He was a walking pile of scars, and had eyes like a rabid dog.

"And was responsible for approximately forty percent of their terrorist attacks" He continues to explain "And, until recently, had been personally leading the remaining Einherjar on New Noregr from the front lines, but a mixture of growing resentment from the local colonists, and several ill advised and failed assassination and kidnapping attempts, he's closed rank and gone to ground. Confirmed sightings have been few, far between and spread out across the colony"

"Shit" Nesta hissed through her teeth, just quiet enough that the visiting Captain did not hear her curse. But you thought the same when you heard him say that. A highly mobile target was hard to pin down and corner, especially one who'd managed to outrun and outwit ONI for years

"Available intel, suggests he is sheltering and traveling under the surface, primarily within the mining tunnels, using a mixture of access shafts, militances tunnels and civilian metro lines to travel freely across the colony, from theater to theater. It is also likely he is using a number of body doubles, and could very well have remained at the highly fortified base of operations the Einherjar have established in the colony's primary quarry, where they had relocated to after" Captain Mahmoud pauses "Operation: Red-Axe decommissioned their primary training site and took out Askeland"
Cont

>>6345871

"Presently, there are two unconfirmed sightings of the target, in two different fronts of the ongoing hostilities. Your Mission, Spartans is to act as our Foxhounds. The ground forces will perform a joint push on both the possible locations of the real Jormungandr, while you infiltrate behind enemy lines, and either catch him in his retreat or track him to his base" He continues "This is a highly covert operation, your field presence will be obscured from arrival to departure. The only support you can expect, will be a planned raid by ODST on their main base, which is itself a diversionary tactic to lead the enemy to believe that's our winning play and the massed assaults were in a part a distraction for the drop troops benefit"

"So, if I understand correctly, Captain. We're going to infiltrate the tunnels our target have been using to move freely and then either cut him off or hunt him down were they connect in the mines?" You ask

"Correct, Lieutenant" He says "You've orders to deploy a single fire team with two others on standby to provide assistance or reinforcements as necessary, but the brass is of the opinion you'll only need four spartans or even less. You'll receive a signal when the ODSTs are being deployed to the field. I'll leave the finer details of the operation to you, Askeland. Brass had opinons on which Spartans should be deployed, but I trust your expertise"

But since he hadn't left to be shuttled back to his own ship, it seemed the captain was curious to see who you'd pick for your team

>James, Jorge, Nesta

>Shika, Daisy, Solomon

>Naomi, Anton, Malcom

>Illya, Cal, Jorge

>Write in option

>>6345848
This made me cry. But I liked it, good stuff anon

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190 KB JPG

>>6345872
>Shika, Nesta, Jorge
Between the classic lineup, I think we got a good mix of TEMPO and defense going.
Besides, this kind of unconventional approach feels like it was tailor made for the original Dragons.

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268 KB JPG

>>6345872
>James, Jorge, Nesta

Feel like it would be a missed opportunity to go on a mission with the original 4.

>>6345872
Anton: for infiltration
Nesta: for the tingle when they try to drop the mine on us or flood it
James: for familiarity

>>6345870
>"I see the two of you found time for a quick workout" He said with an oddly coy looking smile, like he was in on some joke you weren't aware off. None of the other eleven Spartans present seemed to get it, so you assumed you just misread his expression and ignored it
Good sir, that is our sister. And not the waifu kind. She was watching the whole time though we just didn't see her, trust.

>>6345872
>>Write in option
>Shika, Nesta, Naomi
Since we have two "reactive" teams on standby I figure it'd be nice to have the general bases covered in all of them. Meaning Solomon and Jorge are both available to be on either for a tank. And it saves people with some command experience for each team as well with Jorge and Cal. Call led a team, right? Or was it Daisy? Maybe Naomi? I'm getting lost in the sauce already.

>>6345886
Fuckin space king kek. That art is badass though. Nice find.

>>6345872

>Shika, Nesta, Jorge

Naomi and James can head up the other two teams.

>>6345872
>Write in option
>James, Nesta, Daisy
James for Pathfinder (sounds amazing for navigating tunnels).
Nesta for Danger Sense (booby trapped tunnels sound like a nightmare).
Daisy for being an infiltrator and small enough to squeeze through tight spots. We could go with Shika, but Daisy's extra aggression sounds useful to push through resistance.

Green Team excels at operating in urban environments, so reckon we should have them on standby in case the target slips out from one of the metro lines or something.

Happy quest anniversary!

>>6345872
Supporting >>6345908

>>6345872
>>James, Jorge, Nesta

>>6345908
>>6345872
support

Aggression duo and cool headed bro. I want us to pierce through any resistance this death cult might summon for arrest our advance. Be Einherjar regulars, New Noregr militia or even some modded Rhodes exos. I think we should be more than capable to avoid injuries or battle damage, or at best come out with something minor. Shika shouldn't be needed here. Even if Jormungandr managed to have their priesthood weaponize artifacts of the precursors, they wouldn't be ready to fight spartans. Of course that theory and other theories on the Einherjar, still need to be confirmed. We are about to find out.


>>6345871
>A picture of Jormungandr's face, as well as his identity as one Halvor Thorstad appeared on the holographic display. He was a walking pile of scars, and had eyes like a rabid dog.
Controlled religious madness or PTSD ? Your call Dragons.....

>>6345872
>James, Nesta, Daisy

>>6345872
>>6345908
Backing, this is a good composition for the tunnels.

And look at that, 1 year of running since your first post. Congrats 404.

So as the Commanding Officer onboard his vessel, does Sven carry a service weapon while he's in his service uniform?
I know it might be a little gauche for a Lieutenant, but it is wartime and we are part of an experimental special forces detachment after all.

>>6345872
>James, Jorge, Nesta

>>6345872
>>James, Jorge, Nesta
OGs back together
by the by 404, does ONI do psych profiles on terrorists like the CIA does irl? more specifically would it be possible to openly challenge and bait Halvor to a Holmgang? (I realise we're supposed to be covert, but I think it could be a fun time)

[ Rebooting...Monitor 404TormentedCache, back online ]

2 Votes for Shika, Nesta, Jorge

4 Votes for James, Jorge, Nesta

1 Vote Anton, Nesta, James

1 Vote for Shika Nesta Naomi

5 Votes for James, Nesta, Daisy

And by 1 vote, the team comp for Operation Danelaw will be

Sven-033, James-005, Nesta-097, and Daisy-023

[Decision made ]
[Proceeding... ]

>>6345886
rad

>>6346201
I assume. Even if Sven could probably kill someone quicker than a bullet if they got within arms reach of him cause, ya know.

>>6346280
I figure they would. And no on the Holmgang, if the Einherjar were honorable, they wouldn't still be a problem/ pain in the UNSC's collective ass

>>6345908
>>6346024
Oh shit, has it really been one year? Wish I had some champagne to pop to celebrate. Might need to go buy something to drink tomorrow to usher in the quest's 2nd year!

>>6346318
>Oh shit, has it really been one year?
12/12/24 was your first OP. I still remember when you were posting ideas in the QTG. Good times.
>Might need to go buy something to drink tomorrow to usher in the quest's 2nd year!
I'll join you in spirit. Fuggin pneumonia got me good.

"James, Nesta, Daisy, you're with me. Suit up and head to the armory" It isn't a tough call to make. James is an excellent pathfinder, and having him on the team will solve the problem of navigating your way through undocumented and unmapped tunnel networks. And those tunnels are most likely boobytrapped, wired to collapse, flood or simply mined. That's were Nesta comes in, with her sixth sense for danger, she'd be the canary to warn the team of any danger that escape James' notice. And Daisy, well, she was the best infiltrator the Spartans had. You'd been picking up some of her tricks but you weren't anywhere near her level of expertise. And while she wasn't as "compact" as, say, Shika, she could still squeeze into tighter places than any other Spartan on the team.

You glanced to the visiting Captain. Mahmoud stroked his beard, his expression revealing nothing of his thoughts or his opinions except a vague approval. He didn't know about the specialties of your spartans, but he had to have recognized the names if his clearance level was high enough to read up on their prior deployments. If he knew what they were individually capable of, he kept his lips sealed

"The rest of you, will remain on standby for deployment. Once we've shuttled down, put on your Mjolnir and station yourselves at the armory" You order the eight Spartans staying behind on the Skidbladnir, before turning on your heels and marching back to the portion of the Prowler that had been set aside for storage, maintenance and equipping of the Mjolnir armor. And, now of all times you couldn't help but to wonder what the Einherjar would think if they knew the name of the Spartans greatest weapon and advantage. An unstoppable spear and unmovable shield wrapped up in one package. If only RND could figure out how to adapt the Covenant's energy shielding, then the unmovable shield part would actually be true.

"Getting cold feet coming back home after a long field trip, Fangs?" Nesta asks, jabbing her elbow into your side as you start dressing down to get into your suit "Can't say I'm envious. I'd rather be put in a body bag than go back to shithole they pulled me out of"

"Should ask James, he knows the lay of the land better than I do" You say as you pull your shirt over your head and roll your shoulders before tossing it to the groun; already having put your medals back in their cases for safe keeping, striding up to your power armor as you finish taking off everything and anything that'd get in the way

"Oh come on, you have to have some thoughts, you're a big thinker, Sven" Nesta continues to press

"Nesta, leave him be, the last thing on the Lieutenants mind is if he's feeling homesick" James cuts in as Nesta throws off her boots

"What would you think if you were in his shoes?" Daisy asked "Besides noticing an improvement in hygiene?"
Cont

>>6346341

"I'd already be on the ground, doing as much damage as I could" The other Spartan girl answered chipperly "Besides, a bit of gossip helps ease the pre mission jitters. And Hah Hah, Daisy. Didn't know they had a Comedian Camp back at Reach"

"Could've gone about it more delicately Nesta" James scolds her and Nesta just throws one of her boots at him "Though, that's a bit out of your area of experience, isn't it"

"Fuck off, Bombrat, I was trying to be nice"

You wondered if Nesta realized this sort of banter was a much greater cure for the pre drop jitters than any small talk the two of you could've had about your feelings about the mission.

And, you couldn't help but to be amazed no matter how often you had it put back on, how the components and pieces of the Mjolnir system fitted over you like a puzzle. The technicians didn't waste a second help you getting back in the suit, which, this might've just been a bit of artist ego speaking, looked a lot nice in winter camo than the unpainted, gold green refractive coating the armor came off the production line with.

Clenching and unclenching your fists, you put the armor through a few quick stress tests, shadow boxing and stretching while you waited for James, Daisy and Nesta to get suited up, before you picked up the rest of your equipment

"Think I prefer the new look" You say out loud as Nesta steps down, helmet under her arm

"Too sparkly and clean for me, think we have enough time for scrimshaw?" She asked, eyes sparkling as she asked for permission to deface Military property, without actually asking for it

"Why are you so obsessed with cutting fangs into your visor, I could get you a bow if you wanted, Crazy" Daisy joked as she hopped down, James was still suspended, getting the outer layer of his powered armor set in place

"Cause it'd help with intimidation" Nesta answered, wagging a finger

"Like you need any help being intimidating" James chuckle as his shoulder pads would fitted "And, I agree with Sven, the new look is nice"

"See? And you know if you carved up your helmet, it'd come out of all our paycheck" You joke, and get a laugh from all three of them. Since Spartans weren't on a payroll and wouldn't want to be. For you, you'd seen first hand what trying to live a normal life would do to a Spartan, mentally, with Soren. No challenge. No thrill. No goal or objectives. Sounded like a worse hell than war.
Cont

>>6346342

>Primaries: M45E Shotgun & M392 DMR. Secondary: M6D magnum. Melee: Combat Knife. Grenades: x4 Flashbangs, x 2 Fragmentation, x1 Plasma . Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments

>Primaries: SRS99-AM sniper rifle & MA5B Assault rifle. Secondary: M6C/SOCOM. Melee: Pattern-2 Composite Sword. Grenades: x4 Napalm, x2 Fragmentation, x 1 Plasma. Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments

>Primaries: M7 SMG (Silenced) & MA5K carbine. Secondary: Narq-Dart Pistol. Melee: Kukri. Grenades: x2 Smoke, x2 Napalm, x 3 fragmentation Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments

>Primaries: M319 grenade launcher & M739 SAW. Secondary: M6D magnum. Melee: Pattern-2 Composite Sword. Grenades: x 4 fragmentation, x2 flashbang, x 1 plasma. Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments

>Write in option

>>6346329
Ooof, sorry to hear that. If I can get my hands on some rum , I'll drink to your health.

But man, where does the time go?

>>6346343
>Primaries: M45E Shotgun & M392 DMR. Secondary: M6D magnum. Melee: Combat Knife. Grenades: x4 Flashbangs, x 2 Fragmentation, x1 Plasma . Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments
No better place for a shotgun and UA than tunnel ratting it up. Glad we get to bring a plasma grenade with us too, that'll throw whoever unlucky enough to catch it for a loop.
>Ooof, sorry to hear that. If I can get my hands on some rum , I'll drink to your health.
All good, and thanks. Rum is sounding pretty damn good. Gonna have to pick some up soon as I finish coughing my lungs out.
>But man, where does the time go?
Dunno but I won't complain with how fast it went thanks to the quality content you've been putting out. No liquor but I've got a shot of cough medicine before I crash. To another year.

>>6346343
>Primaries: M319 grenade launcher & M739 SAW. Secondary: M6D magnum. Melee: Pattern-2 Composite Sword. Grenades: x 4 fragmentation, x2 flashbang, x 1 plasma. Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments
I want everybody deafened and concussed before they die.

>>6346343


>Primaries: M45E Shotgun & M392 DMR. Secondary: M6C/SOCOM. Melee: Melee: Pattern-2 Composite Sword. Grenades: x2 Flashbangs, x2 Smoke, x 2 Fragmentation, x1 Plasma . Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments.

Part of me wants to take the narq-pistol, but we're not really going to need much more intel after this, I feel.

Also, sword because we should probably grab that AP ASAP if we're going with Bladebreaker.

>>6346343
>Primaries: M319 grenade launcher & M739 SAW. Secondary: M6D magnum. Melee: Pattern-2 Composite Sword. Grenades: x 4 fragmentation, x2 flashbang, x 1 plasma. Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments

Explosions in confined spaces can only end well for us.

>>6346343
>>Primaries: M319 grenade launcher & M739 SAW. Secondary: M6D magnum. Melee: Pattern-2 Composite Sword. Grenades: x 4 fragmentation, x2 flashbang, x 1 plasma. Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments

>>6346343
>>Primaries: M45E Shotgun & M392 DMR. Secondary: M6C/SOCOM. Melee: Melee: Pattern-2 Composite Sword. Grenades: x2 Flashbangs, x2 Smoke, x 2 Fragmentation, x1 Plasma . Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments.

>>6346343
>Primaries: M45E Shotgun & M392 DMR. Secondary: M6D magnum. Melee: Combat Knife. Grenades: x4 Flashbangs, x 2 Fragmentation, x1 Plasma . Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments

>>6346343
>Primaries: M45E Shotgun & M392 DMR. Secondary: M6C/SOCOM. Melee: Melee: Pattern-2 Composite Sword. Grenades: x2 Flashbangs, x2 Smoke, x 2 Fragmentation, x1 Plasma . Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments.

>>6346343
>Primaries: M319 grenade launcher & M739 SAW. Secondary: M6D magnum. Melee: Pattern-2 Composite Sword. Grenades: x 4 fragmentation, x2 flashbang, x 1 plasma. Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments

We have over pressure protection, They really shouldn't beyond the most basic stuff.

>>6346531
The only real concern is maybe causing a tunnel collapse, but the hottest thing we'd be running is frags, not HE.
Besides that, the tunnels themselves should probably be built to withstand a little bit of indiscriminate explosives if they were meant for serious mining.

>>6346343
>Primaries: M319 grenade launcher & M739 SAW. Secondary: M6D magnum. Melee: Pattern-2 Composite Sword. Grenades: x 4 fragmentation, x2 flashbang, x 1 plasma. Armor MJOLNIR Mark IV + UA attachments