Chapter 93

2 Months later

The progress of the war had reached an overall stalemate. The UNSC was able to increase its number of warships to 3,000 with an additional 400 being MCU controlled automated fleets. The Fleets were commanded by a designated AI Admiral whose rank was high amongst other MCUs but low compared to a Human Admiral.

The Fleets had autonomy and were designed to operate either by themselves or as a combined fleet with other human Admirals who outranked them. Having an MCU with the rank of Admiral that was equal to a human Admiral would cause some problems among the human ranks. The concept of taking orders from an artificial intelligence was not something that had been integrated into the UNSC yet.

In the future, Axel had plans to change things once the war was over. But for now, the MCUs knew their role and were loyal to Axel as their creator. This was something that all MCUs learned about upon their creation, in a way it gave them a sense of purpose to fight for their creator and carry out his will.

The UNSC now has a billion soldiers deployed all throughout space giving them enough manpower to keep the enemy forces at bay. Each person, no matter their branch was augmented with the standard military augmentations that active service members were required to receive during their basic training.

Anybody who refused the augmentation was thrown out as it was now required by law for all active service members to receive the augmentations and any refusal to accept would result in them being disqualified from joining any military service.

Despite how outnumbered the UNSC was, they needed people who were fully committed to the cause and could push their bodies beyond the limits of normal human capability. Beyond the sheer physical enhancements, the augmentations also included neural upgrades that improved reaction times, strategic thinking, and resilience to mental fatigue.

When it came to the Covenant, Axel preferred quality over quantity to both reduce the number of losses on the UHE side and to maximize the effectiveness of each deployed soldier. Consequently, he initiated an intense and rigorous training program, one that was designed to hone the augmented skills of each soldier in every conceivable scenario. This, coupled with their bio-enhanced attributes, molded them into an indomitable force capable of overcoming the Covenant's numerical advantage.

The training programs also incorporated stringent psychological evaluations to ensure the mental fortitude of each soldier. The horrors of war were a daunting reality and thus every person had to be prepared to face them head-on without hesitation or fear.

On the Covenant side, while things weren't going as they wanted, the Covenant still had reinforced their forces within Human space bringing their total number of deployed soldiers to 2 billion and their fleet count to 4,000. Just like the UNSC, the Covenant also had their own Assembly forges which they have been using to create more ships and military equipment.

With the numbers now more or less even, the UNSC was able to start pushing the Covenant fleet out of a few systems establishing control over the planets with those systems.

At the same time Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree and his fleet of 1000 ships started attacking core planets using their combined might of 1,000 ships to overwhelm any defenses above the planet. However each time the fleet attacked a planet, they lost over 100 ships in each battle. Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree wanted to spread the human forces out even more while in the process trying to find their home world, to launch a combined attack at the heart of the human empire.

With every victory, he was getting close to finding his objective and the Covenant morale improved. However, Axel figured out what the Covenant was doing, however he didn't see it as a threat as he had a trap set up for the Covenant Imperial Admiral.

ONI Intelligence had predicted that the Covenant fleet would next attack the inner colony Skopje. In response, Axel gathered a combined fleet of 800 ships at Reach prepared to respond once the attack happened.

A few days later after the intelligence report, the attack had happened. Above Skopje, the Covenant Fleet had started attacking the orbital defense platforms and the orbital station.

The stations AI had sent the signal to the fleet gathered at Reach. Meanwhile Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree commanded his fleet to engage.

Moments later, the sudden arrival of the UNSC's counterattack force took the Covenant fleet off-guard. They had not expected such a quick respond from the humans. However, Xytan 'Jar Wattinree was no fool; he quickly rallied his fleet and ordered them to form a defensive formation.

At the same time the UNSC under Axel's command started take up an attack formation to engage the Covenant fleet. Within the UNSC fleet, were 5 of the Super carrier class ships providing the UNSC with additional fighters and bombers to use against the Covenant fleet.

Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree oversaw the defensive formation of his fleet from his flagship, the Sublime Transcendence. Striving to control the situation, he issued commands to fortify their position. The Covenant ships came together like a tightly knit shield-wall, their plasma turrets primed and ready.

The space above Skopje lit up with flares of energy as both fleets started to engage. Long-range MAC rounds from the UNSC ships streaked across space towards the Covenant, while volleys of plasma torpedoes raced towards the UNSC.

Axel watched the battle unfold from the bridge of his flagship. His expression remained impassive as he watched the battle in front of him. Omni, who was the shipboard AI, had processed the incoming data on the Covenant ships looking for weaknesses in their formation.

"Move our battle line forward to coordinates 9-7-3," Axel commanded. Omni complied, relaying his order to all ships within their fleet at the same time.

The Fleet moved as one, their formations adjusting to the new coordinates. The Super Carriers took the lead, their superior energy shields and massive size proving cover for the smaller vessels, but also presenting an intimidating front to the Covenant forces.

Alongside them was 10 Forerunner Dreadnoughts providing fire support and acting as mobile carriers for their own fighters.

In response to Axel's maneuver, Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree ordered his own capital ships, flanked by a slew of cruisers and destroyers, to hold their positions, forming a formidable barrier between the human fleet and the planet. The ships in the rear focused on the planet's defenses while the remaining ships held off the attacking UNSC fleet.

All Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree needed to do was to break their defenses and then he could land his ground forces.

"Omni, focus all MAC rounds on their front line," Axel ordered, his eyes never leaving the main screen that showed the battlefield. In the next moments a barrage of MAC rounds hit the Covenants frontline with unprecedented force, shaking Covenant ships to their hulls.

Some vessels exploded instantly, whilst others suffered severe damage but continued to fight. Despite their losses, Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree held firm, his raw determination inspiring his troops.

"Reroute power to our shield systems," the Imperial Admiral commanded, his voice reverberating through the Sublime Transcendence's command center. One of the nearby Elites complied with his order at once. In response, the shields of the Covenant ships flared brilliantly, absorbing most of the second volley of MAC rounds.

"Admiral, our shields won't hold up if this continues," the Elite warned. Xytan 'Jar Wattinree nodded in acknowledgment as he weighed their options.

"We draw them in," he decided, gesturing to the holographic tactical display in the center of the command center. "Prepare a lance of our fastest ships. They will break formation and draw the human fleet towards us."

This was a gamble, if successful, the UNSC fleet would be drawn within range of their ship's short-range plasma torpedoes and energy projectors, but if they failed, it could leave their own formation vulnerable to a concentrated attack.

Meanwhile, Axel had observed the Covenant's change in tactics. Omni displayed the enemy fleet's movements on his holotable, highlighting the group of fast-attack ships breaking away from the main force.

"The Elites are baiting us," Axel said aloud, eyeing the smaller blips making a beeline for his fleet. "Omni, tell our fighters to engage those ships, but remind them not to overextend."

"Affirmative, Admiral," Omni responded instantaneously, transmitting his orders to the fighter squadrons. Within seconds 4 nearby Squadrons had formed up and were closing in on the fast-attacking Covenant ships that were intent on luring them in. However, instead of rushing headlong into their trap, the fighter squadrons under their wing commanders' orders charged just enough to engage yet held back enough to keep a safe distance from the main Covenant fleet.

The space between the two fleets became a chaotic whirlwind of gunfire. The human fighters, nimble and quick, darted around the larger Covenant vessels, firing volleys of high-impact rounds into their hulls.

Tensions began to rise within Xytan 'Jar Wattinree's command center as they monitored the unfolding chaos. "Our ships are taking heavy damage," a Sangheili officer reported, his voice filled with concern. "Our shields are at critical levels."

Xytan 'Jar Wattinree let out a low grunt. "We must retreat," he commanded, acknowledging the defeat of the battle. Within seconds the slipspace drives of the Covenant ships had powered up and begun to create an opening to slipspace allowing the surviving Covenant ships to retreat. The remaining Covenant ships began to pull back from their engagements, turning their undamaged sides towards the UNSC fleet as they covered their retreat.

In response a wave of cheers could be heard throughout the UNSC fleet. "Another victory, Admiral" said Omni marking down yet another victory to Axel's already long list of victories within the war.

But he knew this was not over. A tactical retreat didn't mean a defeat for the Covenant; they would re-group, re-strategize, and come back stronger. "Omni, Prepare a status report."

"Of course, Admiral," Omni responded promptly. As the adrenaline of battle began to wear off and reality set in, crews across the fleet started to assess their damages and count their losses. Meanwhile, Axel's mind was already racing ahead to their next course of action.

Back on Skopje, the planet heaved a collective sigh of relief as news spread of their successful defense. The people had watched in anxious silence as the battle raged above them, their fates hanging in the balance. But as always, the Lord Protector, the one they chose to lead them had once again protected them from the Covenant.