Chapter 101

June 30th, 2546

"How's the morning Ma'am" Asked Chief Clark to Miranda who was getting coffee from the mess hall. They had both been working together ever since her assignment to her father's ship which is something she no doubt knew was of no coincidence.

However, she was gaining some valuable experience from her first command aboard the 2nd Fleet. She had gained some experience from both Young and Veteran officers throughout her time as a Weapons Officer which had been an asset in her current role.

"Good morning, Chief," Miranda replied, as she grabbed her cup of coffee from the coffee maker. "Did you have a chance to run over the diagnostics from last night's maneuvers?"

"Aye, I did Ma'am," Clark answered. "The Starboard engine had a bit of a hiccup mid maneuver, but we've sorted it out. Seems like a glitch in the navigation system."

"That's concerning," Miranda said after a sip of her coffee. "We can't have glitches when we're in battle. Did you find out what caused it?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Chief Clark responded with a nod. "Turns out we had a problem with the fiber optic network. It was slowing down our communication with the engine system and creating latency."

" Latency... " Miranda repeated, her brow furrowing as she considered the implications. "That could cause serious problems during combat situations. How long will it take to fix, Chief?"

"Engineers are on it, Ma'am," Clark assured her. "They estimate about eighteen hours to replace and realign the system. Admiral Woods has already been informed and has approved it the repair."

Miranda nodded, "If the Admiral has already approved it, then I guess it's nothing to worry about" said Miranda, taking another sip of her coffee.

A few seconds later, Captain Talia and Lieutenant Commander Taylor had walked in and walked towards the coffee section of the mess hall.

"Good morning, Captain Talia," Miranda greeted, giving her a crisp salute. "Lieutenant Commander Taylor," she nodded towards Taylor who was busily pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Good morning, Miranda. Chief Clark," Captain Talia returned both salutes before reaching for a coffee cup. "How has the morning been thus far?"

"Typical Ma'am," Chief Clark replied. "Just waiting until we finally take the fight to the Covenant"

"Well, it won't be too long now. All the propaganda that has been going around has increased the recruitment numbers so we should be ready within the next few weeks" Explained Talia.

"Yeah, I heard from Admiral Woods that the campaign would begin soon so there won't be much more waiting. But let's not be eager to jump into battle so readily, because we don't want to turn into the very thing that we are trying to beat," said Taylor. He had served with Axel for many years and knew the path that Axel was trying to avoid.

"Agreed," Miranda said solemnly, meeting Taylor's gaze with a nod. "It's not about beating them at their own game...it's about proving we can rise above it. Our humanity is our strength, not our weakness."

Talia smiled at her statement "Spoken just like your father" said Talia as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Well, I am his daughter" Jokingly replied Miranda. The group laughed and enjoyed their morning coffee before they went to work.

20 days later July 20th, 2546

The day had arrived for the invasion of Covenant space to begin. The fleets were amassed and assigned their own missions and targets, while thousands of transport ships carrying Marines and Army personnel were assigned to each fleet.

5 Fleets had amassed above Earth in preparation for the invasion, while the other 15 Fleets would remain as a defensive force against any invading covenant fleets.

Each fleet that was assigned to the invasion force consisted of 600 ships followed by a transport fleet bringing the total number of ships invading Covenant space to 3,000. The UNSC had grown so big compared to 4 decades ago that Axel had increased the number of Fleet Admirals that were active at one time.

Now there were a total of 6 Fleet Admirals that could be active at any given time. The 3 additional Fleet Admirals that were promoted from Admiral had passed their tests and met all the requirements to become a Fleet Admiral and had a lot of frontline experience fighting Covenant fleets.

One notable Admiral that was promoted to Fleet Admiral, was Lord Terrence Hood. He had proven himself in multiple situations during the conflict and had earned many commendations from his commander officers when he was a Vice Admiral.

After his promotion to Admiral, he managed to repel a Covenant invasion of a key colony world which contained the UNSCs shipyards located in the outer colonies. Alongside his other achievements, he was the ideal person to be promoted to Fleet Admiral.

The other two Admiral promoted alongside him was Admiral Preston Cole the man who adopted Axel and Admiral Konrad Volkov. The two of them had a similar record to Admiral Hood which eventually led to them being chosen for the promotion to Fleet Admiral.

Fleet Admiral Volkov was assigned as the leading officer in charge of the defense of the colony worlds during the campaign, while the rest of the Fleet Admirals which included Axel (2nd Fleet), Admiral Cole (3rd Fleet), Admiral Hood (7th Fleet), Admiral Alexellis (12th Fleet), and Admiral Harper (20th Fleet) were leading one of the 5 Fleets to invade Covenant space.

Above Earth, the fleets had lined up prepared to jump to towards covenant space for the first time during this conflict, while on the surface of every colony world, the citizens of the UHE cheered and prayed for all the men and women to return safely and end the war which has plagued them for the past 2 decades.

Within his command ship, Axel was sitting on the bridge in his command chair as the Fleets waited for his signal to jump. Within each fleet was a Guardian Custode that Axel had learned the location of from his connection to the first Guardian Custode that Catherine and her team had found.

Utilizing this knowledge, he managed to activate 10 more Guardian Custode and linked them together with the UNSC fleet. 2 Guardian Custode was assigned to each fleet while the first one that Axel found remained within the outer colonies defending it from any covenant invasion.

Already within the outer colonies, the Guardian Custody had established itself and managed to produce hundreds of thousands of Weapon-ships to patrol the outer colony worlds and Sentinels to assist ground force, perform repairs, and maintain the defensive measures. Axel also gave it an additional command directive to scout for Forerunner installations that they couldn't find and search for more Guardian Custodes.

Before they departed, Axel gave a short speech to the five fleets, their eyes fixed on his image projected on the central screens of every ship.

"Twenty years ago," Axel began, his voice reverberating through the silence, "we stood at the precipice of destruction. An enemy unlike any we had seen before had arrived at our doorstep and they sought to burn everything we held dear. Our homes, our way of life, our people… everything. But did we cower? Did we admit defeat? No. We stood tall, and we fought back with all our might."

"Today, we stand together again, not on the brink of destruction, but on the brink of victory." Axel's voice echoed through the vast fleet once again. "We are more united than ever, more powerful than ever... And we will not be defeated."

"We carry with us not just our weapons, but the hopes and dreams of every man, woman, and child of the UHE." He paused, allowing his words to resonate among the crew. "The Covenant believes they are the chosen ones… that they are righteous in their quest. But we know better. We know that no God would sanction the senseless destruction of life… no God would ask for genocide. So let us show them, let us teach them the errors of their ways."

"We will not be conquerors... we will be liberators. We go into this battle not for revenge, nor for glory... but in defense of our way of life, to safeguard our children's future." Axel stood up from his seat and looked at the massive fleet assembled before him. "Remember that when you are out there... remember what we are fighting for. It's not about winning or losing... it's about protecting those who cannot protect themselves."

"Our time is now ...Our moment is here," Axel continued, his voice growing louder with each word. "The Covenant shall learn what it means to wage war against the United Human Empire."

"On my order, we embark on this glorious campaign to restore peace to the corners of the universe!" Shouted Axel.

"Today we write history," said Axel ending his speech.

"All ships reporting green. Jump drives are ready," reported a voice over the comms.

"Understood," Axel nodded, "All fleets, on my mark, initiate jump sequence."

"Execute," commanded Axel, with that command, his fleet shot forward into the stars. The rest of the fleets followed suit, thousands of ships jumping to warp speed. The final stages of the war were beginning.