Chapter 95

The Covenant High Council had come up with a new plan for the future of the war front. They needed to overwhelm the human fleets in terms of numbers to win a battle. As much as they hated to admit it, if they were evenly matched with the human fleet in a battle, then their fleet was bound to use.

Even with a 200-ship advantage, the main Covenant fleet under the command of Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree had lost the battle. Additionally, they made the Lord Protector of the UHE a prime target for the Covenant special operation troops to search for and kill.

The Prophets, aware of rumors that their enemy's leader would be engaged in actual combat on the frontlines, saw this as an opportunity to dispatch their most skilled soldiers. Their plan was simple, eliminate the human leader and disrupt the unity of their enemy. They studied the data from their previous encounter in 2526, where the Covenant had breached human space with ease.

Their progress was halted because the humans united under one leader who accelerated their technological advancements at a rapid rate and was the one who led them to defeat the initial Covenant attacks causing them to change their approach similar to what's happening now.

The Prophets decided to send their best Sangheili Zealot, Zuka 'Zamamee, known for his ruthlessness and effectiveness. He was to be aided by his loyal companion Yayap, an Unggoy and other Zealots apart of his order. With the Lord Protector in their crosshairs, the Prophets believed that this could shift the tide of war in their favor.

To prepare for this mission, Zuka 'Zamamee and Yayap trained relentlessly on a simulation imitating the UHE's newly erected defense systems. Their training was overseen by the Prophet of Truth himself. The prophet had his own stakes in this mission, Axel's intelligence was driving the human forces into a formidable force that was wreaking havoc on the Covenant's plans.

On the day their mission was set to commence, Zuka 'Zamamee and his team received a summons to appear before the high council. The members of the council radiated an air of divine power and authority as they sat before them. The Prophet of Mercy spoke first. "Brothers," he began, his voice echoing through the grand room. "You have been chosen for a task only a few can handle. Our belief in your unwavering loyalty and courage is unshaken."

Staring at them with piercing eyes, he continued, "Destroying the Lord Protector will be your primary objective, but remember this—if you fail, not only do we lose our advantage in this war, but the hopes of our entire species will be crushed. We cannot afford to repeat the blunder of 2526. Axel is not merely a man; he is a symbol of human resistance, a beacon of hope to their species and an obstacle in our path to salvation. By eliminating him, we are directly attacking their morale."

Zuka 'Zamamee and his team bowed their heads in understanding. The gravity of their mission weighed heavily on them, but their determination remained unscathed. "We are prepared to lay down our lives for the Great Journey," Zuka 'Zamamee assured solemnly.

With that said, they left the council room, their hearts filled with resolve. They walked through ghostly lit corridors, anticipating the fierce combat that lay ahead.

Meanwhile, within human space, Axel was currently overseeing the after math of a space battle that he has just won yet again. This time, however, it was only 200 ships that the Covenant sent to attack Falaknuma.

However, what Axel didn't know was that the Covenant was using battles to get information on the whereabouts of his fleet so that they could track him constantly.

For the next few weeks, Axel didn't fight in any ground battles and had just focused on space battles. But as the weeks went by, the Covenant had begun to regain momentum.

On Actium, which was still not fully under UNSC control, the Covenant had deployed even more forces to the planet alongside numerous powerful vehicles which they utilized to overwhelm defenses.

Axel wanted to end the war on Actium as it was for some reason a strategic target that the Covenant kept attacking. Upon learning that the Covenant only had 300 ships defending the planet, Axel had taken his fleet of 600 ships to finally end the war on this planet.

Above the planet the Covenant fleet led by Fleetmaster Voro 'Mantakree engaged in a fierce battle with the human fleet. Voro was a seasoned veteran and a capable commander; his tactics had been a thorn in the side of humanity for the past few months. But this time, he faced an opponent more formidable than any he had encountered before, Axel, the Lord Protector himself.

The two fleets clashed in space above Actium as Fleetmaster Voro 'Mantakree reported the current location of the Lord Protector. After receiving new orders from the Hierarchs, Fleetmaster Voro 'Mantakree new mission was to retreat and allow the UHE to gain control of the space above the planet.

Moments later, the entire Covenant fleet retreated from the battle allowing Axel to land more troops on the ground and put an end to the battle on the planet.

Once his fleet got into position above the planet, Axel took a transport ship down to the surface to start leading troops to take back the planet.

Meanwhile, located at High Charity, the Covenant had amassed a new massive armada led by Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree. This new fleet consisted of 2,000 ships and had some of the greatest warriors of the Covenant within the fleet that would be used in their ground invasion.

Once the Axel was on the surface, he put on his own armor, and personally led multiple Battalions of Marines and MCUs accompanied by Spartan-IIs and Spartan-IIIs to start taking out Covenant bases and key positions.

As the Covenant ground forces started encountering Axel and his army attacking key locations across the planet, the Covenant Field Marshall reported this to the Hierarchs.

Within his command ship Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree had just gotten informed by the Hierarchs of his new mission. So, with his massive fleet of 2,000 ships, he set off towards Actium to finally deal with the Lord protector.

As Axel and his soldiers advanced, their spirits bolstered by each victory, a report had come in from the Admiral placed in charge while Axel was absent.

"Sir, we have the Covenant approaching this location with about 2,000 ships and they will be here within 3 minutes. We don't have time to evacuate you from the planet" reported Admiral Bennett.

"Admiral this is a direct order, retreat back to reach, there is no need to waste lives in this battle" Ordered Axel.

"Understood, Sir" Replied Admiral Bennett. He may not have liked it, but he received a direct order. And if anything, he believed that Axel could make it to the teleporter in case anything happened.

A few seconds later, the fleet had jumped to warp and retreated to Reach where the Security Council was already receiving a live update of the situation and was amassing a fleet for a counterattack on the Covenant fleet.

Meanwhile, as the Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree's fleet approached Actium, which was left defenseless by the UNSC fleet, allowing the Covenant to free reign over the space.

"Send down the reinforcements," ordered Xytan 'Jar Wattinree as Millions of Covenant troops utilized the teleporters on their ships to teleport to a receiver down on the planet's surface.

The sunlight had broken through the planet's atmosphere and illuminated rows upon rows of Covenant soldiers exiting teleporters and amassing on the battlefront. Within these groups of soldiers were some of the Covenant's most elite commanders and leaders.

Zuka 'Zamamee and his team had was also within the reinforcements and were tasked with personally dealing with the Lord Protector. Accompanying them would be an entire army which would be used to draw out Axel and force him into a comprised position so that Zuka 'Zamamee and his team could kill him.

Despite the current situation Axel remained on the planet, the battle for this planet had lasted months and had taken up a lot of resources and lives. The Covenant had managed to establish themselves on the surface which resulted in a stalemate between the two forces.

He needed to end the conflict to free up the Millions of troops that were on the planet so that he can use them during his invasion of Covenant space.