RP:Light of the Abyss

Premise
It is the year. The colony of is under attack by a Covenant armada, led by a Fleetmaster known only as "The Destroyer". Following months of preparation, the UNSC's stringent lines of defence are about to be pitted yet again against the invading force. A top-secret unit of SPARTAN-IIs, operating under the name "VELOX", have been tasked with the elimination of The Destroyer and his top-ranking officers, in hopes of dealing a much-needed crippling blow that would allow humanity to emerge victorious in the battle.

Yet the Covenant is not without dissent as they begin their campaign. A scouting patrol, sent by Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree, had detected a valuable piece of Forerunner technology several months earlier, lying dormant beneath Alluvion's vast, turbulent oceans. Given his reluctance to disclose his findings, the High Prophets have entrusted Fleetmaster Thel 'Vadamee to uncover Xytan's secret and bring it back to High Charity. With Thel's ambition to supplant the Admiral pitted against Xytan's own intentions, the stakes are high on both sides of the conflict.

Rules

 * 1) For starters, you do not have to join ZOD to participate in this RP, nor do you have to add the ZOD era icon to the characters you submit. But if you wish to do so, I will take a look at the corresponding articles and give you the go-ahead if I find it's of adequate quality. Again, this doesn't mean you have to be part of ZOD, but whatever happens to your characters in this RP will be canonical within the EU.
 * 2) To submit characters for this RP, make a list on the talk page under your username. The viable options are pretty straightforward—UNSC or Covenant mostly. There will be limited ONI forces in play, as well as some non-military research factions if you so desire. Oh, and if you'd prefer certain characters not be killed in the RP, be sure to make a note of that. I will try my best to heed your wishes. The submission deadline is February 25th, no exceptions.
 * 3) While this is not one of dem irk RPs that are so popular with the kids these days, I have no qualms about enacting certain events in a live chatroom setting for the sake of creative inspiration. It is worth noting, however, that the improvisational nature of irk RPs means that some events may be subject to revision when transposed into writing. In addition, only the written version will be considered canonical to ZOD.
 * 4) As per traditional written RP rules, don't make two consecutive posts in a row. With the exception of one scenario which I will explain below, it's better to let someone else take a turn after you submit your piece.
 * 5) If your characters are needed to advance the plot and you don't write your post within a reasonable amount of time, it will be written for you. You will receive plenty of notice before I resort to this, but the goal is to avoid the notorious loss of momentum that has sunk so many half-finished RPs. Once a post is written for you, it cannot be undone even if you don't like the way things play out, and this covers everything up to and including killing off your characters if necessary. Sound fair?
 * 6) Please try to keep your characters doing something that's  relevant  to the plot. I'm not going to impose a bunch of restrictions since you all know how to write in an HCW setting, but I may occasionally invite some of you to participate in working toward an objective or event. This is mainly to keep the plot from drifting in every direction at once, and I'll be sure to leave everyone enough breathing room if this becomes necessary.
 * 7) Lastly, I strongly encourage you to team up your characters with other users' rather than leave your guys on their own for the entire RP. If you notice someone stirring up an event that looks like fun, have a discussion with them about throwing your ideas into the mix. This is a community project, after all, and maximizing interaction is half the fun.

United Nations Space Command
Office of Naval Intelligence Marine Corps / Navy / Maritime Ops Army Officers
 * CAPT Jazmine Utah
 * CDR
 * LT Felix-116
 * LTJG Nyarai-134
 * CWO3 Eldar-128
 * CWO2 Maddison-140
 * WO1 Lian-017
 * COL Francisco Cortez
 * CDR Angelica Hurst
 * LT Daiichi Kimura
 * 1LT Michael Trask
 * MSGT Ellison Suarez
 * CPO Nathan-076
 * SGT Samuel Hope
 * CPL Aiden Jenkins
 * CPL Fritz Hoffman
 * LCPL Ian Turner
 * LCPL Morris Rhodes
 * PFC Edmond Dahm
 * PFC Levi Groves
 * PVT James Coburn

The Covenant
Naval officers Ground forces / Zealots Special Operations
 * Fleetmaster Thel 'Vadamee
 * Shipmaster Bulu 'Wattinree
 * Shipmaster Cerpa 'Folumee
 * Shipmaster Khal 'Devnumee
 * Shipmaster Tyun 'Arachee
 * Field Marshall Hiuel 'Jadamee
 * Field Marshall
 * General Ekdam 'Noramee
 * General Nol 'Saverosee
 * General Sev 'Wattinrzoee
 * General Sovol 'Yendamee
 * Zealot Jez 'Varumee
 * Yugo Bond-Brothers
 * Commander Jeran 'Demalee
 * Officer Tawri 'Antinree
 * Operator Akorn 'Yendamee
 * Operator Jusan 'Sasovai