User:XW3 AR3 L3GION/Operation: VEIL OF DARKNESS

Operation:VEIL OF DARKNESS was the first military operation conducted by the UNSC into the Remnant Expanse.

Prelude
Over fifteen years earlier the Terrans had won the Third Battle for Terra and put the fear of the Covenant back into the Terrans. As the UNSC rebuilt its military forces for the intended push outwards to attack the Remnant splinter factions, the entire Remnant Expanse would be unknown factor. As the lines of each splinter factions territory had shifted wildly during the Covenant Civil War, the Sangheili stellar cartography was already out of date before they were given to the Terrans. Therefore original Covenant and new Remnant military base would have disappeared or appeared throughout the Remnant Expanse.

Therefore, the UNSC needed to conduct reconnaissance in unknown territories without being detected, collect a massive amount of information before retreating and letting the UNSN Fleet use that information to the best of their abilities. Around Io, the Office of Naval Intelligence constructed in secret two hundred and fourty five Nightwatcher-Class Prowler to being such reconnaissance.

Operation
The Nightwatcher-Class Prowlers set off in small groups to survey systems in the Remnant Expanse.