Halo: Dawn of Darkness

Synopsis
The year is 2555. The UNSC has continued its inexorable march to retake the colonies abandoned and claimed by secessionist forces during the Human-Covenant War. In 2553, the Victorian Independent State fell. In 2554, the Glabetovan People's Republic. It is now March of 2555. The Gilgamesh Free State is on high alert, prepared for all-out war with the UNSC. Its army and paramilitaries have been mobilized, and the population of the Free State are now well aware of the quickly encroaching war. {| style="width:100%; color:#FFF;"
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Briefing
New Belgrade Air Base

New Belgrade, Gilgamesh, Alpha Chandra System

1141 Hours, February 28th, 2555

"Gentlemen, take your seats."

Feeling his eyelids begin to droop as soon as he sat into the chair, First Lieutenant Alex Vens quickly slapped himself in the face, and as it had many times before, he was wide awake once again. Looking around the auditorium at his fellow pilots in the Capital Defense Brigade, his eyes focused on the man who had just walked in and replaced their squadron commander behind the podium in the very front of the room. He was not in a green flightsuit, instead, he was wearing the standard Gilgamesh Free Army issue green drill uniform. Whispers quickly began to circulate around the room. One of his fellow pilots turned to him, and said "It's Marshal Garan.". Vens looked at the man behind the podium. He had met Garan once before when he had greeted him Vens and his fellow Glabetovan pilots when they had arrived in 2553 to learn how to fly the F/A-440. That Marshal had been confident, with a firm handshake and a charismatic air. This Marshal that stood before the Brigade was a different one, though. He seemed as tired as the other pilots in the room, with evident dark circles under his eyes, and seemed stressed, running his hand through his hair or smoothing over his eyebrow at random intervals. Finally, he cleared his throat, the whispers died down, and began to speak.

"Gentlemen, evidently from the whispers among you, I do not need to introduce myself. As you know, the UNSC is more than likely going to attack in the very near future. With your reorganization and retraining on new aircraft, I'm certain that you all have also discerned our strategy is a new one, and indeed, it is. Tonight, most of you will be loading into your aircraft and relocating to new positions. However, I am not here to tell you that, those specifics are in the sealed orders issued to your squadron commanders. Instead, I am here to ask for twenty volunteers to stay behind and fight the UNSC in order to ensure that they do not know that we have pulled our forces to the frontier to counterattack when possible. I ask that those willing to volunteer please stand so that you may be recognized for your willingness to fight in the face of the odds, and possibly make the ultimate sacrifice."

As the speech ended, hushed talking erupted among the pilots. Vens looked around the room, not sure what to do. Watching as the number of volunteers increased, among them all of his fellow Glabetovans, and some Gilgameshans, he quickly stood up. The Marshal continued speaking. "Those twenty of you who have stood up, please come forward to be recognized." he said. Feeling weak, and his hands shaking, Vens held onto the row in front of him as he moved his way out into the aisles. Walking the length of the aisle, he and the nineteen other volunteers came up to the podium, lining up beside it, facing the audience. "These men have chosen, of their own free will, to stay behind and stand against the odds so that the Gilgamesh Free State may not perish from this planet. The medals, please."
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