OPERATION: Arsenal

"So, this is a black ops. No information loss, no one knows, no one outside. Understand?"

- Mendez to Purple Team Operation: Arsenal was a black-ops mission in the early days of the which  team, Purple Team, were sent to the planet's surface to investigate a possible Covenant sighting on the planet.

Background
Shortly after the began, Chief Petty officer  received word that Sentinel had gone dark. Due to the colony being a major producer of ships, parts and other components to the UNSC, It was an asset that could not be lost.

Due to this, Mendez assigned Spartan team, Purple to go undercover as a Black-Ops unit to investigate the planet and free it from any Covenant harm.

The Battle
"To any UNSC forces, this is Thomas Majors. We are under attack! Repeat, we are under attack!!!"

- Thomas Majors' SOS.

Covenant Arrival
On July 1st, the 7th Fleet of Vengeance arrived at Sentinel and began to jam all non Covenant frequencies across the planet. Once the initial phase was successful, the fleet descended towards major metropolitan areas and UNSC compounds.

The fleet began to wipe out major human centers with brutes leading urban campaigns while elites led raids on UNSC bases. After capturing a majority of the planet, a few UNSC ships were able to escape the jamming field and reached out to UNSC command before being shot down.

Purple Team Mission
Purple Team is sent to stop the Covenant in a small stealth ship dubbed the Interceptor. Using the Interceptor, Purple team would slip past Covenant forces and land on the planet. Once on the planet, the spartans began to move towards several Covenant staging areas and LZ’s.

Repeatedly beating down on Covenant sectors, Purple Team picked up a S.O.S from a near by UNSC outpost. At the time, Petty Officer Second Class Gary made the decision to investigate and request was given by Senior Petty Officer Thomas Majors. Moving towards the outpost, Purple Team was ambushed by Covenant forces but quickly dealt with. Fearing the worse, Purple made a mad dash towards the outpost and they were correct. The outpost was under Covenant command and the entire crew was dead.

The team divided with Owen-022, Roman-071, and Cassie-119 taking a position on a ridge to provide covering fire and so that Roman would easily take out Covenant comms that were still under construction. The rest of the team moved through the outpost and struck at multiple Jackal nest and Elite barracks, filling them with smoke and snapping their necks. Once moving through the barracks, Purple-1 made their way to the control room whilst Roman was about to blow the AA’s and alert the Covenant to their presence.

After the control was cleared, Gary captured a Sangheili Ultra who had command of the outpost for interrogation. At the time, Roman detonated the explosives on the AA’s destroying them and retaking the outpost. During interrogation, the ultra revealed that a fleet of Covenant ships were already on the planet and had begun their assault. After returning to space, Purple Team witnessed the destruction of the planet and its glassing. Sentinel was now under command of the Covenant.

Aftermath
Following the operation, all UNSC personnel were evacuated and all operations on the planet ceased. Once Purple Team escaped from the planet, they witnessed the entire world burn due to Covenant glassing. Due to this, then planet was lost and abandoned by humanity and soon the Covenant as well.

July 1st

 * Covenant 7th Fleet of Vengeance arrives at Sentinel.
 * 7th Fleet of Vengeance attacks human settlements across the planet.

July 3rd

 * Purple Team arrives on the planet in the stealth ship, Intercepter.
 * Senior Chief Petty Officer Thomas Majors sends out an SOS received by Purple Team before he is killed.
 * Purple Team reaches Majors' station only to discover it is ruled by the Covenant.
 * Purple Team recaptures the outpost and destroys nearby Covenant AA guns.

July 4th

 * UNSC evacuates the colony along with Purple Team.

Space Assets

 * UNSC Intercepter

Units

 * Purple Team

Personnel

 * Thomas Majors
 * Gary-009
 * Owen-022
 * Roman-071
 * Jane-105
 * Cassie-119
 * Nichole-077