User:Minuteman 2492/Sandbox

Bohater-B078 was a SPARTAN-III supersoldier, and eventual agent for the Insurrection. At first an orphan and then a SPARTAN-III supersoldier, Bohater became disillusioned with the UNSC, and defected from them, along with eight other SPARTANs, faking their deaths during PROMETHEUS.

Childhood
Born in 2533 on New Harmony, Bohater-B078 lived an impoverished life, to two colonial parents, who, from when he could walk and talk, spoke to him about how terrible an organization the UEG was, and how it ruined colonists such as their's lives. Although Bohater never truly took to their teachings, he being very young, it would come back to him later in his life. In 2539, Bohater's planet was attacked by the Covenant. His parents put him aboard a shuttle, but were unable to get aboard one themselves, and were killed by the Covenant invaders.

Orphaned
Now an orphan, Bohater was placed in a government run foster home on. While at the foster home, he was described as being very introverted, as he wallowed in a mix of self-pity, anger, and depression. Bohater would have radical mood swings, being happy and ebullient one moment, and sobbing his eyes out in his bed the next. Although some of the caretakers though he had a bipolar disorder, when he was taken to a psychiatrist, it was discovered Bohater had no such affliction, and that his mood swings were simply a result of the trauma he had experienced.

While at the orphanage, Bohater was visited by a strange man from the Office of Naval Intelligence soon after he had been vaccinated a week before. The man offered the young boy a chance to fight the Covenant, the aliens who had killed his parents. Without any hesitation, and looking for a way to get revenge, Bohater quickly agreed to the man's proposition, and was sent to the planet of to begin his training.

Selection and Training
On his first day on Onyx, Bohater was put through the initial test for all SPARTAN candidates: Jumping out of a Pelican. Not wanting to be a failure, Bohater jumped, not thinking about it, and landed hard, after which he was retrieved by the UNSC and brought to Camp Currahee.

As the training continued, Bohater fought harder and harder, wanting to, as he stated: "Back then I wanted to be the best I could. It was more of a selfish thing in a way. All I wanted was for myself to be the best so I could kill the Covvies who murdered my family"

- Bohater-B078

However, during the first few field exercises, B078 was very much self oriented, charging ahead and wanting to get all the glory, which led to he and his team failing multiple exercises. Eventually, he became more team oriented, and his sense of selfishness faded away.

As the exercises went on, Bohater distinguished himself as a rifleman, along with developing his own form of hand to hand combat, using one's, or another's rifle as the focal point. This style, however, led to multiple broken bones amongst Beta Trainees during exercises when they encountered Bohater in close quarters combat.

Although Bohater had no problems neutralizing fellow trainees and DIs in field exercises, he was perplexed by the indoctrination against a force they called the "Insurrection", wondering why they were trying to make him hate other human beings when he had been recruited to fight the Covenant. Despite never making his opinions heard for fear of punishment, these feelings stuck with him for the rest of his career as a SPARTAN.

Augmentations
In 2545, Bohater, along with the rest of Beta Company, was taken to the UNSC Hopeful for their augmentations. Bohater passed through the augmentations with little complications, after which he and the rest of Beta Company were sent back to Onyx as they adjusted. Bohater, now more eager than ever to fight, had to learn to control his newfound strength to prevent hurting his sparring partners.

Operation: CARTWHEEL
"Do I regret what I did that day? Hell no I don't. Those alien bastards deserved what I gave them and more."

- Bohater on CARTWHEEL

Bohater's first combat experience came in the form of Operation: CARTWHEEL, where Beta was deployed to New Athens, in an attempt to win the battle taking place there. Infiltrating behind Covenant lines, Beta Company set charges, assassinated Sangheili commanders, and wreaked general havoc. Bohater himself was described by his comrades on the mission as being merciless to the Covenant, recklessly so, as he endangered the safety of his team.

During a mission to assassinate a Sangheili General on the planet, Bohater charged the Covenant encampment, guns blazing, mowing down any who stood in his path, before stabbing the General in the abdomen, and breaking the Elite's neck by striking it with his rifle repeatedly.

Despite Beta's efforts however, the colony was still glassed, and the company was evacuated before the glassing had begun, the UNSC knowing they were about to lose the space battle to the aliens, and that a complete and utter glassing of the planet was likely to ensue.

Operation: HERCULES
"Bastards told me I was going to fight the aliens that murdered my family, not kill some discontent humans. So much for helping our race."

- Bohater on HERCULES

Soon after CARTWHEEL, Beta Company was sent to for Operation: HERCULES. The SPARTANs were being sent to destroy a fairly large Insurrectionist cell that was attempting to take over the now lawless planet. Bohater was at first shocked by the fact he would have to kill humans, but tried to shunt that thought into the back of his mind.

When Beta Company was sent to wipe out the main command post of the rebels, Bohater froze. He did not want to kill human beings, he wanted to kill Covenant. Although he continued and finished the mission, afterwards, he was berated by his teammates for again putting their lives in danger.

After HERCULES, Bohater became detached. His team began to shun him for putting their lives in danger, and he slipped into a fit of sadness. During this time, one of the teammates who shared Bohater's sentiment of not wanting to kill fellow human beings, Ryan-B248, came to become friends with Bohater. The two became best of friends, socializing with each other between missions, as both their teams had shunned them for their repeated hesitations during HERCULES.

In around mid May of 2545, Bohater and Ryan heard, through eavesdropping on their superiors of an operation codenamed TORPEDO. Although not many details were heard by the two, they did recognize that it was to be carried out by Beta Company, and that it was expected that none were going to survive.

Although Ryan was more in favor of defecting from the UNSC, his team having not just shunned him, but physically assaulted him for his actions, Bohater was torn between his own personal survival, and staying in solidarity with his comrades and likely dying with them.

After a period of intense reflection, Bohater decided to defect from the UNSC, not wanting to be used as a puppet until he was worn out, then thrown out on a suicide mission. The two also converted two others, Melissa-B192 and Edward-B024, to their cause, and the four made up a plan to fake their deaths and escape the fate of death that would befall them if they took part in TORPEDO.

Operation: CAESAR and Defection
During the company's next operation against Insurrectionists, this time on the planet of, where a group of Insurrectionists were planning to overthrow the colonial government by stirring up the populace in massive, violent riots. Deployed to the rebels' base, Bohater and his three cohorts faked their deaths, turning off their transponders and cutting off all communications with the rest of Beta Company.

Escaping the UNSC, the four went to Casbah and posed as spacers, looking for any way to get off the planet and away from the UNSC. Aboard the freighter Odysseus, the four were accepted as crew members. However, little did the four know that the ship was a rebel ship ferrying supplies to Venezia.

Drifters
When the freighter landed on Venezia, the four SPARTANs were faced with the dilemma of staying or leaving the planet. Bohater tried to convince Melissa and Edward, both of whom were in favor of not staying on the Insurrectionist controlled planet, that they would be safer on it, with the UNSC unlikely to find them. After a lengthy debate, Ryan stepped in, and backed up Bohater's claims, swaying the other two to their side.

While on Venezia, the four took odd jobs of all kind to eke out an existence on the planet. Continuing to stay on the planet for seven more years, the IIIs inhabited an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of New Tyne.

Bohater, during this time, felt genuinely remorseful as he thought about all his fellow Betas who had likely died during TORPEDO that he had left behind. Although he eventually came to leave it behind as something he could not change, Bohater was known to have nightmares regarding his dead comrades. 4

Mercenary
By 2553, Bohater and his fellow defectors had become nothing more than poor beggars. The four, needing a new source of income so they could survive, agreed to become mercenaries. After their first few operations, during which they were contracted by the Venezian government against UNSC insurgents on Venezia, the IIIs became wanted by almost every rebel group in the galaxy, renowned for their ruthless efficiency.

Although at first Bohater was still opposed to killing humans, the amount of jobs the four took part in eventually made him numb to the regret he once felt when killing humans.

Leader
"Ryan! No!"

- Bohater during the botched operation on Paradise Falls

In 2554, the unit was contracted by a rebel group on Paradise Falls, who requested the SPARTANs' help in knocking out a prevalent criminal gang on the planet, in order to stop much of the resistance blocking the rebels from taking control. Although the initial operations went well, with the destruction of the criminals' weapons stockpiles, the attack on the gang's stronghold went badly when Edward was discovered. A fierce firefight ensued, during which Ryan was killed when a chunk of shrapnel from a rocket went through his chest, killing him instantly.

Enraged at the gangsters for killing one of his closest friends, Bohater rallied the remaining two, and charged in, killing everyone in sight, planting explosives, and destroying the compound, before returning to the rebels for payment. After leaving the planet, Bohater became the leader of the group, with Ryan KIA during the raid.

Fall of Venezia
In 2556, two years after coming into command of the remaining two SPARTANs, Bohater was contacted by Venezia, stating they needed help immediately against the UNSC invasion. Bohater, torn between his Insurrectionist loyalties, and his want for the rest of the team survived, denied Venezia's request for assistance, due to the low survival chance he and his friends would have in a stand up battle against the UNSC, but stated: "We'll be back for you".

Hearing reports from the front of the UNSC's campaign enraged Bohater, as he felt the UNSC had no right to be causing so much death and chaos to take back a colony that was just fine under rebel control. With the advent of these feelings against the UNSC, and his own lacking of regret to kill humans, having killed so many he had become numb to the feeling, Bohater's loyalties shifted from neutral in the conflict, to siding with the Insurrectionists.

Hellas Operations
In 2557, Bohater was contracted by a group of Insurrectionists on Hellas, who desperately needed trained commandos to offset the UNSC's heavy military presence, as their use of Rumbledrugs had proved fruitless. Arriving on the planet via sneaking aboard a freighter bound for it, the SPARTANs arrived at the rebels' base. Bohater immediately developed a policy of rotating missions, one SPARTAN at a time, wanting to keep the remainder of his team. When the rebel leader became angry at the policy, Bohater threatened to withdraw his help from the rebels, intimidating the leader into going along with it.

Bohater's first operation for the rebels was to help a fledgling uprising by leading a group of rebel fighters in the city of New Athens in a raid on the police armory for arms and equipment. Entering the city without his SPI armor to blend in better, Bohater met with the rebels he was to assault the police station with. Inserting first, Bohater eliminated the guards around the armory, before blowing off the door, and leading the rest inside. Working with ruthless efficiency, Bohater led the raid inside, cleared the station, and the rebels received their needed supplies and weapons.

However, Bohater would be forced to evacuate from the planet with his group in late 2557 when a botched commando raid, which he led, allowed the UNSC to locate and destroy the main rebel base. Retreating, Bohater and his comrades went to the nearest spaceport to get off of the planet. Stowing away aboard a freighter bound for Venezia, the three discreetly raided its medical supplies to treat the wounds they had sustained during the raid.

Return (2559-2583)
When the freighter landed on the colony of Venezia, Bohater and the other two SPARTANs immediately left the immediate area of any population centers, and went out to Venezia's countryside. There, the three, after three weeks of wandering, came across a large group of remnants from the Venezian Colonial Guard. Upholding his promise that one day he would return to help the rebels on Venezia, Bohater offered the rebels he and his unit's services, in return for shelter from the UNSC. The rebels agreed, and, within a day, the SPARTANs were running missions, sabotaging, assassinating, or thieving from the UNSC, as the rebels tried to rebuild their strength and prepare to try and retake the planet.

Operations
While working for the rebels, Bohater's main responsibility was weakening the UNSC's hold on the frontier regions of Venezia. Assassinating UNSC garrison commanders, sabotaging convoys, and wreaking general havoc, Bohater allowed for rebels to gain footholds in the frontier regions as he continued to weaken the UNSC garrisons stationed there.

May 16th Ambush
One of Bohater's most infamous operations during this time was the complete annihilation of a UNSC unit over the course of an hour on May 16th. Leading a unit of crack rebel insurgents, he ambushed a part of the company going out on a routine patrol, forcing them into a nearby town, where the rebel insurgents were positioned.

Pinning down the patrol, the UNSC called for reinforcements from the rest of their unit. Bohater, stationed at the main entrance to the town, cut off the reinforcements, pinning them down with a sniper rifle. Meanwhile, as the rest of the rebels eliminated the patrol, they moved in on the reinforcements, encircling them, and completely wiping out the UNSC.

Resupply
In 2563, four years after Bohater's return to the planet, the rebels announced they were planning a second rebellion, and needed military equipment to help it succeed. Bohater and his unit were contracted to raid a UNSC base, and open it up for rebel fighters to move in and steal whatever was considered essential for the rebellion to succeed.

Donning their SPI armor, Bohater and his comrades slipped past the perimeter sentries on the base, before killing a guard, and using his access guard to get into the motor pool. Taking an M808, Bohater burst through the front gate of the building, before opening fire on anything in sight.

Signaling the rebels to begin their attack, Bohater blew a hole in the perimeter defenses with the Scorpion's 90mm main gun, before using it to cover rebel troops as they procured as much as they could. With the raid finished, Bohater and his compatriots escaped the remaining UNSC's patrols, and made their way back to the rebel camp.

Second Venezian Rebellion (2564)
With the rebellion looming once again, Bohater and the other rebel leaders went to work strategizing their moves that they hoped would lead to the planet's independence. Bohater and his team were assigned by the others to neutralize key figures of the government so the Insurrection could come in and usurp power.

The rebellion began in March of 2564, as rebels instigated violent riots and angry mobs in Venezia's main cities. Using the cover of the riots, Bohater and his team moved into New Messina, and infiltrated the building housing the high officials of Venezia's UEG loyal government. Easily eliminating the security detail and killing or capturing the officials, Bohater handed them over to the rebels, before moving in to help in the battle.

Although the rebellion was successful at first, it all came to an end about a week and a half after it began. With Venezia in danger of falling to the Insurrection once again, the UNSC deployed all of Gamma Company to put down the rebellion. Engaging in a gunfight with a fireteam of Gamma SPARTAN-IIIs, Bohater and his team managed to kill three, at the cost of Melissa and Edward. With the loss of his two remaining friends, and the arrival of Gamma Company, Bohater abandoned the rebels, knowing he too would most likely be killed if he continued to fight.

Post Rebellion
Retreating to a secluded location in the mountains, Bohater was plagued by the memories of his dead comrades. As he broiled in a fit of rage much like he had felt after his parents had been slain by the Covenant, Bohater eventually continued the rebels' fight, waging a guerilla war against the UNSC. Bohater eventually became infamous amongst the UNSC troops on the planet, and by 2570, was still fighting.

Weapons and Equipment
Originally, when he first began his work for the Insurrection, Bohater mainly used his Semi Powered Infiltration armor, with exceptions during undercover operations or times where it would be more of a hindrance. But as his work for the Insurrection dragged on, the armor became more and more worn out, and by the end of the Second Venezian Rebellion, Bohater's armor was nearly unusable, it being heavily damaged in the rebellion.

After the Second Venezian Rebellion, with his armor almost completely unusable, Bohater scrounged up fatigues from a fighter who had died during the rebellion, and wore them in place of his armor as he fought a guerilla war against the UNSC.

Bohater's weapons, much like his SPI armor, degraded over time. Although originally possessing an M7S and MA5K, these weapons were eventually lost or damaged as he fought against the UNSC, with few replacement parts, forcing the rogue SPARTAN to eventually entirely rely on Insurrectionist or civilian weaponry.

Tyrene Home Army
The Tyrene Home Army was an Insurrectionist group based on the colony of Tyrene.

History
Originally formed in 2561, soon after the colonization of the planet by Insurrectionists hoping to overtake the planet in its infancy, the Tyrene Home Army was originally an isolated militia group composed of a few Insurrectionist leaders and farmers who followed them. Eventually, when Ryan Lee became the main public face of the Home Army, their numbers shot up as he used speeches to incite the populace to support the THA's cause. As the THA continued to grow, their contacts within the UNSC military, smugglers, and the planet's Colonial Militia continued to supply them with equipment and supplies.

Launching into a campaign of guerilla warfare against the UNSC, the THA continued to harass the UNSC until about 2564, when they launched the Tyrene Uprising. Using their agents to incite riots, the rebels took advantage of the chaos, and built up barricades and defenses in settlements.

For three weeks, the rebels fought the UNSC in tenacious fighting, with a spirit that was described as "fanatical" by many UNSC members who fought the THA. During the uprising, Ion Team was sent to neutralize Ryan Lee, in order to keep him from gaining more citizens to support the rebels. However, initially, they failed to find the rebel leader. In the end of the uprising, despite the majority of the rebel strongholds being destroyed during the rebellion, many rebels escaped the UNSC, and continued to harass the UNSC through guerilla warfare.

However, Ryan Lee, who the UNSC had attempted to kill during the Tyrene Uprising, survived the rebellion, and, with the help of rebel sympathizers, set up a community in the weeks after as proof to the people that the THA's form of government was far more effective than the UNSC. However, the UNSC, fearing a second uprising, sent Ion Team in to neutralize Lee. After a fierce firefight, Lee was confronted and killed by Sepia-G330, effectively neutralizing the rebellion, save for a few ineffective raiding parties on the planet.

Equipment
The Tyrene Home Army's equipment varied greatly, from poorly equipped civilians in plainclothes with civilian rifles, to full on paramilitary units armed with automatic rifles, bulletproof vests, uniforms, and helmets. Many of the civilian units used Misriah Armories' military style weapons modified for civilian use, such as the AR-55, a civilian variant of the BR55 Battle Rifle, or hunting rifles by many different companies. Poorly equipped groups had little to no protection or vehicles to speak of.

On the other end of the spectrum were the paramilitary units. These units were usually armed with automatic weapons, such as the MA3 assault rifle, HMG-38, or .30 Caliber "Confetti Makers". Some of the paramilitary subgroups had outdated CH200 combat helmets or bulletproof vests either smuggled through the black market or stolen from the UNSC. With regards to vehicles, the paramilitary groups were usually only known to posses Spades armed with machine guns, however, during the Tyrene Uprising, there were reports from the UNSC of a few black market MAKO drones being used by the more well-off subgroups of the THA.

Ideology
The Tyrene Home Army's official ideology was developed by Ryan Lee, as he tried to figure out how to draw people to the cause, and keep them there if they won. After doing a large amount of research on political ideologies of the past, Lee officially developed the THA's ideology for a government as one he summed up as made up of: "Butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers, the regular man, not some rich man lawyer".

Lee, in a document found in his desk by a member of the settlement he founded after he was killed by Ion Team, described in detail his plan:

"The Tyrene Plan is comprised of multiple parts. Firstly, a semblance order must be established. The plan cannot come to fruition without such things existing first.  Secondly, once order has been established, citizens will be granted these following rights, which are unalienable.  First, the right to speak freely about their leaders, which has been denied to us by the UNSC.  Secondly, the right to keep and bear arms, as was also restricted by the UNSC for their fear of an uprising that may topple them.  Third, each man and woman has the right to a fair and proper trial with a jury of their peers, unless extreme circumstances dictate otherwise.  Finally, each man and woman will not be discriminated against, no matter what.  The third step of the Tyrene Plan is to form an able bodied, but limited government to keep the order first established.  This government will have the ability to tax, however, the rate will be fixed, unless extreme circumstances and the people's opinion, state otherwise. This plan is only for the immediate aftermath of a revolution or the formation of a community, it is up to the people to decide the course it will eventually take."

- The Tyrene Plan

Mikhail Voychek
Mikhail Voychek was a UNSC Navy junior officer, and later Insurrectionist. Born in 2502 on, Voychek was accepted to Luna OCS in 2520. Graduating in 2524, he was assigned to the frigate UNSC Zhukov, as a bridge officer. While aboard the Zhukov, Voychek came into contact with a crewmember who was an Insurrectionist sympathizer. Voychek, despite initially doubting the man's opinions on the UNSC, eventually found himself slowly coming over to the rebel cause. In early 2525, Bohater was introduced to other sympathizers amongst the crew, and they began to make plans to defect and take over the ship.

About a week after Mikhail and his allies finalized the plan, they put it into action. Disabling the bridge crew and the ship's Marine contingent, Mikhail, along with the rest of the Insurrectionists, took control of the ship, using a "dumb" AI, which had been fast grafted to the Insurrection's cause, to operate it. Taking the destroyer to, they acquired an Insurrectionist crew and protection complement, along with supplies for the ship, renaming it the Origami.

Taking the ship on raids against the UNSC, Voychek wreaked havoc on UNSC supply convoys, using the destroyer's heavy armament to his advantage. Continuing his raids on the UNSC, he continued to use Station Jefferson as his base of operations. This would eventually cost Mikhail his life, as Blue Team raided the station soon after he and his crew had resupplied recently. The SPARTANs, interrogating one of the station's personnel, discovered where the destroyer was headed to due to Voychek's bragging, and planned to take it back.

Sending out a decoy supply convoy, the UNSC drew Voychek into a trap, and Blue Team boarded the ship, easily neutralizing the crew, before killing Voychek, before he was able to destroy the ship.

Prelude
"The 26th Century has dawned. And with a new century comes new challenges, new conflicts.  In the aftermath of multiple incidents in the 2490s, the Insurrection has come about, pledging to fight the UNSC.  Some fight through battles against the UNSC itself, others through terrorism.  No matter what happens, there is always conflict."

Dramatis Personae
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Engagement
//May 16th, 2513\\

//Eridanus System, Eridanus II\\

//1032 Hours\\

"This is the Jackson, we've been hit!"

"Iliad, we're taking a pounding out here!"

All across the Eridanus Liberation Front's radio networks, reports were being rattled off by ship after ship above Eridanus II. In the Iliad's command center, ELF commander Robert Watts, kicked off one of the bulkheads to get a better look at the situation on one of the monitors. UNSC ships were everywhere, rebel ships were scattering, firing missiles across the blackness of space, and in atmosphere, rebel troops were engaging in brutal fighting against UNSC forces that had just landed.

Watching as an Archer missile nearly missed the Iliad, Watts knew the rebels had no way to win. "Order all groups to get the hell away from the engagement, and tell the ground troops to hold out and evac when they can!", he yelled.

"Sir, Alpha Group is ready to enter slipspace." calmly responded one of his crew. At another station, a crewmember turned around, and frantically said to Watts, "Beta Group just sent out an emergency statement. The Gateway's slipspace drive won't engage.  It's stranded."

Turning from his console, Watts retorted, "Move us in closer to Beta, and tell them that we'll buy them some time to make repairs. Tell them we won't leave them behind, but they need to make it quick!"

"Aye sir" the crewman responded. Looking around, Watts frantically searched for any way to give the Gateway cover while it made the necessary repairs. Out of one of the monitors, he spotted two Marathon Class Heavy Cruisers. All of a sudden, a realization dawned on him. "Bring us in towards those Marathons, and prepare to fire towing cables." he said.

"Sir?" a crewman responded with suspicion.

"Just do it!"

"Aye sir, bringing us in closer, and readying towing cables."

"Prepare to fire the cables at one of the Marathons."

"Roger, tow cables ready to fire on your command."

"Fire!" ordered Watts as the cables shot from the frigate, and attached themselves to the Marathon Class.

"Navigator, gun it!", he yelled.

"Aye sir!"

As the Iliad's engines screamed as it struggled to pull the Marathon Class, the cruiser's superstructure protested against the force being displaced on it. As it continued to bend, the structure eventually buckled, and the cruiser was split in two.

"We're not out of the woods yet.", stated Watts. "Navigator, bring that wreckage around, and club that other hunk of titanium."

"Aye sir, I recommend you hang onto something."

Grabbing hold of a chair, Watts struggled to hang on as the navigator made the necessary maneuvers. Craning his head around to the rear cameras of the Iliad, he spotted the wreckage of one Marathon slam into the other in a fiery collision. As the ship righted itself, the center erupted in jubilation at the small victory.

"Let go of the wreckage, and retract the tow cables." ordered Watts.

"Aye sir."

Turning his head to the Iliad's communications officer, Watts asked, "Is the Gateway ready?"

Nodding his head in the affirmative, the officer confirmed it, "The Gateway has completed its repairs, and is ready to jump to the rendezvous point. They send their heartfelt thanks."

"Roger that. Tell Beta Group to depart, and let's get out of here.

"Aye sir, engaging slipspace drive."

As the frigate tunneled a hole into slipspace, it became surrounded by blackness, leaving the fiery battlefield above Eridanus II behind. After an unknown amount of time, the ship finally exited slipspace at the rendezvous point. Looking around at the rest of the rebel ships that had made it, Watts felt sick to his stomach. Some of the ships were missing massive chunks of hull, others venting atmosphere, and some being nothing but carcasses, towed by others. The Colonel valued the lives of his men, and this was something hard for him to witness, but it was the price of war.

Getting on the armada wide communications channel, Watts stated, "All heavily damaged ships or evacuation ships with casualties have first priority to dock. Failure to comply with these orders will result in severe disciplinary action."

As the ships continued their solemn procession into Secundus, he forced himself to watch, repressing the urge to turn away from the carnage that he could not escape. When all the ships with casualties aboard had landed, he gave the rest of the ships permission to dock. Once the rest had docked, Watts finally ordered the Iliad in. When the frigate was caught by the docking clamps, the asteroid's bay doors closed, and the atmosphere filtered back in.

Disembarking from the ship, Watts saw the true horror of the Insurrection. ELF soldiers with gruesome wounds were being shuttled around on stretchers, some with missing limbs, others with their midsections torn open, being held together only with biofoam and their own will. Mustering up the courage, Watts went over to talk to one of the wounded.

Walking over to one of the lone stretchers waiting to be taken by the medics, Watts saw a rebel soldier, his lower midsection covered in bandages and biofoam. The rebel opened his eyes, and attempted to sit up and salute. Watts put a hand on his shoulder. "At ease son." he said. The rebel looked up at the Colonel, and said to him, "Thank you sir, for saving us and the rest of the men aboard the Gateway". Watts nodded, and asked, "What's your name son?". The rebel responded, "Allen Monroe". Watts responded to him "Monroe, I don't leave my men behind to die. Now get some rest". "Sir.", the rebel responded, as he lay down and closed his eyes again.

As he trudged up the stairs to his own apartment, Watts felt despair wash over him. If this was his first time losing a battle, how would he react as he inevitably lost them again and again to the UNSC?

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