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Pilgrimage
October 28th 2552
Aboard the Covenant Battlecruiser Hour of Redemption
Covenant-Occupied Space, Earth Orbit, Sol System,

Decimus dined on the grunt's burnt flesh. The fool made the mistake of burning his meal, so the grunt was flayed and burned while he was still breathing. Needs more sauce, thought the Chieftain, to bring out the flavor. He was about to finish the head when he heard one of his pack leaders' voice over the comm.

"Chieftain, his holiness summons you"

Decimus knew better then to keep a prophet waiting and headed towards the Prophet's chambers. As he headed deep into the bowels of the ship, he wondered if he would ever get the chance to do battle on Earth. Yes, the site that the High Prophets wanted was secured long before his ships arrived, but he still longed for battle. Such were his thoughts as he made his way down to the chambers of the Prophet of Humility. The honor guards greeted him with growls and allowed him passage. There, he found the Prophet waiting for him. "What is your wish, Holy One?" said Decimus, kneeling.

The Prophet smiled at his servant. "The site of the sacred artifact is secured," he said with false somberness, "As we speak, the fleet is clearing out the rabble and putting to death those that would oppose us. Yet, I sense that you wish to perform more...acts of faith before we, the faithful, undertake The Great Journey."

Decimus continued to stare at the floor. Surely he wasn't that transparent, was he? "I only wish to prove my faith through deeds, holy one." he answered

"And you will, Chieftain," said the Prophet of Humility. "For among the filith, we find the most holy of blessings among them. Look, and know.

Decimus looked at the hologram projection of the planet. The projection zoomed in to the landmass west of the Sacred Artifact. Symbols began appearing and Decimus knew what they meant. "All these relics, Holy One? At this den of vermin?

"Alas, such are the burdens for those that walk the path, Decimus," the prophet replied. "The Impure call this den Lost And Gel Less," he continued, "While the name is a worthless mystery, the location of these holy relics are not. Decimus, I task you to reclaim these holy relics for the Great Journey.

Decimus smiled to himself, thinking of the first time he dined on human flesh. "Your will be done, Holy One." he answered.
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October 28th 2552
Aboard the UNSC Bruin Glory

The UNSC Cruiser Bruin Glory is one of the newest ships in the fleet. It's armed with 50mm point cannons, fusion rockets, archer missles, and, most importantly, two Magnetic Accelerator Cannons. And yet, thought Vice Admiral Cook, we're still losing this war. Already there was reports of Covenant Forces landing and securing regions outside of Kenya. Thankfully, his sector has yet to see any action.

Until now.

"Sir, a group of ships have just left the main Covenant Fleet and is heading towards our AO." his AI noted.

"How many?" Cook asked

"I'm tracking three corvettes, two destroyer and a battlecruiser." he answered.

His Battlegroup consisted of four destroyers and two cruisers. While the corvettes were the weakest with no shields, the two destroyers could engage his four and win. And he didn't want to think what the battlecruiser could do to them. That's way we never fight fair, Cook thought. "What's the status of the Orbital Defense Platforms?" he asked.

"Los Angeles and La Paz are still providing cover fire for the fleet and Portland is still clearing out boarders. Honolulu is still operational, but she's unsure for how long." his AI replied.

It will have to do, thought Cook. "This is Vice Admiral Cook to all ships of Battle Group Bruin Glory," he said over the intercom, "Prepare to engage hostiles at bearing five-nine-three-eight-seven-three. Charlie Formation."

"Charlie Formation, aye aye." were the replies received.

"Our primary threat are the Destroyer escorts," Cook explained to his ships, "Escorted flagships normally don't engage and Corvettes can be handled by ODP's or even land based artillery.

"Sir, what if the cruiser makes landfall?" asked one of his ships' Commander.

"Then it does so without any back-up and the army gets to do their job," answered Cook, "Prepare to engage,"

Decimus' ships headed Earthward and engaged Battle Group Bruin Glory. As predicted, the Prophet of Humility didn't want to his flagship to engage in ship to ship fighting, preferring the escorts to 'prove their worth'.

Orbital Station Honolulu fired three shots and destroyed two of the three corvettes, with the third barely escaping destruction. Meanwhile, the destroyers began to flank the Admiral's starboard side. Two of the Admiral's ships were lost in a barrage of plasma fire. Cook ordered his other cruiser to engage the corvette while the remaining ships engaged the destroyers. Not wanting to lose the remaining corvette, the destroyers shifted fire towards the engaging cruiser, causing it to explode. This allowed the remaining ships time to concentrate fire and terminate one of the destroyers.

The last destroyer, unwilling to let the loss of it's partner go un-avenged, fired all cannons available, disabling one of Cook's remaining ships. Undaunted by the damage they just received, Cook's ships returned fire at the destroyer's engines, causing them to explode. The explosion destroyed the ship, but disabled Cook's remaining ships. The corvette began to turn around began to engage the disabled ships. If the Honolulu ODP had not fired it's last remaining round, all of Cook's ships would have been destroyed.

Aboard the Bruin Glory's smoky command center, Admiral Cook shouted between coughs, "Damage report!"

"Honolulu had to shut down it's main engines before it overheated," answered Bruin Glory's AI, "We lost the cruiser, Hector's Honor, and destroyers I'll Be Back and the Road Less Taken. The Sierra Nevada is drifting. I'm hailing, but no response. The East Of Eden is reporting hull breaches along its portside and running on emergency power. We have fires breaking out in decks 4 and 9, a breach on deck 7 starboard side. And our MAC's are now offline."

"Prep a pelican for launch" ordered Cook, "If we don't hear anything in 15 mikes, send it out to investigate the Sierra Nevada. Damage control teams should already be handling the fires. Activate the lock system in deck 7 to control the breach. And open up a channel to II Corps. They need to know about that cruiser."

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Aboard the Hour of Redempation:

Decimus was not pleased with the battle's outcome. Yes, his cruiser broke through the lines, but it would be by itself on the surface. The Prophet of Humilty, however, shared none of Decimus' worries.

"The path is clear, Decimus," the prophet said, "Let us make hast to this...Lost and Gel less."

"Your will be done, Holy One," replied Decimus.