Chapter 327 - 324 — Final Preparations

Chapter 327: Chapter 324 — Final Preparations

Chapter 324 — Final Preparations

Gaius brought up the intelligence recovered from the captured Covenant vessel.

Images and information appeared across the display.

Covenant ships.

Weapons.

Shield systems.

Fleet organization.

Streams of data scrolled across the edges of the hologram while three-dimensional models of Covenant warships slowly rotated above the tactical table.

Gaius remained silent for a moment.

Then he spoke.

"Before we discuss the battle plan, you need to understand who we are fighting."

The display changed.

Images of human colonies appeared.

Some showed cities under bombardment. Others showed entire continents engulfed in fire.

Then the images changed again.

A planet.

Or what remained of one.

Its surface had been reduced to a vast wasteland of blackened glass.

"The Covenant."

The word hung in the room.

"They are a theocratic alien alliance that has been waging war against humanity for decades."

Another image appeared.

A human population center moments before an orbital bombardment.

Then the same location afterward.

"There is no negotiation with them. No surrender that can be relied upon."

Gaius paused.

"They do not come to conquer our worlds."

The display showed another planet.

Then another.

And another.

"They come to erase them."

Titus’s expression hardened.

Metaurus remained silent, his eyes fixed on the burning worlds.

"They call it glassing."

Gaius continued.

"Orbital bombardment using plasma weapons powerful enough to strip the surface of a world. Cities. Military installations. Civilian population centers."

His voice remained cold and controlled.

"They burn everything."

Titus’s gauntleted hand clenched into a fist.

"How many worlds have they destroyed?"

Gaius looked toward him.

"Too many for the humans of this universe."

The answer was quiet.

"Their war has driven humanity to the brink of extinction."

Silence filled the chamber.

The Ultramarines had fought xenos before. They had seen worlds devastated by war and entire populations slaughtered.

But this was different.

The Covenant were not seeking to rule humanity.

They were seeking to erase it.

Titus stared at the burning world on the display.

"They intend to leave nothing behind."

"No."

Metaurus finally spoke.

"They possess the means to destroy entire worlds."

Gaius nodded.

"And they will attempt to do the same to this one."

"Yes."

That answer was enough.

No one raised their voice.

No one needed to.

The Ultramarines had already made their decision.

Gaius changed the display.

The burning worlds disappeared.

A tactical projection of the Covenant fleet replaced them.

"The Covenant rely heavily on centralized command structures."

Several vessels were highlighted within the projected formation.

Their markers shifted, drawing immediate attention to them.

"These vessels coordinate movement, communications, and battlefield decisions."

Titus studied the formation carefully.

"And the flagship?"

Gaius expanded the projection.

A massive vessel appeared at the center, surrounded by layers of escort ships.

"It will be the most heavily protected vessel in the fleet."

He highlighted the surrounding escorts.

"That is why we will not approach it with the rest of the fleet."

Metaurus looked toward him.

"The fleet will draw their attention."

"Yes."

Gaius moved several blue markers across the projection.

The icons represented the available UNSC warships assigned to the defense of Cascade.

"Our ships will engage the Covenant from the front."

He moved another marker.

A separate route appeared along the edge of the battlefield projection.

"We will use that engagement to approach their command structure."

Titus understood immediately.

"A boarding action."

"Correct."

Gaius looked toward the Dreadnought.

"A ship will carry a dedicated launch system for our assault."

The Dreadnought remained still, listening as the battle plan unfolded.

Titus nodded.

"And once we reach the flagship?"

Gaius looked at the display.

"We eliminate its command capability."

No one asked what would happen after that.

They already understood.

Without effective command, the Covenant fleet would become easier to dismantle.

The UNSC fleet would finish what they started.

Gaius changed the display again.

Enemy formations shifted across the hologram as the system simulated possible responses.

"However, we should assume the Covenant will respond."

The projected formation rearranged itself.

"Once they realize their command vessels are under attack, they will attempt to protect them."

Metaurus nodded.

"Then we keep them occupied."

"Exactly."

Elsewhere, the modified vessel was already being prepared.

Technicians moved around a newly completed section integrated into the ship.

The new structure was larger than a normal deployment bay.

It had required part of the vessel’s internal structure to be reinforced and several systems to be rerouted.

It was designed specifically for the assault team.

A reinforced launch system.

Heavy enough to handle the Dreadnought.

Fast enough to punch through a weakened Covenant energy shield.

Strong enough to survive the impact and deliver its occupants directly into the enemy vessel.

Tony stood nearby with Halsey, inspecting the work.

"It should be ready."

Tony looked toward the modified section.

"Honestly, I’m surprised it took this little time."

Halsey glanced at him.

"The Fabrication Complex did most of the work."

Tony nodded.

"And we just gave it the instructions."

The final components locked into place with a heavy metallic sound.

The launch system came alive.

Lights illuminated across the platform as the machinery began running through its final diagnostics.

Tony checked the readings.

"Everything looks good."

Halsey looked toward the massive reinforced launch platform.

It was no longer anything resembling a conventional deployment bay.

The structure was enormous.

The launcher had originally been designed to deploy Gaius.

Now, it had been reinforced and enlarged enough to accommodate something far larger.

A Dreadnought.

Even standing beside the launch platform, Halsey could appreciate the scale of what they had built.

The sarcophagus of a Dreadnought was already massive. Its armored frame alone was comparable to a small building, and the machine carried enough weight and firepower to function as a walking fortress.

Now they had built a launch pod large enough to contain one.

Halsey stared at the reinforced chamber for a moment.

"You realize what this is, don’t you?"

Tony looked at her.

"A launch system?"

Halsey gave him a flat look.

"It’s a giant projectile."

Tony glanced back toward the pod.

She wasn’t entirely wrong.

Once loaded, the reinforced pod would become a massive armored shell carrying a Dreadnought inside it.

Accelerated through space and directed toward an enemy vessel, it would possess enough momentum that the impact alone could cause catastrophic structural damage.

If it struck a vulnerable section of a Covenant ship, the collision could crush armor plating, rupture internal compartments, and potentially collapse entire sections of the vessel before the Dreadnought had even stepped out.

The pod wasn’t designed to destroy the ship.

It was designed to survive the impact.

The fact that the impact itself could do considerable damage was simply a useful side effect.

Halsey looked toward Tony.

"It wasn’t designed for something that large."

Tony looked at the Dreadnought-sized launch chamber.

"It is now."

Halsey stared at him for a moment.

Tony shrugged.

"We adapt."

On Halcyon’s Reach, Captain Elena Reyes received another update.

"Captain."

Cross approached her station.

"The fleet has reached forty vessels."

Reyes looked toward the tactical display.

Forty blue markers.

Forty ships.

She stared at them for a moment.

Then looked beyond the display toward the stars.

"Any sign of the Covenant?"

"Nothing visual yet."

"Long-range sensors?"

"They’re detecting them."

Cross brought up the latest data.

"The fleet is still several hours from our outer engagement zone."

Reyes nodded.

"Then we have time."

She paused.

"How is the crew?"

"Better."

"Better?"

"They’re learning."

Reyes smiled faintly.

That was all she needed to hear.

She looked toward JARVIS.

"Status."

"All primary systems remain operational."

"Battle readiness?"

"One hundred percent."

Reyes looked toward the display.

Forty ships.

Forty-one enemies.

For the first time, she didn’t see the numbers as impossible.

She saw a fleet.

Humanity finally had one that could contest with the Covenant.

The Spartan training continued.

John stood before the others again.

He closed his eyes and focused.

He reached for the same sensation he had felt before.

Not strength.

Not speed.

Something else.

A force that surrounded his body and responded to his will.

He directed it toward his arm.

There was no visible change.

No sign that anything had happened.

But John could feel the difference.

His gauntlet felt heavier.

More durable.

As if an invisible layer of protection now existed between him and anything that tried to damage it.

Fred stepped forward and struck his armored fist.

The impact produced a heavy sound.

Fred pulled his hand back slightly.

"Better."

John looked at him.

"You felt it?"

Fred nodded.

"Your armor didn’t change. But the impact was different."

He looked at John’s fist.

"The force didn’t disperse the same way."

John flexed his fingers.

"It feels like I’m reinforcing myself instead of just blocking an attack."

Kelly approached.

"Can you maintain it while moving?"

John looked toward her.

"I don’t know."

He raised his stance.

"Let’s find out."

They continued training.

Each attempt became smoother.

John stopped trying to force the ability and started treating it like another part of his body.

Nearby, Naruto remained focused on Observation Haki.

Saeko continued helping him.

This time, Naruto noticed something different.

He was no longer watching her movements.

He was feeling them.

The slightest shift in her presence.

The change in the air before she stepped forward.

Before Saeko reached him, Naruto moved.

His eyes opened.

"Got you."

Saeko stopped and smiled.

"Finally."

Naruto grinned.

"I didn’t see you move."

Saeko nodded.

"Exactly. Observation Haki isn’t about seeing faster."

She tapped his forehead.

"It’s about sensing what happens before it happens."

Tanya watched them from a short distance away.

"We’re actually making progress."

Diana nodded.

"Some of us."

Tanya looked at her.

Diana smiled.

"You know I wasn’t talking about you."

Tanya gave a small sigh.

"Good."Then the warning came.

A single tone.

Every display across Cascade changed.

LONG-RANGE CONTACT.

Marcus’s voice came through the command network.

"All stations, Covenant fleet has entered the outer system."

The words spread through every ship.

The training rooms went quiet.

The engineering decks went quiet.

The orbital docks went quiet.

Everyone heard the same message.

The enemy had arrived.

Gaius stood in the staging room.

The tactical display changed.

Forty-one red markers appeared.

Titus looked at the formation.

"They’re here."

Gaius nodded.

"Yes."

The Dreadnought’s massive frame shifted.

The Bladeguard checked their weapons.

Gaius looked toward the entrance.

At that moment, a message appeared before him.

Invisible to everyone else in the room, only he could see it.

It came through the Multiversal Group Chat.

Tony Stark:The assault ship is ready.

Gaius read the message and gave a small nod.

It seemed the preparations were complete.

Titus nodded.

"Then we are ready."

Gaius looked at the tactical display one final time.

The human fleet was moving into position.

The Covenant fleet was moving toward them.

Two formations were approaching the same battlefield.

Gaius turned toward his brothers.

"Wait for my order."

The Ultramarines nodded.

~~~

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