Halo: Minorca Saga/Chapter Eighteen

UNITED 
NATIONS SPACE COMMAND DEFENCE FORCE PRIORITY TRANSMISSION 8993784757-ALEPH ONE
FROM: 
Lieutenant Commander Michael Pomare
TO: 
Vice Admiral Michael Aurelius (Forwarded to Lieutenant Commander A. J. Lewis for 
analysis)
DATE: 
April 07, 2551 [Military Calendar] [Forwarded on June 23, 2551]
SUBJECT: PROJECT: NOVA
CLASSIFICATION: 
CONFIDENTIAL [BGX DIRECTIVE], Originator Controlled Dissemination [ORCON]
 
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I looked 
over Lieutenant Commander Lewis’ mission brief of PROJECT: NOVA’s mission target 
and I almost laughed with him. Even a three-year-old could have told the R&D 
technicians it wouldn’t be as simple as they thought. And it has nothing to do 
with moving planetoids.
 
The 
Covenant’s internal composition of extreme variety would lead me to suggest that 
their politics are based around distrust. Grunts hate Jackals with a passion, 
and the feeling is reciprocated between the Elites and, apparently, the species 
you refer to as Brutes. PROJECT: TEMERITY has deciphered communiqués from Elite 
officials expressing concern and distrust towards the Brutes, and the 
favouritism shown to them by the Prophets. The Grunt-Jackal conflicts seem to 
have played a significant part in Covenant history, but it is nothing compared 
to what could happen if open conflict erupted between the Brutes and the Elites.
 
So far, 
the Brutes have shown a capacity for tactical brilliance and skill that matches 
the Elites very closely, though they focus even more on (no pun intended) brute 
strength, if it’s possible. The Elites aren’t exactly known for micro-managing, 
but they show more restraint and discipline than the Brutes. Likewise, the 
Brutes show an aggression unmatched by the Elites, but which is offset by 
inexperience in warfare. The Elites have apparently kept them in their place for 
a while.
 
This in 
itself suggests that the Covenant would have prepared for internal dissent, and 
especially for orbital engagements. The preliminary of [Cloistering Expectancy], 
for example, shows a network of particle beam weapons that puts Earth’s Orbital Defence Grid to 
shame, capable of vaporising anything larger than a corvette. Beyond it, fighter 
and bomber patrols worked in tandem, easily able to knock any invading craft out 
of the sky before it even got close to the planet. There have been suggestions 
of launching it from slipspace, where the launcher can remain safe. The warheads 
would emit copious amounts of Cerenkov radiation, and would be intercepted. If a 
ship could get past the fighter/bomber patrols, they would have the orbital 
defence grid to deal with. And if they got past that, they would be 
unable to escape the blast radius of the NOVA. No pilot would volunteer for a 
suicide mission, and no unmanned drone could reach that point.
 
And if 
the standards at [Cloistering Expectancy] are standard defences for colonies, 
then attempting to drop a NOVA on the Covenant capital city will be virtually 
impossible. The initial data Lewis forwarded to me looked promising, but when an 
Oberon scout drone arrived all it detected was trace amounts of ionized hydrogen 
fluoride and slightly higher-than-normal levels of background radiation, around 
an uninhabitable gas giant. It’s evident that the Covenant has managed to mount 
slipstream navigation equipment to their capital planet, a measure of paranoia 
that shows just how difficult using the NOVA in an offensive role would be. I 
therefore have to concur with Lewis’ suggestion that NOVA should be used in a 
defensive capacity instead.
 
Yes, I 
know the two factors seem to rule each other out. But there are ways in which 
the NOVA would be able to do a lot of damage to the Covenant, and would slow 
them down, providing enough time to formulate other, better ways to combat our 
nemesis.
 
The 
recent engagement in Delta Pavonis displays one method. Fourteen of the outdated 
FENRIS warheads were detonated in the orbital rings of Delta Pavonis b, 
accelerating tens of thousands of tonnes worth of debris at a Covenant fleet, 
battering their shields and puncturing the hull, allowing a UNSC fleet an easy 
victory. Imagine a single NOVA planted in a star system’s Oort Cloud, and the 
destruction that would ensue against a nearby Covenant force.
 
Or if, as 
is the case of Coral, the planet is occupied but not glassed by the Covenant: 
not only would the Covenant forces present be completely obliterated, but the 
planet itself would be destroyed, denying its contents the Covenant. We are 
fighting for survival, Admiral. Recapture of occupied colonies is absolutely out 
of the question for now, and should be taken out of the equation completely.
 
LT CMDR 
Lewis suggests that humanity needs a victory to boost morale, and I agree. But 
he and I differ, I think, on the means to achieving that end. He has suggested 
mounting a massive invasion of a Covenant world. That is doomed to failure, and 
would only result in the wastage of hundreds of ships and millions of personnel. 
What I suggest, Admiral is that we lure the Covenant to us. And then we nuke the 
hell out of them with NOVA.
 
I 
discussed this briefly, and LT CMDR Lewis seemed intrigued. Perhaps he could 
suggest a staging ground for the Operation? There are other factors that must be 
taken into consideration that depend upon his choice – logistics, orbital 
formations, ground defences and emplacements, etc- and I wouldn’t feel 
comfortable beginning those plans without a suitable site in mind. Once he has 
one, if you could kindly relay his choice to me via the UNSC Courier Ship Why 
So Serious? I would be much obliged.
 
Yours 
truly,
 
Lieutenant Commander Michael 
Pomare (Office of Naval Intelligence, Section Three, Naval Special Warfare, 
PROJECT: TEMERITY lead analyst)
 
 
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Category:Minorca Saga