PROLOGUE OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE SECTION III - BETA-5 ENCRYPTION PROTOCOL: RED FILE DIRECTORY: //:SERVICERECORD/ELIAS_B204 SUBJECT NAME: Elias Oliver Smith DOB: 4/20/2524 PLACE OF BIRTH: Damask, Jericho VII PARENTS: Olivia Gerryman Smith (Mother / DECEASED) John Eric Smith (Father / UNKNOWN) SERVICE BRANCH: UNSC Navy, ONI Beta-5 Division PROGRAMS: SPARTAN-III SERVICE RECORD: - INDUCTED INTO SPARTAN-III PROGRAM (2531) - UNDERWENT AUGMENTATION PROCEDURES (2537) - SELECTED FOR HEADHUNTER OPERATIONS (2539) - OPERATION RAPID FIRE (2539) - SECOND BATTLE OF ALPHA LYRAE IV (2540) - BATTLE OF ALLUVION (2542) - OPERATION RED RUBICON (2545) SUMMARY: Subject orphaned during the opening phase of the Battle of Jericho VII (2531-2535) following Eckzahn orbital strikes on Damask. The subject was recovered in a subterranean refugee network tunnel. Prior to recovery, the subject successfully eliminated a two-man Eckzahn patrol team in hand-to-hand combat, using improvised and captured weapons. Field assessment by Field Asset ████ identified the subject as a suitable candidate for the SPARTAN-III Program. Subject was transported to Onyx for evaluation, basic training, and subsequent augmentation procedures. Following augmentation and later training, subject participated in multiple UNSC operations across the Southern Front. Subject demonstrated above-average performance in reconnaissance, infiltration, and direct-action operations. Was selected for HEADHUNTER operations in 2539. OPERATION: RAPID FIRE, first HEADHUNTER-class assignment for subject following specialized training procedures. SECTION END. SCROLL TO - COMMUNICATIONS ARCHIVE. UNSC/NAVY/FLEETCOM/NAVSPECWAR ENCRYPTION PROTOCOL: RED FILE DIRECTORY: //:REDRUBICON.ECOM COMMUNICATIONS ARCHIVE TO: CPT. Jackson Vought FROM: LCDR. William Calgary DATE: MARCH 7, 2544 (MILITARY CALENDAR) SUBJECT: CONCERNING OPERATION: RED RUBICON ARCHIVE START. (07:20) W.CALGARY_98@UNSC.NAVY: Captain Vought, I had reviewed the preliminary briefing package you had sent yesterday, concerning OPERATION: RED RUBICON. However, I hold many concerns regarding it. For one, the premises. You propose: - Sending highly-valued SPARTAN-III Operatives to a Tier-1 Hostile World (The enemy capital and homeworld, Leikos) with little to no support, far beyond human-controlled space, - Donating two highly-valued assets, being a stealth prowler, and a prototype D-102 “Owl” stealth dropship - highly expensive pieces of advanced equipment, should I add, - An operation with no reinforcement capacity nor extraction capacity. In other words, you are sending two elite operatives to their deaths on an enemy capital world. If you need another reason not to pursue this, I’ve consulted with the Smart AI “Caesar.” In his words: “The probability of this operation’s success, and the desired results being achieved; are subpar. Calculated to be less than ~5%, with a margin for error of ±0.32%.” Utterly, I fail to see how assassinating a single leader could result in the sufficient changes that ONI SECTION-III expects. Historical precedent shows that precision decapitation strikes will rarely produce favorable outcomes: Ours being the immediate collapse of a wartime government’s structure. They will usually always result in succession, fragmentation, or retaliatory escalation, or a mix of those outcomes. Given these factors, I consider this to be a gross misallocation of valuable resources, especially in such a time as this, when every man, ship, and bullet counts. The UNSC cannot afford to squander such valuable assets in an operation where the statistical outcomes are negligible. I respectfully ask you to consider the mission parameters and explore possible alternative options. - Regards, LCDR. Calgary. NAVSPECWAR. (07:34) J.VOUGHT_809@UNSC.NAVY: Lieutenant Commander, Your concerns have been noted. While the calculations of Caesar are indeed factual, I have still chosen to go forward with OPERATION: RED RUBICON. This is because, unfortunately, no other alternative options exist or are plausible at this time. UNSC casualty rates are climbing by the day, and we lack replacement rates to sustain our numbers. Estimated projections indicate that without intervention, Humanity will likely lose by 2548. Four years. OPERATION: RED RUBICON is, as some put it, a “Hail-Mary” operation. It is a desperate, last-minute, and low-probability option. All we need to hope for is a miracle. However, if such a miracle occurred, we estimate that Humanity will have 2-5 more years on the clock. No other options provide enough time, nor the same effect as OPERATION: RED RUBICON. It is our last option. All I will say going forward is that I hope that those two Spartans have the will and determination to survive in the hell of our making. As Caesar said: “Alea iacta est.” Or, “The die is cast.” - Regards, CPT. Vought. NAVSPECWAR. SECTION END. SCROLL TO - BRIEFING. UNSC/NAVY/FLEETCOM/NAVSPECWAR ENCRYPTION PROTOCOL: RED FILE DIRECTORY: //:REDRUBICON_BRIEFING.TXT TOP SECRET//CLASSIFIED OPERATION: RED RUBICON AUTHORIZATION: UNSC FLEETCOM - NAVSPECWARCOM ONI SECTION-III - BETA-5 DIVISION DATE OF EXECUTION: NOVEMBER 2, 2545 (MILITARY CALENDAR) OPERATIONAL STATUS: APPROVED COMMANDING OFFICER: COMMANDER - JAMES WALKER. ASSIGNED: PETTY OFFICER FIRST CLASS - ELIAS B-204 LIEUTENANT JUNIOR GRADE - LUCAS B-230 TARGET: Alþewolf Sjöström “Torsten” Karlsson PRIMARY OBJECTIVE(S): Infiltrate Leikos; find the current Alþewolf and eliminate the HVT. SECONDARY OBJECTIVE(S): Conduct reconnaissance on Eckzahn military capabilities and defense on Leikos. Gather further intelligence on the Eckzahn chain-of-command and political sphere. BRIEFING: In the past decade, over dozens of Human-controlled colonies have either been glassed or occupied by the Eckzahn Union. UNSC Forces are facing high-casualty rates that are slowly increasing by the day. Estimates indicate that if no sufficient intervention occurs, organized resistance against the Eckzahn Union will collapse by the four-year marker. (2548) ONI has authorized OPERATION: RED RUBICON. SPARTAN-III Headhunter assets will be delivered to Leikos via stealth prowler - where it will then be stationed in geosynchronous orbit around the planet, and deploy the two SPARTAN operatives to Leikos’ surface by D-102 “Owl” prototype stealth dropship, and via HALO jump (High-Altitude, Low-Opening) over one of the many forest reserves on the surface. The two SPARTAN-III assets will not have any reinforcement assets. The D-102 “Owl” dropship is lightly armed; as to avoid radar or other electromagnetic detection. It is only armed with the M370 Autocannon, mounted below the nose. In addition, Leikos is approximately ██ LY from Earth - and considerably farther from Human-controlled space - Fleet support will be impossible. Leikos is the enemy capital and homeworld, and as such, is expected to hold a heavy military presence. Leikos is a near-ecumenopolis, though most of the surface has forests, tundra, and ocean environments. The Alþewolf is located in the Alþe Manor, located in the government district of Leikos. Infiltration will be considerably difficult. It is primarily defended by a highly-elite military garrison, complemented by an array of sensors and checkpoints miles out from the area. As such, the two SPARTAN-III operatives will be augmented with prototype SPI (Semi-Powered Infiltration Armor) variants, notably one that reduces the thermal signature of the armor’s power-core and removes energy-shielding capabilities but severely drains the armor’s invisibility runtime. Operatives will make contact with a Commonwealth field operative, named ████, who will provide valuable intelligence guidance and limited assistance to the SPARTAN-III operators. Operators will have to scavenge for their own food, water, and supplies of weapons and ammunition. Once the Alþewolf is confirmed killed, the operatives will exfil via any of the non-compromised exfiltration sites on the surface, where the D-102 “Owl” dropship will return the operators to the prowler and jump to the nearest non-major operating base. FOREWORD (Captain Jackson Vought, FLEETCOM, NAVSPECWAR) “By the time you two have already read this dossier, the operation will have been approved.” “Every strategic prediction and analysis model by FLEETCOM has shown that Humanity cannot win this war conventionally.” “You have been selected because you have survived conditions that no other man can. This operation’s success rate is estimated to be less than ~5%.” “Whether you return is irrelevant. However, the success of the operation is non-negotiable.” “If you die - Take them with you.” “Billions of lives rest on your shoulders.” “Godspeed, Spartans.” SECTION END. END OF DOSSIER.