A Line In The Sand
[Rebuilding Era]
Betrayal Worthy Of Kings
In response to phony ONI reports that a massing of allied pirates and warlords was taking place beyond UNSC controlled space, FLEETCOM began to assign numerous ships to patrol outside of the borders. As large scouting parties left Reach and Earth for their assignments, a small contingent of ships arrived at Earth secretly. On board, an trio of ONI Atlas Commanders and a small portion of their Spartans. The leader of the three, still unidentified even in modern times, arranged a covert meeting between his comrades and a select few members of major UNSC parties, including FLEETCOM, HIGHCOM, and the Security Committee at the primary UNSC Headquarters that had been erected in New Mombasa at the end of the Human-Covenant war. Shocked by the Spartans, some of the UNSC loyalists protested the meeting but were quickly silenced as the leading ONI Commander proposed a new alliance. Demanding the approval of wide-spread Spartan programs and the ability to maintain dominance over Earth's colonies by use of Spartans, the young Commander threatened to fabricate evidence that the UNSC had secretly approved Spartan training while heralding a message of human rights. Unwilling to bend to the will of the Atlas Commanders, the UNSC Command present dismissed the proposition and attempted to leave. The Spartans, being more loyal to their Atlas Commanders than to the UNSC, quickly eliminated all present at the meeting, and began to clear the UNSC Headquarters, taking high ranking officials prisoner and killing UNSC forces stationed within.
Years of planning and careful calculation came to head when the ONI Atlas Commander sent orders out to his, and his comrades deployed Spartans and ODST teams. Units loyal to the Commander quickly located and eliminated fellow Atlas Spartans and ODST units loyal to the UNSC in an attempt to ensure no outside force could compete with their takeover. Not all of the Spartans however, were killed by the new regime. Surviving UNSC Spartans quickly regrouped and collected surviving ODST units who together, pledged allegiance to the UNSC and cursed their once allies in Atlas. Fearing the worst, the new group of UNSC Loyalists made best speed to Earth in an attempt to warn the already doomed UNSC Security Committee. Upon arrival, UNSC and Atlas Spartans faced off in a vicious battle in the streets of New Mombasa that to current date, is impossible to match. Days upon days of fighting ravaged the city before surviving Spartans retreated. As word spread of the hostile takeover, alliances divided. Hardline military leaders and supporters were quick to pledge themselves and their units to a more aggressive, Spartan friendly government under the Atlas Commander. Others, realizing the issues that faced them fled the Inner Colonies, many of the UNSC Loyal forces in tow.
The battle between Spartans in the city of New Mombasa split many Spartans loyal to one and another. Since the battle, Imperial Spartans have always harbored a deep hatred for their betraying counterparts.
As the first reports of UNSC Loyalists leaving systems reached the trio of ONI Commanders, their leader issued orders to kill any UNSC service member unwilling to support their new government and exiled them. As Atlas Spartans and ODST units began to eliminate fleeing UNSC Loyalists, they soon found themselves supported by new Atlas Forces rising in support of a more aggressive policy on criminals. As the ONI Commander had planned, many civilians and military personnel in the Inner Colonies still believed that piracy ran amok along the borders thanks to doctored media. Due to this, and the closeness of Inner Colony planets since the rebuilding era, many UNSC loyalists were killed as they fled. However, with alliances shifting, and enemy targets unclear, a sizable amount of UNSC Loyal forces were able to escape the Inner Colonies and jumped into slip space bound for safety.
Within months, the Inner Colonies became devoid of UNSC support, as civilians and military alike joined together. It was not long before fabricated reports were released that large quantities of pirates and smugglers had been tracked down and killed, reinforcing the confidence in the new government that had yet to take form. In a simple coup, the Atlas commanders had led the entire human race to believe that only under their rule would peace and safety thrive. The trio of Commanders, now atop the entire galaxy, debated on how to divide their roles. The young Commander however had other plans. Handpicking his most loyal ODSTs, he had his partners assassinated in the night, ensuring his word would always be final. To cover his betrayal, he quickly named those responsible for the killings and within hours, Atlas Spartans had tracked down and killed the "UNSC Assassins" responsible for the deaths of two of their commanders. Now, the young ONI Atlas Commander sat alone, one man, with the galaxy in his hand, while the crumbling UNSC fled before him.
Birth Of A Legend
Days after the assassination of his companions, the young ONI Commander approached the numerous prisoners from the now fallen UNSC and asked their allegiance to his new government. Those believing that Atlas had saved the Colonies from a long bloody war against warlords answered the call, pledging their support to the man. Others, suspicious of Atlas and their ONI background, were promptly dragged into public and executed as traitors. Most notorious of these was the public executions on Reach at the famed Viery Plaza, where high-ranking members of the once powerful UNSC were shot and hung for public display. As the Atlas Commander organized his new subordinates, he officially announced the disbandment of the UNSC, its parent and it's child organizations, and formed the First Imperium, naming himself as Emperor. Appointing below him an Imperial Council who would control the various sections of the First Imperium, the Emperor found himself the single largest target in the galaxy. In response, the Emperor was quick to form the infamous Imperial Guard out of surviving Atlas members. Acting as his personal security force, the Emperor continued to solidify his safety by undergoing surgical alterations to alter his appearance.
Abandoning his name, the Emperor became faceless atop his throne.
During the weeks following the culmination of the First Imperium, the military organization once held by the UNSC changed drastically as the Empire began to alter the face of modern day soldiers and naval power establishing an Imperial Navy and Imperial Marine Corps. Choosing scarlet trim for uniforms and armor, the Empire propaganda machine quickly adopted the color into it's everyday usage. Standing for honor and sacrifice, many civilians soon flew Imperial banners from their homes as posters and emblems filled the cities of the Inner Colonies. It wasn't long before the Spartan program was officially activated under in Imperial Special Forces Command. Volunteers to be screened for this branch would become Spartans or new Imperial ODSTs. Selection to either outfit was considered a great honor among citizens of the new Empire, believing the pair of units to be responsible for crushing the warlords and pirates of the past. Folding under the Imperial Special Forces Command, ODST and Spartan units became the best of the Imperial Armed Forces. As time moved onwards, patriotism rising, many citizens expressed the want to give more to their Empire. It was soon after that the Imperial Army and Imperial Militia was formed, allowing citizens of the Empire to enlist into the armed forces to defend their own homes and planet. With all resources pouring into the Imperial machine, a formidable military and production economy boomed and propelled the Empire towards the largest armed forces ever produced and maintained by mankind.
Amidst the rapid construction of the Empire, many Outer Colonists whispered about the lack of pirates and smugglers present, noticing that official media reports appeared inaccurate. In response to the growing Empire, pirates and warlords quickly took refugee on Outer Colony worlds as regular people, abandoning their criminal histories in fear of the Imperial Juggernaut that grew before them. As the First Imperium reached unprecedented heights, some criminals found themselves drawn to the majesty of the new power, assimilating back to the Inner Colonies and trading information for freedom. As the once allied criminals split, many Outer Colonists wondered what was to become of their future in light of the new faction that controlled the stars. A dark secret that would soon be revealed however, would change their uncertainty into a cause worth dying for.
Defiance
As the Imperial grip on the Inner Colonies tightened, many UNSC loyalists soon found refuge on more distant worlds along the outer rim. Using old beacons and communication lines long abandoned during the Human-Covenant war, UNSC loyal Spartans and ODST's began to muster surviving UNSC leadership. Outer Colonies such as the Beta Centauri System and the Chi Ceti System soon became underground bases of the old UNSC. In a historical meeting on Harvest in July of 2561, surviving UNSC leadership along side their loyal Spartans pledged their allegiance to one and another. Their cause, to topple the corrupt Empire that had extended its claws across human controlled space. Understanding the need for secrecy and protection, the once UNSC leaders officially announced the disbandment of the UNSC and all official lines of command within. Some leaders went into hiding, while others took their units off into to black void.
It was not long before Imperial reconnaissance teams began to scour the Outer Colonies in search for surviving UNSC Loyalists. With their ranks awash, and all visual representation of the once powerful human government gone, the Empire's new enemy vanished into Outer Colony life. Their primary headquarters always on the move from system to system, Imperial forces managed to engage only handfuls of resistance. Labeling the once UNSC members as "rebels" and "pirates" they began hunt them. Famously, a larger engagement on Harvest saw an Imperial Hunter-Killer team eliminate multiple ODST units while patrolling common shipping routes.
Fully aware of their disadvantage in a frontal engagement, this new group found themselves with little organization or direction. With no large command network or structure, and limited operational organization, it was clear that the UNSC had collapsed once and for all. It's leaders now shepherding those most loyal to them in an effort to survive the coming fire. The one unifying principle that all groups shared, their hatred for the Empire, would be the one thing that would bring them together once more.
Months pushed onwards, and those sworn to fight the Empire found themselves better off than first thought. As no clear lines had been drawn, some soon found that the Empire had simply stopped searching. Imperial intelligence detected no large bodies of forces gathering and thus, the plan to slip into the shadows had been a success. As safety became a more normal comfort, many of the rebel commanders soon began to communicate once again, and a loose organization soon took from. Agreeing on dates and targets, groups quickly exchanged plans and slipped back into their normal lives to await their moment to strike at the Empire.
Support for these rebels in the Outer Colonies soon began to grow. As betrayed UNSC members spread their stories of betrayal by the Empire, many Outer Colonists became restless. Aware that selling materials and arms to the rebels was strictly illegal as per Imperial Laws, many continued to do so in an effort to make a profit outside of the heavily taxed Imperial jobs they held. With an influx of equipment and ships, the rebels soon looked ahead to their Imperial Targets with plans to once again rise as a formidable foe of the Empire.
Threats Home And Abroad
Although large in size, the Imperial Navy was not quite capable of securing all of the Outer Colonies all of the time. Privy to this, their enemies quickly struck as planned. Groups of rebels arrived at their targets in large quantities and quickly neutralized the little Imperial defenses present. Major strikes at an Imperial research facility at Roost, a ship yard at Chi Ceti IV, and an Imperial controlled mining operation in the Origami Asteroid Field caught the ill prepared Imperial Marines off guard during the year of 2562. With almost 100% casualties to Imperial Forces, and groups of rebels making off with everything from scientific data to a pair of ISS Heavy Frigates, the Empire woke from it's slumber, realizing an organized threat had in fact survived the purging of the UNSC.
More famous of these encounters, is the Battle of Emerald Cove of November 2563 where a pair of Imperial Carriers on a refueling run were destroyed by rebel Spartans using stolen nuclear warheads. With the Imperial presence in the system eliminated, the attacking Spartans made quick work of Imperial Militia stationed on the ground. Stealing vita communications protocols and long range communications gear, the Spartans quickly began to distribute their findings between groups. At long last, effective, secure communication could be maintained, and within weeks, coordinated rebel strikes along the outer rim began to harass the Empire. Doctoring the media, the Empire boasted these attacks as small and unorganized, and that they had been coordinated by the last surviving Warlords as a last ditch effort against their Imperial might.
The rebels grew bolder on the Outer Colonies, their structure slowly coming together, a few group leaders selected their most persuasive and talented soldiers to begin to probe the Inner Colonies. Disguised as Imperial Citizens, businessmen, and Outer Colonists looking to move inwards, these rebel saboteurs began to start "fires" in the Inner Colonies. A rise in underground media thrived as video and image transmissions from the rebels began to surface. Car bombs at Imperial recruitment stations, assassinations of Imperial figureheads, and other guerrilla warfare tactics soon became rampant along Inner Colonies. In a high profile conflict on Sigma Octanus IV in February of 2564, a rebel assassin managed to gain entry into a Imperial Spartan training facility. Once discovered, the assassin was quickly subdued and tortured by Imperial Spartans before hanging.
Although the Empire maintained to the public that the threat from the rebel factions remained small, a few inside the Empire began to wonder if they had made a mistake in betraying their UNSC brethren the years before. As the rebels continued to stab at the Empire at the borders while stirring up support and unrest in the Outer and Inner Colonies, the Empire prepared itself to quell their rivals one last time, believing them to be only a small nuisance.
