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The attack on Charlie 7 was the first engagement between UNSC and Orz forces that took place in geosynchronous orbit above Oberon. Charlie 7 is an orbital space station operated by the UNSC to accomodate high level diplomatic visits. The attack began when one of Vice Premier Galum bodyguards suddenly transformed into the Orz, killing one of his bodyguards before the Orz was brought down by the other members of the VP's security detail. The attack escalated when seven cruisers of the Orz navy suddenly emerged from slipspace in UPEO controled space. The objective of the Orz was to capture Vice Premier Galum who was one of the last few surviving government officials of the Brotherhood.
Charlie 7 was attacked by seven Orz cruisers. The UNSC responded by sending three Corvettes to intercept the incoming Orz cruisers. The battle resulted in an unquestionable UNSC victory with the entire contingent of Orz marines who attempted to capture Charlie 7 being killed by the efforts of the port authority A.I. 'All Under Control', the destruction of all seven Orz cruisers and the capture of the Brotherhood's steadfast cruiser.
The attack proved to UNSC HIGHCOM members that despite the fact that the Orz seemed to have a high level of technology comparable or even more than that of the Brotherhood, they could still be beaten. The battle ended on the 4th of January 14NE when a UNSC Ion cannon neutralized the Brotherhood steadfast cruiser, effectively disabling the Orz capabilities to launch further attacks against Charlie 7.
Background to conflict
Objectives
The attack on Charlie 7 was intended to capture Vice Premier Galum, who at the time was on a high level diplomatic visit to UPEO aboard a UNSC orbital space station at Oberon. Capturing the Vice Premier would effectively eliminate all remnants of the Brotherhood's government. This was suggested by the unusually low number of ships the Orz sent as reinforcements to rescue their trapped bretheren aboard Charlie 7. However, some experts argued that these were merely scouts sent ahead to assess the strength of the UNSC in order to prepare for an eventual invasion of the UPEO. This theory has been rebuffed by many experts and UNSC commanders due to the fact that the Orz has abruptly abandoned most of the star systems that the Brotherhood governed and retreated back to the core star systems of the Brotherhood.
The attack
Incurssion
On 0238 hours of December 24, 13NE, sensors aboard Charlie 7 detected an anomaly aboard the steadfast cruiser that Vice Premier Galum used when he arrived at UPEO controled space. The port authority A.I. known as 'All Under Control' took note of this anomaly and investigated the matter. As she pressed onwards security cameras found recordings of six marine MPs who were standing guard at the docking bay suddenly disappear as tentacles emerged from the airlock between Charlie 7 and the steadfast cruiser and grabbed the six MPs. This prompted All Under Control to initiate biohazard protocols, effectively placing Charlie 7 under quarantine.
Not long after this one of Vice Premier Galum's Zorg bodyguards suddenly morphed into one of the Orz, killing one of Galum's bodyguards in the process. The newly morphed Orz was killed by Galum's security detail. While all of this was happening, no one outside Charlie 7 knew what had really happened to the Brotherhood.
Two days since biohazard quarantine procedures were executed aboard Charlie 7, the first Orz marines entered the installation. The Orz were able to bypass the security bulkheads that isolated individual sections of Charlie 7 from other sections of the installation as they were able to phase in and out from this dimension. The A.I. All Under Control was aware of the incurssion and decided to take action. As the Orz marines slipped into a compartment of Charlie 7, All Under Control activated that compartments security systems; two 30 calliber chainguns. The chainguns were more than sufficient to neutralize the intruders. Following her success, All Under Control proceeded to eliminate the surviving Orz marines inside the docking bay in a similar fashion. It was around this time that Orz reinforcements arrived.
Reinforcements
December 28, 13NE, seven Orz cruisers transited out from slipspace and entered UPEO controled space near Oberon. Upon exiting slipspace these seven cruisers immediately headed towards Charlie 7 in an arrow head attack vector. The UNSC responded by sending three Corvettes who happened to be patroling the area as a rapid response unit to the scene. The lead corvette known as the UNSC Heart of Gold under the command of commander Far Across the Sea ordered all three corvettes to open fire on the seven cruisers with their archer missiles and 75mm vulcan rotary cannons.
The result of the barage was nothing less than spectacular and surprising. One of the Orz cruisers took the brunt of the barrage and transformed into a momentary sun, complete with its own system of coorbiting debris. The surviving six Orz cruisers changed their tactics. Three cruisers sped ahead and made a bee line towards Charlie 7 with energy weapons charging and speeding past the corvettes. It seemed as if the Orz had abandoned their plan to capture the Vice Premier and opted to kill him outright instead. Meanwhile, the last three Orz cruisers activated their mass drivers and took aim towards Charlie 7. Commander Far Across the Sea ordered the launch of one of Heart of Gold's Horizon MIRV missiles towards the three Orz cruisers with their mass drivers activated.
Once the Horizon MIRV was launched along with a barrage of archer missiles, the three corvettes spun 180 degrees and sped to intercept the three other Orz cruisers who made a bee line for Charlie 7. Meanwhile, aboard Charlie 7, commander Shine Bright ordered All Under Control to open fire towards the three charging Orz cruisers. Charlie 7 opened fire with everything she had which includes 50mm point defense guns and archer missiles. Behind these three speeding cruisers, the three corvettes did the same and disengaged to avoid any chance of friendly fire. With ordnance coming in from both the front and the rear, the three Orz cruisers were trapped. However before they met their demise, the three cruisers opened fire their plasma cannons and released a volley of twelve plasma bolts towards Charlie 7. While Charlie 7's shields was significantly weakened due to these plasma bolts, the three Orz cruisers who fired them on the other hand, were destroyed as the ordnances fired towards them finally met their target.
The three Orz cruisers with their mass drivers activated also met a similar end. As the Horizon MIRV approached it released its payload of six H5 nuclear warheads, a single warhead had a yield of 300 kilotons and each cruiser was targeted by two warheads. Despite the seemingly overwhelming firepower the shields of the cruisers held but eventually it collapsed allowing the corvettes to turn around and finish the job. A final volley of archer missiles were enough to destroy the last three Orz cruisers.
Rescuing the Vice Premier
As the space battle took place, a team of UNSC Biohazard containtment unit docked with Charlie 7 via a Cormorant dropship. The Biohazard team proceeded towards the mess hall of Charlie 7 which was where the Vice Premier was located. The team had been warned of the presence of the Orz and took precautions as they made their way through Charlie 7. The team eventually arrived at the mess hall where they secured the Vice Premier and back tracked their way to the Cormorant dropship. Once aboard the dropship the team took the Vice Premier down towards Oberon where he would be kept safe by the UNSC, namely the Office of Naval Intelligence.
End
Witnessing the destruction of their escorts, the surviving Orz aboard the steadfast cruiser attempted a desperate escape plan. They forcefully detached from Charlie 7 and attempted to reach the outer edges of the solar system where they would perform a jump back to Orz controled space. Unfortunately for them, Charlie 7's A.I, All Under Control had taken several intiatives and warned an Ion cannon control facility on Oberon of the steadfast cruiser's escape attempt. The Ion cannon fired three shots and it was able to successfully cripple the steadfast cruiser, effectively preventing the Orz from escaping.
Aftermath
In the wake of the attack, UNSC HIGHCOM finally accepted that the Brotherhood of Planets has effectively collapsed. Vice Premier Galum is one of the last few surviving high level government officials of the Brotherhood and his currently location has been a closely guarded secret by the UNSC. It was also known that not all of the Brotherhood's population was slaughtered. A small percentage of them, roughly a little more than 16 million civilians survived the onslought and were now under the protection of an Eldar clan known as the Saim-Hann Craftworld.
Studying the Orz
The Office of Naval Intelligence, a branch of the UNSC responsible for gathering intelligence was able to plunder the crippled the Brotherhood's steadfast cruiser for any information that could be used for the UNSC's benefit for future engagements against the Orz. While FLEETCOM has expressed their disagreement in capturing the Brotherhood cruiser, ONI has been quite adamant that the only way to learn about the Orz was to capture a ship used by them or to capture a member of their species. The latter objective being an almost impossible task due to the fact that an Orz is able to phase in and out of our dimension, rendering the use of physical barriers obsolete.
Quarantine
The UNSC also realized that an investigation into the Orz crisis must be made. Scouts were sent to Brotherhood controled star systems. When they returned their reports made it clear that the Orz has devastated most if not all of the outer-rim star systems that the Brotherhood governed. After stripping these star systems of their resources and inhabitants, the Orz abandoned them and retreated back to the core star systems of the Brotherhood. Since the attack on Charlie 7, the Orz has been strangely quiet, no activity has since been recorded. The UNSC has declared that the Brotherhood's core star systems as a quarantine zone and delegated the task of maintaining this quarantine to the 'Sentinels', a sub-branch of the UNSC comprised entirely of machines and A.Is. The cost of maintaining a conventional presence of biologicals would be extremly costly. By using the Sentinels, the cost of maintaining their presence there was significantly cut.
Awards and commendations
Commanders Far Across the Sea and Shine Bright were awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for their actions while commanding the three corvettes and Charlie 7 respectively throughout the attack. Their tactics and quick thinking not only resulted in the preservation of Charlie 7, but also saw the destruction of seven Orz cruisers which were by UNSC standards, far more technologically advanced than the ships used by the UNSC. The A.I. All Under Control was commended and awarded the Silvar Star medal for her actions and initiatives she took to stem the Orz incurssion aboard Charlie 7. This marks the 114th time an A.I. has been given an award by the UNSC which has become an increasingly common practice.
Casualties
UNSC casualties
The UNSC suffered six casualties. Six marine MPs who were guarding the docking bay were killed as the Orz's tentacles pierced through their bodies and transformed them into a type of element known as 'special sauce' that the Orz depend upon as a source of sustanance.
Brotherhood casualties
The Brotherhood only suffered two casualties. One bodyguard transformed into the Orz, effectively killing the original host and the newly transformed Orz killed another bodyguard. The newly transformed Orz was killed by the Vice Premier's surviving body guards.
Orz casualties
The Orz by-far, suffered the worst casualties. Not only were their entire contingent of marines who attempted to capture Charlie 7 were killed, the Orz also lost seven cruisers and their entire crew as well.