The Joint Reconnaissance Force tasked with exploring Universe "One Four," led by Simon "Ghost" Riley and his Second Advance Team, immediately launched orbital drones toward the terrestrial planet where the space gate was located while simultaneously protecting the engineering team's efforts to establish a frontline base.
Through comprehensive scans and photographs, Ghost and his team confirmed that the terrestrial planet was an extremely arid, resource-poor "barren" world.
The planet had a diameter of approximately 8,000 kilometers, with only a single ocean spanning about three million square kilometers and very few lakes. Green vegetation on the surface was scarce, but the atmospheric composition resembled Earth's. Humans could breathe normally on the planet's surface without the need for pressurized suits or filtration systems.
Orbital drones also captured signs of human activity. Two drones observed a small human settlement located about 100 kilometers west of the frontline base, situated in an oasis.
From orbital imagery, the population of this settlement was estimated at 20,000 to 30,000. The settlement boasted comprehensive infrastructure, including a central plaza, commercial streets, spacious and comfortable residential areas, and a spaceport situated to the north of the central plaza. On the outskirts, there were ranches and farms that allowed for a certain degree of self-sufficiency. High steel walls and electrified fences surrounded the settlement, clearly built as defenses against some external threat.
Despite the planet's desolation, it had attracted pioneers willing to risk everything to start a new life.
However, just a few hours into the drone's surveillance, chaos erupted in the settlement. Explosions and raging fires quickly spread from the town center. Realizing the urgency of the situation, drone operators at the frontline base immediately focused their cameras on the core of the disturbance. They recorded buildings and streets collapsing, and swarms of spider-like creatures, several times the size of humans, pouring out from underground fissures.
These creatures, akin to a "plague of insects," began slaughtering the unprepared townsfolk. As their numbers multiplied, the death toll among the townsfolk grew exponentially. Local sheriffs and militia hurried to the worst-hit areas, but their small-caliber firearms barely scratched the creatures' exoskeletons, let alone killed them.
Strangely, no organized military force responded to the attack. The town's defense relied solely on a mix of poorly equipped militias, civilians wielding makeshift weapons, and fewer than a thousand sheriffs. Furthermore, escape was impossible for the residents. The creatures had either accidentally or deliberately destroyed the spaceport, trapping the townsfolk on the planet's surface.
Faced with this crisis, Ghost wasted no time. He ordered his team to transmit all collected data to the Intelligence Division via wired communication. He then led his armed forces aboard Pelican, Seagull, and Luna-class transport craft to head directly to the embattled settlement 100 kilometers away. Supporting the operation were a Shadow-class gunship and two Vulture-class aerial gunships to provide firepower.
Additionally, the First Company of the Sacred Blood Angels stationed at the "One Four" frontline base dispatched four tactical squads aboard Astartes-specific Thunderhawk transports to support Ghost's team.
The human empire's transport fleet swiftly arrived over the settlement under siege by the "unknown" insectoid creatures. Within moments, dozens of vanguard troops, nearly a thousand elite guards, and four Astartes tactical squads deployed from their transport craft and plunged into the fray, disregarding the astonished gazes of the local townsfolk.
However, the initial encounter between the Joint Reconnaissance Force and the "unknown" insectoids did not result in an overwhelming victory. The elite guards, armed with hard-light weapons, found that the creatures' exoskeletons displayed significant resistance to energy-based attacks. Ghost quickly adapted, ordering machine gunners armed with Gauss weapons to suppress the insect swarms. He also instructed the frontline base to prepare backup Gauss firearms and deliver them to the settlement via transport craft.
Meanwhile, the four Sacred Blood Angels squads encountered no significant obstacles. Their .75 caliber bolt rifles and 1.0 caliber heavy bolters tore through any carbon-based organism with devastating lethality. Clad in Titan V power armor, the Sacred Blood Angels moved through the streets like heavy tanks, their imposing presence unmatched.
The coordinated efforts of the vanguard troops, elite guards, and the Sacred Blood Angels, coupled with aerial fire support from the Shadow and Vulture gunships, eradicated tens of thousands of insectoids in just over ten minutes.
Still, several dozen elite guards were injured due to ambushes and their reliance on AMWS submachine guns, which struggled to match the ferocity of the insect swarms. Despite wearing McP-powered armor, the elite guards' injuries demonstrated the insects' formidable exoskeletons and penetrating claws. Fortunately, none of the injuries were fatal, and the wounded guards were promptly evacuated to the frontline base for treatment. They were expected to recover and return to combat soon.
After clearing the settlement of the rampaging insectoids, the four Sacred Blood Angels squads ventured into the collapsed insect burrows. There, the "giants" deployed metallic hydrogen explosives to seal and bury the nests.
This sudden "insect plague" inadvertently exposed the human empire's presence to the "One Four" inhabitants. To manage the fallout, Ghost ordered orbital drones to release an electronic pulse over the settlement, temporarily severing external communications. This move bought time for Ghost to interrogate the locals about Universe "One Four" and gather intelligence for further preparations.
When the Intelligence Division analyzed and submitted the gathered data to Samuel Young, he immediately recognized the so-called "unknown" insectoids as the classic Arachnid species. These creatures originated from the 20th-century science fiction novel Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein, a seminal work that pioneered concepts such as powered exoskeletons, powered armor, and orbital drops.
Samuel first encountered the Starship Troopers universe through its film adaptations, particularly the classic movie Starship Troopers, which aired during his childhood on late-night broadcasts. The film left a deep impression on him, with scenes like the human forces landing on the Arachnid homeworld, hundreds of soldiers defending makeshift outposts against endless swarms, and even the male protagonist's early days of co-ed military training.
The imagery and video evidence indicated that Universe "One Four" was likely the cinematic Starship Troopers universe. Architectural styles, particularly the town's defensive walls and electrified fences, bore a striking resemblance to the Whiskey Outpost from Starship Troopers 1.
Regardless of the timeline—whether during the film trilogy or the animated series—Samuel felt confident that the human empire could completely dominate this universe without the need for the calculated, gradual development used to consolidate the Halo universe. Full-scale integration would require only deploying military legions and fleets.
However, Samuel's expression turned contemplative. The issue wasn't conquering the Starship Troopers universe—it was deciding which legion to assign to the task. While the First Company of the Sacred Blood Angels could hold the planet where the space gate was located, they lacked sufficient strength for an offensive campaign.
Thus, Samuel had to choose a fully structured legion with a significant number of Astartes from among the Ultramarines, Sacred Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Shadow Wolves, Imperial Fists, or Salamanders. After deliberation, he contacted Sanguinius and requested the Sacred Blood Angels to mobilize for deployment.
The Starship Troopers universe was about to experience the might of the human empire firsthand.
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