[Naked Crook]

Director Preston Vernette - Director of ONI Section 0 Name: Preston Joseph Vernette Rank: Admiral Title: Director of ONI Section 0 Age: 65 Height: 6'0" Weight: 190 lbs Race: Caucasian Hair Color: Dark brown, gray trim Eye Color: Blue Preston J. Vernette Preston Joseph Vernette, born on Harvest on May 1st 2490, holds the rank of Admiral and is currently the ranking ONI Director of Section Zero. His most notable engagements of the Human-Covenant war include, but are not limited to, The First Battle of Harvest, The Battle of Reach, The First and Second Battles for Earth. and the subsequent cleanup of all remaining Covenant Forces in the Sol System. He holds a PhD in Cybernetics and Engineering. He is considered the foremost authority in cybernetic technology. He is the father of Modern ONI Technology used circa 2555. Generally known as a reclusive and evasive individual, utilizing both unorthadox and direct methods in his military strategies. He has been described as being a man who "lights the fuse on explosive situations" and "be a danger to himself and others...especially his adversaries". His is known to provoke and confront and "kill first and ask questions later". Vernette favors his two M6G Magnums, both known as "Raging Thunder" as his weapon of choice. He has been observed from time to time using two simultaneously. Vernette also favors his custom M90A Combat Shotgun, which implies that CQC is Vernette's preferred style of non-interstellar conflict. Personal History Personal Attributes Early Life Personal Interests Personality Military History Pre-Harvest Service The First Battle of Harvest The Secret War The Second Battle of Harvest The Third Battle of Harvest The Battle of New Harmony The Battle of Genesis The Battle of Miridem The Siege of Paris IV The Battle of Sigma Octanus IV The Battle of Reach The First Battle for Earth The Second Battle for Earth Post Battle of Earth The ONI Power Struggle The Battle of Mars The Third Battle of Earth The New Nighthawk and Anaconda The Battle of Jorum The Invasion of Sanghelios Personal Endeavors and Research Inhibitor Research Medical Research Combat Weaponry Human Cloning The Schism Interpersonal Relationships Family / Close Relationships Friends Colleagues The UNSC The Covenant Ships of Service Personal Health Military Accommodations Questionable Activities and Personal Issues Quotes Trivia Personal History Early Life Vernette was born on the colony world of Harvest on May 1st 2490. When he was four years old, his parents were killed in a vehicular crash. Vernette, and his brother Tyber, spent the next 9 years as petty street criminals, committing petty theft of ATMs, among other form of theft. It was only when Vernette turned 13 years old was when his situation changed. When his brother turned 16, Tyber joined the UNSC marine Corps. Vernette held a lot of animosity towards Tyber for this decision. When Vernette turned 15, he grew weary of his criminal life. He decided to forge his birth certificate in order to falsify his age, thus, allowing him to join the UNSC Navy. Personal Interest Vernette has a very keen interest in scientific research, specifically in the field of cybernetics. Vernette also enjoys the sport of Kickboxing, however, he does not practice often. Personality Vernette is a very goal orientated man. He values the completion of a job over how it was done. The ends justify the means always applies for Vernette. However, this methodology only goes so far. Vernette will never tolerate the abuse of innocent human life, nor will he ever tolerate, nor accept, any methods or goals that violate the sanctity of human life. Vernette believes that the guilty should always be punished the to the maximum extent, that discipline must be applied without apology. It is because of these beliefs that Vernette is an avid supporter of the death penalty. He believes it is the only punishment that works. Vernette is very strict and stern, rarely showing any form of compassion, sympathy, or pity to even his colleagues. However, he has been known to stand by those he considers a friend, even going so far as to jeopardize his own safety and life. As a result of his strict style of command, Vernette is respected, but not befriended. He believes it is better to be feared then loved, one of his more Machiavellian traits. Vernette suffers from a perpetual guilt complex. After 28 years of wartime service, he feels that when anyone close to him, whether it be a friend, or a family member, is killed, he feels totally responsible. He feels that their death mjust be avenged with the deadliest of force. He tends to lose sight of what his priority goals are in order to get revenge or in his reasoning: he must "dispense justice where it is due". Vernette's propensity to command large warships is a testament to his overbearing, out of control desire for power. Vernette is a strong believer in force. he believes the best way to enforce order is to have bigger guns then your adversaries. Vernette never enjoyed being placed on anyship with limited firepower. He prefers the use of Vultures over Pelicans. He uses the M6C sidearm, as opposed to its suppressed SOCOM counterpart. He will utilize advanced weaponry in the field as opposed to standard equipment. In short, Vernette loves heavy firepower. Military History Pre-Harvest Service After joining the UNSC Navy and spending roughly 3 years in the academy (Until he legitimately turned 18 years old), Vernette was assigned to a UNSC Frigate known as "The Last Resort". During his time in the military, Vernette studied in the field of advanced cybernetics and electronic engineering. His first assignment on The Last Resort was to monitor rebel activity in the outer colonies. Vernette spent the first two years, going relatively unnoticed by the Navy Brass. He began to get tired of the same repetitive job. Vernette was prepared to hand in his resignation from the UNSC Navy. However, before he could resign, his luck began to turn. During a suppression operation on one of the colony worlds, in which a large group of rebels were holding a small office building hostage, Vernette thought of a very excellent means to flush out the rebels, allowing UNSC marines to arrest and detain the said rebels. Vernette suggested that the MAC gun be used to blast the surrounding areas, causing severe quakes in the ground. The result of this caused severe instability in the building, forcing the rebels to retreat from the building in fear of their own lives. The UNSC marines quickly moved in and captured the rebels. After being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, Vernette began to make serious headway in the UNSC. He began to earn the respect of his superiors and became known as a man with a solution to every problem. Throughout the years, leading up to Harvest, he continued to impress the Brass with ideas that grew progressively more genius. in 2523, he was recruited into ONI Section 0 as a high priority operative. In the same year, he spearheaded a new project to refit 12 UNSC ships. The refit entailed upgrades to the Slipspace drive cores and combat weaponry. It was not until a year before Harvest was he promoted to Captain. While serving as a Commander aboard "The Last Resort", Vernette was directly responsible for the arrest and subsequent execution of five high profile separatists on the Planet of Harvest. For this, he was promoted to the rank of Captain, and bestowed his own ship, fresh off the assembly line: The King Raven. The First Battle of Harvest Vernette's command of the King Raven was a widely disputed decision. It was met with both skepticism and doubt. Some of ONI believed that it was unwise to give a ship of the King Raven's design and caliber to such an inexperienced leader and commander. However, the decision to give the King Raven to Captain Vernette was settled and finalized. Vernette's first mission with the King Raven was to investigate the loss of contact with the colony of Harvest, Vernette's homeworld. The suspicion was that Insurrectionists had managed to block communications from Harvest to the rest of the UNSC for some nefarious reasons. The King Raven was sent under the Command of Captain Vernette to investigate. Upon arrival, Vernette was met with a rather odd sight. It seemed that the communications blackout was being caused by an alien vessel. Unknown to Vernette, these aliens were the Brutes. Vernette was going to inform ONI, but he soon realised that he too had lost the ability to communicate with the UNSC. He considered falling back as a viable option but soon dismissed the idea due to the fact that this alien ship was sending down multiple support crafts tot the surface. Concerned for the population of Harvest, he decided to stay and try to determine what the aliens wanted. Vernette and a Spartan named Alexander went to the surface to try and make contact with the Brutes on the surface. When he first saw them, he was shocked to say the least. He described them as "Rhino-Gorillas" due to their massive physical appearence. Vernette began to think twice about trying to talk to them but he realised that he had very little choice in the matter. He decided to go ahead with contact. At first it was going good. As he spoke, the Brute seemed to understand what he was saying. However, the situation deep sixed when The brute assumed Vernette was telling them to stop. This resulted in a firefight between The Brutes and Vernette and Alexander. Vernette and Alexander were forced to retreat. Vernette knew he was dealing with a very hostile race and ordered that all resources be diverted to evacuating civilians from Harvest. He diverted all of the resources of the King Raven to this job. Vernette himself even went to the surface to personally go and find his family, who was living on Harvest at the time. he didn't want to leave the lives of his wife and two sons in the hands of the military, this was something he wanted to do himself. However, Vernette was unable to resuce his family. As it turned out, his family was at a civilian port in the city odf Utgard, which happened to be the first city destroyed the the Brute Assault Carrier's excavation laser. Vernette was utterly devistated by this. He felt very guilty that he could not save his family from such a grizzly death. However, he knew his job, and he had to remain objective and focused on the current mission. Vernette recomposed himself and began to assist the rest of the UNSC Marines on harvest with the evacuation efforts. As the battle waged on, Vernette began to notice that the brutes were simply dgging around Utgard, focusing all of their efforts on Utgard and the surrounding area, only advancing so far so as to keep the UNSC away from the dig site. Vernette knew the answer to what was happening was at this dig site. he decided to lead a recon team to find out exactly what was going on at Utgard. Vernette, two Spartans by the name of Alexander and Christal, A peacekeeper named Mars, and a UNSC Marine named Courtney, made their way, and snuck into Utgard. They examined the area and discovered very little, aside from learning of massive disparities between the technology the Brutes were using. They speculated on possibilities, but the speculation was cut short when the group was attacked by Chieftain Barrabus. This marked the first official meeting between Vernette and Barrabus. Barrabus had very little problem defeating Vernette and his team. As this was the second run-in Barrabus had with the Spartans, he was intent on carrying out his death threats, had the humans tried to meddle with his mission. However, Barrabus underestimated Vernette in many reguards, and did not expect Vernette to fight back, even after his entire team being defeated by the lone Chieftain. Vernette was incapable of inflicting any physical harm, and his efforts were met with little success, but Vernette was able to incapacitate Barrabus simply because Barrabus underestimated Vernette's resourcefulness. After spending most of the fight being teased and toyed with by Barrabus, Vernette managed to capitalize by getting his hands on a shotgun and actually shooting Barrabus off of a cliffside. Convinced he had killed the Chieftain, Vernette immediatly ordered a retreat back to the King Raven. However, things got worse when Vernette's team, which was tired and injured, were ambushed by more Brutes, namely, Stalkers lead by Operative Dancar, who was also Barrabus' son. Dancar witness what Vernette had done and was furious. He cared very little for the other Humans, and looked just to capture Vernette. Dancar was ultimatly successful in capturing Vernette, and also managed to capture Courtney as well, but his interest in her was passing, only capturing her for amusement. Vernette was brought back to The Devotion, but was not interrogated. Instead, he was kept alive, only to be used as a human punching bag. Dancar, who was upset over the supposed death of his father, told Vernette that the rest of his existance would be devoted to suffering for killing Barrabus. As such, Vernette spent the next week being tortured in some of the most horrifica ways possible. After a week of enduring torture, Vernette was brought out of the holding area and presented to Dancar who told Vernette that he was amazed to see that he was still alive. Dancar confessed that he expected Vernette to die after the first or second day, and that he had run out of ideas on how to further torture him. Dancar confessed further that he was just going to execute both Vernette and Courtney and be done with them. Just before Dancar executed the duo, he was stopped by Barrabus, who had managed to survive his fall off the cliffside. Barrabus told Dancar how he was able to survive, and why. He told Dancar that there was no reason to kill the two humans and that he would deal with them himself. Barrabus dismissed Dancar and his stalkers and was alone with Vernette and Courtney. Barrabus was impressed by Vernette's ability to survive and Barrabus decided to answer some of Vernette's biggest questions. Barrabus told Vernette who he was, what his species was called, and their reasons for being on Harvest. Vernette didn't comment much on what he was being told, but made sure to take it in and remember it. Barrabus told Vernette that he would be willing to let Vernette and COurtney go free...but it would not be a freebie. Barrabus demanded a rematch against Vernette. If Vernette survived and beat barrabus, he would be free to go. If Vernette didn't survive, he simply didn't survive and there would be little else to the agreement. Vernette had no choice and accepted this challenge. Needless to say, Vernette was beaten down and presented no challenge to Barrabus. Barrabus didn't just beat Vernette, he walked all over him and broke what was left of Vernette. Barrabus was about to kill Vernette but stopped when Vernette actually welcomed death, as opposed to begging for his life. Barrabus was amazed at Vernette's resilience and decided to let him live anyway. Vernette however, had already passed out and slipped into a coma at this point. Vernette awoke two weeks later in the medical bay of the King Raven. He slowly began to recall what had previously happened to him on the Brute ship, as well as what Barrabus had told him. Vernette, surprisngly, had almost made a full recovery while he was in his coma. He was discharged from the medical bay shortly after waking up. Upon returning to his quarters, Vernette cleaned himself up and was getting ready to return to duty when he was visted by Courtney. She had stopped by to thank Vernette for getting them off of the Brute ship and saving their lives. Courtney also confessed that she had grown an attraction to Vernette, claiming that she was attracted to his selfless nature. Courtney also confessed that she had actually fallen in love with him. Vernette was indifferent to this, but was open to the idea of another relationship. It was not until later that Vernette called a meeting and placed emphasis on destroying the Brute comms jammer that was preventing the King Raven from calling for backup. Vernette briefed a team of UNSC soldiers that he had found a way to locate the Brute comms jammer and that he would personally lead the team to destroy the jammer. Vernette and said team left the King Raven and located the comms jammer, but soon discovered that is was under heavy guard from Brutes, and there was no way they could fight their way through the Brutes to ge to the jammer. Vernete then ordered the Marines he was with to lure the Brutes away so he could sneak around and plant explosives on the jammer to destroy it. The plan went on without any problems. However, before Vernette could detonate the explosives to destroy the jammer, he was attacked by Dancar; the same Brute who had tortured him for an entire week. Vernette managed to turn the tables however, and he managed to not only lure Dancar towards a cliff, but also delivered a near-fatal wound to Dancar. Vernette believed that he had been able to kill Dancar, however, he was unable to verify this. Vernette managed to destroy the jammer and return to the King Raven to contact ONI. Vernette managed to get contact ONI and inform them of the situation. ONI informed Vernette that they were unable to send reinforcements anytime soon and that Vernette would have to deal with the situation with the resources at hand. Vernette was dismayed to say the least. He accepted this impossible assignment. He surmised that direct confrontations would not work, and that he would instead need to try and protect UNSC interests on Harvest. However, Vernette soon learned that the Spartans on his ship were becoming malcontents. Vernette became very suspecious of the Spartans and it eventually culminated in the Spartan known as Christal openly trying to assassinate Vernette on the bridge of his own ship. Vernette managed to kill the Spartan, but not before several UNSC Marines and Naval officers were killed in the process. Vernette knew that the Spartans under his command were turning hostile towards him and he needed to act fast. Vernette's next move involved recovering classified ONI technology that was being developed on Harvest. Vernette led a team to a ONI Facility on Harvest to being the recovery process. Upon arrival, Vernette split up from the rest of the group to retrieve the most classified technology; technology that he was in the process of developing. Before Vernette could escape with the recovered technology however, he was ambushed by two Elites. He had never seen them by this point and was taken aback by their appearence. Vernette managed to kill one with his shotgun but was attacked by the second. Vernette managed to evade the Elite by dodging around his office. He eventually managed to kill the Elite. However, Vernette was then ambushed by Chieftain Barrabus. Vernette knew he was in a lot of trouble. He then learned that the brute he had killed at the jammer was Barrabus' son. Vernette felt defeated. He knew he was defeated on more than one level. He admitted to Barrabus that he had no excuse other than self defense to justify what he did. He admitted that he would freely accept death for what he did. Vernette told Barrabus that he had no mallice towards his son, and that, in fact, Barrabus had also illed his wife and two sons. Barrabus heard this, and felt bad, knowing that he is judging someone for the same crime he commited. Barrabus decided to let Vernette go. Vernette however, took this opprotunity to try and learn about the Elites who just attacked him. Barrabus told Vernette how the Elites functioned in contrast to the Brutes, and also informed him that the Elites on Harvest were heretics who were trying to kill him. This gave Vernette an idea. he proposed to Barrabus a cease fire, so that they could focus on their individual prblems. Barrabus agreed to the idea, siply on the basis that this would allow him to freely deal with the Heretics. This decision ultimatly culminated into the Secret War. The Secret War Vernette and Barrabus ultimatly agreed that in excange for helping eachother with their mutual problems, Vernette agreed to give Harvest to Barrabus. Vernette knew neither ONI, nor his crew would agree to this, so the details of the alliance were kept a secret between Vernette and Barrabus. THe alliance itself was met with much distrust on both sides. Vernette did his best to try and smoothing things over between the two sides, especially his crew, who has much reason to distrust the Brutes. Barrabus agreed to help Vernette secure his ship by helping to remove the remaining Spartans from his ship. Vernette informed Barrabus that there were still 7 Spartans on the ship. They decided to proceed to the cryo deck where 3 SPartans were still in cryo sleep. On route, Barrabus and Vernette talked, exchaning personal information about each other. Vernette told Barrabus about how the religious aspect of his society worked when Barrabus inquired about it, secretly comparing it to the COvenant and how it worked. Barrabus was shocked that it was so radically different, and that it wasn't normal for governments to force religion on it's members. After the discussion, Vernette and Barrabus proceeded to kill the remaining seven Spartans. Ultimatly, Vernette and Barrabus were only able to kill six, with the seventh escaping thip via an ODST HEV pod. The duo got to know each other very well, from exchanging complements to stories, to personal experiences. It got to a point where they collaberated on every mission and assignment, usually opting to just work together, with no others present. Barrabs developed a very high opinion of Vernette, going so far as to recognize his patience and kinfness. As Vernette learned about Barrabus' struggles, he became more conscious about how he spoke to Barrabus, always being sure to speak with him with the respect he felt he deserved. The two began to bond on a very personal level. After the Spartans had been removed from the Cloak and Dagger, Vernette and Barrabus began to plan how to deal with the Elites that were on Harvest. Both Vernette and Barrabus agreed that a plan that would cause damage to Harvest was unacceptable. Vernette pointed out that the Elites were unaware of the alliance between the Humans and the Brutes. Barrabus then concocted a plan that would capitalize on this. Vernette and Barrabus decided to send Vernette's soldiers to help Barrabus' field commander, Dangerus, to help purge the ELites that were hiding in Utgard, while Vernette and Barrabus themselves would go searching for Quinn. Barrabus put forth an idea to trick Quinn The Second Battle of Harvest *Service record unavailable at this time* The Third Battle of Harvest *Service record unavailable at this time* The Battle of New Harmony Vernette's involvement at New Harmony was different then most of his prior engagements. At New Harmony, he was in command of the UNSC Naval forces defending the planet. Vernette awaited the arrival of the Covenant, knwoing that there stood a great chance that he would be swept aside along with the rest of the UNSC Navy stationed at New Harmony. Upon engagement with the Covenant, Vernette's fears came to pass when The Covenant did, in fact, quickly smash the UNSC defenses. The battle waged for several hours, and it eventually culminated in the destruction of the entire UNSC fleet, save for the King Raven, which was hiding in low orbit over the souther magnetic pole of the planet. Vernette knew that the Covenant had begun landing on the planet and he knew that if he just sat around, it would certainly result in the destruction of the planet. Vernette managed to get down to the planets surface and regroup with a group of marines and ODSTs in a base known as Outpost Indie. It was here that Vernette was reunited with his estranged brother Tyber. Vernette, still angry and Tye for abandoning him on Harvest as a teenager to join the UNSC, punched Tye, insisting that it was repayment for abandonment. The two were stopped before coming to full blows and Vernette grudgingly gave a mission to Tye and the other marines stationed at Indie. Vernette ordered Tye and the other marines to proceed to great Lakes City and resuce a HIGHCOM VIP named Admiral Thomas Crown. Tye, and the other marines, accepted the mission and proceeded as Vernette ordered. However, due to complications, the missiong to save Admiral Crown failed. Vernette knew that saving Crown might not be possible, so instead of wasting further resources on the mission, he changed his plans to try and drive the Elites away from a HIGHCOM military complex known simply as site 44-7 Gamma. Vernette dispatched his soldiers to drive the Elites away. However, shortly after this, he was contacted by Barrabus. At the request of Barrabus, Vernette was asked to mee with him concerning some matters of a personal nature that had arrisen. Vernette left the King Raven under false pretense and went to the planet's surface to meet Barrabus. Upon their meeting, Barrabus explained to Vernette about the Brute Mordecai and how much he disliked his own kind in favor of humans. Vernette was intrigued by this. Barrabus also informed Vernette that New Harmony was on the brink of being totally glassed. Vernette told Barrabus that he could not let that happen. The two managed to think of a way to possibly try and prevent the glassing, but given the circumstance, it was highly unlikely. Vernette even managed to convince Barrabus to help him resuce Admiral Crown. Barrabus agreed to this as well. However, things turned bad when Vernette recieved a call from his brother claiming that he was cornered by Elites and Brutes at site 55-7 Gamma. Vernette ordered Tye to follow a specified escape route, which Barrabus was able to clear of any hostile force, allowing for a safe get away by Tye and his soldiers. Vernette soon returned to the King Raven where he was briefed on the loss of site 44-7 Gamma. However, he was totally disinterested in the report, as he had other business to deal with. However, before he was able to start on his own agenda, he learned that Admiral Crown had "escaped" from Covenant custody, and was in need of extraction. Vernette dispatched Marine teams to extract Crown and bring him back to the King Raven. However, the extraction teams not only returned Crown to the King Raven, but alos a Brute by the name of Mordecai. Vernette knew who Mordecai was, indirectly, by what Barrabus had told him. Vernette talked briefly with Mordecai, and eventually, granted Mordecai's request to leave, after Mordecai expressed his discomfort. Vernette began tyo be questioned by Tye about his decisions to release the Brute, as well as prior events that were under suspecion. Vernette knew he had no choice but to begin explaining parts of his life to Tye. However, the facts were revised to exclude the facts about his involvement with Barrabus. Tye was confused, but his suspecion was furthered when Vernette was contacted by an Elite claiming to be a UNSC sympathizer. Vernette immediatly dismissed this as an attempt by the Elites to infultrate the UNSC. Tye however, knowing what he now knew, was more inclined to trust his brother, now knowing Vernette was part of Section 0, and was a secret operative. Vernette told Tye to start keeping tabs on these Elites and report everything directly to him, formally making Tye a member of Section 0. It was not long after that Tye told Vernette that Jacob was suspecting him of being a traitor. Vernette decided to set the record starit with Jacob and pay him a visit to explain every non-vital detail of his job to Jacob in the hopes that Jacob would understand that he is not a traitor. Vernette also told Jacob the same revised facts he told Tye, and, just as Tye did, Jacob began to trust Vernette was doing the right thing. Vernette was pleased at this, and then assigned Jacob to eliminate several high priority Elites that had surfaced on New Harmony, so as to seal the deal that was, in fact, loyal to the UNSC. Shortly after, the Elites, specifically an Elite Shipmaster named Roth, tried to trick Vernette into accepted a ruse. The Elites programmed a holodrone to act human. This holodrone contacted Vernette over the comm lines and tried to convince Vernette to meet with the Elites, and also tried to trick Vernette into believeing the lies the Elites had been saying. Vernette saw right through this vile deception and choose not to entertain the Elites with any cooperation. The Elites began to threaten Vernette, clamining that of he did not meet with them, they would destroy his ship. Vernette was left with no choice but to meet with the Elites. He tried to create an ambush by plotting to have Barrabus crash the meeting, but the Elites managed to see through this deception. Vernette was forced to pick a more secure location, due to more death threats. Vernette proceeded to the meeting with the Elites while he was being covered by Jacob Sharpman. When the Elites arrived, Vernette and the Elites immediatly began to argue. There was much debate between the two parties concerning a variety of subjects including, but not limited to, Elites insulting the integrity of the UNSC by attempting to decieve Vernette into believing they were members, and how the Covenant would hunt down defected Elites associated with the UNSC. Vernette was not buying this story and he became ever more impatient. As Vernette decided to end the conversation, Roth claimed he would shoot down Vernette's Vulture if he tried to leave. Roth also added he would shoot down any UNSC ship in the area. The debate was interuppted when Chieftain Barrabus arrived with the Covenant to attack the Elites speaking with Vernette. Vernette grinned as he fled the area. He knew Barrabus would deal with the situation. Vernette managed to escape the are and find Barrabus' Phantom. Vernette managed to hijack the Phantom and escape back to the King Raven. After returning to the King Raven, Vernette debriefed jacob, and thanked him for his excellent work providing cover for him while talking with the Elite. Vernette dismissed Jacob and gave him a bit of time off before his next assignment. However, Vernette was soon called back to the surface when he was called, by Barrabus, to assist in a bit of bullet extraction. Barrabus said he was hit by a sniper during his fight with Roth. Vernette complied and returned to the surface of New Harmony, where he met with Barrabus to extract the sniper round. Vernette and Barrabus discussed Mordecai, the Brute with whom Barrabus had tried to take under his wing. Barrabus was disapointed that Mordecai had drifted away from Barrabus, despite the fact Barrabus tried to befriend him. Barrabus stated how Mordecai had become distrustful of humans, and that he was letting go of a lot of his beliefs. Vernette reassured Barrabus that Mordecai was just a bit upset, and that the best approach was to give him a bit of downtime, and he would soon return to normal. As Vernette was finishing his work on Barrabus, he was contacted by his brother Tye, who stated that the King Raven was in immediate danger, and about to be boarded by Elites. Vernette ordered that the ship be brought to a subterranean bunker in a boneyard that was on New Harmony. The Battle of Genesis *Service record unavailable at this time* The Battle of Miridim *Service record unavailable at this time* The Siege of Paris IV Codename: Nighthawk Both Vernette and Barrabus were present on Paris IV before the Covenanrt invasion. However, their pressence on Paris IV was strictly business, as they had once again taken the identities of Nighthawk and Anaconda respectivly to, once again, combat the SPARTANs. Although the UNSC could not get a positive identification on exactly who Nighthawk and Anaconda were, the UNSC expended massive resources in stopping their crusade. Immediiatly upon arrival to Paris IV, both Nighthawk and Anaconda began to hunt down the SPARTAN super soldiers. At first, they were met with limited resistance. They were able to find the SPARTANs and eliminate them in small groups. However, their job quickly became more difficult as time went on, as the UNSC began to assign larger and larger groups of UNSC escorts to stick with the SPARTANs at all times. Problems began to compound when the UNSC started to deploy thousands of soldiers in an effort to hunt down, and kill, both Nighthawk and Anaconda. The first major engagement with the UNSC occured in the heavily populated city of New Manchua, which also served as the focal point for the subsequent engagements to come. The first battle occuered inside the city, admist all of the civilians. The UNSC was transporting a SPARTAN-II Super soldier under heavy guard, through the city for redeployment. However, the escort was derailed by Nighthawk and Anaconda. The duo immediatly sprung into action, using every means at their disposal to ensure the death of the SPARTAN. Matters complicated when the officer in charge of the case of Nighthawk and Anaconda, Commander Logan Lyons, deployed even more soldiers to help defend the SPARTAN, even going so far as to deploy a second SPARTAN to ensure the success of the mission. Ultimatly, the initial target was killed when Anaconda was able to steal a Scorpion Tank and incinerate the SPARTAN. After a brief subsequent skirmish, the battle ended with the retreat of both Nighthawk and Anaconda. Nighthawk and Anaconda were forced to step up their attacks in light of increasing UNSC interference in their plans. After their base of operations was attacked and destroyed, the duo decided to retaliate against the UNSC. In response, the duo captured a UNSC Pelican assigned to Commander Logan Lyons' ship, known as the Blackcomb, and rigged it with multiple high yield explosives. The Pelican was then used as a unmanned kamikaze Pelican, used to target the engines of the Blackcomb. This resulted in the Blackcomb being crippled, and subsequently crashing to the planets surface. Although casualties were light, Nighthawk and Anaconda still decided to go to the downed ship and personally deliver a message to Commander Lyons. However, their efforts were foiled when several UNSC marines, and a SPARTAN attacked them. Nighthawk and Anaconda won the skimish, resulting in the death of a single Marine known as Rex. Given the circumstances, the UNSC had to summon a military expert to deal with the Nighthawk and Anaconda expert. As it turned out, this military expert was Vice Admiral Preston Vernette, rather, it was Preston Vernette so far as the UNSC knew. In reality, it was a clone of Preston Vernette, with the real Preston Vernette behind the Nighthawk Mask. In order to deflect any remaining suspicion, Nighthawk and Anaconda decided to launch an attack on the Miadens Peak military installation; the area in which the survivors of the Blackcomb incident moved to after the ship was destroyed. The attack was simply a deflection tactic, in order to caste down any belief that Vernette was Nighthawk. Although Nighthawk and Anaconda had no intetion of harming the Vernette clone, they did want to be forceful. So, the duo decided to harm everyone else, and cause damage to the facility. This resulted in the capture of Doctor Carson Beckett. The mission was going well, however, Anaconda was injured in the battle, and was forced to retreat with Nighthawk, resulting in a Pyrrhic victory for the UNSC. Nighthawk and Anaconda managed to retreat to their Vulture and escape, however Anaconda was seriosuly injured. He was injured beyond Nighthawk's ability to help him. This left them ina very fragile situation. THe duo was forced to enlist Beckett's help, in exchange for not killing the Spartan Seshy, a Spartan that Beckett had become very fond of. It was with this agreement, that Beckett treated Anaconda's wounds and Seshy was ignored for the rest of the mission. The Vernette clone conspired with Nighthawk and Anaconda to end the Paris IV Mission. Nighthawk and Anaconda knew they had crippled the Spartan Program, and knew that they should put a wrap on their terrorist career. The Vernette clone devised a plan, with the help of Nighthawk and Anaconda, to "kill" the duo and "end" their reign of terror. The plan involved ambusing Nighthawk and Anaconda at a munitions depot and set the disposed munitions to critical, killing Nighthawk and Anaconda in a firey blast. However, there was a catch. In order for Nighthawk and Anaconda to survive, they would need to perfectly time their escape into a bomb shelter in order to survive. Ultimatly, the plan was a success. The UNSC was under the belief that the duo had been killed, and that Vernette had achieved the impossible. With all but one outstanding issues wrapped up, Nighthawk and Anaconda proceeded to kill the final Spartan that was still alive and killable. THis Spartan was Chris; a Spartan II who was, for the most part, a major asshole. Nighthawk and Anaconda made their final kill with Chris. However, before Chris was killed, the Vernette clone appeared to oversee the death of Chris. In reality, the Vernette clone was there to die. Nighthawk quickly killed the Vernette clone and proceeded to reveal the entire operation and their true identies to Chris before killing him. The Battle of Sigma Octanus IV *Service record unavailable at this time* The Battle of Reach The Battle of Earth turned out to be the longest  Vice Admiral Vernette and most involved conflict for Vernette. Many events transpired here that shaped his career. By this time Vernette had achieved the rank of Vice Admiral. Prior to the invasion of Reach, Vernette was on a personal mission. However, it was made widely known to his crew, who, at this time, included his brother Tyber, that this mission was deemed an ultra-classified mission given to him by ONI. Vernette was en-route to a secret meeting between Barrabus and a Minor Prophet that was also an Elite representative on the High Council. Barrabus had leaked the location of this meeting to Vernette in hope that Vernette could successfully assassinate this minor Prophet to disgrace the Elites in the eyes of the Covenant, and to help preserve his power in the Brute hierarchy. Vernette was ultimately successful, managing to escape the meeting place without any damage to his ship, "The King Raven". Vernette's crew remained curious as to how Vernette got this information but given the circumstances, nobody cared. As far as everyone else was concerned, they had delt a massive blow to the Covenant. After the assassination, Vernette retreated to Reach to link up with his battle group. Vernette was ordered by HIGHCOM to maintain and defend Reach. As it turns out, Vernette received an encrypted message from Barrabus, informing him of the impending invasion of Reach. Vernette was involved in the naval engagement over Reach. Although the UNSC was utterly defeated, and The King Raven was heavily damaged, with a loss of almost all hands, his association with Barrabus assisted him, and in turn, assisted the rest of the UNSC in repelling, and causing massive losses to the Elites. Although most of the ships in orbit were destroyed, Vernette hid his heavily damaged ship in the engine wake of Barrabus' flagship, "The Devotion" As a result of The Battle of Installation 04, The vast majority of Covenant ships had left Reach. As a result of this, Vernette was able to maintain the use of his ship as a base of operations with limited problems from the Elites. Vernette however, maintained his presence on the ground, as a sign of command. Vernette did not associate with the UNSC very much during the Battle of Reach, rather, Vernette did more associating with Barrabus, only communicating with the UNSC when he had Intel of value that he received from Barrabus. Although the fact that Vernette was almost invisible during the entire battle was not directly questions, many people did wonder what he was doing on the sidelines that had him so preoccupied. Vernette's first ground combat situation on Reach came to pass when he was involved in the repulsion of the Elite forces at the Washabi Peli-Pads. Although his combat engagement was limited, he was intent on capturing an escaped thief named Scaramanga who had just recentlyattempted to rob the armory. Vernette gave chase to Scaramanga but was unable to capture him. Vernette contacted Barrabus to resume chasing Scaramanga. Vernette made his way back to the Washabi Peli-Pads in time to save Tyber from being killed by an Elite. Vernette assisted the defensive firing line which included his brother Tyber, Max, and Tina Dare in holding off incoming Elites on the front lines. The battle was going good, however, the sheer number of Elites eventually overwhelmed Vernette and his firing line. The firing line was eventually scattered. Vernette ordered the fire line to fall back, however, Tyber was wounded in the process, forcing Vernette to go to the aide of his brother. This led to a physical confrontation between Vernette and an Elite named Kiven. Due to Vernette being physically outclassed by an Elite, not to mention Vernette being without any weapons to help him, the battle was, for the most part, very one sided in favor of Kiven. Despite Vernette's best efforts, Vernette was ultimately captured by the Elites, however, Tyber was able to escape to safety, only due to Vernette's direct orders to Tyber telling him to fall back. Vernette was captured by Kiven and Captain Voro and was brought to the Devotion for questioning by Chieftain Barrabus: Little did either of the Vice Admiral Vernette Elites know that Vernette and Barrabus were good friends. During the first interrogation, Barrabus questioned Vernette on battle logistics, while secretly creating an escape plan for Vernette. Barrabus eventually told Vernette he was going to transfer him to Captain Voro's ship, and blame Vernette's escape on the Elites. Barrabus promised Vernette he would bust him out during the transfer. Barrabus made his way to to an abandoned UNSC AA installation. When Voro and Kiven arrived on Barrabus' ship, Vernette was shoved into a Phantom with Kiven and Voro. While that Phantom was en-route back to Voro's ship, The Phantom was shot down. Vernette tried to escape, but was out powered by the two Elites. Fortunately, Barrabus was able to fly to the Crash site in his Phantom before Voro and Kiven were able to call on another prison transport. Barrabus used a human sniper to fire pot shots at Kiven and Voro, in effect, helping Vernette escape. Barrabus was able to sneak away, without attracting any suspicion.. Vernette was able to make his way back to Washabi Peli-Pads. However, soon after his return, there was an attempt on his life by an assassin named Cameron Hodge. Cameron Hodge shot Vernette through the chest, piercing his heart. Vernette was rushed back to the King Raven for emergency surgery. His original heart was destroyed. The only way to save his life was to put an artificial heart into his body. This heart managed to save Vernette's life. Vernette spent the next two days in the hospital, recovering from his surgery. While he was recovering, he was visited by his Brother, Tyber, and the recently defected soldier, Max. Tyber demanded that Vernette assign him to capture his assassin. Vernette told Tyber that he already had a specialist out in the field, trying to capture Hodge. To Tyber's dismay, he was forced to accept that answer. Some time later, Vernette was, again, visited by Tyber. Tyber informed Vernette that he went behind his back, using information he got from Max, in order to track down Hodge. He told Vernette that he was unable to kill Hodge because a Brute beat him to it. Tyber presented a Knife that he collected from Hodges body. Vernette looked at the knife and saw Barrabus' name engraved in the handle Vernette told Tyber that he didn't care, he was just glad that this entire situation was wrapped up. He dismissed Tyber back to Reach. Vernette soon discovered that insurrectionists had arrived on Reach. Vernette was half expecting them to show up when he first discovered Max herself was an insurrectionist. Knowing these people could threaten his position, Vernette did what he always did in this situation; ask Barrabus for help. Vernette and Barrabus began to conspire together, like usual, to bring about the downfall of the insurrectionist at Reach. They both knew that where the insurrectionists were, Scott Runner would soon follow. *Error in recovering further details. Please stand by...* The First Battle of Earth By this time Vernette had achieved the rank of  Fleet Admiral Vernette Fleet Admiral. He was present during the initial invasion. Vernette spent most of his time fighting in the naval engagement in orbit of Earth. Very little transpired that is of notable interest. However, Vernette and a group of marines were forced into a combat situation with a group of recon Elites that had already landed in New Mombasa. AT this time, Vernette was at a meeting with the senior brass, discussing the future of the war, and presumably how much longer humanity had before total defeat. Vernette was adamant that defeat was impossible, stating that "All he has worked for in his career was not in vain...". The senior brass did not agree, unaware of the true meaning of Vernette's words. HIGHCOM was resolved that utter defeat was weeks away. Vernette, disgusted by this total lack of faith, left the meeting. His final words to the brass: "...to lose faith in your own abilities and resolve...that is the first step to defeat. So long as we persevere, and continue fighting, we will never be defeated!" As Vernette and his security escort of Marines returned to the pickup location, they encountered a large group of Recon Elites in New Mombassa. Vernette, along with his security detail were forced to fight their way across the bridge leading out of New Mombassa, into Old Mombassa, where Vernette's Pelican was waiting to take him back to The King Raven. Vernette and the Marines managed to cross the bridge safely, and return to the King Raven with little incident. The Second Battle of Earth Vernette continued fighting The Covenant in orbit of Earth, despite the massive damage to his ship, he refused to stop fighting. He eventually found himself fighting two Covenant light cruisers in the North Pole. He managed to destroy the cruisers, however, due to the extensive damage to the King Raven, the destruction of the main memory computer, and the almost completely exhausted weapons compliment, Vernette was forced to utilize his ship to assist in ground operations. With The offical defection of The Elites, and the schism in full effect, Vernette's lifetime of work had come full circle. He was forced to admit that his association with Barrabus had to end, for he was now the enemy. It was at this point that Vernette ordered all the remaining marines be transferred to ground operations, leaving only him, and a handful of naval officers to man the ship. It was at this time Vernette became personally aware Eugene Korman, via a comm line communication. Due to Vernette's reclusive nature at Reach, Vernette did not personally know very many of the people he served with. As a result, Vernette was unaware that Korman was, in fact, present at Reach. Vernette's first exchange with Korman was concerning Korman's objectives at the time; the location of a VIP defector, which so happened to be a grunt named Jib Jab. Despite Vernette's skepticism, he agreed to allow Korman to utilize whatever resources he needed to locate the grunt. Furthermore, the conversation allowed Vernette to learn of other UNSC ships still engaging Covenant ships. Eventually, Vernette's ship managed to reach new Chicago, where he extracted Eugene Korman and the defector Jib Jab. Vernette interrogated the grunt personally, leaning that the Brutes were planning to completely destroy the entire area using a WMD. As this was unacceptable, Vernette discussed a plan with Korman and an Elite named Xavi. They eventually decided it was best to infiltrate the ship and either disable the drive core and destroy the ship, or manually detonate the WMD over an unpopulated area. The mission proceeded following the former objective to disable the drive core and manually destroy the ship and the warhead. Vernette used The King Raven, along with a UNSC Frigate by the name of The Star Destroyer to create a diversion so Korman and Xavi could complete their mission. Korman was sent to disable the drive core while Xavi was sent to attempt to disarm the bomb. Korman succeeded in crippling the drive core, but it was soon learned that bomb could not be deactivated. It had to manually be detonated by a person. Xavi volunteered for the task. Following the success of the mission, The King Raven underwent various repairs, the most notable was the installation of the new SMART Tactical AI known as Tyber. Vernette learned that the defector known as Jib jab was to be handed over to HIGHCOM for questioning. Vernette refused to surrender Jib Jab. Shortly afterward, Vernette personally came to the assistance of several Marines engaging a pack of Brutes. Vernette utilized his private Vulture in the battle, providing fire support from the air. Ultimately, the Brutes were defeated with ease. After this engagement, Vernette took a leave of absence to the west coast to meet with Chieftain Barrabus, however, he justified it as a ultra-classified meeting with HIGHCOM. Vernette met with Barrabus to discuss the current situation with the war. Barrabus made it known that with the Elites out of the Covenant, there was no further reason to continue their alliance. To Vernette's dismay, he was forced to agree. However, due to the mutual respect they had for each other, they decided to part ways without incident. Following this, Vernette returned to New Chicago and promptly met up with Eugene Korman. They had a quick discussion about the current situation, and the lackluster performance of the UNSC in this particular area. Despite Vernette's displeasure with the fact that new Chicago was quickly turning into a shit show, he maintained his confidence in Korman, primarily placing the blame on Admiral Ned Beurscott, the ranking officer during Vernette's absence. Vernette decided it was best to establish his presence on the ground, citing that his mere presence alone will inspire the marines to fight better. Whether this is based on fact, or is merely a result of Vernette's ego remains a mystery. In any case, Vernette remained on the ground to oversee the UNSC ground operations in New Chicago. Vernette had very little time to settle into his new role before he was faced with a rather unusual circumstance. Vernette found himself playing referee between Eugene Korman and Captain Dennis Beurscott, the son of Admiral Beurscott. Domestic disturbances aside, Vernette quickly learned that the Brutes were planning an offensive on the ground base that he had recently taken command of. He ordered that the base be fortified and restocked with Marines in order to repel the assault. On another front, Vernette learned from Eugene Korman that the Brutes have an informant in the UNSC. Vernette was utterly outraged by this development. Vernette ordered Korman to find the leak and bring him or her back to Vernette alive for questioning. Vernette decided to return to The King Raven to personally oversee the interrogation of a Brute that was currently in his custody. Vernette waited while his marines interrogated the Brute. Vernette needed to be absolutely sure there was, in fact, a leak. Before Vernette could get any answers from the Brute, his ship was boarded by a large pack of brutes, intent on saving their comrade. Vernette and the remained of his crew managed to repel the brutes, in a final stand in the engine room. Vernette was forced to fight a Brute ultra by himself. The battle did not go well for Vernette for a majority of the conflict. Vernette only managed to inflict minor wounds on the Brute in the form of bullet wounds and physical strikes to the Brutes face. Vernette did emerge victorious however. In the final moments of the battle, Vernette grabbed a frag grenade from a downed marine and shoved it right down the throat of the Brute. Vernette pulled his entire arm from the Brutes mouth and managed to escape before the grenade exploded, inside the Brutes stomach. Vernette had taken a serious beating in this confrontation. With his crew dead, his ship nearly destroyed, Vernette chose to abandon The King Raven. Vernette slowly made his way to his Vulture and he left his ship. Vernette received a message from Eugene Korman, informing him that Korman was ready for pickup with Beurscott in his possession. Vernette flew to Korman's position and picked him and Admiral Beurscott up. When Beurscott was taken to Vernette, Vernette asked Admiral Beurscott why he betrayed humanity! After a very brief conversation, Vernette took great satisfaction in stripping Beurscott of his rank, in a most humiliating display, and ordering Eugene Korman to carry out his immediate execution! With Admiral Beurscott dead, Vernette took control of Beurscott's command ship; a UNSC Frigate by the name of The Star Destroyer. Although Admiral Beurscott was dead, Vernette was not convinced that the security leak had been sealed. Vernette began to investigate Admiral Beurscott down to his personality. Vernette soon discovered that Admiral Beurscott had been contact HIGHCOM quite frequently, as much as 6 times a day. Vernette analyzed the frequency on which Beurscott used to communicate with HIGHCOM and soon discovered that the frequency was a non-standard UNSC frequency. Vernette contacted HIGHCOM with this mystery frequency and was soon introduced to a man named Deputy Director Kenneth Yates. During the comm conversation, Vernette masqueraded as one of Beurscott's allies. He managed to get rather incriminating evidence on both Yates and Admiral Beurscott, although any evidence on Beurscott was pointless. He also discovered that Beurscott had managed ti put Jib Jab on the chopping block for crimes he did not commit. Vernette decided it was best to meet with Yates, in order to put an end to his treachery. So, in true fashion, Vernette organized a meeting with Yates, under false pretenses, in order to eliminate him. Vernette decided it was prudent to have the now Lieutenant Shella Lenner and Eugene Korman accompany him on this mission. The plan was very simple: Vernette would first try and bail Jib Jab out of trouble by appealing to HIGHCOM. If that failed, Vernette would resort to more drastic measures to clear Jib Jab's name. As it turns out, Vernette was unable to convince HIGHCOM to release Jib Jab. Vernette then revealed the deception of Deputy Director Yates and the little operation he had planned with Admiral Beurscott. Shocked, HIGHCOM decided to clear Jib Jab of the charges and decided to release him. However, upon the attempted arrest of Yates, it was learned that he was missing. Going on the assumption that Yates knew he had been compromised, Vernette surmised it would be prudent make their way to the holding cells, to ensure the safety of Jib Jab. Vernette's supposition turned out to be correct. When Vernette and several HIGHCOM officials arrived at the holding cells, they found Yates holding Jib Jab at gunpoint. Thankfully, due the efforts of Eugene Korman, Yates was subdued and captured. When questions on his motives, Yates refused to talk. Vernette decided it was best that torture was the only means to make Yates confess. After locking Yates in a confinement cell with several jackals, Yates was prepared to fully confess his plan to HIGHCOM. Vernette knew that once HIGHCOM had questioned Yates, they wqould just leave him in a cell to rot. Vernette knew HIGHCOM could not extract information from Yates as effectively as he could. Vernette decided to abduct Yates, and bring him back to The Star Destroyer for further questioning. Everything was going to plan, however, things fell apart with the appearance of the flood. It was learned that hundreds of flood ships, consisting of Banshees, Pelicans, and other small crafts were heading to Earth. Vernette knew how dangerous the flood was, and resolved in using the auto destruct sequence on The Star Destroyer to obliterate the flood as it approached Earth. The Star Destroyer was abandoned, and Vernette piloted the ship directly into the flood ships and activated the self destruct sequence, only barely escaping in a Pelican. With Both The King Raven and The Star Destroyer destroyed, there was only one ship remaining: The Reveant, the command ship of Admiral Vincetti. Once Vernette returned to The Reveant, things immediately turned into a shit show, like usual. Captain Beurscott took the death of his father quite hard, throwing him into a delirious state of mind. Beurscott managed to escape confinement and began to wreck havoc on the ship, even going so far as to corrupt the AI on the ship. Eventually, Vernette and Korman managed to capture Captain Beurscott, and they quickly learned that Captain Beurscott had adopted his fathers mission as his own. It was also learned that Admiral Vincetti was also involved with Admiral Beurscott and Deputy Director Yates. Vincetti attempted to hit Vernette with a poison dart, but an unexpected movement from Vernette, along with a bit of bad accuracy from Vincetti, resulted in the dart missing Vernette, and hitting Korman. Korman passed out, resulting in Vernette ordering Lenner to bring Korman back to his quarters, to allow him to get some rest. With Korman unknowingly poisoned, Vernette ordered the arrest and detention of Admiral Vincetti. However, Vincetti had planned for this outcome and ordered his AI to activate the self destruct, in an attempt to kill everyone on the ship. Vernette ran to the bridge to try and deactivate the self destruct but to no avail. As Vernette was about to leave the bridge he learned that Korman was in Admiral Vincetti's private quarters. Perplexed as to why Korman was there, and not in an escape pod, Vernette was forced to investigate, despite the limited time frame. Vernette found Korman in Vincetti`s quarters, nearly dead. Vernette tried to help Korman to an escape pod but soon realized that Korman was already dead. Vernette was forced to abandon Korman and make his own way to an escape pod. Vernette soon realized that Deputy Director Yates and Captain Dennis Beurscott were unaccounted for, and were at large. Only days after the destruction of The Reveant, Vernette was granted a new ship; The Dreadhawk, a Marathon class cruiser. Vernette spent the following two weeks searching the remains of the Reveant for the body of Eugene Korman. Vernette was granted a team of ODST's under the alias of Recovery Team Joker, or RTJ as they became affectionately known as. After RTJ managed to recover the remains of Sergeant Korman, and the severely damaged data chip of Doug24, Vernette took notice of a promising recruit by the name of Harold Forkes. As the days moved on, Vernette oversaw, and eventually took full command of the defense of North and South America. His first order of business was to located and kill Deputy Director Yates and Captain Dennis Beurscott, the last two remaining traitors in the UNSC. BOth individuals were found hiding in a civilian fallout shelter known as Dig Dug Shelter 15. Vernette was going to MAC blast the shelter was convinced not to by Private Harold Forkes, on the basis that Dig Dug Shelter 15 was where Harold's mother was hiding. Vernette called off his guns and ordered Forkes to go and eliminate Yates and Beurscott. Harold managed to kill Yates and capture Beurscott. This impressed Vernette. Vernette wanted to personally execute Beurscott for his treachery. Vernette was very grateful to Harold for giving him that opprotunity. As the Battle waged on, Vernette decided it was time to release Admiral James Forkes from cryo storage. Coincidentally, James Forkes was the father of Harold Forkes. Knowing this, Vernette knew that this situation was going to get very complicated. Vernette left the ship, leaving his first officer, Command Logan Lyons, in command while he was gone. Vernette made his way to a classified HIGHCOM base on the West Coast in San Fransisco where he explained the reasons to have Admiral Forkes released from cryo-sleep. A few days after Vernette left, he was eventually joined by Harold on the west coast. Vernette wanted Harold to be present when his father was released from cryo sleep. Vernette thawed James Forkes from cry sleep. At first James was disorientated but when james regained his barrings, he decided to exact his revenge on Vernette with a swift left hook to the face. Vernette did not take the strike personally. Vernette, James and Harold planned an assault to retake AIs that the Covenant have stolen. Vernette knew that stealing the AIs back woul result in the Covenant just forming a counter-attack to retake the AIs and destroying the AIs was an unacceptable option. Vernette told Harold and James that the best option was to replace the real AI's with fake versions of the AI's, which would feed the Covenant false information, while at the same time, give the UNSC tactical information on Brute Covenant movement. Vernette gained word that The Dreadhawk was involved in a skirmish with the Covenant cruiser that had stolen the two UNSC AIs. He also gained word that The Dreadhawk managed to cripple the ship, forcing it to crash over a large network of dig dug shelter tunnels. Vernette ordered all UNSC forces to assault this ship to make a diversion, but a special shadow ops team would use the subterranean dig dug shelters to gain access to the ship and swap the AIs. Vernette and James returned to The Dreadhawk to fully organize the assault. It was decided that RTJ would be the shadow ops team. As a large UNSC force created a diversion on the outside of the ship, RTJ made its way through several Km of tunnels until they eventually found themselves under the ship. They used drilling equipment to dig right into the Covenant ship. RTJ managed to swap the AIs and escape. This was also the mission where Chieftain Barrabus was captured by Commander Logan Lyons and RTJ. After the mission was all said and done, Vernette was quite pleased that he was able to capture a Brute Chieftain. Vernette did not want the Chieftain for questioning or interrogation, but rather, for experimentation. Little did Vernette know, the Brute that was captured, was, in fact, Barrabus. When Vernette first went to inspect the captured Brute he was shocked to see Barrabus, although he was very careful not to allow any of his subordinates know of his past affiliation. Vernette dismissed all of the staff present, including, but not limited to medical and security personnel, so Vernette could have a private conversation with Barrabus. Vernette had read reports of the power shift and change of command in the Loyalist army at Earth, but he was unsure if Barrabus had, in fact, lost his position as Chieftain and Fleet Commander. Vernette and Barrabus had parted way at this point, both resolved to end their association. However, as events would have it, Barrabus did, in fact, get betrayed by his second in command. Vernette knew that Barrabus' preferred career was over. Vernette then proposed to turn Barrabus into a walking killing machine, in other words, an augment, like a Spartan. Barrabus knew this would end his involvement with the Covenant completely, so he took time to consider the decision. After a day to consider the repercussions of becoming an augment, he was still unsure. It was a very radical change. However, Vernette managed to convince Barrabus to undergo the augmentation, and join the UNSC under a new identity if Vernette helped Barrabus get revenge on his second for betraying him. All Barrabus cared about was his revenge. As long as he got that, he would give total loyalty to Vernette and the UNSC. A few days past. Vernette was reclusive in his work on Barrabus. Only a handful of people knew about Barrabus' augmentation. Vernette eventually chose a new name for Barrabus. He chose the name Delta as an homage to the legal system. The fourth letter of the Greek Alphabet represents the defendant, or someone who has committed a crime. This was to symbolize Barrabus' past life in one simple letter. When Vernette received word that a UNSC fugitive named Chief Stolt had been hiding on Onyx, he dispatched Lt. Shella Lenner to go and capture or kill him. A day later, Vernette received word that Shella Lenner had been compromised and captured. Vernette saw this as a golden opportunity to fully test Delta's abilities in a combat situation. Vernette and Delta took a Vulture to Onyx where they had intentions of rescuing Lt. Lenner and kill Stolt if possible. Vernette and Delta were able to rescue Shella but soon discovered that Lenner did not want to kill Stolt. Lenner confessed to Vernette that she cared for Stolt, and did not want to kill him. Vernette, in spite of his desire to see Stolt dead, decided to drop the situation with Stolt and allowed Lenner to do as she wished. Vernette returned to The Dreadhawk where he learned that the UNSC was planning a massive offensive against the Brutes using information gathered from the decoy AI's planted earlier. However, these plans were cut short when Vernette decided to let the Brutes launch an offensive, simply on the basis to keep them interested in the AIs. Vernette, along with HIGHCOM and ONI decided to let the Brutes plan a massive offensives against the classified UNSC bunker in San Fransisco, the same bunker where James Forkes had been frozen. As this plan began to unfold, Lenner and Stolt thought it was best to return to Earth, namely to The Dreadhawk, with a group of Spartan III's to assist in the fight against the Covenant. Vernette quickly utilizes all of his assets and moved them to defend the base in San Fransisco. The battle was going good, however, due to the limits on UNSC personnel and the massive amount of Covenant forces utilized in assaulting this base, Vernette ordered all of his forces to fall back into the bunker. Vernette knew his forces on the ground could not last out against the endless wave of Covenant forces so he decided to arm a HAVOK nuke are attack the Covenant Assault Carrier. Vernette launched the Nuke at the Carrier and destroyed it, however, the resulting explosion killed everything directly under the Carrier and severely damaged everything around the carrier. Fortunately, the UNSC Marines inside the bunker were spared gruesome deaths due to the fact the UNSC bunker was subterranean. Despite the complete destruction of San Fransisco, this was an excellent victory for the UNSC. The Covenant were given a viable target from the AI's, thus preserving the AI's usefulness, and the UNSC destroyed a Covenant Assault Carrier. A few weeks passed, with Vernette overseeing various mission. Some of them were recovery missions, others were assault missions. However, Vernette was put to the test with the onset of Admiral Kirk Korman, a most unscrupulous individual in Vernette's eyes. Korman first surfaced when he managed to infiltrate The Dreadhawk and make an Offer to Sergeant Forkes to test a super drug on him. The said super drug was highly experimental and not fit for a lab rat. Korman managed to convince Harold to take the drug and that he would organize a disappearing act for Harold. Korman managed to evade most of the internal sensors on the ship but was detected talking with Korman by The Dreadhawk AI Tyber. When Tyber told Vernette that a supposedly dead Admiral was stalking around his ship, Vernette immediately jumped into action to find more information on Kirk Korman. Vernette organized an expedition to a UNSC records base in Alaska to find more information on Kirk Korman. However, this did not work out to well. Vernette decided to take several marines with him, including Lt. Lenner and Sergeant Forkes. Vernette also brought an Elite ally with him named R'kla. Admiral Korman ambushed Vernette and his company in Alaska with a large pack of Brutes that were brainwashed and manipulated by Korman. Vernette and his team, minus Forkes were forced to retreat back to The Dreadhawk when Vernette was wounded in action. Vernette suspected that Sergeant Forkes and Admiral Korman conspired together. He knew this attack and Harold's disappearance was no coincidence. Vernette spent the next week searching for Admiral Korman and Sergeant Forkes. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to track them down. However, Vernette's patience was payed off when he was contact by Admiral Korman, attempting to justify his actions. He attempted to explain why he recruited Sergeant Forkes and why it will be a good thing. Korman explained the super drug to Vernette and Vernette was so disgusted by what he heard he knew that Admiral Korman had to die! Korman contacted Vernette shortly afterward, admitting that he had, in fact, done a serious wrong. Korman told Vernette that he would willingly submit to discipline from the UNSC for his actions. Admiral Korman and Sergeant Forkes returned to The Dreadhawk. Korman was arrested and put into cryo sleep and Sergeant Forkes was sent to the med bay to be analyzed. After Harold was fully analyzed by the med teams, Vernette decided to chat with Korman about his research. Vernette had a feeling that everything Korman told him was utter bullshit. Korman even mentioned a cure, which Vernette doubted as well. Vernette decided to return to Alaska, With Harold, Shella, and Admiral Korman in handcuffs to attempt to gain access to Korman's research and possibly find a cure for Harold. However, this mission, like the previous one, turned into a massive shit show! With the appearance of the flood, this mission turned from dangerous to absolutely suicidal. However, Vernette and his team managed to gain access to the research and escape safely. Vernette learned much about Korman's research into the super drug, as well as the names of all the test subjects. Vernette was shocked to learn that Kiven, who was, at this time, stationed on The Dreadhawk was one of the test subjects, an unwilling one at that, for the drug. Vernette brought the information he got from Alaska to his medical teams. They began to work on a cure for Harold and Kiven. However, Admiral Korman disappeared shortly after. Vernette was mad, but he did not prioritize searching for Korman because he had the information he needed. Vernette was left with one primary objective at this point; cure Sergeant Forkes. However, Vernette shortly learned afterward that Harold wanted to be transferred from Vernette's ship to a new ship for a fresh start. Much to Vernette's dismay, he granted Harold's wish, adding that if Harold changed his mind, Vernette would gladly welcome Harold back. Vernette oversaw that Harold was transferred to the UNSC Frigate The Katana's Sheath under the command of Admiral Finley. A few days passed, and much progress had been made on the cure for Sergeant Forkes. Vernette informed Harold that the cure was almost done, he needed a few more days. On the flip side, Vernette was also looking for missing officers, namely Delta and Lyons and Admiral Korman. Delta and Lyons vanished about a week and a half earlier while searching for a missing ODST known only as Jack, while Kirk Korman vanished a few days earlier in a rather mysterious set of circumstances. Vernette was unable to find any trace of either Korman, Delta, or Lyons. Vernette soon learned that Admiral Finley was a traitor, much like Yates, Vincetti and both Ned and Dennis Beurscott. Finley had been leaking UNSC intelligence to the Brutes. Vernette quickly ordered the arrest of Admiral Finley. Admiral James Forkes was charged with the arrest of Finley. With the help of his son, Admiral Forkes was able to arrest Finley and send him back to Vernette for further "interrogation". As a sign of satisfaction, Vernette ordered that Admiral James Forkes assume full command of The Kanata's Sheath from this point forward. While James was busy getting acquainted with his new command, Vernette oversaw the interrogation of Finley. However, Vernette did not interrogate Finley, rather, Vernette personally torture Finely for his treachery. Vernette literally beat Finley within an inch of his life, only stopping because several marines told Vernette that killing Finley would accomplish nothing. Satisfied with his punishment, Vernette ordered that Finley be brought to the brig and executed later on. When the cure was finished, Vernette learned that Harold had been captured by a pack of Brutes in Japan while retrieving Intel that Finley had intentionally leaked to The Brutes. To Vernette's dismay, he was unable to locate Harold's transponder. Vernette learned that Harold's augmentation was becoming fatal and that if the cure was not given to him in a certain period of time, Harold would die. Vernette sent out a large team of ODSTs to locate and give Harold the cure for his augmentation. Unbeknown to Vernette, this was the time that both Admiral Korman and Delta popped back onto the radar. Harold was soon found and given the cure, thus saving his life. Despite Harold being cured, Kiven was not recovering. Vernette had no choice but to ask Admiral Korman for more information on the drug so he could help Kiven. Korman decided to help Vernette but warned against any double crosses. Naturally, with Delta back in Vernette's hands, Vernette had what he needed to kill Admiral Korman. When Admiral Korman arrived with the cure, Vernette took the cure and gave it to his medical staff so it could be given to Kiven. Vernette then ordered that Delta kill Korman and his entourage. Vernette left Delta to his work while Delta and Korman's entourage of enhanced soldiers fought. Kiven was cured and Delta had managed to kill all of Korman's enhanced soldiers, short of Korman himself. Korman retreated from the fighty by escaping through an air duct and began to move Through the Dreadhawk. Eventually, a now fully recovered Sergeant Forkes and RTJ hunted Korman down and killed him. However, as a result of this, Korman's crew did a suicide run on The Dreadhawk in an attempt to kill everyone on board. Korman's ship collided with The Dreadhawk and caused massive damage to the ship. All hands were able to abandon the ship, but The Dreadhawk was destroyed. Post Battle of Earth One week after the Destruction of The Dreadhawk, Vernette, Delta, equipped with the Tyber AI, Sergeant Forkes, and Lt. Lenner had taken up residence in one of Vernette's secret bunkers in Northern Canada. During this one week of inactivity, The Covenant suffered a massive loss at The Ark. As a result of this, ONI contacted Vernette about the future of Delta. ONI said that with The Covenant defeated all but defeated on Earth, Delta was no longer necessary. Vernette told ONI that if they wanted Delta, they could come and get him themselves! Vernette was furious that ONI would even consider this. However, that aside, Vernette decided to assign the remaining RTJ members, along with several new recruits by the names of Dan and Paul Letterman and Max Golen With ONI and HIGHCOM on Vernette's back about Delta, Vernette was cornered. He could only protect Delta for so long before the UNSC forcefully did away with Delta. Although Delta was well equipped to handle himself in combat, even he could be overwhelmed by the UNSC eventually. Vernette decided that the only viable option was to step down as Fleet Admiral, and assume the role of Director of ONI's section Zero Division. Vernette stepped down as Fleet Admiral and promoted Admiral James Forkes to the rank of Fleet Admiral. In exchange for this, Vernette told James that he would appreciate it if James appointed him to the role of Director of Section Zero. James complied with Vernette's trade off and sent message that the now Admiral Vernette was now the full Director of Section Zero. His first order was to rebuild the ONI building in New Mombassa. Vernette always wanted a nice waterfront office, but said he would settle for a view of the Ark portal given his limited options. As the overall Director of ONI, Vernette was granted a new ship. An ultra- Director Vernette on the Bridge of the Cloak and Dagger classified Marathon Stealth Ship known as The Cloak and Dagger. The Cloak and Dagger was the most advanced ship Vernette had ever laid eyes on. Unlike standard UNSC ships that were a grayish color, The Cloak and Dagger had a matte black color. Vernette immediately knew he was going to love this ship! Vernette worked on clearing up the situation with ONI, HIGHCOM and Delta so Vernette ordered Delta to joined Sergeant Forkes in his new posting in Texas. THis gave Vernette the time he needed to clear up the logistics with ONI. Despite ONIs objections to Vernette being the Director, they were forced to comply with his wishes and cancel all orders to detain Delta. Everything was going exceptionally well at this point in time. Vernette could not complain about the current state of affairs. Vernette shifted his attention to the war. He knew that despite the fact that the Loyalists were defeated at the Ark, the Brutes were still very strong and very dangerous. Vernette decided to work with the Elites to steal a Brute ship to ascertain the location of every Brute installation, from shipyards, to colony worlds, so the UNSC and the Separatists could begin attacking, effectively putting The Brutes on the defensive, for the first time in the war. Vernette, along with a large task force of Elite and UNSC ships engaged a Brute task force just several light years outside the Sol system in an attempt to capture a Brute ship. This operation failed however, when the targeted Brute ship self destructed in order to prevent capture. Vernette was forced to re-plan the assault. Vernette decided to replicate his original plan but use a specialized ODST drop pod to infiltrate the ships. These pods were larger, capable of fitting five to six ODSTs per pod, and they were equipped with large drills, capable of cutting through thick hull plating. These pods were used for boarding action in zero-g environments. Vernette sent a massive task force, including the newly formed RTJ, on a mission to capture a Brute cruiser codenamed "Fort Knox". The infiltration teams managed to pilot Fort Knox back to Earth for re-purposing, while Vernette's fleet held the line, preventing any further damage to Fort Knox. Shortly after, Vernette was contacted by his old love Interest from Harvest. Courtney, or as she was known as at this time, Max. Courtney tried to talk to Vernette about urgent news but Vernette was still in the middle of a large scale combat scenario from the capture operation. Vernette brushed Courtney off, telling her to call back later. Roughly a day later Courtney called Vernette again. Courtney informed Vernette that during the Harvest campaign, Vernette had caused her pregnancy, effectively making him a father of a certain individual. Furthermore, Courtney also told Vernette that Delta, rather, Barrabus knew everything. Vernette was totally shocked and in total disbelief. He did not understand how any if this was possible. Courtney told Vernette exactly who is daughter was. Vernette decided it was best to return to Earth to confront his daughter. Before meeting with Max, Vernette contacted Delta to meet with him privately. When they finally met, Vernette asked Delta why Delta didn't tell him that Max was his daughter. Delta told Vernette that he had promised Courtney that he would never tell Vernette of the pregnancy. When Vernette learned this, he was not mad at Delta, just a bit flustered. Vernette felt a bit weird over the fact that a Brute knew more about Max's pedigree then Vernette did. This fact aside, Vernette was no opposed to having a daughter. He felt glad that he had a purpose other then a soldier. Vernette decided to return to the camp to meet with Max. However, Delta also told Vernette that Dennis Beurscott was still alive. This set Vernette off on a tirade. Vernette set everything else alive to find out how Beurscott survived his execution. Vernette returned to the camp to confront and interrogate Dennis Beurscott. Vernette learned that a rouge group of ONI agents saved him and helped him in return for his loyalty. Vernette demanded to know more but Beurscott would not budge. Vernette was prepared to torture Beurscott. However, when max saw Vernette she approached him. Vernette was forced to stop his interrogation, in fear of looking like a total heartless maniac in front of his estranged daughter. Vernette left Sergeant Forkes in charge of Beurscott's interrogation and left to talk with Max about her being his daughter. Max already knew from a prior conversation with Delta. Vernette told Max that as much as he was glad to have a daughter, he told her for her own safety, they should keep their distance from each other. Vernette told Max that he had many enemies and he could not risk anyone using Max against him. Vernette felt terrible about this decision, but he knew it was necessary. Before Vernette could return to the interrogation, two ONI pelicans crashed the party and demanded that Vernette release Beurscott to their care. Vernette denied their request, on the fact that he was aready investigating Beurscott at the highest level, and as the Director of ONI, he had every right to arbitrarily deny any request made of him. The ONI agents were not pleased with this answer and tried to forcefully take Beurscott. Several ONI marines attempted to take Beurscott, but Vernette ordered Delta to stop the Marines. Delta severely injured the Marines. Vernette told the ONI agents that he will kill them all if they do not get out of his sight. The ONI agents were furious, however, they were forced to fall back. Vernette checked in with Sergeant Forkes before leaving and learned that Commander Feuntes was the mastermind behind this incident. Vernette decided it was best to return to the ONI building construction site and try and dig up some answers, specifically, the current location of Commander Feuntes. However, Vernette was ambushed by two of Feuntes men and held at gunpoint. Fortunatly for Vernette, an old acquaintance from Harvest saved him. A janitor named Leon, who served as the Janitor aboard the King Raven during Harvest, used his broom to subdue one of the Marines, while Vernette, who managed to capitalize on the distraction, used his handgun to kill the second marine. Vernette download all the information on Feuntes and then he and Leon left the ONI building. The two of them returned to Texas, only to find that it was under attack by the same ONI agents that had appeared earlier. Vernette managed to sneak through the base and managed to link up with Sergeant Forkes and the rest of his squad. Together, they managed to push back the rouge ONI agents and ensure they maintained control of Beurscott. However, Vernette was very upset to learn that during the battle, Feuntes ONI agents had managed to capture Delta. Vernette was furious over this fact. He demanded that Beurscott tell him where Feuntes had taken Delta. Beurscott refused to say anything. Vernette ordered the immediate execution of Beurscott. Vernette, along with RTJ returned to The Cloak and Dagger and began immediately search for Feuntes and and Delta. Vernette and his officers eventually managed to track down Feuntes. They learned that Feuntes was in command of a UNSC Frigate by the name of the Genolan. Vernette wasted no time in chasing down Feuntes and liberating Delta. Vernette personally led the assault on Feuntes ship. He ordered RTJ to find Feuntes and take him into custody while he went alone to find Delta. This action implied that Vernette, when faced with a decision to find Delta or find Feuntes, he cared more about Delta's safety then capturing a rouge agent. Little did Vernette know, Delta had already managed to escape and was already roaming the ship, even before Vernette and RTJ had arrived. Despite Vernette's efforts to track down Delta, he found himself in a lab at the bottom of Feuntes ship. Vernette learned that Feuntes was attempting to duplicate Delta. Vernette made the arbitrary decision to end Feuntes work. Vernette found the Brute test subject and executed him and destroyed all of Feuntes research and progress. Vernette left the labs and took the Elevator to the bridge. While he was enroute to the bridge, the elevator stopped and the door opened to reveal Leon, Paul, and Delta. Vernette saw Delta had taken a serious beating and that Paul Letterman was carrying a brain in a jar,namely, Dan Letterman's brain in a jar. Confused by this, Vernette told the trio to head to the hanger bay and wait for him to return with Sergeant Forkes and Max. Vernette met up with Harold and Max and together, they made their way to the hanger where Delta, Leon, and Paul were waiting. The team managed to escape, only after Paul had dropped the jar containing his brothers brain. The jar rolled out of the pelican and was left behind on Feuntes ship. Vernette left Harold in charge of Feuntes interrogation. It was learned that Feuntes and his ONI associates had a real gripe with the Forkes family. It was also learned that Harold had a brother named Chuck and he was currently assigned to New York for guard and protection duty. Vernette decided to to send RTJ to find Chuck and ensure his safety. Chuck was was found and convinced to return to The Cloak and Dagger. RTJ, minus Delta, max, and a new recruit named Lance, attempted to return to The Cloak and Dagger in a Pelican but were shot down before they could return. RTJ was captured. Unaware of this, Vernette contacted Delta and asked if RTJ was still on the surface. Delta said that RTJ had already made their way back and should already be on The Cloak and Dagger. Vernette assumed the worst and ordered Delta, Max, and lance to go and search for RTJ. The trio spent roughly 2 hours searching and they eventually found the Pelican. The pelican was searched and there was no sign of RTJ, only a few dead marines remained. Upon further searching, Delta uncovered evidence that Admiral Kirk Korman was responsible for capturing RTJ. When Vernette learned that Admiral Korman was still alive, he was furious, like usual. He knew that something was afoot. he knew that big trouble was coming down the pike for him. He couldn't take any chances. Vernette ordered Delta to go to California, find Courtney, and bring her back to The Cloak and Dagger so Vernette could protect her from everyone. After Delta had left, Vernette was confronted by an ODST named Lance. Vernette knew who lance was to a great extent, but Lance was none the wiser. Lance suffered from amnesia. Little did Lance know at this time that Vernette was the cause for the amnesia. Vernette explained simple facts to Lance. Vernette excplained that lance's father was Scott Runner, that Vernette and Scott were bitter enemies on Harvest, that Scott left the UNSC and spent all of his days trying to kill Vernette. Lance was shocked by this revelation, but not overly excited about it. Lance left Vernette alone, deciding it was best to reflect on this and attempt to recover more of his memories. When Delta returned with Courtney, Vernette did not really have an exchange with her, short of telling that they needed to catch up. This was mainly due to the fact that Vernette's first officer, Command Welles, reported that a Luminary had been discovered in Great Britain Vernette instructed Delta to remain on the ship and protect both Max and Courtney. Vernette decided to take a few Marines with him to Great Britain as protection. When Vernette arrived, he was quickly betrayed by the Marines. Despite putting up a valiant effort to fight back, Vernette was overwhelmed. Vernette woke some time later aboard as ship. He had no idea where he was otherwise. Vernette was then address by Admiral Korman over a speaker system. Korman told Vernette that he was to partake in a little psychological experiment for Korman's personal research. Vernette was not happy, but he was forced to comply due to circumstances beyond his control. Vernette made his way through this experiment, witnessing events from his past. He was put into dangerous situations and emotional circumstances. However, he eventually made it through the experiment in one piece. However, what he found at the end saddened him. As Vernette escaped the experiment, he was presented with the dead body of Harold Forkes. Vernette, unwilling to leave Harold's body behind, decided to take it with him as he escaped. Vernette managed to get to an escape pod and escape from, what he soon discovered, was the flagship of Admiral Korman. Vernette spent several hours, floating in an escape pod that was slowly making its way to Earth. He soon discovered that there was an escape pod following him. There was one occupant, and it was Lt. Shella Lenner. Vernette had encountered a possibly clone of Lenner in the maze, thus, he believed that the occupant of the other pod was also a clone. The two argued for a bit but were eventually interrupted by Admiral Korman. Admiral Korman decided to lend Vernette a hand and send a transmission to the UNSC, allowing them to track down Vernette's pod. When The Cloak and Dagger finally arrived and rescued Vernette and Shella Lenner and brought them aboard. It was at this time that Vernette learned that Max had been placed in a coma due to a pathogen that had been injected into her. The pathogen was so deadly, that a coma needed to be induced to save her life. Vernette, in a fit of rage, decides to begin hunting down Admiral Korman, the man he arbitrarily blames for Max going into a coma. However, before he could embark on his mission, he was informed that several small capsuls had been sent to The Cloak and Dagger. Inside these capsules were the dead bodies of RTJ and of Harold's brother, Chuck. Vernette was furious. He wanted Korman dead. However, Vernette had to tell Admiral Forkes that both of his son's were dead. Vernette summoned Admiral Forkes to The Cloak and Dagger and informed James that both Harold and Chuck were dead, killed at the hands of Admiral Korman. Vernette learned from one of his medical officers that Max had been infected with a modified version of a pathogen that Vernette helped create. Vernette was intrigued to learn this. He was also glad this was the case. He now knew how to help Max. Delta, who was currently tracking down a rouge UNSC Marine, returned to the Cloak and Dagger just in time to be reassigned to help Vernette storm an ONI Research facility on Earth in order to find the pathogen and develop a cure for it. The two went to Earth and devised a plan to steal the pathogen. Vernette would walk into the facility and try and steal the pathogen with no incident. If someone gave him a hard time, Delta was to attack the facility and create a diversion. Little did Vernette know, Courtney and Shella had stowed away on Vernette's Vulture and joined him on this mission. Although Vernette did not like this, he accepted their help. They managed to steal the pathogen and escape from the facility. They returned to the Cloak and Dagger where Vernette's Medical staff was able to develop a cure for Max, effectively curing her of the pathogen. Max was restored to health. Shortly after, a Brute Assault Carrier had broken through the defensive lines and flew straight towards Earth. With the Cloak and Dagger being the only ship at Earth, Vernette was forced to engage an Assault Carrier by himself. The battle was going pretty well for Vernette. This was the first time The Cloak and Dagger had been battle tested and it stood up to the challenge. However, this did not stop Vernette from alerting NAVCOM to the danger. Admiral Forkes, who was some distance away from Earth, had received the distress call from NAVCOM. He decided to go back to Earth and help Vernette fight the Assault Carrier. However, despite Korman helping the situation, both ships were defeated. It was learned that the Brutes did not care about Earth, they wanted information. They agreed to let both ships survive, in exchange for Vernette and Korman. Korman immediatly agreed to this exchange, however, Vernette did not like the idea of being held prisoner by Brutes. However, his limited options demanded that he surrender. Vernette and Korman were interrogated. When they refused to surrender any information, they were both put on trial as war criminals. They were not sentenced to death,but they were told they would have a chance to survive if they passed a test of endurance. The brutes told the two that they will be dropped in a place that is inhospitable and very dangerous. The next thing Korman and Vernette knew, they were in the middle of the desert in Las Vegas. Vernette and Korman spent most of the time arguing over everything. from ethics to personal responsibility. Vernette did not enjoy his time with Korman, in fact, he would of rather died then spent his time with Korman. After spending many hours wandering the desert, Vernette was finally rescued by Delta who had gone out to search for him. Delta was perfectly ready to kill Korman but was stopped by Vernette who said that right now, Korman was the least of his worries. When Vernette finally returned to The Cloak and Dagger, he was presented with the news that Commander Welles, his first officer, had been killed by a Brute named Dirk. Dirk was a Brute, much like Delta was, who was supposedly more advanced then Delta was. Vernette was growing sick and tired of all the dissidents running around. To further make the situation worse, Vernette learned that Lt. Cooke had become the new Fleet Admiral for his "excellent" work with Dirk. Vernette decided it was time to pay HIGHCOM a visit and begin sorting out all the problems the UNSC had. He first order of business was to remove Cooke as the Fleet Admiral. Vernette and Delta went to HIGHCOM HQ in Sydney, Australia. Vernette demanded answers from the HIGHCOM security council as to why Cooke was now a fleet admiral. The Admirals gave Vernette no good reason. They told Vernette that they did not owe him any explanation. Even when Vernette threatened the HIGHCOM security council with being arrested, they still didn't answer. Vernette eventually just ordered Delta to kill the entire security council. Vernette and Delta decided to wait for Cooke to show up to get his promotion. Eventually, Cooke, along with Durk, did show up and Vernette and Delta ambushed them. Delta and Durk squared off, and did, in fact, managed to overpower Delta. Nearing the end of the fight Durk turned on Vernette and was about to kill him. However, Vernette managed to evade Durk so Delta could recover and toss an incendiary grenade at Durk, effectively ending the fight. Delta was badly hurt after the fight, almost as badly hurt as his ego. Vernette assured Delta that he did an excellent job given the circumstances. Vernette and Delta returned to The Cloak and Dagger. Delta went to the cybernetics lab to get repaired. Vernette was ambushed by Lance Runner, who demanded answers from Vernette. Vernette told Lance that despite Vernette's treachery, lance had a better life in the end. lance told Vernette that his day of reckoning was upon him. Vernette shrugged this warning off and went about his business. Vernette was later approached by Delta. Delta informed Vernette that Scott Runner had stolen components to build inhibitors. Delta said that Scott had enough material to build thousands, if not millions of inhibitors. Delta asked Vernette if he could accompany Lance to Doisac to stop Scott from turning his people into a bunch of mindless drones. Vernette expressed concern over this request because Delta was asking Vernette to let him save the brute home world. Vernette decided to let Delta leave to go and save his home world. Vernette told Delta that the reason he granted this request was not because Delta had saved his life on countless occasions, but because they were friends, and Vernette would not want to damage their friendship by not allowing Delta the chance to save his world. Delta left with Max and Lance and headed to Doisac. While Delta was trying to save his home world, Vernette was overseeing the capture of Admiral Rojas, a midget who had ties to the Mafia and who was possibly involved with Cooke's little scheme. Vernette sent the recently found Commander Lyons to assist in Rojas capture. The operation proved very successful, and it ended in Rojas capture. Vernette ordered Lester MacTavish to interrogate Admiral Rojas. MacTavish interrogate Rojas and learned that he and Cooke were partners. Vernette didn't much care for Rojas after that point. Vernette did not care what happened to him. Vernette had his sights set on Cooke. Some time later, Delta, Lance and Max, had returned from Doisac, successful in their "mission" to stop Scott Runner from using the inhibitors on the population of Doisac. Delta was pleased that his world was safe, while Lance was pleased that he got to kill his treacherous father. During that mission, Lance learned that he could possibly of been a SPARTAN. When he asked Vernette about this, Vernette told Lance the truth. Vernette told Lance that before the First Battle of Earth, he had set a trap for the insurrectionists. At the time, the insurrectionists were targeting Vernette's facilities and research bases in hopes they could bring him down. Vernette had leaked information to the insurrections about a base that Vernette has booby trapped in hopes of killing the insurrectionists. The insurrectionists capitalized on this and went to sabotage the facility, only to all get wiped out by a massive explosion. Lance was the only survivor. Lance had suffered brain damage from the explosion. As a result, lance had lost his memory of all previous events. Vernette told Lance that while he was in the hospital recovering, he had injected Lance with a modoifed SPARTAN super serum, claiming that it was a medicine to help him recover. Vernette had planned to use Lance to kill Scott. Vernette was pleased that his plan had come full circle. Lance was furious over this fact. He wanted to kill Vernette but he hesitated on the basis that Vernette was Max's father. The ONI Power Struggle Vernette was summoned to Kentucky, to HIGHCOM Site 4 under the premise that HIGHCOM had found information of Cooke. When Vernette arrived, he was greeted by a whole tribunal of Admirals, including the new Fleet Admiral Cooke. Vernette was told that he had been killing more of his own people then he had The Covenant. The tribunal told Vernette that he was going to face jail time for this. Vernette, naturally, was furious. He told this tribunal that he would not allow this to happen. He went on to say that The Cloak and Dagger would not allow him to be arrested. Fleet Admiral Cooke informed Vernette that they were going to fake Vernette's death with a flash clone, claiming it was going to die of a heart attack. Vernette was stripped of his rank and title and thrown in jail, while his clone wandered The Cloak and Dagger, ready to drop dead. When the clone had died, there were many mixed feelings. Some of the officers were glad, others, like Max, were devastated. Delta took Vernette's death especially hard. Delta went to go and see the corpse of the clone, still under the belief that the clone was the real Vernette. The now Director Cooke told Vernette that he will be assuming the identity of Director Gibson. Vernette spent the next two weeks in jail. He was given a television screen so he could watch Cooke "improve" the UNSC. Instead, he watched as Delta personally unraveled the UNSC, tearing down sensitive areas one by one. Vernette watched as the UNSC controlled news media branded Delta as a renegade and demonized him the worst possible fashion. Vernette knew that if anyone could save him, it was Delta. Delta was on the cusp of saving Vernette when Vernette's fortune turned. When Lester MacTavish was thrown into the same jail cell as Vernette for failing to kill Delta, MacTavish and Vernette conspired together to escape from prison. They both managed to escape from the jail cell but they soon learned they were not on Earth, rather, they were on a prison ship orbiting Earth. Vernette was able to contact Delta to pick them up and hide them. Vernette immediately got back to work, assigning MacTavish to infiltrate The Cloak and Dagger and rescue all of Vernette's loyal officers. Eventually, MacTavish was able to rescue his entire squad, Commander Lyons, and the ships Janitor, Leon. Vernette immediately began to delegate responsibilities to all of the people under his command. Vernette had reestablished his power base and was ready to move aganst Cooke and retake The Cloak and Dagger. Vernette was eventually summoned to a meeting by the rest of the UNSC Brass. Vernette suspected this was a trap, but he decided to go anyways. Vernette saw that many of the highest ranking UNSC Brass had been invited to the meeting. The two most noteable members, short of Vernette himself, were Fleet Admiral Forkes, Admiral Rojas, and Admiral Korman. Vernette was the only one that showed up armed to the teeth with weapons. Vernette was told that the new Director of ONI was doing absolutely nothing, and was hurting the war effort. Vernette was so utterly disgusted to hear this news. However, he also felt vindicated. Vernette was restored as the Director of ONI and Director Gibson was immediately branded a wanted man. As the meeting went on, Vernette reestabloshed his brand of justice and control. His first act was to kill Admiral Korman, executing him right in the meeting. Vernette assumed that Korman was finally dead. However, this was just another clone that Korman had sent in his stead. The rest of the Brass was utterly shocked by this action. However, Vernette told them that this is how he got things done. He told the rest of the Brass to just stand by and let him fix the UNSC. Moments later, Admiral Rojas attempted to assassinate Vernette. However, Vernette did not come to this meeting unprepared. Before coming to the meeting, Vernette had organized for MacTavish to act as cover. Vernette told MacTavish he had full permission to kill anyone in the meeting who tried to do any harm to Vernette. Before Rojas could kill Vernette, MacTavish has shot Rojas with a sniper rifle. Shortly after, Vernette decided it was time to get back to the war, as well as formulate the plan to bring about Cookes downfall. Despite not having the full resources of The Cloak and Dagger, Vernette still had the resources of The Ticonderoga. Vernette's first order of business was to assault a Brute base that had been located in Kazakhstan. Vernette ordered Sergeant MacTavish and Private Paul Letterman to carry out the assignment. Vernette expected the mission to be very straight forward. However, much time passed and Vernette grew concerned. He had no way of tracking MacTavish or Letterman had they of run into trouble. However, Vernette was able to detect a sensor ping coming from Kazakhstan. Vernette surmised that this could be MacTavish trying to contact Vernette. Vernette and Delta flew to Kazakhstan to investigate the sensor ping. When they arrived, Vernette met up with an old friend named Leonardo Tricolli. Leo was an inventor who Vernette Knew from Reach. After a bit of catching up, Vernette invited Leo to return with him back to The Ticonderoga. Leo accepted the offer. Vernette was soon afterwards confront my SHipmaster Kiven concerning Delta. Kiven told Vernette that he did not want to be on the same ship as Delta. The reason for this was because Delta had revealed his true identity to Kiven. Kiven had a long standing hatred for brutes, Barrabus included. Vernette told Kiven that despite Delta's past, and his rough demeanor, Delta was a good ally, and that he should not judge Delta based on past events. Vernette even went so far as to fully confess to Kiven that it was not Delta who murdered his brother at Reach. Vernette told Kiven that he has murdered Voro at Reach in retaliation for Voro killing Tyber. Vernette was able to convince Kiven to stick around for a bit longer. Director Vernette retaking the Cloak and Dagger Vernette's plans had all come together and he was ready to retake The Cloak and Dagger from Cooke. Vernette, along with RTJ, Delta, and Kiven, were able to gain access to The Cloak and Dagger and remove the remaining loyal forces aboard the ship. Cooke was found and subsequently killed by Courtney. With Cooke dead, the ONI Power Struggle officially ended, resulting in Vernette reclaiming full control over ONI once again. The Battle of Mars Shortly after reclaiming the Cloak and Dagger, Vernette had planned to enter Brute controlled Space using a captured Brute cruiser to begin launching attacks on outposts and colonies. However, Vernette was instead summoned to HIGHCOM Corporate, for a grand reopening, after Vernette blew it up during his conflict with Cooke. Vernette, along with the entire Navy Brass were in attendance. During the ceremony, a new Fleet Admiral was promoted. The new Fleet Admiral, named Joseph Sheperd, was appointed because of the death of Admiral Rojas. Vernette was not thrilled by Sheperd, but he did not shun him either. When Vernette was called to give a speech concerning Sheperd and recent events, a gunman attempted to kill Vernette. Sheperd However, took the bullet for Vernette. A week later, Vernette went to go and visit Sheperd in the hospital. Vernette thanked Sheperd for taking the bullet for him. He told Sheperd that he owed him a favor for the act. Before Vernette could explain further, Vernette was interrupted by Admiral Picard, who told Vernette that no further investigations were going to be launched on the gun man. Picard told Vernette that the gun man was mentally deranged and was just frozen in cryo sleep. Picard closed the case. Vernette was not pleased about this, already losing his patience with the UNSC, so soon after being reinstated to Director. Vernette stormed off and left the hospital. He planned to launch his own investigation. In the meantime, he assigned Max to scout out Mars for possible Covenant activity. The Cloak and Dagger left Earth on assignment, for the first time in its service. During his time at Mars, Vernette began to notice some rather suspicious activity on the part of Fleet Admiral Sheperd. He noticed that Sheperd was hiding information from Vernette, and intentionally not sharing mission reports and activities with Vernette. Vernette, when he questions Sheperd about this behaviors, Sheperd told Vernette he was under no obligation to tell Vernette. Vernette's suspicion quickly turned into aggression. He eventually resolved into using violence to force information out of SHeperd. Vernete brought The Cloak and Dagger to full battle alert and contacted Sheperd. Vernette told Sheperd that he has learned about the CIP's and he knew exactly what they were used for. He gave Sheperd one last chance to begin sharing information. Sheperd again refused to help Vernette. This pushed Vernette over the edge. Vernette decided it was time for more aggressive negotiations. Vernette began to fire warning shots on Sheperd. Vernette told Sheperd that if he does not begin sharing information, he would destroy Sheperd's ships. Shortly afterward, Vernette had received word that RTJ had been all but wiped out in various way. Vernette was very displeased with this news. He put full blame on Sheperd for what had happened. However, Vernette did not accept that RTJ was all dead, so Vernette ordered his crew to begin an immediate search for MacTavish and his team. Vernette was once again treading on thin ice with the UNSC. He decided it was time to pant a spy on Sheperd's ship. Vernette talk to Lance Runner, who had just awoken from a comatose state, and instructed him to begin espionage operations on Sheperd. Lance, despite his hatred for Vernette, complied with the request. However, Lance quickly became unresponsive on his mission. Vernette grew concerned for the integrity of the mission and sent Captain Lyons, posing as an ONI security agent, to perform a "security evaluation" of Sheperd's ship. However, the true purpose of this mission was to both spy on Sheperd, and find and extract Lance, in case he had been compromised. Lyons was able to extract Lance and return to The Cloak and Dagger, as well as bring back some valuable information. Vernette learned that ONI had already been investigating Sheperd. Lyons told Vernette that he had encountered an officer named Captain Leslie Jenkins. Lyons told Vernette that Jenkins would soon contact Vernette with logistics about their mission. Vernette was not satisfied with the soon aspect of the explanation, and decided to begin investigating Leslie Jenkins. During his investigation, Vernette had a run-in with two especially odd ODSTs. Vernette was very suspecicious, and when he attempted to ascertain their identities, they fled. Vernette ordered a lock down of The Cloak and Dagger and a high security deck by deck search of the ship. Vernette soon learned from Delta that Sergeant Harold Forkes was on board the ship, Vernette was totally shocked. When Vernette began to question Delta's sanity, Delta told Vernette that he had smelt Sergeant Forkes scent off of Max, and in Max's room. Vernette had much reason to believe this, stating that Delta was never wrong about scents. Vernette had his soldiers searching the ship from stem to stern for the intruders, which he now had reason to believe were Lester MacTavish and Harold Forkes. However, in spite of his best efforts, the intruders managed to elude The Cloak and Dager seucirty forces and escape. Dismayed, but not defeated, Vernette vowed to continue chasing those two until he had answers from them. Immediatly following this event however, Vernette was contacted by a Fleet Admiral Sheperd and told that Admiral Kirk Korman must die, simply on the basis that Sheperd "believed" Korman was trying to frame him. For what exactly, Sheperd would not specify. This puzzled Vernette, as he had no professional reason to kill Korman. This raised Vernette's suspicion. In spite of this, Vernette had the Cloak and Dagger plot a course for the Dead Ringer so he could, first hand, observe and protect Korman in his own way. It was not long after this that Vernette was approached by two ONI Agents by the Names of Leslie Jenkins and Murdoc Venture. They came with information detailing the situation with Sheperd and Korman. Additionally, they also informed Vernette that several soldiers listed as KIA were, in fact, actually MIA and being held or detained by Sheperd, either directly or by proxy. Ins pite of this, the two ONI Agents still insisted that Korman be killed. Vernette did not want this. He was not prepared to let Sheperd, or anyone else for that matter, get their way as far as Korman was concerned. Vernette only cared about securing his own position and digging up other peoples plans, and keeping Korman alive was the best way to do it. Vernette and Delta promptly departed the Cloak and Dagger and borded the Dead Ringer to secure Admiral Korman. However, Vernette was diverted when he decided to exact a bit of revenge on Korman by burning down his on-board hedge maze. After burning down the hedge maze using an incindiary grenade, Vernette and Delta proceeded to Admiral Kormans's office only to find that Admiral Korman was already beaten and attacked. Vernette, in spite of this, still offered his services to Korman. Vernette told Korman that he was sent by Admiral Sheperd to kill him. Vernette told  Korman that he would not kill him, simply due to the fact that Sheperd was trying to frame Kirk for crimes he did not commit. Vernette stated that he would not kill a man for crimes he did not commit. Vernette stated that Kirk did not need to accept his help. However, Vernette told Kirk that he stood a better chance of surviving if they worked together to eliminate Sheperd. Vernette was genuine in his offer. Kirk was unable to decide, and thus, Vernette left him to think about the offer. Vernette waited for Sheperd or Kirk to make their next move. As Vernette waited, he continued to investigate into his would-be assassin. His investigation, in conjunction with research and intel stolen by Tyber, eventually culminated in a reunion with Lamarr Letterman, a soldier he first met during the Harvest campaign. As it turns out, Vernette's would be assassin was Lamarr. As it turns our, Lamarr tried to kill Vernette under false pretense. Admiral Sheperd misinformed Lamarr about the death of Daniel letterman, his son, and thus, this cause Lamarr to act out in a fit of rage. Vernette surmised that the only reason Lamarr was now in cryo stasis was so Sheperd could remove any evidence that could be used against him. After a brief discussion, Vernette managed to convince Lamarr that he did not kill Daniel, and that Lamarr should hand over any information he had that could help implicate Sheperd. Lamarr had very little informtion beyond what Vernette knew, but, what he did have, managed to wrap up all the loose ends and tie up any fact that needed explaining. Lamarr stated that he would be no use to Vernette, but Lamarr added that he did know someone who might be useful. Lamarr added that Jermaine Freeman was still alive and would prove invaluable in assisting Vernette. Vernette, dismayed at this fact, accepted soley on the principle of killing Sheperd. Vernette learned from Lamarr that Jermaine was hiding on Mars. As such, Vernette accompanied Lamarr to Mars, to meet with Jermaine. Upon arriving at Mars, Vernette and Lamarr made their way towards the Hells Pass Cemetary. Lamarr led Vernette to a tombstone marked Jermaine Freeman. Vernette was not amused by this. He expressed his dissatisfaction at the fact that Lamarr brought him to a grave site as opposed to the actual person. However, Lamarr moved the tombstone to reveal a small crawlway leading downwards. Vernette was intrigued, to say the least. In spite of his better judgement saying this was a trap, he simply had to see this first hand. Upon entering, he met Jermiane, and the rest of his old squad, simply hiding out in this little hideout. Vernette did a bit of reminiscing with Jermaine before updating him on the current situation with Sheperd. Jermaine was interested in helping Vernette dispose of Sheperd as the reasons behind Jermaines defection from the UNSC in the first place was the widespread corruption in the institution. Vernette was pleased at this, and resolved to meet with Jermaine later on the Cloak and Dagger to further discuss strategy. Vernette returned to the Cloak and Dagger and awaited Jermaine's arrival. When Jermaine arrived, he arrived with a plan. Jermaine discovered that Admiral Shepered had commisioned a bunker to be built on Mars that would serve as a secondary base of operations in case anything happened to his ship, The Intervention, then the bunker would be a secure spot for him to flee to. Jermaine told Vernette to use the stolen Covenant CCS Cruiser to assault The Intervention once he has fully disaled the engines. Vernette liked this plan, as it would culminate in Sheperd being cornered and ripe for the picking. Jermaine added that they should utilize the captured Covenant CCS class Cruiser, that was currently being held over Earth, to further scare Sheperd into his bunker if need be. Vernette agreed to the plan and the two parted ways to prepare everything. Vernette informed Delta of the plan and they devised a plan to steal the Covenant CCS Class Cruiser, known simply as Fort Knox to the UNSC, right from dry dock. The plan involved the use of Vernette's Stealth Vulture and Holodrones disguised as Brutes. As most of the occupants of Fort Knox were civilian contractors, there would be little effort on the part of the Holodrones in retaking the ship and scaring the civilians to their Pelicans. Vernette knew that if he was caught stealing Fort Knox, it would end very badly for him. As such, he devised a plan to use the resources of the Cloak and Dagger to fake a retrieveal mission. By using trusted soldiers and officers, Vernette would stage a mission where his crew would retrieve Fort Knox. With a good alabi, Vernette would be cleared of any wrong-doing. Upon the successful theft of Fort Knox, Vernette, Delta, and Tye used the ship to attack The Intervention. With Jermaine sent to disable the engines on the Intervention, Sheperd could not run anywhere, thus being forced to abandon his ship and flee to the surface of Mars, to hide in his bunker. Vernette, pleased with the success of the first part of the mission, felt it was necessary to start dealing with the cornered Sheperd using official channels of inquiry as opposed to brute force tactics. Vernette decided to go to Sheperd's bunker under the premise of investigating why The Intervention was destroyed. Vernette managed to bluff his way into the bunker only to end up being held hostage by a now deranged and paranoid Sheperd. Vernette expressed his disappointment in Sheperd for his actions and deceptions. Sheperd confessed tha he has spent a good portion of his life working on the Covenant CIPs, trying to utilize them and break their security measures. Vernette informed Sheperd that what Sheperd spent many years trying to do, he did in a matter of minutes with the help of Delta. Vernette added that Delta told him how to bypass the security of a CIP using engineers, and fully utilize them. Sheperd was shocked to say the least. Sheperd confessed that he had hit rock bottom. The only thing he wanted was to be recognized as someone who helped with the war effort. Vernette added thathe not onloy lied and decieved the UNSC, but he endangered the lives of other people, namely RTJ, and used them as simply a means to an end. Sheperd, defeated, demanded that Vernette give him a full pardon. However, Vernette was not to be budged by this smoke. Vernette simply refused, confident in that fact that no matter what Sheperd said or did, he was soon to meet a grizzly fate. As such, it was not long before all of Sheperds mistakes caught up with him. This culminated in Vernette shooting Sheperd and putting him out of his misery. With Sheperd out of the way, Vernette had time to deal with the minor issues at hand. Vernette soon learned that Lance, the Spartan, had been fateally wounded in a confrontation with the Flood, and subsequently frozen in a cryo stasis pod to keep his brain activty from degrading any further then it already had. Vernette was actually quite happy that Lace died, as he and Lance had done nothing but argue and fight with eachother over the most trivial matters. Vernette was prepared to let Lance die, but decided to try and save his life simply because Delta asked him to try. Vernette agreed and took Lance's body to the medical bay for analysis. Vernette soon learned that the flood spores still present in Lance's body had started to re-write his DNA, making it impossible to clone and repair any damaged organs. With no aparent medical procedure to help Lance, Vernette decided the best course of action was cybernetics. However, the parts and equipment needed for the cybernetic organs were scarce and were reserved for more important needs. As such, Vernette was forced to order that Recovery team Joker go to HIGHCOM Corporate in Brazil to steal the parts needed. With RTJ dispatched to get the needed equipment, all Vernette could do is wait. While waiting for RTJ to return, he attended to more personal responsibilities, taking the time to relax and enjoy a bit of alone time with Courtney. Vernette managed to actually get a bit of down time before the grind of work resumed. He returned to the bridge for a status update on RTJ, only to learn that they had not been checking in, and that they had fallen out of contact. Vernette was worried, as this could indicate serious problems with the mission. To compound the issue, Delta showed up on the bridge in a rather terrible mood. Delta seemed very concerned with the status of RTJ. Vernette informed Delta of the situation. He was surprised to see this kind of behaviour from Delta. He had never seen him like this before. Vernette began to clue in as to why Delta was so upset when Falcon Claw showed up on the bridge. Shuya, the leader of Falcon Claw, who was also a super soldier, though not a Spartan in the traditional sense, requested to have a word in private with Vernette. Shuya suggested to Vernette that RTJ be replaced by Falcon Claw because RTJ had become lazy and disorganized in their tactics. Vernette was not fully convinced of this, but he had started to notice RTJ's talenst dimishing and the thought had crossed his mind to replace them. He told Shuya that he would consider a future change if the situation with RTJ did not change. Vernette was disaapointed in RTJ for their failings, having come to expect better work from them. It was not long after that Vernette was informed of a fight going on between Shuya and Delta near the locker rooms. Vernette began to feel ore like a referee and less of an Admiral at this point. Upon arriving to the locker rooms, he saw Delta and Shuya almost tearing eachother apart. Vernette stopped the fight, telling Delta to chill and simply walk away. Delta agreed and grudgingly left the scene. Vernette was very curious as to why Delta had become so enraged by Shuya and Falcon Claw. He knew there was some tension between the two for personal reasons, but beyond that, he had not other idea as to why Delta was being so overtly aggressive. Upon further investigation, Vernette soon learned *Error in recovering further details. Please stand by...* Personal Endeavors and Research Inhibitor Research In the year 2523, Vernette began the construction of a small mechanical device known as The Vernette-Type Psychological Inhibitor or simply, The Inhibitor. This device, in its early stages had one simple function; the complete and total control over a test subjects emotional state of mind from a neural interface, commonly found on UNSC flag officers. The Inhibitor was highly classified and incredibly dangerous. If it was removed while active, both the host and the test subject would die. At its early stages, it was only designed to work with a few species, human being one of them. Fortunatly, Vernette was able to correct this limitation. Vernette continued his work on the Inhibitors over the next 28 years, making countless revisions, fail safes, and precautions to the device. It was only fully completed near the end of 2552. The final product was used to assist in the augmentation of Chieftain Barrabus. All that is needed is one inhibitor to do basic control, but a whole network of devices is needed for higher functions The Inhibitor represents total domination and control. It has several basic abilities including: The control of the current state of mind. The control and regulation of the subjects physiology. The ability to plant mental suggestions. The inhibitor also had higher functions The creation of a virtual brain, allowing full AI interface into the brain. The ability to block and control memories and thoughts The ability to completely control free will The inhibitor has been duplicated on one event by Admiral Korman  for use on Dirk, but it was nowhere near as good as Vernette's inhibitor design. Medical Research Vernette, although not an avid fan of medical research of any kind, had been forced to dwell in the subject on one occasion. During the Second Battle of Earth, when Admiral Korman used an experimental augmentation drug on Sergeant Harold Forkes, Vernette was forced to steal research notes on said drug and devise a cure for Harold. Since this time, Vernette has stayed away from this kind of work. Combat Weaponry Vernette had devised several interesting combat systems throughout his career. However, they were only finished during his time as a Fleet Admiral, when he had the resources and clearance to authorize the construction of such systems. HAVOS Warthog - A one of a kind Warthog designed by Vernette. This vehicle's design began in 2550 and it was not fully completed unti; 2553. It was first field tested on Mars during a rescue mission. HAVOS is an acronym for "Heavy Anti Vehicle Ordinance System". the HAVOS is outfitted with a large scale, and incredibly powerful version of the Spartan laser that does not require charge time, and can fire in sustained blasts. However, the cannon itself does require a gunner, and it does have a battery life. In 2-3 second bursts, this vehicle and destroy a Phantom or Pelican in roughly 4 shots. Of course, the vehicle was for Vernette's personal use so it has not become mainstream equipment. This vehicle has since been put into mothballs as a make-work project. Mark IX Neural Interface Helmet - Nicknamed The Mark IX, this helmet is a rather interesting weapon system that utilized modified Inhibitor technology to create a virtual up link to the hosts brain, which an AI can utilize. This helmet allowed the wearer to have fully integrated AI support. Unlike normal armor which allows an AI to communicate with a soldier, The Mark IX allows the AI to be fully aware of the soldiers vitals down to the most insignificant detail. Furthermore, it allows an AI to communicate with the users thoughts, as opposed to using a comm channel, which adds a layer of security, preventing possible eavesdropping from enemies. The Helmet is also equipped with environmental sensors, allowing the AI to have omnidirectional sight and scanning ability. This is helpful to prevent attacks from behind, and it allows AI's to show the current users enemies hiding under cloak. Aside from AI's having total freedom to hear the users thoughts, and even analyzed past memories for tactical or personal reasons, the Mark IX greatly enhances combat efficiency. Bravo Kilo Power Armor - This is a non-standard armor set, utilized only by the Chieftain of the Brutes; Delta. The schematics for this armor were destroyed by Vernette to protect its design and to give Delta an unequivocal upper hand against all opponents. This armor is one of a kind. It is specifically tailored for the physiological needs of Delta. It bears a striking resemblance to a Chieftain's ceremonial armor, but the armor plating is thicker, and the armor covers the entire body, as opposed to standard ceremonial armor, that has exposed fleshy areas. The armor was enhanced using a lot of the technology used in the MJOLNIR Mark VI armor. Vernette came under a lot of fire from both ONI and HIGHCOM for utilizing this technology to enhance an "enemy" soldier. The armor retains its Covenant shield systems. However, there were several improvements to the armor itself: Hydrostatic Gel. Reactive Metal Liquid Crystal Layer. Automatic Biofoam Injectors. Integrated AI support, works in conjunction with the inhibitors. Titanium Nanocomposite Bodysuit. Nighthawk's Power Armor - Information unavailable Anaconda's Power Armor - Information unavailable Nighthawk's/Anaconda's Weapons - Information unavailable Human Cloning Vernette attempted full human cloning one on occasion. When the brother of Paul Letterman was killed, Vernette agreeded to try and perfect a cloning process that resulted in a normal lifespan and survival of the clone. He even went so far as to devise an artinerary for how the clone should be raise, so as to avoid social complications. However, the clone was killed by an agent of Admiral Korman. The Schism *Information unavailable at this time* Interpersonal Relationships Family / Close relationships Diana Vernette - The wife of Preston Vernette. Diana was killed on Harvest during the initial Brute invasion. Not much is known about this individual, most of the records on this individual were destroyed in the invasion. Steven Vernette - The first born son of Diana and Preston Vernette. Steven was killed on Harvest during the initial Brute invasion. Not much is known about this individual, most of the records on this individual were destroyed in the invasion. Bradley Vernette - The second born son of Diana and Preston Vernette. Bradley was killed on Harvest during the initial Brute invasion. Not much is known about this individual, most of the records on this individual were destroyed in the invasion. Walter Vernette - The father of Preston Vernette. Walter, along with his wife Sarah, was killed on Harvest in a vehicular accident when Vernette was only 4 years old. Walter was an architecht who designed military buildings for the UNSC. Other then this, not much is known about this individual, most of the records on this individual were destroyed in the invasion. Sarah Vernette - The mother of Preston Vernette. Sarah, along with her husband Walter, was killed on Harvest in a vehicular accident when Vernette was only 4 years old. Not much is known about this individual, most of the records on this individual were destroyed in the invasion. Tyber Vernette - Preston Vernette's older brother. Preston and Tyber spent their early childhood, looking out for each other. They lived their lives as petty street criminals, being bounced from foster home to foster home. Tyber eventually joined the UNSC Marine Corps. Preston felt betrayed by this decision. Preston himself eventually joined the UNSC Navy and was estranged from his brother for many years. It was not until The Battle of Miridem were they reunited when Tyber was transferred to The King Raven as the Staff Sergeant of the ship. Tyber was eventually killed on Reach. Tyber death had a profound impact on Preston. Preston was so distraught over his brothers death, he had his brain transferred to an AI construct. Tyber currently serves as Delta's tactical adviser. Friends Chieftain Barrabus / Delta - Vernette's longest living, as well as longest loyal friend. A very unlikely friend given the war, Chieftain Barrabus shared a militaristic likeness to Vernette, in the sense that their methodologies were usually in sync. Compounded by the fact that Vernette shared an utter dislike for Elites and Spartans, it was a given that Barrabus had to have respect for Vernette. It was because of this, they both managed to maintain a healthy friendship and working arrangement throughout the war. It was not until the second battle of Earth did their working arrangement change. With the advent of Delta, secrecy was no longer needed when it came to meetings and associations. However, to ensure Delta's safety, Vernette was always cautious never to let Delta's true identity be known. Delta was personally charged with the protection of Vernette and his assets and goals. Vernette considers Delta one of his closest friends. Sergeant Eugene Korman - Captain, then Sergeant Eugene Korman was Vernette's right hand man during the early stages of The Second Battle of Earth. Vernette relied on Korman for most everything when it came to the ground operations. Vernette even began to show partiality towards Eugene, going so far as to take his side when a physical fight involving Sergeant Eugene Korman and Captain Dennis Buerscott took place. The fight was started by Eugene, but Vernette overlooked this. He gave the appearance of impartiality, but in reality, he let Korman slide with no punishment, while the Buerscott was threatened with severe punishment. In the minutes before Korman's death, Vernette took it upon himself, despite being aboard a ship that was about to self-destruct, to locate Korman and help get him to an escape pod. When Korman died, Vernette found it a very difficult decision to leave the dead body of Korman behind on said ship. Admiral James Forkes - James and Vernette had been friends for many years. However, their friendship was jeopardized during The Battle of Reach when Vernette, forcefully, put James into cryo sleep to "protect him" from both the Covenant and possible UNSC traitors. Vernette knew he needed to set aside important officers in the UNSC and he had to set aside his friendship for the good of the UNSC. It was not until the Second Battle of Earth that James was removed from cryo sleep by Vernette, and James' son, Harold. James was still pissed off at Vernette for freezing him, going so far as to punch Vernette in the face. Vernette laughed, knowing he deserved it. Although their friendship took a hit as a result of the freezing, they eventually reconciled when Vernette helped James, and his wife Nora, reconcile their differences. Since that time, they have remained excellent friends. Sergeant Harold Forkes - Although Harold by no means was a replacement for Korman, he was just as valued of an asset of Vernette's none the less. He was also a very trusted and reliable soldier, one of the few soldiers Vernette ever personally risked his own safety to help. Nearing the end of 2552, Vernette personally led an excursion to Juneau, Alaska to recover a cure, rather, the template for a cure, for Sergeant Forkes when he was deliberately infected with a retroactive physical enhancement pathogen. Normally, such a pathogen would be a benefit for a person, however, the pathogen was highly experimental, and it always resulted in the death of the subject. Vernette was able to recover the cure template and eventually was able to synthesize a cure. However, in true fashion, Harold Forkes was eventually killed by Admiral Kirk Korman, a feat that Vernette refuses to forgive or forget. Lieutenant Shella Lenner - Although their relationship was strained at times, Shella and Vernette were, for the most part, friends. Vernette, despite Shella's non-military background, considered Shella an excellent soldier, capable of extraordinary feats of both courage and heroism. Vernette was usually lenient, allowing her to get away with things he would other kill someone for. This was first observed when he allowed Shella to back out of her mission to kill the UNSC Fugative Stolt on the basis that Shella cared deeply for Stolt. Shipmaster Rkla - The closest thing Vernette has to a counterpart in the Separatist forces. Vernette considers Rkla one of his more important allies. Rkla has always made himself available when Vernette needed an extra gun or an extra ship to bolster his hand in a conflict. Rkla has even saved Vernette's life from a pack of brutes in Alaska. Rkla earned a great deal of respect and admiration from Vernette for this. Vernette and RKla continued their association throughout the war, coming to each others aid when one of them needed the others assistance. Overall, as the war went on, Rkla became less of an ally and more of a friend. Admiral Kirk Korman - Kirk Korman is the most despicable man ever born, as far as Vernette was concerned. Vernette's problems with Korman began when Korman tested a super soldier serum on Sergeant Forkes. From that point forward, Vernette had an unequivocal hatred for Korman. Vernette used every opportunity he got to try kill Admiral Korman. Despite the location, scenario, or circumstances, if Vernette was in the same room as Kirk Korman, Vernette would draw his gun and attempt to kill Korman. Although Vernette has succeeded in killing Admiral Korman twice, Admiral Korman has always been one step ahead of Vernette. Korman would always utilize clones as decoys when any situation involving Vernette is at hand. Although Vernette had worked cooperatively with Korman on a few occasions, Vernette has always tried to kill Korman immediately after they had settled their mutual business. Ultimately, the two reconciled in 2553 when Korman was the only military officer who was fully prepared to help him retake Earth. Since this time, the two have become friends, although, distant Enemies Lt. Cooke / Fleet Admiral Cooke / Director Gibson - The only man who has ever successfully launched a coup d'état on Vernette. This man holds a special place in Hell where Vernette is concerned. Although Vernette's hatred for Kirk Korman is unmatched, Cooke takes a very close second. Cooke managed to duplicate the process used to create Delta, and created his own augmented Brute named Durk. Vernette saw this as an affront to his years of work, as well as an insult to his intentions, and an insult to what Delta stands for. Vernette despised Cooks ideologies and his methods. Vernette especially despised the fact that Cooke used Vernette's own methods against him. Although Vernette met his lowest low when Cooke managed to wrongfully imprison him, falsify his death, and strip Vernette of his rank and command, Vernette was ultimately grateful to Cooke for one thing. Cooke copied Vernette's ideologies of control and power. Vernette spent his entire life, always shunning his own desires for power and control. When Vernette saw someone who mirrored him commit the atrocities that Cooke did, it renewed Vernette's belief in his own sense of good and his belief that his desire for power and control did, in fact, have noble and just roots. When Vernette reclaimed power from Cooke, he knew that with as much as he held, he had a moral responsibility to uphold what was good and right. The UNSC In General - Admiral Vernette has a very unsteady relationship with the UNSC. After years of dedicated service, he has become quite jaded. Vernette saw the true rot in the UNSC, and despite his better judgement telling him to ditch it, he sticks around, hoping to, in some way, improve it, or restore it to some degree. Although Vernette's own methods are much worse then the UNSC's methods, Vernette believes his methods work for a good, that the ends justify the means. Vernette believes the UNSC has no concept of the greater good, and is nothing more then a bureaucratic government. HIGHCOM - Vernette has been used and betrayed by HIGHCOM more times then he would like. It was HIGHCOM that was responsible for his wrongful incarceration, and the subsequent ONI power struggle. Ultimatly, Vernette's dislike for HIGHCOM resulted in HIGHCOM being disbanded after 2553. ONI - Vernette does not have any major gripes with ONI. He does have issues with them, but issues that pale in comparison to his issues with HIGHCOM. ONI, on several occasions, have tried to kidnap Delta for experimentation. This has generated a rouge streak in Vernette, which, in itself has caused problems. ONI has frequently given Vernette problems about his staunch defense of a Brute. However, ONI ceased its criticisms when Vernette became the Director of ONI. UNSCDF - The UNSCDF and Vernette get along quite well. Most of the people loyal to Vernette reside in the military branch. The Marines and ODSTs always follow orders, and in return, Vernette will always spring to the defense of the UNSCDF. The Covenant The Loyalists - Also known as The Brutes. As a UNSC Admiral, Vernette sees the Loyalist army as the enemy. However, Vernette does not have any hatred or animosity towards the Brutes as a whole. In fact, he has a profound respect and like for Brutes. Vernette finds it difficult to categorize them. During Vernette's wrongful imprisonment, A Loyalist named Chieftain Vargus assisted Delta and Max in the rescue plan. Vargus even went so far as to have his Brutes attack a UNSC super prison in order to create a distraction for Max and Delta. Vernette's like of the Brutes played a vital role in the formation of the alliance between ONI and the Brutes in 2555. The Separatists - Also known as The Elites. The movement Vernette helped bring about. Vernette has had a few dealings with the Separatists, but overall, has never really gone beyond military briefings and status reports. He dealings with the broke down after 2553. Vernette does not hate Elites, but he does have a very profound distrust of them, with a few exceptions Ships of Service The King Raven The King raven was a Halcyon class cruiser and Vernette's first ship that he commanded. This ship saw roughly 28 years of combat, and thus, it is widely regarded as the longest serving ship in UNSC history. As a result of the amount of combat this ship saw, Vernette was forced to improvise repairs to the ship, even going so far as to modify the ship from original design: Two Magnetic Accelerator Cannons Three-Hundred Archer Missile Pods Sixty-Five 50mm MLA Auto-cannons The King Raven also went above and beyond its standard complement of equipment: Twenty-Five Shiva nuclear warheads Two NOVA warheads (Circa Second Battle for Earth) Over Twelve-Thousand Archer Missiles Large quantities of Vultures, Pelicans, Longswords, and Various Ground Vehicles The King Raven was ultimately destroyed during the Second Battle for Earth. After exhausting all of its weapons and equipment, and sustaining irreversible damage to the hull from a ground impact, The King Raven was set to auto destruct and destroyed to prevent anything from falling into Covenant hands. The Dreadhawk The Dreadhawk was Vernette's replacement ship. Although this ship did not contain any custom modifications, it still outclassed The King Raven in terms of firepower and facilities available at its disposal. Vernette personaly saw the ship was refitted with several specialized departments, including a cybernetics lab, an advanced all purpose research facility, and specialized armories. Although the Dreadhawk did not see any military combat, it was involved in all ground operations to help remove the remaining Covenant forces in the North American continent. The Cloak and Dagger See Main Article The Ticonderoga This was not a space faring vessel, rather, it was a planetary defense ship, that was confined to aquatic environments. The ship held the class of a sub-oceanic aircraft carrier. The Ticonderoga was a classified ONI ship. This ships, and by extension, ever ship of this class's primary function was to defend whatever planet it was assigned to. The Ticonderoga was assigned to Earth. During The Second Battle of Earth, Vernette had falsified information that The Ticonderoga had been destroyed. This was a cover, so Vernette could keep the ship for himself as part of many of his contingency plans. The Ticonderoga was first utilized by Delta, Max, and Chieftain Vargus, during the ONI power struggle. Vernette continued to utilize the ship after he was free from prison. After Vernette reclaimed The Ticonderoga, the ship was hidden once again, in case its services were ever needed again. Four long range artillery launchers. One Stealth generator. 25 AA Cannons. Enhanced hull plating for extreme deep sea navigation. Personal Health Vernette has a very long medical history, as well as an uncertain medical future. Reduced visibility in left eye - This was an injury sustained during The Siege of Paris IV. During a meeting with ranking Marine personnel on the surface, the base came under attack by Covenant Forces. Stray shrapnel from a dropped frag grenade grazed Vernette's face. Particle debris was sent into his eye, causing permanent damage to the eye. Although the damage is corrected by the use of a contact in his left eye, without the contact, Vernette's vision from his left eye is severely blurred. Artificial Heart - Vernette does not have a real heart, rather, he as a mechanical heart that resembles, in shape only, a heart. His heart is metallic and dark gray in color. Instead of using muscles to pump the blood, a complex system of automated pumps and pressure valves move the blood through his body. The only know side effect of the artificial heart is the absence of a heart beat. This has lead to some rater strange rumors, and some pretty absurd explanations as to why Vernette is such a cold man. Military Commendations 11 Purple Heart Awards 3 granted on Harvest 2 granted on Paris IV 2 granted on Miridem 1 granted on Reach 3 granted on Earth 3 Navy and Marine Marine Corps Medals 1 granted on Harvest 1 granted on Paris IV 1 Granted at Miridem 2 Legion of Merit Awards 1 granted at Reach 1 granted at Earth 1 Defense Superior Service Medals 1 granted on Paris IV 2 Navy Cross Awards 1 granted at Reach 1 granted at Earth 1 Medal of Honor 1 granted at Earth Questionable Activities and Personal Issues Vernette's career was defined by his association with Barrabus. Although nobody knows this truth, Vernette knows it to be true that his life and career would have been radically different if his decision at harvest to aid Barrabus' Brutes over Christal's Elites was reversed. Vernette has never considered himself a traitor because he was friends with Barrabus, but he did question, at times, the wisdom of associating himself with a Brute. Although Vernette had never given Barrabus any tactical information on the UNSC, Vernette did help Barrabus kill Spartans when they fought with him. Vernette's hatred for Spartans was unequivocal, but even that could not fully justify his association with Barrabus. This personal issue was put to rest when Barrabus was augmented in Delta. Vernette never forgot the day he executed Christal on the bridge of The King Raven. He hated SPARTANs, but he did have feelings for Christal, who, ironically, was a SPARTAN. Vernette saw this as his first steps down his road to his countless problems he would have in the future. He always wondered if he could have spared Christals life, but he eventually resolved that Christal had to die, not because of her ideologies, but because she was a SPARTAN. When Vernette authorized Delta to return to his homeworld to stop the renegade SPARTAN named Scott from utilizing the inhibitor technology on the general populace, Vernette prolonged the war. He knew that if Doisac fell, the Loyalist army would have fallen shortly afterward. However, Vernette placed more importance on his friendship with Delta then he did with his responsibility to the UNSC. Although this may have been the wrong decision, Vernette made a decision based on friendship, rather then responsibility. Vernette's activities as Nighthawk resulted in a very secret double life. He has always been very careful when dealing with the name Nighthawk. If his identity had ever been compromised, he would face reprisal on an unprecedented level. Vernette, however, never considered himself a terrorist, but instead, considered himself a visionary. Quotes "You hold the rank of Admiral. You should be ashamed of yourself for what you have done. You turned your back on humanity. You have ruined your career. You have disgraced your name. You have ended your own life. You deserve death for what you have done. Traditionally, there is a court martial. But given the fact that you have confessed what you have done, are proud of it, and refuse to show any remorse, then in my eyes...this is case closed." -Fleet Admiral Preston Vernette to Admiral Ned Beurscott "I called you here to discuss your father, and the circumstances surrounding his...death. I had a feeling that his death had an effect on you, a very negative effect. It seems I was right. It seems all you do is fight with your comrades in arms! I would guess you were fighting with Sargent Korman, it wouldn't surprise me. Quite frankly, at this point, I don't care if you were fighting with a Christmas Tree, the fact that you are projecting such violent behavior outwards to your allies is disturbing. I have it in my right mind to relieve you of duty and place you under extensive psychiatric evaluation. However, I wont do that. I need every person on this ship. What I will do however is give you one more warning. If you step out of line again, consider yourself finished in the UNSC." -Fleet Admiral Preston Vernette to Captain Dennis Beurscott. "Good guys wear black!" -Director Vernette "Fire Everything at everything!" -Fleet Admiral Vernette "I don't see you guys raging the kind of mayhem I'm contemplating!" -Director Vernette "Everyone thinks I have the answers to everything, and they are right. People need answers because I cause the questions" -Director Vernette "The winner takes it all, the loser has to fall, and I will never fall!" -Commodore Vernette Rojas, I am the Director of Section 0. My directive is to safeguard Earth, the UNSC, and I guess her colonies...but that does not apply anymore. I am authorized to do almost whatever I want, anything I need to do, in order to fulfill my mission. I can do whatever I want with prisoners. You are my prisoner. You are a criminal, not an Admiral. You are assisting another criminal. Cooke is trying to claim power he has not earned, and does not deserve. You stood by and let this happen. In my books, that is a capital crime! You do not deserve to wear that uniform." -Director Vernette Trivia Preston Vernette's favorite color is black. Owned a classic silver Maine Coon named Beau when he was 21 years old. It died 9 years later. Is known to be a Catholic. Is known as a highly accomplished, cyberneticist and technician. He holds a PhD in Cybernetic and Computer Science Preston Vernette's eyes are Blue. Is said to have R Ho Negative blood type. Has no heartbeat due to his artificial heart. Was commonly referred to as V by Barrabus / Delta Preston Vernette despises "the heartless joke"