Office of Naval Intelligence – Internal Memo
Clearance Level: BLACK VEIL-9
To: Vice Director Eryn Halbeck
From: Section Three, Special Xenotech Division
Date: April 4, 2172
Subject: Re: Ceph Entity Classification – First Confirmed Sample, Analysis & Strategic Risk Profile
The Office of Naval Intelligence has long maintained suspicions regarding the presence of extraterrestrial biotechnological artifacts in human space, particularly concerning a category of unknown origin collectively referred to as "Ceph." While these suspicions were previously based on circumstantial data extracted from recovered Atlas Corporation servers in 2170 and ambiguous sensor readings around blacksite crash zones, conclusive proof was lacking—until the Caliban Incident.
Recent operations during the containment of the Caliban Station outbreak have yielded the first viable biological sample of what has now been classified as a Type-7 Extracellular Parabiotic Organism—codename: "Ceph Strain Prime."
Historical Background
2170-2173: Following Atlas Corporation's collapse, ONI recovered partial data cores from subterranean servers in the Sol System. One such core contained encrypted research logs referencing a potential alien crash site in Siberia, Earth—historically known as the Tunguska Event (1908).Internal decryption linked this to Grayson-led black projects within Atlas Xenobiology Division.
Notes mention: "non-carbon interfaces," "adaptive molecular threading," and "synthetic-organic neural scaffolding."Data was incomplete, corrupted, and dismissed by many high-command analysts as speculative or disinformation seeded by radicals.
The Caliban Sample
Specimen Origin: Recovered from a wounded SynSuit operative during containment of the Caliban Incident, believed to have been affiliated with a rogue Atlas remnant faction.
Subsequent analysis confirmed the presence of non-human viral proteins and regenerative sequences matching partial Ceph DNA signatures from the corrupted Atlas archives.Biostructures exhibit hyper-dense connective tissue, photonic nerve transmission, and a polycellular defense matrix—none of which are reproducible in human testbeds.
"We've never seen anything like this. It's like the suit wore the host." – Dr. Mari Lennox, Lead Xeno-Synthetic Analyst
Strategic Implications
Origin Confirmed: The Caliban sample confirms Ceph bioform existence and partially validates the Tunguska Event as a true extraterrestrial contact.Active Manipulation: The use of Ceph material by the SynSuit operatives implies that certain rogue groups—potentially under the leadership of Hargreave and Rasch—have unlocked limited Ceph biotechnology.Uncontainable in Combat: Initial ONI experiments resulted in a loss of control over cloned specimens, requiring the creation of dedicated counter-bio weapons rather than direct harnessing.
Recommendations
REDACT all public references to the Caliban Event. The infected station is to be logged as a Class-7 Biohazard Quarantine Breach.Infiltration of suspected Atlas successor enclaves—especially those with cybernetic or xenobiology assets—is now Priority One.Start and fund the Helldiver Initiative—covertly outfitting ODST teams with early-stage counter-Ceph weaponry and detection tools.Begin analysis of Nanosuit-based infiltration tactics as observed from recovered blackbox footage.
Vice Director's Eyes Only – Addendum
We now understand that Grayson's visions of post-humanity were not dreams. They were blueprints. Whether Hargreave and Rasch intend to save humanity or reshape it, their work with the Ceph is too far along to ignore.
The shadows of the past have returned—and they wear armor.
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The Helldiver Initiative
"In the dark, we don't survive. We strike."
- Motto of Helldiver Black-Lotus Detachment
The Helldiver Initiative is a black-classified military subprogram launched by ONI Section III in the aftermath of the Caliban Incident . Conceived as a failsafe against potential Ceph contamination, proliferation, or emergence, the Initiative represents the UNSC's first proactive anti-xeno kill unit, specially designed to contain, counter, or destroy synthetic-organic threats—at any cost.
Classification & Cover
Publicly listed as "ODST Group Sigma-Red", a non-standard atmospheric strike unit under FLEETCOM authority.Within military channels, Helldivers are considered an experimental ODST program focused on extreme-environment exo-operations.Only five high-ranking individuals within the UEG have full knowledge of their true purpose.The Helldivers are not recruited.
They are selected.
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Handpicked from:
ODST Tier-1 operatives with at least 30 successful live-fire deploymentsBlack Ops survivors of confirmed xeno-contact incidentsPsychologically resilient candidates who've passed neural stress simulation under "Ceph mimic" threat modelsBattle-hardened veterans with a kill ratio exceeding 20:1 under special conditions
Training Environment
Training takes place at Site Obsidian, a subterranean ONI facility deep beneath Europa's southern ice sheet.Simulations include Ceph mimicry, hive tactics, and synthetic-organic adaptive threats using controlled bio-samples.Operators undergo neurological reflex enhancement and cognitive reinforcement therapies to resist Ceph manipulation.
Armament & Tech
The Helldivers are equipped with the most advanced weaponry ONI has ever fielded, drawing directly from reverse-engineered Atlas and Ceph tech:
HRX-19 Arcblaster: Electromagnetic pulse rifle tuned to Ceph neural disruption frequencies
Thermal Displacement Charges: Used to sterilize high-risk zones; melts bio-structure and tunnels
EXO-Counter BioArmor (EXO-CBA): Advanced ODST combat rigs embedded with nanoweave fibers, Ceph-resistant polymer layers, and neural counter-infection inhibitors
Drone-linked combat HUDs—automatically detect unnatural motion signatures and metabolic anomalies
Structure and Deployment
Operates in cells of five, each with rotating leadership and full autonomy in fieldMission briefs are one-time neural packets, destructed post-readDeploy via black-classified drop pods from stealth ships orbiting the AOExfil not guaranteed; all Helldivers are psychologically conditioned for terminal action
Current Status
Four Helldiver teams are currently active in the field.Post-Caliban, two additional detachments have been greenlit for formation.Casualty rate remains extremely high—45% mortality within first two years of the program.UNSC High Command is aware of the Helldivers only as a "high-risk ODST special assignment" with no clear mandate disclosed.
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Helldiver Creed – Section Redacted
"We are the last men who walk in human form. We are the abyss your nightmares fear. If you hear the ground tremble, we're already beneath it."