# If you'd like to omit non-matching lines from the result; add ';d' to the end of the expression.
sed -E 's/([^. >"])([ ])?([-])?(<\\/p>)\n.*?>/$1$2/g;t' <<< "<p class=\"calibre1\">pelled itself, riderless, in an endless orbit. </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">The generator complex on the far side of this battlefield was </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">intact, however. Reinforced concrete bunkers bristling with ma-</p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">chine guns surrounded a low building. The generators were deep </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">beneath there. So far it looked as if the Covenant had not man-</p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">aged to take them, though not for lack of trying. </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">\"Contacts ahead,\" Joshua whispered. </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">Four blips appeared on his motion sensor. Friend-or-foe tags </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">identified them as UNSC Marines, Company Charlie. Serial </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">numbers flashed next to the men as his HUD picked them out on a </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">topo map of the area. </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">Joshua handed Fred his sniper rifle, and he sighted the con-</p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">tacts through the scope. They were Marines, sure enough. They </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">picked through the bodies that littered the area, looking for sur-</p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">vivors and policing weapons and ammo. </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">Fred frowned; something about the way the Marine squad </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">moved didn't feel right. They lacked unit cohesion, with their </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">firstd, <i class=\"calibre4\">you may as well drop with good intel. </i> </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">Captain Keyes frowned on the ship's viewscreen, a </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">\"Roger that,\" he replied, \"though I think I've had enough surprises for one op.\" </p>
<p class=\"calibre1\">Kelly chuckled. </p>"
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for SED, please visit: https://www.gnu.org/software/sed/manual/html_node/The-_0022s_0022-Command.html