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Chapter Text

Scarlet bolts flashed above, flaring on crystalline outcrops that surrounded modular buildings. The return fire was immediate, dark-blue plasma firing in a line of tracers from atop a high-rise in volleys. White armor glistened underneath the distant sun of the planet of Christophsis as the Galactic Republic met the Confederacy of Independent Systems in bloody, close quarters battle.

Clone troopers of the 212th Attack Battalion, clad in their familiar orange-striped Phase One armors and wielding the Republic's two mainstay handheld infantry blasters, the DC-15A Blaster Carbines and Heavy Rifles, met an oncoming battalion of Droids on this flank. The 212th's Clones were some of the most proficient troops, trained to resist the harsh realities of war with stoicism and stiff upper lips, courtesy of their general. They, like many of their brothers, had survived the Crucible of Geonosis, the first and hardest-fought battle, where the Jedi and they were first tested in the true meaning of Warfare.

Clone Trooper Waxer was, however, a rather fresh, new deployment. He took cover as scarlet bolts of superheated ionized gas struck the ceiling above him, sparks raining down onto his helmet. He was 212th. He was new, of course. Fresh out of the pod, a 'Shiny' as some had called him early on. Didn't really matter to him, honestly. He was still here to blast clankers and keep his brothers safe.

He shifted his fire toward the platoon of desert sand-colored B1 Battle Droids that had opened up on him. The B1s were ugly, lanky bastards. Barely capable of movement, much less sentient thought, they were the CIS's main battle line. Cheap, easy to manufacture, but dumb as bags of bricks, they were dangerous enough in numbers if the simulations showed anything to him. Their bird-like heads craned up, two black, struck-through visual sensors peering at him with malcontent as he fired back at them, nailing a couple.

He rolled over onto his back and called out, "Boil! Thermal det!" to which his pod-brother threw him the rotund, small grenade. The Clone looked at the grenade and found its priming button. Thumbing the red mark, he heard the grenade start to beep, increasing in cadence, as did the flashing lights on the exposed midsection. He counted two seconds and, on the third, he long-armed it toward the Droids.

The explosion thundered as the thermal detonator went off on impact. Shrapnel and the thermal blast managed to knock the air out of Waxer's lungs even at this distance. Half the platoon of droids had been decimated for sticking too close together. The other half reeled as their audio-visual sensors seemingly needed to reboot from the shockwave. Waxer took this as his chance, standing up and shouldering his DC-15A Heavy Blaster Rifle before thumbing a switch and squeezing. The blaster went off at fully automatic with a high rate of fire. His brothers joined from around him, half-a-dozen clones laying Hell down with blasters.

High enough to rapidly overheat the gun, it seemed. Heat sinks along its thicker barrel opened, forcing Waxer to take cover and vent it. The steam exited at ten, two, four and seven o'clock along the barrel's circular frame, coolant flowing into the weapon's maw to ease the heat in the coils. He swore to himself, however, as a smart rocket lanced forward and detonated against the thick glass he'd taken cover behind.

"Kriffing bastards brought Supers!" A clone called out, shifting his fire toward the new arrivals.

Two platoons, about forty Super Battle Droids, or BD-2s, lumbered forward toward them. These units were far more imposing. Black and grey bodies with reinforced armor plating all over the important upper body areas. Plating that had just deflected a blaster bolt from a rifle in front of him. Waxer swore to himself and ducked under a barrage of bolts as the machines extended their arms forward and opened up.

"They're gonna get inside!" Boil called out, grabbing his blaster carbine and shifting his aim toward the elevator as the other clones began to pull back deeper into the buildings. The crossing point was on the floor they were on, meaning a sky-bridge between the two buildings. It was lined with barricades meant to protect the Clones as they crossed to and fro to reinforce each-other.

Waxer swore to himself and grabbed Boil by the scruff of his neck, stating, "We gotta get to the others!" even though the auditory sensors in his helmet could pick up a strange whirr, muffled by the glass windows around them. Blaster fire raked the barricades on the sky-bridge as the Clones dashed between them, returning fire sporadically. They noted an entire new Company of B1s advancing toward them and Waxer swore, "Kriffing hell!" as they, too, aimed their blaster weapons at the besieged dozen of clones in the area.

The clones were boxed in for all intents and purposes. That other Company of droids would breach the other building and clean'em all out with the SBDs by sheer number alone. The clones took position in the aforementioned other building now, aiming their weaponry as the elevator ahead let out a ding, followed by the first of the SBDs marching toward them, arm-blasters spitting out plasma.

"They're gonna kriffing kill us..." Boil said as he opened up on the Droids, too, before being forced to take cover behind a wall. The B1s also drew close enough for them to follow their blasters in volleys, meaning things were about to get extremely hot. The Clone swore to himself, then said, "Can't believe we're stuck in this dwang without any backup!"

"We tried calling the General and the Commander! They aren't answering! Must be busy nearby the artillery battery!" Another Clone called out, before his head was taken clean off by a bolt from an SBD.

"Oh, Force!" Another trooper ducked behind cover as a flurry of shots hit the elevator door behind him. He shot the controls by mistake, shutting off the lift. With a groan, he said, "And that's our escape cut...! Blast it..."

"Relax, Kel! We got this!" Waxer reassured him, then ducked under a burst of plasma fire. He poked out and fired his rifle in reply, then ducked back as two rounds singed the floor ahead of him. Beside him, Boil poked and fired his carbine in bursts, forced to hide as well. The Trooper then ducked beside his brother and checked the counter on his clip, shaking his head.

"Do we have this, Wax?" Boil asked him in a whisper.

"Kriffed if I know, but we'll go down swinging..." His pod brother replied. As the whirring from above got louder, Waxer complained, "We're surrounded, we got droids shooting at us and there's an entire new battalion heading toward us! SO, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT NOISE-!?" and he cut himself off as the bridge ahead exploded in shards of glass and steel, one of the Supers caught beneath it.

The bridge had been torn in half at the midsection, loose metal piping and reinforcements hanging, wires sparking. Both the Clones and the Droids seemed so dumbfound, they'd actually stopped shooting at one-another for a moment. Waxer looked outside as more thundering crashes and thumps echoed and paused as he saw them in the thin veneer of the smoke and debris they kicked up.

Ovoid pods, made of black metal...

The trooper blanked for a moment, lowering his weapon. A dozen pods had fallen within meters of each-other, close enough for whatever was inside to be able to aid each-other, but far away as to not obstruct the large, front-mounted armored doors the Troopers now saw. Doors that popped open as if launched by an explosion. Silhouettes appeared from the pods and the first audible crack of weapons fire filtered in.

Waxer turned to the droids, noting that they were distracted, before raising his blaster rifle and calling out, "Now's our chance, Brothers! OPEN FIRE!" as he squeezed the trigger. His brothers, those who survived the onslaught, stood to their feet and lit up the Droids in the other half of the skybridge ahead of them. The roar of gunfire echoed outside as unknown force that had dropped in lit the Droid Company marching toward them right the kriff up.

They'd thinned the droids' numbers out considerably, honestly. More Pods wailed as they fell into the battlefield around them. Boil called out, "We oughta pull back! We don't know who the hell just dropped in, they might be hostile to us as well!" before watching as the smoke cleared. The platoon-sized element of soldiers gathered up near the drop site of the pods, most of them wearing black, fully-enclosed armors.

Their leader seemingly ordered them toward the building the clones were in, all while their heavy support element fired heavy weapons at the Droids. Two missiles lanced out from a double-tube launcher. Another shouldered an even heavier weapon. A beam of scarlet energy lanced out toward the Droids. The trooper swept it to the right and it cut a dozen droids in half in one strike.

"Force damn..." Whispered Waxer, "Those are some heavy weapons..."

"They're coming up to us," Boil said uneasily, readying his blaster. They heard the thundering footsteps and prepared to aim their weapons. Waxer, however ,decided to play it smart for once in his life. He pushed Boil's, Kel's and the other's blasters down, before lowering his own. Boil spoke, "Waxer, you sure, brother? This could get us killed if we aren't ready..."

Waxer shrugged, "Worth a shot... We're dead anyway, if they swing the big guns over..."

"True..." Sighed Boil, "Kriff it, alright."

"This is gonna suck," Kel commented as he lowered his blaster to his side, but kept the safety off. The thundering footsteps became louder as the first trooper appeared up the stairs. A strange, fairly smooth rifle lay in his hand as he began to walk up the stairs. He saw that the Clones had their guns down first, then pulled his hand off the weapon's forward grip and lifted it back, balling it into a fist.

"Oh, hell, Gunny..." Groaned a guy behind him, "Friendlies...?"

"Well, they haven't shot at us yet, Romeo..." The leading soldier replied with snark in his tone, leaning his rifle against his shoulder. Thank the Maker these guys spoke basic. He looked to them all and asked them, "You folks friendlies...?" As he and his team filtered in up-stairs. Waxer looked to his team-mates, then to the man in charge, whose name was probably written via weird letters on the small plate above the breastplate of his armor.

Waxer breathed in, then out, and nodded, "We are... Thanks for the rescue."

"Don't mention it," The soldier replied. He paused, blinked and listened in on something coming in on his com frequency, then looked to the soldiers and cleared his throat. He then spoke, straightforward, "I'm Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck, with Alpha Niner. We got shot at by an enemy picket up above and our fleet decided to deploy us here. We're... I guess... Your First Contact ambassadors."

All the remaining clones quickly exchanged some looks, before Kel said, "Honestly, good first impression..."

"Saved our behinds from being overwhelmed," Waxer stated, paused and blanked, then worriedly asked, "Wait a minute. The Republic Navy had this place blockaded and was hunting for the last chunks of the CIS Ships defending Cristophsis while we're busting our behinds down here by trying to root their troops out... What fleet do you guys come from?"

"Long story," Buck told them, "We'd rather keep it for your bosses..."

The Sniper behind him, one with a more distinct piece of armor, leaned over to another Trooper clad in a similar outfit as buck and whispered, "Why the hell do they all sound the fucking same...?" to which said Trooper simply shrugged. It was confusing to him and his teammates behind him, as well.

"You guys at least ping our fleet to let'em know you're here?" Inquired Boil, "Because I don't think admiral Yularen is gonna be happy to see some new ships floating about..."

"I think our commanders are working on that as we speak..." Buck nodded, then told them, "We oughta go meet your bosses before any further deployments are made. Pretty sure command's about to hot-drop a tank platoon down, though. And we'd like for there not to be any 'friendly' fire incidents..." and shifted his gaze. Waxer nodded, then tapped his com and listened in.

"Commander Cody, sir..." The Trooper began, "Do you copy?"

Static first played over his helmet's speakers, but then the voice began to clear out, resolving into the same voice as the Troopers, "... Hear you, Trooper. Status on the Eastern Flank?"

"Held, sir, barely. Intersection should be secure. We're down to half-a-dozen Troopers, but uh..." Waxer looked up to the soldiers around them and hesitantly, "We got saved by some unknowns. They're asking to talk to you, Generals Kenobi and Skywalker and Captain Rex, sir..." before waiting for a response. He looked to the soldiers and motioned to them, stating, "You folks might want to set it to the right frequency... Your coms, I mean."

"We're trying," Another of Buck's Troopers called out from behind the one on the stairs, "Not exactly easy matching freqs with whatever you folks use as coms..."

"I just spoke with the Generals. Bring them over as fast as possible. We're sending Fifth Platoon to take your places over there," The Commander replied, stern as always. The Trooper gave an affirmative, shut off the com and looked at the Troopers ahead of them. With a nod, Buck and his troops stepped aside and the Clones warily readied their weapons.

Before long, Waxer and Boil were leading the survivors of their unit toward the distant sound of combat, alongside the rest of the allied unit. Above them, the wail of engines filled the air. Above them, dozens of small-craft flew in through the thin layer of clouds and Buck called out, "Would you look at that! I think the Navy finally got through to these guys' Fleet!"

"Can confirm!" The other Trooper with the com backpack beside Buck said, "Admiral Lasky just gave us the go-ahead to help these folks! They're working on getting a direct link to the rest of the Republic so we can talk to their leadership and get some fucking context about what's going on!" as he hefted the laser weapon they saw him use to wipe out half a Droid Company.

"Man, this is weird..." Waxer commented as they ran.

Boil snorted, "Tell me about it..."

The Clones passed by a squadron of Speeders that were headed to take their positions with heavier weaponry attached to their vehicles, including a bunch of heavy-duty E-Web Twelves with their tripods and power sources. It only took them a few more minutes of full-sprint before they reached their intended target area:The Republic's FOB. Heavy duty, four-legged artillery cannons stood at the rear, pelting the CIS's lines with boulders of arching plasma.

A hint of PTSD flashed in Buck's mind as they ran, but he squelched it quickly. Those things looked too quote-unquote 'practical' to be Covvie guns. No, they were most definitely made by the locals. He craned his neck, looking up at the dozens of Pelican drop-ships as they swung in toward them. He had activated his IR Beacon to make sure they could track him and his team as they went in for the meeting.

The group began to slow down, several of the panting as they did. Ahead of them, Clones carried the wounded from the battle on this section of highway over to a medical and casualty triage zone, while two men approached, both wearing armor over their shoulders and arms. One wore a darker shade of clothes and looked younger, a blue-eyed, brown-haired fellow. Beside him, an older gentleman with a cream-colored robe and white armor adorning his shoulders stood. Also blue-eyed, but with ginger hair and one hell of a beard.

The two men approached, both seemingly battered by the enemy's assault, before one of them said, "I suppose these are the newcomers you mentioned in your communications, trooper," as he looked to Waxer. The older man. Waxer nodded and gave a quick salute, as did the others, before the man turned to the new troops and approached them. He spoke, "Admiral Yularen mentioned he received a connection from your fleet up above. I believe you're called the UNSC."

"That's us... You must be one of the local Generals, sir?" Buck asked, shifting his rifle onto his back. A quiet wub echoed as the metallic object clicked into place on a magnetic field generator of some kind. The man nodded, scrutinizing the black-clad drop-troopers. Beside him, the other General seemed happy to see some friendly faces here. The Clones remained unsure of what to think.

"I am," The man nodded, "General Obi-Wan Kenobi, of the Grand Army of the Republic... You are?"

"Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck, sir," The man replied, "United Nations Space Command, Orbital Drop Shock Troopers."

"We've never heard of your faction or unit before, Gunnery Sergeant," General Kenobi placed a certain modicum of respect in the way he spoke his words and Buck felt it. He probably spoke with consideration to the fact their Fleet was also here. Kenobi also added, "Though Admiral Yularen was quick to tell us of your fleet's presence. Him and Admiral Lasky should have a meeting soon to discuss the status of your force's presence here."

"So we've been told over radio, sir," Buck nodded calmly, "The hell d'you think they were trying to do by firing on us, sir? Your enemies, I mean?"

"They probably thought you guys were reinforcements for us," The other man spoke. He greeted, "Hi. I'm General Anakin Skywalker, also of the GAR." And he gave Buck a once-over as the middle-aged man removed his helmet, revealing brown, slicked-back hair and a square jawline the likes of which one would usually see in a boxer. Anakin gave the man a nod of approval.

"Sir," Buck nodded back, wearing a half-cocked smile. He watched as the first Pelicans swung in for landing, with Kenobi already calling up Clones to provide the new arrivals proper LZs. They watched as infantry and vehicles were dropped off, disgorging from the backs of the strange transports, rifles in hand and supplies carried on their backs. The Clones watched with muted awe as hundreds of fresh extra troops with weapons and armor the likes of which they hadn't seen before dropped off their equipment.

"... Uh, General...?" Waxer looked over to Kenobi, confused.

"Yes, Waxer?" The man turned toward him.

"... Did we sanction this, sir? Like... Them coming in with their own equipment?" He inquired, motioning to a trio of tanks that rolled toward the combat zone.

Anakin jumped in and said, "They sort of offered to help us. Y'know, 'enemy of my enemy' and all that..." before noticing the armored vehicles on treads rolling out of the landing zone. The allied transports, slightly resembling their own LAATs in doctrine, at least, took off back toward the sky after dropping off their Marines, equipment and supplies, only to be replaced by others.

Buck hummed, "A company of Marines and our entire ODST Battalion are dropping planetside, sir. They should have this glass palace secure before we're in for chow..." and he approached General Kenobi and General Skywalker. Two Clone Troopers, each with distinct armors that denoted them as officers, approached the ranks of the officer cadre as well.

"Would be nice, Sarge," Stated Anakin, then he looked over and said, "Ah, Rex, Cody. Just in time."

"Sir," The two men nodded. Rex was the first to speak, "I take it we're looking at reinforcements from those people the admiral mentioned were in orbit...?" as he saw a squadron of Marines jump out of a Pelican, clad in full camouflage uniforms and armed to the teeth. Rex wasn't one to usually be wary of new allies. Hell, extra guns meant more of his brothers would survive, but the way these people just... Appeared...? Didn't sit well. A gut feeling of Rex's.

Cody seemed to share his thoughts as he examined the troops. Professional and well-equipped, the UNSC's infantry and equipment rushed to where their drop ships must've seen the Front was. The hardened faces of dozens and dozens of Marines, all so varied in features and skin tone and color and gender told the men everything they needed to know about the UNSC's premier fighting force.

"It would seem so, Captain. How are your men handling the idea of having to share a field with newcomers?" He asked the two soldiers, shifting his gaze properly toward his adjutant, Cody. An old friend and a great Commander.

"Murmurs here and there, sir," Cody replied, "Nothing to be heavily concerned about. What we're more worried about is how the talks between Admirals Yularen and Lasky will go, considering we've all just barely met."

"And the enemy of my enemy only takes us so far," Buck murmured, shifting his helmet onto his belt and clipping it there, before crossing his arms to his chest as the two Jedi and the Clone Officers looked to him. He shrugged and said, "Look, I don't know how our leadership's viewing this entire clusterfuck, but I know for a fact the tin cans we just wiped out back there," and he jabbed a thumb back the way they, Waxer and the other clones had come from, "Shot us first. You Reps haven't. Yet."

"And knowing our luck, we hopefully won't," Anakin quipped. He turned to Rex and said, "Make sure we all play nice."

"Already working on it, sir. Helps that they speak Basic, too," The Captain replied half-jokingly. That got a laugh out of Anakin and a few of the other Clone Troopers around, while Buck arched a brow at the comment. There was still Tension in the air, but everyone felt it slowly lessening. The distrust, of course, existed still, specifically because the UNSC had arrived so suddenly and so out-of-nowhere to help them.

"Good to know," Obi-Wan joined in, then looked to Buck, "Gunnery Sergeant, if you'll follow us to our command center, we'll check in with the Admirals, perhaps give our two Credits on the matter at hand and hopefully help forge a little alliance..." words to which the Sergeant nodded and shifted his helmet. He turned to his men and gave them a series of hand signals, then watched the entire Platoon scatter, sans only two. The Sniper and the other one wearing similar armor to Buck's.

Cody and Rex were left to watch as the last UNSC dropships touched down, deploying another platoon of Tanks and two Platoons of Marines, all armed and armored down to the bone. Rex spoke warily, "I think we've just gone in way over our heads, Cody..." as he watched the troopers run, boots thundering, toward their positions. Cody hummed in agreement as he watched the Generals, Buck and his escort walk off.

This was gonna be a very interesting evening...

Chapter Text

The UNSC Infinity

Above planet Callaghan, Gamma Andromeda System

22:30 Hours,

26th of March, 2559, Standard Military Calendar

Some hours prior to FIRST CONTACT

The most sophisticated warship of the United Nations Space Command was never a place that would rest. Deck crew in the hangars checked and double-checked the Infinity's strike and transport craft complement. Beyond the shields keeping the atmosphere inside the ship, the Carrier's escorting fleet was visible. Autumn-class cruisers, a rebuilding of the Halcyon-class based upon the long-destroyed Pillar of Autumn's specifications, floated next to the vessel, about a dozen of them. Beside them, Phoenix-class support ships, the UNSC's standard Colony and Planetary Invasion support craft, hovered, not to mention the five Marathon-class Cruisers and the slew of Frigates and Corvettes.

In the engine room, the maintenance corps and their Engineer/Huragok brethren worked on keeping the vessel's Forerunner-made engines functioning. One of the human engineers called out to his comrades, "There's been some fluctuations in the power output, but they're within acceptable levels!" words overheard by the woman that had 'bolted' the engines onto the ship.

Doctor Catherine E. Halsey was kneeling by a console whose panel she had removed while working on rerouting a certain amount of power toward the engines to stabilize their output for the jump home. She overheard the words from the Engineer and quickly replied calmly, but loudly, "I am aware, engineer Connelly! I am working to solve that issue as we speak... Fluctuations of even a micron could mean catastrophic issues on not-understood technology such as the Forerunners' engines..."

"Just givin' ya the fifteen min report you asked for, doc!" The man replied jovially.

"My thanks!" Halsey quipped, before leaning further into the console to find the sections of wire coupled to the Forerunner engines themselves. There had been a lot of tech that needed to be cross-integrated and made to cohabitate with each-other in order for the ship to so much as move out of one spot, much less be able to utilize the Slipspace capabilities of their modified Slipspace Drive to its fullest.

She shifted a hint, finding a pair of cables and focusing on them. One was loose, the other was too tight, so she worked on undoing the 'damage' quote-unquote, tightening the second while making the first loose enough for both of them to match in feeling. She pulled a cable taut and made sure the two previous conduits were holding tightly in place. She set the cable aside and hummed, then asked, "What about now?"

"It's starting to stabilize, doc! Suggest leaving the rest to the Huragok!" The Engineer called out, then waved at Halsey from the central command console with a smile. Doctor Halsey nodded back to the man, who said a simple, "Thanks for the help!" that Halsey yet again replied to with a simple nod of her head. She turned and grabbed her tools and tablet, fast-marching toward the rear of the engineering deck, where the trams were.

Boarding one of the trams, which was being guarded by UNSC Marines carrying prototype MA40 Assault Rifles, the woman sat herself down and breathed a sigh of relief, before utilizing the cuff of her left sleeve to rub out some black oil from her cheek. She sighed and looked at the two Marines, both of which had balaclavas covering their faces adn tinted glasses, though their BDUs were the usual forest-green that she'd become accustomed to.

She hummed, pulling up her tablet and starting to write out a report pertaining to the engines for Admiral Lasky to read. She hummed, tapping away on the tablet as the tram stopped at another station. More crew from the lower decks boarded, these ones the waste disposal team. The crew, clad in hardhats and hazmat suits, greeted the doctor as they took off their masks, revealing the tired, sweat-stained faces of young men and women that were proudly doing a service scoffed at by so many others.

Halsey replied kindly to the ones doing the dirtiest of the work aboard the naval vessel, her mind still focused. She was also running calculations pertaining to the chance of a misfire of the Slipspace drive. It was minimal, but still there, which caused some slight fear in the back of the doctor's mind. She did not, however, show it to the crew who was quite literally dealing with the entire ship's refuse.

She heard them talk, laughing about their job together, and was thankful the Hazmat suits they were given could easily 'counteract' the stench of the lower deck's disposal areas somehow. Some chemicals they were imbued with, if the woman recalled, neutralizing the agents that cause the awful smell in the first place. She hummed, tapping away at the report as the tram moved again, stopped at the dorms of the workers, all of whom bid a good day to the doctor, then left again.

Halsey was halfway through writing the report when the tram reached S-Deck. She poked her eyes over the tablet and a faint smile crossed her lips as she saw BLUE Team boarding it, helmets slung under their arms. All of them, save for John, of course. As the two Marines guarding the vehicle snapped a crisp salute at the Chief and his team, she concealed the smile, then greeted, "John, Kelly, Linda, Fred. I hope training the new recruits went well?"

"Evening, Doc," Replied Kelly as she sat down, "It went well, yeah."

"Some of them were more stubborn than the others," John added as he sat himself down. He didn't seem distressed by the notion, however. There was a certain stubbornness necessary to be a Spartan, even a IV. Halsey hummed. The IV class was made up of volunteer soldiers from across the Branches, ranging from ODSTs to even some of the better-performing Marines. Of course, there'd be some pushback to being trained by the 'original' Spartans, so to speak.

"They'll make it yet, John," Linda assured him, taking her helmet off to reveal the short, well-kept scarlet hair and emerald eyes of the sharpshooter. All of them save for John still looked somewhat younger than their current biological and chronological ages would put them at. John, however, looked somewhat haggard behind his helmet. A given, considering he was tantamount to humanity's savior...

She sighed and said, "The IV class may be hard to deal with... But if they are being trained by my Spartans?" looking upon them all with a hint of pride behind an otherwise flat voice, "I'm certain they'll make for some of the finest soldiers mankind has." And those words seemed to invigorate the Spartans a bit, each now bearing the most imperceptible of smiles. She hummed and blanked, then remembered, "Oh, yes. John..."

The Master Chief looked to her, his visor hiding his face. She shuffled her hand around her pocket until she touched something cold. With a smile, she pulled a glowing crystalline chip out of her pocket, its blue tint so familiar to Blue Team's members, before she extended it to John and said, "Her defragmentation's finally complete. She should have another seven years of life left in her now."

John slowly leaned forward and plucked the chip from the Doctor's hand, nodding slowly in thanks. He then slotted it into the back of his MJOLNIR GEN-3 armor and felt the inside of the helmet cool, the faint blue glow of his HUD intensifying. He heard the yawn of a very familiar voice, followed by the ripple of connection in his HUD. The voice spoke, "Ahh... So, that's how humans feel after a good nap..." jovial. "Hey, John."

"Cortana..." He replied, surprised. He knew Doctor Halsey would manage to fix her, he just didn't expect...

"Not even a 'good morning'? Heh, you must've been worried sick..." The AI said shyly, her frame appearing on the left of John's HUD. She had longer hair that was caught in a ponytail, but she still bore the same facial features and 'other' design features as before, though the symbols on her body were all different. She smiled at him, seeing the slight worry in his eyes slowly being replaced by the usual, stoic calm she knew him for.

"Good to see you..." He said, leaning back into his seat.

"Likewise," She shot back, "And very good to see all of you, Blues."

"Hey, CT," Kelly waved, "Hope the nap was good."

"Cortana," Fred replied with a nod, the smile growing.

"Good to know we have our hacker back in our midst," Linda quipped, leaning forward. Cortana let out a melodious laugh at the quips, then wrote something to Doctor Halsey, clearly, as it appeared on her tablet. Halsey rolled her eyes and pushed a strand of grey hair out of her eyes, before glaring at John, or more specifically at his helmet, because she knew Cortana was peering through the HUD-cams at her.

She replied, exasperated, "No, Cortana, I did not provide any substantial boosts of that kind. It seems hair growth is a sign of lengthening of your processing life. To say, I've added a few extra petabyte-strength virtual cores to assist you in better handling data, plus extra storage space..." before she heard the AI audibly giggling in John's helmet. Something had changed about her, alright...

The tram came to a halt in the S-Deck barracks. John stood up and said, "This is our stop, doctor."

"Was good seeing all of you, John," She stated, "Take care of Cortana as you have so far..." And she looked up at him. The Chief nodded, before he and the rest of his teammates slipped out of the tram. It left the station again and the two Marines bumped fists, laughing quietly about having met the Chief and BLUE Team. After the War, they'd all become household names among the ranks of the UNSC's infantry.

Good. All SPARTAN classes deserved their time in the limelight. The IIs, whose sacrifices are well-known, the IIIs, whose sacrifices were yet to see the light of day, and the IVs, whose sacrifices were being written today against the Covenant's remnants and the Forerunner Ecumene's few remaining machine servant armies. She sighed, shoulders sagging as she finished the report and mailed it to Lasky.

When she'd met him, he was just captain Lasky. A hardy man from a dead colony, who lost as much as any of them. As the Tram finally reached the last stop, the Bridge, after several more stops, Doctor Halsey disembarked, giving a quaint, friendly nod to the two Marines guarding the door as she left. Tablet slung under her arm and tools on her belt, the doctor marched down the hallways and entered the bridge.

A hive of activity as ever, the central holographic table shined with a three-dimensional multi-color display of local space and the formation of the forty-plus UNSC Vessels escorting the UNSC Infinity. Halsey wasn't sure if she could call this a Battle Group, or if she should call it a Fleet. Task Force Infinity had several dozen combat ships, plus dozens of support vessels and almost three hundred thousand total Marines, ODSTs and other ground personnel.

Callaghan, the emerald gem below them, still shined in the darkness of space, the marks of plasma bombardment, still burning forest fires and smoke pillars visible from orbit, visible on the dark side. A Covenant remnant fleet had emerged over the planet, looking to find some new artifact that could lead them somewhere. The Task Force had arrived just in time to stop the dozen-plus Covenant cruisers and the two Carriers they were using from completely and utterly destroying the planet. And the ground troops did away with their Search Parties.

At the cost of about a thousand civilians and a hundred of their troops, sadly, including a SPARTAN-IV who went by the name of Ross.

Halsey sighed. She saw Lasky on his feet, staring out of the window at the debris of the Covenant vessels floating ahead of them. His grey uniform now bore the exact symbols of the UNSC Admiralty, but he had openly and specifically asked Lord Hood to remain in command of the Task Force. The Infinity was his ship, after all. This was his crew. She couldn't blame him.

Instead, she cleared her throat, taking Lasky's attention toward her. He turned and gave her a half-smile, then saluted, "Admiral Halsey."

"Admiral, please..." Halsey sighed, pinching her brow, "I don't want to be reminded I'm in charge of the Office of Naval Intelligence while on missions like this..."

"Sorry," Lasky chuckled, "Lord Hood says it's your punishment for bringing Parangosky down four years ago." And he looked at the report on his tablet. He gave an approving nod and stated, "Hope the Engines won't cause us any problems when we jump for home."

"I've tried my best to remedy the fluctuations, but we'd need a quick overhaul of the FTL drives in order to make sure it won't misfire..." Halsey sighed, then nodded, "But I can at least guarantee that, if they fail, they should only fail to transpose us to Slipspace, instead of outright blasting apart the entire fleet..." and watched Lasky reading the report. Beside them, a golden glow emanated as Roland, the shipboard AI, appeared.

"Doc," The World War 2 Bomber Pilot Avatar offered the woman a nod and a smile, his hands behind his back.

"Good evening, Roland," Halsey replied in her usually unbroken stoic demeanor, though she did give the man a quick look-over. She stated, "I see the updates to your firmware have been helping."

"Oh, I feel faster than ever," The Bomberman smiled, crossing his arms to his chest now, "Thanks."

"You are quite welcome," Halsey replied. While, to some, the stoic kindness the Doctor had been showing as of late would seem strange, to the woman, she fully intended to right the wrongs of her past somehow, or, at least, feel like she did. She knew for a fact that the guilt of the SPARTAN Projects, of all of them sans ORION and the IVs, would haunt her for the rest of her life, alongside the face of her late lover and their daughter.

She couldn't ever fully atone. Not in a hundred lifetimes. But she could at least try. Especially now, with being in charge of ONI. She hated the job, but it was necessary. The total and complete reform. It would still maintain much of its normal capabilities, but Halsey intended to run a unit with at least some ethics behind their actions. They still needed a capable espionage and intelligence network and she wasn't going to neuter it. It'd be idiotic.

Just some ethics would be nice, though...

"Good to know..." He spoke, then paused and listened in to coms. Turning to Halsey, he told her, "We have the artifact the Storm Covenant were trying to nab aboard. Let's prep to head home. The reconstituted Colonial Military Administration should be heading over to provide the locals support soon enough," Lasky said, then turned toward the com station, "Call the Shadow of Intent. Tell them we're preparing to head home." and got an affirmative from the coms officer. The man sighed deeply, then stated, "This was a trip..."

"Good thing we found that distress signal in time, eh?" Roland quipped, with Halsey silently agreeing. As the Arbiter and the other Sangheili Elites aboard the Shadow of Intent replied to the coms, the vehicles began their burn to break from orbit so they could jump alongside their allies. All was calm on the bridge as yellow alert was issued and the crews braced for the imminent departure, their vessels' fusion engines flaring. The arrowhead formation of the allied fleet remained tight, with the Shadow, the seamonster-like warship of the Swords of Sangheilios, forming up on the UNSC Capital Ship's left side.

Space ahead began to ripple and darken. Arching lightning flashed, a whirlwind of azure energy slowly sparking to life. The entire UNSC fleet and the Shadow had synched their drives so they could jump together at the same time. As the last calculations were being made and the ships prepared to slip through the massive portal... An alarm wailed.

Halsey, first to hear it, turned to her tablet nigh-immediately, looking over the data streaming from the shipboard computers of the engineering deck. The fluctuations... They'd intensified... She started calculating, preparing for the drives to disengage and for whatever Feedback Loop to hit. Roland called out, "Our Slipspace drives are engaging... Hell... All crew, brace for a rocky transfer! Issuing fleet-wide Red Alert!"

"Lasky!" Halsey called out as the fluctuations grew worse, to the point the entire Forerunner engine system began to overshoot any projected estimates, "Tell the other ships to cut their links to us! NOW!"

"We can't! Not when a jump's initiated!" Lasky replied, looking to Halsey, "Weren't our drives supposed to disengage!?"

"They can not! The Forerunner architecture of the engines is showing power surges well beyond anything we could've even projected! We're chain-linked with everyone, including the Shadow!" The woman replied as she grabbed onto the holographic table, "Hang on!" then she gasped as the highest of the fluctuations kicked into gear. The portal ahead of them expanded like an open mouth, first swallowing the forward picket of the Navy, the Paris-classes, Charons and Stalwarts, not to mention the few Anlace and Strident Frigates they had.

Halsey looked to Lasky and told him, "Brace...!"

... And soon, the Infinity and Shadow of Intent had been swallowed, too...

... Come a few minutes later, Lasky awoke with a start and a raging head-ache thumping away at his sanity. He groaned, slowly standing to his feet and holding onto his head. His vision was blurry and his ears rang as if someone had set off a fragmentation grenade next to his head. He blinked rapidly, trying to wipe away the blur and slowly managing to regain his vision.

He grit his teeth as the ringing dropped to the level where he could barely hear Roland calling for him. Turning to the AI, he saw the blurry golden outline of the AI's avatar, then the rest of the details slowly started coming in. Roland's voice also grew a little more clear, "Sir...! Sir, we've made it!" He called out to Lasky, "We're on the other side... Wherever the other side is..."

"Sensor status...?" Lasky demanded. Best to know if they had eyes and ears first.

"Rebooting. The jump played hell with our systems, but Coms and other important stuff like Life Support are all online, sir... Sensors is the last one that's down..."

"Good," Lasky grunted, then shook his head to clear the confusion. He turned over toward Halsey, to see the good doctor slowly waking up. He helped her to her feet, causing her to grab onto her forehead. A faint trickle of red appeared on her forehead, a cut from the fall. Her tablet was also smashed, its screen cracking in spiderweb patterns. He asked her, "You good, doctor?"

"Aside from the head injury and the raging migraine...? Fine..." She replied, then groaned, "Ugh, that was the worst jump I've had to date..."

"Heh, no worse for driving, eh...?" Lasky sighed, then looked to Roland, "Status on the crew?"

"Minor injuries across all decks, sir..." The AI replied, "No casualties. Fleetwide report's similar, zero fatalities, minor injuries."

Lasky let out a sigh of relief, then said, "Alright, get our sensors back online... I want to know where we-" And he froze as he saw it outside of their viewport. A massive, blue, glimmering gem of a planet lay dead ahead of them. "Are..." He barely finished his sentence as he looked at the planet. As the rest of the crew got back to their stations from the fall.

Halsey noted the planet, setting her tablet aside and murmuring, "Where in the name of the Maker did we just wind up...?" while examining it. Lasky shook his head, unsure himself. As they waited for the sensors to come back online, Lasky made the rounds, walking around to each window to see if their fleet had tagged along. From Phoenixes to the frigates and to the cruisers, the entire fleet was here, as was the Shadow of Intent.

"Sir, comm request from the Shadow. It's Shipmaster 'Vadum," The Com operator, who had now bandaged his arm, reported. Lasky gave the approving nod to patch their alien comrade through. On the forward screen, the bulky, hunchback frame of an alien creature with leathery grey skin and snake-like eyes appeared. Two of his four mandibles had been halved by combat and he still bore the scars on his bone-white armor.

"Admiral, Doctor," Rtas 'Vadum, Shipmaster of the Swords of Sangheilios, spoke with respect.

"Shipmaster," Lasky nodded, "Good to see you and your crew are okay."

"Minor injuries have been reported, but all of ours still live. I understand it is the same for you?" He asked. Happy with receiving a nod of confirmation from Lasky, the Shipmaster spoke, "Good. Our sensor suites are finishing their last maintenance cycle now. We should have our eyes back within the next minute... Have your crews fared better in restoring your sight?"

"I'm afraid we're in the same boat, metaphorically speaking," Lasky shrugged, "Sensors should be back on within a minute here, too."

"Sir," Roland started. The man turned toward him as he spoke, worried, "Sorry to bother, sir, but we're getting a mayday from UNSC Poltava. Their sensor suite's online and they detected two unknown vessels on an approach vector. They're not responding to hails, apparently..." before he paused, blanked and his eyes widened, "... And our sensors are back. Detecting a fleet off our Portside, approximately 40,000 Klicks out, geosynch orbit above the planet..."

"Same ships?" Lasky asked. Roland shook his head.

"Different designs... And different battle-nets, from what we can intercept. One sounds way more like a streamlined communications array. The other sounds like a bunch of voices screaming at each-other..." Roland replied, then balked, "The bastards opened fire! Plasma batteries, from the looks of things..." and he looked to a confused Doctor Halsey. The woman nodded to Lasky and the AI, then ran back toward the trams, to probably take one to the labs.

"Red alert. Tell the Poltava and her Frigates they're clear to engage... And someone get me a link to that second fleet so we can warn them about us being armed." Lasky ordered as he took command. He looked over the sensor images as they started coming in... Outside of the Infinity's hull, in the void of space, a UNSC Autumn-class cruiser powered its engines, its shields flaring under scarlet bolts of plasma...

... Aboard the Resolute, a Venator-class Star Destroyer of the Grand Navy of the Republic, Admiral Wulf Yularen watched with bated breath as the two Confederate warships that emerged from behind Christophsis's dark side moving in to engage the rather large battle-fleet that was seemingly disabled upon their arrival in-system. They'd gotten their systems up and running surprisingly quick.

Wulf wasn't a young man anymore. He was still decently spry for his age, his brown hair slowly beginning to grey out, even on his mustache. He arranged his Republic Naval officer's uniform as he watched the unfolding engagement. He looked at the images playing on the holographic table with a hint of muted awe. They'd only sent two of their smaller ships, probably Corvettes, as well as what seemed to be at least a light cruiser to engage the CIS ships.

"They just arrived, managed to return to active status and..." A Clone officer murmured, awed, as he looked over the images. The unknown ships shifted position to engage the enemy with the cruiser as the spearhead. The Clone continued, staring on, "And now they're facing a duet of Munificents. Their shields seem to be holding..." before the first projectiles began leaving the weapon bays of the unknown vessels in response.

Missiles. Dozens upon dozens of missiles struck the hulls of the Munificent frigates, winged designs with bulky bodies, some of the most heavily-armed vessels per ton per meter in the CIS fleet, with a twin-linked heavy cannon battery in the maw and several dozen turbolasers on the side, bulb-like superstructures beside the main bridge. Armor cratered under the whittling barrage.

"We're detecting dozens of launches, sir," Another Clone crewman said as he looked over the details they were receiving from their Sensors. He blanked, then called out, "Massive energy spikes on all three vessels! They're charging something!" before Yularen went off to a window to stare. Hundreds more images appeared on the display, atmospheric insertion vehicles dropping from the bellies of several ships, including the long, five kilometer dreadnought in the middle.

"They've finished charging..." The sensor officer reported, "Firing!"

Twin white flashes reached all the way to the Resolute's bridge windows, followed by the flashes of reactor detonations. The Clones all gasped in synch. Yularen asked, without taking his eyes away from the black fleet, "What was that...?" his familiar Coruscanti accent. His crew looked dumbfound as they stared at the data streaming through the screens.

"Sir... Kinetic projectiles... They just..." The Sensor officer murmured, "They cored both ships in a volley..."

"Kinetics..." Yularen murmured. Had the CIS vessels forgotten to turn on their shields properly? Did they not expect the enemy to be using slug-based weaponry that was presumably magnetically-propelled in nature? Eitherway, to see two Munificent-class ships go down in one single missile and kinetic weapon salvo from a trio of ships out of several dozen was terrifying. As his clones nodded in confirmation, Yularen asked, "Have we received any attempts at communication?"

"Just now, sir!" The comms officer replied, "Patching them through!"

... A holographic figure of a middle-aged human male clad in a slightly bulky reinforced uniform. He saluted Yularen and said, "Greetings, unknown fleet, this is the UNSC Supercarrier, Infinity, on contact off your starboard side, several thousand kilometers out, we request that you identify your status pertaining to our fleet, or we will assume hostility and open fire."

"This is Admiral Yularen, off the Republic Navy Cruiser Resolute. Infinity, we mean no harm to your battle group. We're here in support of ground operations on the planet Christophsis against the Confederacy of Independent Systems, whose ships opened fire on your fleet," Yularen replied promptly, looking Lasky square in the eye, "We are in open war with the CIS."

"Copy that, Admiral. This is Admiral Lasky, off the Infinity. Your foes decided it'd be a good day to poke the UNSC," He replied calmly, staring Yularen right back in his eyes, "We're requesting permission to deploy a diplomatic corps aboard the Resolute with intent to speak of an alliance. If the CIS want war with us, we're glad to give it to them in full... Once we have context over everything."

"Understood. Stand-by, we'll need to contact the Generals below to appraise them of the deployment of your forces, as well as... Perhaps bring one aboard to help begin negotiations," Yularen replied. He looked to his clones and said, "Get me a link to the Forward Operations Base. General Skywalker and General Kenobi will want to know of this..."

Both Lasky and Yularen stopped, looking each-other in the eye, before a mutual understanding formed. The two nodded to each-other and began discussing various matters in wait for the Generals. Lasky, however, couldn't help but wonder one tinsy tiny, weird detail that had just appeared the moment Yularen mentioned them. Why would Generals be negotiating alliances, much more, commanding entire forces that included Navy units...?

It was weird...

Chapter Text

Buck was sort of surprised by the deployment of the troops in the Base. He looked from an overhead window in the command post of the Grand Army of the Republic at the motor-pool, where six-legged walker-tanks and strange gunships resided, guarded by dozens of troops. Not to mention the artillery that still thundered in the background as the sun began to set. A shuttle lifted off in the distance, pushing its oddly-angled engines to the maximum as its wings unfolded.

He turned toward the Holographic table in the center of the room, walking up to it while his soldiers lazed about next to the Clones. Admirals Lasky and Yularen had begun their talks with Generals Skywalker and Kenobi no less than half-an-hour ago. When he got into range to hear them talking, Admiral Lasky stated, "... The UNSC is willing to provide assistance in securing Christophsis. The Confederacy fired at us without provocation and they're not responding to hails on any of their frequencies that you've offered. It's war they want."

"And, from the looks of your Fleet, Admiral, it is a war they'll get," Yularen said rather placidly, "The terms of the alliance will, however, need to be properly ratified by specific parties. We could ask the Republic Senate to send an ambassador to your fleet. Engage in negotiations properly, rather than just this one-off talk. We will need to know force composition, strength and what kind of support we can expect."

"Understandable," Lasky replied with a nod, "We'll have an envoy vessel ready with a group from ONI Section 1. Diplomatic corps."

"That'd be good," Anakin quipped, crossing his arms. "I'm sure more than a few senators would be glad to negotiate our friendship, Admiral..." And the audible sound of gunfire took the man's attention away. He stated quickly, "But I think we might need to cut this meeting short..." before turning to Buck and his men. The ODSTs all slid their helmets on their heads and ran out first.

Down the corridors and out of the base, the ODSTs were the first to spot the few enemy Air Assets still in play:Enemy fighter-like droids swept in, their energy weapons raking the ground. UNSC mobile SAMs had them pegged the moment they'd poked their heads out, however. Missiles streaked, trailing with white smoke before detonating next to the fighters themselves, sending the remains tumbling to the floor, detonating.

Rex and Cody ran out next, noting the destroyed craft's remains sprawled out across the ground. Rex sighed and looked to Buck as the Gunny gave the soldiers manning the SAMs a thumbs up. He took his helmet off and murmured to himself, "That was probably cutting it close..." before looking to the Captain, Commander and Generals, "Sir, air defense is online. Oughta keep the enemy's air support in check."

"Not like it wasn't dwindling already..." Anakin said, sighing in relief, "Good shot."

"Not my hit, sir," Buck quipped, then looked around and ordered, "Alright, Alpha Niner, let's move it out. Find our positions and pray we get a bit of a break to get acclimatized. Anakin crossed his arms to his chest as he saw the men salute and turn to leave for one of the forward barricades, all while the clones around their fellow UNSC infantry and units were examining the kit deployed by their newfound allies of circumstance.

Anakin noted, "They've got a lot of slug-throwers and missiles..."

"Waxer and Boil said they saw one of their heavier weapons was a pulse laser," Cody added, eyeing some of the Marines as they unpacked equipment from another Pelican. A dish and a few consoles they set up in the middle of the place, presumably to test it. He crossed his arms to his chest and said, "Sirs, I'm not too sure how to feel about them... Call me jittery, but this is... Convenient."

"Tell us about it," Anakin snorted, then looked to Rex, "Rex, do we still have that Separatist observation post nearby?"

Buck seemed confused as to why the man would bring it up, but Rex nodded, "Yessir. Haven't been able to get to it yet and that means the Clankers can see right into our backyard in a way. If we take it out, they're going to have to rely on calling their airstrikes the moment they make contact with our troops tomorrow..." And he l oked to BUck and the others, soon realizing what Kenobi meant.

"What do you say, Sergeant?" Anakin turned to Buck with a grin, "Care to go for a test run?"

Buck looked to his team, all of whom looked right back at him, rifles in their hands and smiles behind their helmets. When wasn't Alpha Niner ready to throw themselves into the jaws of hell just to prove themselves, eh? That was what Buck thought as a grin crossed his lips. Turning back to Anakin, he slid his helmet on his head and said, "Just give us a target and just tonight to hit'em. It'll be gone."

"Good to know, I guess," Anakin nodded, "What do you say, master?" And he looked to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan shrugged, "I suppose we could do with a dry run to see how the UNSC measures up."

"They're asking Special Forces to measure up," Mickey snorted, crossing his arms to his chest, "I think a better measurement's gonna be our Marines hitting the deck and kicking some tin can ass, honestly..." before watching a Marine Lieutenant with blonde hair and lilac eyes walk past. She stopped, turned toward them and crossed her arms, grinning. She looked to the Generals and saluted.

"Oh, boy. Hello, Lieutenant Zielinska," Buck rolled his eyes during the greeting.

"Gunny," The girl replied, "Hope you guys have fun..." And she smirked and walked away with a handwave. Buck and his team all watched her step off, with the Clones and Jedi Generals turning to them, brows arched questioningly even behind their helmets for the clones. Buck shook his head in a 'you don't wanna know' sense. Zielinska wasn't worth talking about at the moment.

Buck sighed and said, "We'll kick those tin cans around a bit and get you a secure airspace so our own birds may start coming in. Just give us the exact location..."

... As night fell upon this side of the planet, the ODSTs, alongside an observing team of Clone troopers, marched toward the enemy outpost which was located in one of the heavily-damaged high-rises off the beaten path. The Shock Troopers kept their rifles lifted up, scanning the place ahead. Visible lights on some of the floors told them that the damaged building was occupied.

Buck signaled his team to take cover with a motion of his hand. They found their positions behind various pieces of debris that had fallen near the base of the broken tower. He turned his gaze back toward a distant outcropping of the blue crystal lining the surface. The tower of ice-blue crystal had proven climbable, so they had overwatch. His VISR pinged two friendlies on top of the tower:Romeo and his spotter, a new girl in the team.

Buck then looked to the Clones, all four of which were highlighted green on his VISR-Enhanced Heads-Up Display. Before long, he thumbed the safety off his rifle and looked toward the tower, searching for an entry point. He found it in the form of a collapsed wall, the debris of which had formed a ramp up to the occupied second floor. He gave a quick hand signal to Romeo, who reported very professionally over the Com, "Tin Cans moving on the second floor. Fourth floor also occupied. First floor's completely sealed by the collapse and the third's got one sentinel... Zeroed in on the spotters..."

His voice was smooth and clear, showing his focus.

He was in the Zone, Buck thought with a grin. He gave a thumbs up, then raised three fingers. Romeo replied by winking his status light green. Their plan was simple:Romeo took out the spotters. The moment the first shot rang out, the ODSTs would kick the metaphorical door off its hinges and light these Tin Cans up like there was no tomorrow. They'd told nobody and even the clones acting as observers had barely been briefed about their intended target.

The Clones, one of which was named Jesse, stepped up to Buck and asked, "We good, Gunnery Sergeant?"

"Yeah," Buck replied, "We'll give the signal..." before eyeing the patrolling droids on the top floor and the spotters whose binoculars were aimed straight at the Republic/UNSC FOB. He hummed, patted Jesse on the shoulder, then winked his own light at Romeo. First, he winked it red, initiating the countdown. Then, he winked it yellow, reaching midpoint and causing his troops and the Clones to tense.

When green hit, the first four shots of the battle rang out. Four spotter droids lost their heads and tumbled over the side of the building. The ODSTs had begun their sprint to the entrance long before the enemy had managed to realize that and seconds before the Sniper shots' sounds were actually audible. The ODSTs pushed up the ramp of rubble and met the first droid.

Buck's rifle chattered, bullets piercing cheap armor plating. The second droid in line called out, "What the-" before its head got snapped off its body by the butt of a rifle. More sniper rifle fire rang out as the glass below them shattered. A squad of Droids appeared from behind the wall ahead of Buck and his team, so he stepped aside and let Rookie and Mickey lay into them with shotguns and silenced SMGs.

One of the SBDs guarding the place rounded the corner next. It aimed its twin arm-blaster toward the Republic and UNSC Troopers. Buck was quick to aim his AR. Several 7,62x51mm rounds punctured the thick frontal plate of the droid, sending it staggering. Its blaster shots were thrown off to the side, bolts slamming into the wall next to it. Following up, Rookie hefted and aimed his SMG. It coughed a one-second burst. The machine staggered again, before a 14,7mm round punched clean through the glass beside it and tore through its side armor

The mechanical monstrosity collapsed, its CPU destroyed. Its sibling tried coming out to engage them, but blue blaster bolts peppered its frame before it even got to round the corner properly. Tup sighed, relieved, then lowered his blaster and said, "While I appreciate the ol' Slugthrower here and there, fellas, maybe let us get a kill some times. We're used to dealing with these clankers."

Buck snorted and said, "Fair enough..." before he ordered the rest of the team to push forward. Going down the rounding stairs, careful to not hit any trip-mines, the UNSC Commandoes and the Clones of the 501st that had been sent in to survey their combat prowess advanced to the next levels to clear them. Finding the rest of the place rather easy to clear. They exited at the base of the tower, through a broken window.

Another clone beside them, Kix, checked his HUD and said, "A little under two minutes. Not bad for a bunch of Basics..."

"Basics?" Buck raised a brow as they marched out in formation.

"New one Kix came up with," Tup replied with a grin behind his helmet, "Basic humans. Not clones like the rest of us..." to which the ODSTs let out a series of laughs. Tup had actually felt a small weight lift off his chest at that, noting to himself that he'd half-expected them to at least take a pop back at them. He was glad to have been wrong, too. Things didn't need to degenerate between newfound allies.

The next morning had found General Anakin Skywalker, one of the more 'infamous' officers of the GAR, actually having had a peaceful night's sleep for a change. Usually, the Droid bombers would've woken them up at around six AM local. It was seven-fifteen and there was no sign of enemy aircraft in the sky. What he was, however, greeted by, was the UNSC deploying a few more troops in preparation to assault the enemy's positions.

Tup appeared from the right, yawning, then saluted Anakin and said, "Good morning, sir. Guessing you figured it out and/or read the report from Kix, but the enemy observation post's out of commission. And it only took the fellas we just tagged along with two minutes to wipe it out..." causing Anakin to whistle, slightly impressed. Tup nodded, "Yeah, they do seem to be the real deal, so to speak."

"That's good to know," Anakin said as he and Tup walked over toward one of the UNSC's anti-air systems, noting that the wheeled vehicle's driver and a few Marines were playing cards. The driver, a woman, looked up, smiled and waved, to which Anakin waved back. Farther in the back, Skywalker also noticed that their troops had set up a medical tent of some kind. Next to it was one of the UNSC's gunships, a 'Pelican', he recalled the name. The thick, heavily-armored bird sat quietly there, clearly bearing the red marks of a medical ambulance aircraft.

Tup said, "They're getting settled in for the big one. I heard from Waxer that they're sending out platoons to reinforce some of the boys sat in our towers, too," as he watched some Clones sat in a corner, talking to each-other while a platoon of female nurses belonging to the UNSC Navy disembarked from another aircraft, each carrying medical kits and sidearms for self-defense.

"The enemy's been moving a lot of droids just North of us, so we'll probably be prepping to blunt an enemy assault," Anakin told Tup as they marched to the front barricades, "I don't blame them for wanting to be ready. We'll be moving out to back up an ambush Obi-Wan is setting up a few klicks from here, too." and he noticed one of the UNSC's M808B Scorpions sat there, cannon pointing out toward where the clones had told them enemies were.

The driver was sat on the vehicle's track, chowing down on a sandwich of some kind. He turned to the General and Clone and greeted them with a raise of the hand in which the food resided, before he went back to eating. Beside him, a young woman peered through a pair of binoculars while standing on top of the tank's next tread. She hummed, turned to the Jedi and nodded, before peering back through the scopes, her face impassive.

A clone in the place, Checkerboard, saluted Skywalker and said, "Good morning, sir."

"Morning, Check," The General replied, "Everything in order?"

"Yessir. Turns out these UNSC folk are pros. Not very talkative, but they've got the knowhow," He replied, then motioned to a high-rise building to the right. Both Tup and Anakin looked up at the place as UNSC troops were working on it. They removed the windows and set up weapon emplacements and what looked to be bags of sand. One of the troopers hefted a heavy machine gun's body onto his shoulder and carried it from one end of the corridor to another, before helping his buddies assemble it on the tripod.

Another was keeping an eye on the enemy and radioing positions to the fleet up above. A few more were talking to each-other about whatever it was UNSC Troops talked about. Tup hummed, noting the fact that, beside their basic interactions with the Marines, the UNSC mostly kept to themselves. While both he and Anakin understood this as early jitteriness, they needed to break the ice somehow.

"Good to know, then, Check," Anakin nodded. The com system attached to his left glove pinged. He looked at it, then sighed and said, "And that's probably Obi-Wan. You fellas keep this place secure and maybe try to chat up the Marines a bit. Breaking the ice is probably gonna help with the alliance, considering the few non-clone officers they've met so far are Jedi and an Admiral."

"Yessir," The two troopers brought their hands up in salute. Anakin nodded to dismiss them, then stepped off toward the base's command post. Check sighed and said, "Easier said than done," before noting the confused look Tup gave him. He clarified, "Chatting the Marines up. These folks are wound tighter than any clone we have around. I get what's up with them to a point, new factions and all, but you'd think they'd open up a bit."

A UNSC Marine walked by them, rifle in hand, and told them, "Give us a couple more days to get acclimatized," Before flashing Tup. She was a beauty of a woman and that seemed to have caught him off-guard. Ginger-haired, with gemstone blue eyes and porcelain skin that looked a little dirtied by combat, the young woman leaned her standard-issue Battle Rifle against her shoulder and explained, "We did kinda drop here outta nowhere. Gonna take us a hot minute to get our shit together."

"That's the first time I heard that expression," Check quipped as he stood next to Tup.

The girl snorted, "I'd suppose there's some differences in language, though I guess you can get what it means in the context."

"... Refers to you guys getting your bearings, right?" Check asked after a hot moment of thinking. The girl offered a nod and a bright smile to them before shifting and looking to the confused, maybe-slightly-red-in-the-face Tup. Check now noticed his brother had been quiet for a little over two minutes and elbowed him in the shoulder, "Hey, Tup, you good?"

Tup shook his head, "Huh? Yeah, sorry..." And he turned to Check. His fellow clone crossed his arms to his chest and gave a slight raise of his head. The body language, Tup had immediately understood. The trooper was grinning behind the opaque T-Visor of his helmet. For what reason, Tup only realized when he looked back at the UNSC Marine in front of them.

"Oh, right, shit," The girl face-palmed, then let out a short giggle at her own expense before stating, "Forgot to introduce myself. Corporal Jane Staten, UNSC Marines, 45th MEU off of the Infinity herself."

"She's a right heartbreaker! Watch your asses, clone boys!" The tank driver called out with a grin, having finished his sandwich. The two Clones blanked, only to be surprised by Jane lifting the central digit on her five-fingered hand toward the man, who laughed and boarded his tank. The officer with the binoculars shook her head, unimpressed, all while the two Clones continued to stare, dumbfound.

"That was private Järvinen. Our tanker," She sighed deeply, "Bastard likes making a lot of dumb jokes."

"I bet," Tup replied with half a mouth.

"Anyways. You guys got names?" She raised a brow at them.

Tup nodded, "Tup and Checkerboard. Nice to meet you, Jane."

"Likewise, Tup, Check," She smirked, "Those sound more like nicknames, though I, uh..." Then she became a little awkward, rubbing the back of her neck and stating, "I suppose, with Clones, it's only natural you guys would've probably been stuck with numbers early on, right?" and received nods from both boys. A short sigh of relief told them she'd been worried about offending them.

Check said, "Relax, Jane. Takes more than a question to phase a Clone," and crossed his arms to his chest. She couldn't tell, but he was smiling behind his helmet. He then looked to Tup and voiced jokingly, "Of course, some of us get flustered more easily than others..." garnering a glare from his brother and confusion from Jane. She giggled at the quip.

"Fair enough, I guess," She said, then checked a digital watch on her hand and went bug-eyed. She cried out "Oh, shit, I'm supposed to be running a patrol with Vic and Paul! See ya fellas later!" And waved, flashing a short smile at Tup before running off. Tup's shoulders sagged, while Check started laughing loudly at his brother's expense. Tup turned to him, glaring again.

"What was that about?" Laughed Check. Tup rolled his eyes.

"Listen, you tell me you didn't get a flutter when you saw her and I'll call your lie out," The clone replied with half-a-mouth, which further exacerbated his brother's laughter. He sighed and planted a palm on his face, "Why do I even bother...?" before pausing as he heard the roar of jet engines up above. Two more Pelicans flew in, heading for landing pads nearby and disgorging another pair of platoons.

One of them was being led by a dark-skinned man with a cigar in his mouth, a shotgun in hand and heavy-duty green armor. He called out, "Alright, Marines! Looks like the Admiral decided he needs us to help your fellow Forty-Fivers kick some ass down here! Docs, go to the Med tent and report in! Riflemen, go find the main defensive line and set up with the Clones!"

While Tup, Check and the clones on the forward line seemed a little dumbfound, the Marines cheered the arrival. The man marched up to Captain Rex and Commander Cody, gave them a salute and said, "You two must be the Clone officers Buck told me about. I'm Sergeant-Major Johnson, UNSC Marine Corps. Where are me and my boys bunking for the battle?"

Rex, although surprised, nodded to the brash Sergeant-Major, then said, "I'm Captain Rex and this is Commander Cody. General Kenobi just told us you were coming in, Sergeant, and we're glad to have you. As for where you'll be bunking, well, where the rest of your men are. West Wing of the base. We have some free barracks there, still..." all while Cody seemed a bit surprised.

Johnson gave a nod in thanks, took a deep puff from his cigar and blew the smoke off to the side, not in the commanders' faces. He saluted again, which got the Clones to do the same, before flashing them a grin full of pearly whites and stepping off. Rex and Cody looked to each-other, then Cody stated, "Him and Skywalker are gonna get along like two peas in a pod, I can already tell."

Rex hummed and nodded, "Knowing General Skywalker? Very likely you're right. Seems like just his style of trooper..." before motioning to Cody to follow him toward Tup and the others. The airfield near-by the base had also become a UNSC hive of activity. They saw a pair of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles launching off the short runway, carrying AGMs on their bellies and highly-advanced cameras and sensors. Rex hummed and said, "That's a lot of military assets they're focusing here..."

"They have an army aboard their fleet, Rex," Cody replied, "I'm not surprised they're assigning several units here. Admiral Yularen, at least, must've briefed them on Christophsis's importance... Not a lot of places where you have a mining guild this powerful, or this many resources localized into one system..." He then supposed as they marched forward. In the distance, a rumble thundered as one of the UCAVs presumably let loose one of the missiles. Poking the enemy, were they?

That wouldn't bite them in the behind, right? Right?

Chapter Text

Buck, his team and a platoon of Marines had been selected by Generals Kenobi and Skywalker to assist in an ambush. Jackhammer rocket launchers, MA40s and even grenade launchers had been packed by the UNSC's troops, with Romeo and the Marine platoon's Marksman already setting up their scoped rifles atop each of the two towers the Jedi had elected for this ambush.

Buck had been stuck with General Skywalker for the time being, the ODST's gaze peering down at a battalion of droids marching down the viaduct they were defending. He looked to Skywalker and said, "EM Grenades should do fine against these tin cans, right? Eggheads upstairs told us the units we sent to them were not shielded against pulses like them."

Anakin nodded, "That's the concept behind our Droid Poppers. An EM Pulse powerful enough to fry them."

"Sounds good to me, sir," Mickey grinned as he loaded a dual-purpose grenade in his single-shot grenade launcher. Buck hummed and snorted, watching the Clankers approaching them, all while Rex and the clones around prepped their weapons to engage the foe. Across from them, general Kenobi's troopers prepared heavy plasma auto-cannons to engage as well.

"Droid Poppers can also stun people, depending on their setting," Rex clarified as he joined up with them, causing Buck and the others to look at him, dumbfound. Rex then clarified, "I've seen holos of them being used in testing against sentients with a working nervous system. Their muscles locked up and they fell over, but were confirmed to be alive by testing. Recovery ain't that long either."

Mickey paused, "Huh. Riot control EMPs."

"Should be fun to tell ONI about," Murmured Buck as he shifted his gaze back toward the advancing Droids. He blanked, however, then elbowed Skywalker and said, "Rear of the formation. Counting three Hovertanks..." the design of which heavily reminded him of a combination between their Scorpion and the Covenant and Swords of Sangheilios's Wraith. The wide half-moon plate at the base also had projectile launchers, it seems, while two bars on the sides of the vehicle's main armored body held quad plasma cannons and, finally, the rounded, armored turret mounted what looked to be a cannon of almost similar design to a Scorpion's.

"That... Could be a problem..." Anakin sighed, then called up Obi-Wan on the com-link, "Master, we've got armor coming in."

"We saw it, too, Anakin. It's good that our allies have brought over anti-armor equipment after all... Steady as she goes," Obi-Wan replied, voice audible over the radio. The man was as calm as always, Anakin thought as his hand hovered loosely over his lightsaber's hilt.

Dutch walked up to the window, eyeing the enemy tanks, then patted his laser and said, "Good thing we brought Jackhammers and a Laser..." as he eyed the machines. Buck hummed in agreement, shouldering his MA40 while the Marines around them prepped their own heavy weapons. One of the Marines, a guy, looked toward the advancing CIS Battalion. Dutch put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Relax, kid..." before humming, "Did you guys hear the Arbiter's planning on sending his own troops in? He's in talks with Yularen now, too, after we gave them the codes."

"Oh, boy," Snorted Mickey, "Hinge-jaws are gonna be dropping in, too, eh?"

"I'd not diss the Sangheili too much, Mickey," Dutch quipped, "Sure, the bastards did what they did, but the Arbiter and his faction are atoning for it, at least."

"Was just saying, Dutch," The explosive expert replied, "I'm glad they're on our side nowadays. Feels good not to have an Energy Sword swinging for my god damn neck for once..." And that got a laugh out of the Marines and Buck. Gunny himself stared at his team with a half-smile behind his helmet, then noted the Rookie and a Clone Trooper to his right, conversing via hand signals. A bullet to the vocal cords sometimes does that to a man, but Rookie was making an incredible recovery.

"That was the different ship Admiral Yularen mentioned in one of his reports after the Rendezvous with yours, right?" Anakin inquired, peering through the binoculars he had brought along. Buck hummed in confirmation, watching the Droids marching still. They'd gotten close enough for him to hear the thumping footsteps of the tin cans from this distance, even if they were muffled by the glass. Anakin hummed, "Thanks, by the way. I don't think the Seps expected you guys to appear and blockade Christophsis as well..."

"Well, sir," Buck hummed, "They shouldn't have shot first..." And he paused as he saw the Droid formation splitting into three distinct prongs. He swore to himself, feeling a pit in his stomach, "Sir, they're divvying up. Two prongs are headed for us and General Kenobi's fireteam. The central's moving on as planned..." before he heard several of his Marines stand to their feet.

Anakin hummed, "That's not good... Think they know?"

"Honestly, sir, I'd rather not sit around and find out..." Buck replied, watching the enemy machines advance to the bases of their towers, before radioing in, "Spooky Two-Five, this is Alpha-Niner Actual, requesting gunship support on our location. Enemy might know of our POS and has brought armor. Repeat, enemy has armor. Recommend you mount ATGMs."

"Roger, Alpha-Niner. Spooky 2-5, en-route to AO, ETA, one mike. Hang tight 'till we're in the pipe," The pilot of the gunship replied.

Buck looked to Skywalker and thumbed his rifle's safety off, stating, "We're gonna have company, sir. Wanna prep?" to which Anakin flashed the Trooper a grin and brandished his lightsaber. Rex and the other Clones all readied weapons. Buck nodded to his team, all of whom hefted their gear, before hearing blaster and automatic fire from Kenobi's tower. Flashes of red and blue came from the windows...

"Oh, great, they got to them first," Anakin sighed, then powered on his com-link, "Master, we're seeing heavy fire in your tower. Need some backup?"

"We would appreciate it, Anakin!" General Kenobi replied, more annoyed than afraid. Hell, Buck wasn't sure the man was afraid in the first place. The Troopers and Skywalker marched up to one of the windows that faced Kenobi's tower, readying their weapons, before Buck looked to Anakin, ready to ask him how they were gonna get across. Three troopers popped up behind him, however, with grappling hook guns attached to the barrels of their rifles.

Skywalker looked to Buck and said, "Up for a little ride?"

"Good thing we brought our hooks, sir," Buck nodded, while his ODSTs laughed. He took a step back as Anakin ignited his Lightsaber and slashed an X across the window ahead. A gust of air filled the room and nearly knocked the oxygen out of Buck's and his boys' lungs. The window shattered under the mounting pressure, shards of glass falling onto the line of Droids down below.

"Move it up, men!" Rex ordered the grappling hook troops. The three soldiers aimed and fired the expanding hooks, their thick wires unravelling with the familiar whirr of metallic rope scratching against the reinforced body of the internal winch. The hooks struck and locked into place, digging into the ferrous compound that made up the wall on the other side and the troopers hooked the other end of the wires up to the rear wall.

Skywalker jumped in first, utilizing a specialized hook to mount the impromptu zipline, while his troopers attached their own hooks to the lines and the ODSTs and Marines followed suit. Before long, the entire unit was rushing across the distance between the two towers, hanging on for dear life as the Droids below opened up on them. The air grew thick with red plasma, only for the ODSTs and Skywalker to reply by shooting back and deflecting the bolts, respectively.

They saw Romeo reposition above them, using his jetpack to jump the distance and firing his gun all the same. He managed to nail two droids after firing thrice, so that was a decent enough kill-to-spent-round case... Of course, two Clones and one of their Marines got hit while crossing, their screams audible as they lost their grip or their own lines broke and they fell.

"This wasn't that good of an idea!" Buck called out as he blasted away with his pistol.

"Hindsight's always twenty-twenty!" Dutch replied, while Mickey laughed and fired the SMG he had as a sidearm at the droids. Rex hummed in agreement, before pausing as multiple missiles screamed around them. The droid battalion below shattered with the ground as rocket motors whined and unguided missiles hit them. Above, a Pelican gunship swept in, its maw-mounted 30mm Autocannon letting loose.

Anakin looked up and smirked, then spoke over com, "Thanks for the backup! Makes our crossing easier!"

"You're welcome, General. Gunny, I suggest you folks pack your bags and prep to Evac, though," The pilot replied. She shifted her aircraft to the right a little, letting loose with the autocannon as the Droid Tanks shifted their cannons to meet them. Another Platoon of Marines dismounted on the roof, one of them carrying a Jackhammer that he fired in reply to the Droids' own tank guns firing up after them.

"Already on it, Spooky," Buck replied professionally.

Spooky then shifted the bird again and powered its engines, keeping herself on the move and laying into them with guns. On its wings, however, were racks bearing four missiles each. These missiles were bulkier and had a nose-cone camera. One of them activated, its engine roaring as it flew off the rack in a straight line, before arching down onto one of the Droid tanks.

It struck through the top of the turret, right into one of the ammo stowage sections for the autoloading gun. The explosion that followed rocked its two siblings to the side, making them miss their intended target. The Jackhammers from the other Marines struck the pair of tanks just as Anakin and the others breached the tower Kenobi and the 212th were. Buck, Skywalker and Rex were first into the room.

Bullets began to rain as Buck scoped in the first droid. His MA40 barked in unison with Rex's twin heavy blaster pistols. The Captain and Gunnery Sergeant joined up with Commander Cody and Generals Kenobi and Skywalker at the front. Obi-Wan told them with a half-hearted bit of sass in his voice, "How nice of you to join us! You sure were fast!"

"We zip-lined all the way over, sir," Buck replied as he took a knee, letting two pairs of Marines and Clones behind him fire their weapons at the advancing droids. Bullet and bolt snapped and punctured the thin armor of the droids' bodies. One of them nailed a Marine in the chest, so that Marine must've been extremely thankful for the heat-dissipating layer beneath his chest plate when he fell to the floor.

Dutch grabbed that Marine by the collar and dragged him back, stating, "God bless the R&D for developing heat-resistant armor!"

"We can tank a couple shots of plasma now!" Mickey replied with a laugh. Outside, the rumble of Spooky's autocannon filled the air as the bird orbited around them, gunning down any Droids that were still outside.

"Generals, we gotta fall back. Spooky's on-station to evacuate us," Buck stated as he shifted his aim. He filled another Droid full of holes, then ducked as a bolt of energy singed his helmet's top. He swore, "Motherf-..." Before catching himself and nodding to Mickey. The Grenadier grinned brightly behind his helmet. He hefted the grenade launcher, aimed and fired, sending the grenade barreling into the doorway as the Jedi began pulling back. Upon detonation, a burst of electricity knocked several Droids out from the half-company that was still advancing on them.

With a hand signal, Rex ordered the troopers to begin the retreat. He and Cody put down suppressing fire from their blasters as their brothers, two of which got nailed in front of them, were retreating. A UNSC Marine primed a grenade, but took a bolt to the head, collapsing with the grenade in his hand. It rolled out in front of Rex, who noticed it and vented his annoyance by kicking it toward the Droids. It exploded, raining shrapnel all around them and allowing the Clone Troopers to retreat as another Marine took a bolt and collapsed.

As they ran, Buck asked Kenobi, "Sir, any idea how this happened?!"

"None!" Kenobi replied, "However, I saw a Tactical Droid among their units! If it's not destroyed, we can probably take its head to interrogate it!"

"Guessing we can tell it apart from all the other B1 Tin Cans!" Buck replied as he dropped off a primed grenade behind them. Cody and Rex kicked it back farther as its fuse ticked down silently, before the thump of the explosion reverberated alongside the shockwave. Climbing up to the top of the tower and exiting out via the main, they found Romeo and his fellow Sniper poking at targets with their rifles. Buck radioed in, "Spooky, be ready to land on our mark."

"Waitin' on ya, Gunny," the Pilot replied as she continued firing her autocannon. The Clones and soldiers all set up to greet the incoming Droids, taking cover around various power and heating installations on the rooftop. Buck looked to the Pelican as dozens of blaster rounds struck its belly armor, heating, but not melting the metal. All the while, Spooky's gun continued to spew death.

The first droids to step through the door were, of course, B1s. All were met with a volley of fire so focused, it spooked even Kenobi and Skywalker. The two Jedi provided the defense against the volleys of blaster fire from the droids, while the ODSTs and Clones pulled their triggers all the way back, bullets piercing concrete and layered plates on the walls. The droids piled high, scored by plasma and cut apart by rounds, just as the Command Droid marched forward with more units.

A Clone noticed it. He looked to Rookie and gave him a nod, to which the ODST replied in kind, before shifting his fire toward a squad of Mechs. The Clone charged the Command Mech, pinned it to the wall and ripped its bloody head off. Buck then radioed, "Spooky! We're good for Evac! Prep to make it hot!" and watched as the aircraft settled at the edge of the tower. Buck made the motion of a hand-chop toward the vehicle and said, "Move! Bounding retreat!"

"You heard the man, Troopers! Move it!" Rex ordered. He grabbed a Clanker, pinned it against the wall and put several blaster bolts to his chest. Anakin, meanwhile, utilized Force push. The tidal wave of energy bent the wind into a shockwave of its own, sending several droids into each-other. Obi-Wan and him shut their blades off and clipped them to their hilts, before rushing back with the rest of their troopers.

Last to jump into the vehicle was one of their Troopers, before the Pelican turned around as the back hatch closed. The pilot looked to her co-pilot and nodded, stating, "Light them up, Tommy..." as she punched in the coordinates for their base. The Co-Pilot moved his joystick and aimed, the HUD on his helmet tracking the aim of the main gun via a reticle. As more and more droids poured onto the rooftop and fired at them, the man grinned and squeezed. 30mm rounds tore through the line of Droids without remorse, High-Ex rounds detonating off the walls and infrastructure and shattering multiple tin cans. He gave a thumbs up to the woman, before the aircraft turned to leave.

In the Blood Tray, Buck took his helmet off and sighed, "Whatever that was... At least, we made it."

"Lucky us," Romeo murmured sarcastically as he sat down next to one of their Marines.

Obi-Wan looked at the Clone that had ripped the head off the droid commander, then at the head itself, pointed at it and said, "Let's hope our friend here knows what caused that little Ambush to fail..."

... Back at FOB, UNSC Troops had grown a little tense. Not a lot of the boys and girls had seen action and they were getting antsy to shoot at something. Meanwhile, Buck had been ordered to escort a bunch of new arrivals toward the Command Room. Specifically, Alpha Niner was now escorting Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and a platoon of Sangheili Special Operations Elites.

Hunchback, tall, muscular and well-built, the Elite honor guard of Special Ops wore enclosed masks with glimmering gold visor eyes. The half-dozen Elites carried an Energy Sword attached to a magnetic lock on their enclosed armor's left thigh, their hooves clanking against the steel. In their four-fingered hands lay plasma rifles, needle rifles, plasma repeaters and a particle beam rifle.

That which turned several Clones' and Christophsians heads were not just the Spec-Ops Elites, however. Clad in gold-tinted, ornate armor with a cape draped over his right arm and shoulder, concealing even more armor plating and with a menacing-looking Energy Sword hilt clipped to the thigh, Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, the Slayer of the Prophet of Truth and Liberator of Sangheilios, marched with a stride denoting the elegance of the Sangheili race.

Beneath the armor, still visible, was a marking that only his Elite brethren knew the meaning of. However, from a Mark of Shame during his service with the Covenant, it had become a Mark of Pride. The reptile eyes of the alien were focused forward, the suit's Heads-Up Display, a more ancient Operating System than that of the Elites around him, playing in his eyes.

Buck hummed and said, "So, you folks good with working with the Republic?"

"I see no reason not to," The Arbiter replied, his booming, calm and smooth, yet still Alien voice a familiar tone to Buck. They'd met during the signing of the Alliance between their species. Thel spoke again, "They fired upon our allies. A human proverb states that the enemy of my enemy is my friend... And, so far, it has not been proven wrong. Else we might have been fighting this Galactic Republic as well."

"And I'll bet they don't want that once they see your people in combat," Mickey quipped, though a hint of fury was in his voice.

To his credit, the Arbiter chose not to notice the faint anger behind the ODST's voice. He replied, "Let us hope they'll accept the help of a few unknown aliens..." before the doors ahead of them slid open. The Generals and Admiral Lasky were already talking, looking over the discoveries taken from the Tactical Droid's central processor. Generals Kenobi and Skywalker turned to face the massive reptilian bipedals that had marched in and both men stood, stunned.

The Arbiter was first to greet them. Putting his right fist to his chest, thus revealing the segmented 'scale' armor on the right arm, the Elite bowed his head and spoke calmly, "Good evening, Generals and officers of the Republic. My name is Thel 'Vadam and I am of the warrior caste of the Sangheili. It is an honor to meet our new Allies within this Galaxy..." and then straightening up.

Obi-Wan, ever the curteous man, was first to reply, "The honor is all ours. A pleasure to finally meet you in person, Arbiter."

"Likewise, General Kenobi," The Arbiter replied.

"Yeah, hello," Anakin waved, a little more awkwarded out. Thel gave him a simple nod, before approaching the holotable in the middle, to see the Droid head with several wires attached to its main connection ports. Anakin hummed and said, "To give you a brief rundown, Arbiter, we were just discussing the fact this droid knew all our plans... And we were wondering how, exactly."

"An intruder, perhaps," The Arbiter suggested as he looked at the machine head.

Obi-Wan hummed, scratching his beard, "Perhaps, but who'd be so bold?"

"Sirs," Cody replied as he looked at the machine, "I don't think it was scouts that the Droids used to know where we were gonna be. We and our UNSC allies would've spotted them... There's something else going on here," And he looked to Rex, who nodded. The two Generals motioned to Cody to go on, while the Arbiter gazed at him with a calm look. The troops behind him stood at the ready, too, though their weapons were lowered and presumably on safe. Cody sighed, then spoke, "I and Rex have a theory... One we don't like at all. There might be a spy in our midst."

The two Jedi looked to one-another, then to Cody. Kenobi said, "Are you sure of what you're saying, Cody?"

"Honestly, sir, it seems like the only plausible explanation," Rex replied as he joined his friend.

Kenobi hummed, stroking his beard, then said, "Then we should be mindful of the situation... I believe this is a good time for us to engage in a little scouting of our own behind enemy lines," and he looked to Anakin. The 501st's General smirked and gave a nod, before both Jedi turned to Cody and Rex. Obi-Wan told them, "I presume you gentlemen don't mind handling the internal investigation?"

Rex and Cody turned to one-another, before both men nodded. The Arbiter looked to the Jedi and said, "If we may join you in the investigation. Me and my commandoes can handle any infiltration mission put before us..." and he activated his camouflage. As did the other Elites, in fact. That certainly got a shocked gasp out of the Clones and Jedi, and a grin out of Anakin. They reappeared next, the Elite leader's four mandibles mimicking a semi-human smile.

"Very well, then," Obi-Wan nodded, "Welcome aboard."

Thel bowed his head again in a respectful form of thank you. Anakin looked to Rex and Cody, then said, "See you two later," as he, Obi-Wan, the Arbiter and his men stepped out. Buck hummed, took his helmet off and sighed deeply. He looked to the Clones and shrugged, before walking toward one of the windows and muttering something. Mickey and the others looked to the Captain and Commander.

"So... Traitor?" Dutch took his helmet off, showing the arched brow he had when looking at the two officers.

Cody shrugged, "It's as likely as any other explanation so far..." And he sighed.

"Well, that should be fun," Quipped Mickey. He then asked with a rhetorical, almost sarcastic tone, "How the hell are we gonna find a traitor in the middle of a base chock-full of people who look nearly identical?" which garnered a few laughs out of his team and a concealed snort from Rex. Mickey added the killing blow as he looked to a dead-serious Cody, "No offense, Commander."

"None taken..." Cody rolled his eyes, "We'll figure something out..." before pausing and looking at the com-links sat on the desk. A sudden beeping filled the room as silence set in, before Cody paused, approaching the Com-Link station and looking it over. He frowned, looked to Rex and said, "Hell... We were being listened to. Someone left their com-link on and heard everything!"

"Ah, shit," Buck sighed and put his helmet back on. He turned to Cody and Rex and stated, "Guessing hunt's on..."

Chapter Text

Thumbing the Com-Link off, Cody led the team out of the command center and into the hallways, weapons drawn. Cody looked back to Buck and said, "Gunnery Sergeant, may I suggest you let us take the shot? We don't want to kill the traitor, just interrogate him..." words which got a few groans of disagreement. Buck quickly silenced them with a swipe of his hand to the right, before turning to Cody and offering him a nod. The Commander, happy with the result, nodded and said, "Rex, see any-" before stopping as he saw a shadow disappear behind the corner.

Cody chopped his open hand forward, a scowl on his face. He, Rex and the ODSTs took off in a sprint to chase him. As they approached the intersection, Cody told Buck and his team, "Send some of your men to the right! It loops around to the Mess Hall!" as Rex readied his blaster pistols, thumbing the setting selector to 'STUN'. Or, at least, Buck hoped the strange word on the side of the gun meant 'stun'. Their alphabet was freaky.

Cutting that thought off and getting serious again, Buck turned back and ordered, "Romeo, Rookie, Dutch, hoof it! Dutch, if you see our runner, tackle his ass!" as he checked his assault rifle and silently cursed himself for not grabbing a droid popper or two out of a bag.

"You got it, Gunny!" Dutch grinned, putting his fists together and taking the right with his two assigned compatriots.

Rex looked back to Buck and commented, "Heavy weapons spec seems excited," with a grin. Buck nodded, revealing his face via depolarizing his visor, to show his own grin. The soldiers rounded the corner to the right, weapons at the ready. They saw the figure take another right, before Rex radioed in, "You three should be coming into view of him now! Watch yourselves!"

Reaching the end of the hallway and taking a right, the Troopers all met in the middle. Dumbfound, Rex looked around and then to the right, at the open door from where chatter, the clinking of dishes and cutlery and laughter echoed. Rex and Cody walked inside first, staring at the mess hall full of their brothers, before Rex stated, "Oh, this is gonna be tough..."

"Told you..." Mickey sighed as he looked around at the dozens of clones sat together, eating. He took his helmet off and hummed and stated, "We should call up a Platoon of Marines, Gunny. Scour the place from top to bottom with their help," before noting both Rex and Cody looking back at him inquisitively, if a little dismayed by the thought of their allies distrusting them this much. Sure, the alliance was new, but...

"Don't think the Clones will like us 'Basics' pointing fingers, Mickey. Let's not break the friendship before it's even begun, alright?" Buck replied half-heartedly, taking his helmet off as Mickey let out a sigh. He walked up beside Cody and Rex, then suggested, "Do we have any way to find out how the Droids got intel from us? Some transmission system or something...?"

The two Clone officers looked to one-another, then to Buck. Rex replied, "The Base as a com system, yeah. Plus terminals in each Barracks..." before he blanked. He looked to Cody, "... Which, while implausible, could be where our turncoat sent a message from when nobody was looking... I'll get R2 to the Command Room so he can help us search the mainframe."

"I and the Troopers will go back there, then," Cody stated, sighing. He motioned to Buck and his men to follow along. The groups each departed the mess hall. Moments later, in the command room, Buck was staring out of the window at the Republic's vehicles again, his helmet sat on the windowsill as Cody wrote a report on his tablet. Mickey and Dutch were playing cards and Romeo and Rookie were just quietly sat in a corner.

Cody had taken a moment to reflect on the matters at hand as he looked through the computer. The UNSC had arrived no less than a couple of days ago, but had already mass-deployed an entire corps to support the 501st and the 212th on Christophsis. Was it really all due to the Seppies firing first, or was it because the UNSC sought some form of ally in what must've been a foreign area to them? He didn't know. With a deep sigh, he turned to Buck, "Gunnery Sergeant."

"Yes, sir?" The ODST was quickly taken out of his thoughts, turning toward the Commander and saluting. He merely wondered wthat the Clone Commander wanted right then and there, honestly. Not a lot to talk about with a guy like Buck, so the Sarge was interested to see where this was going(As were his men, by extension). Cody seemed to notice a lot of eyes falling on him.

"Are you and your people good with fighting by our side?" He asked rather directly, seemingly surprising Buck. The Sergeant looked over at the Commander with an arched brow, all while Cody continued to tap into the mainframe. Rex was running a little late with finding R2, but that was no surprise. That Droid really liked to get into weird places quite often, being Skywalker's.

"You haven't given us a reason not to be yet." Buck replied as he shifted his assault rifle off his back and leaning it against the wall. He turned to Cody, crossing his arms and offering a quick addendum, "And until we find our way home, we sure as hell hope you don't." which garnered a few mischievous snorts out of the ODSTs and, somehow, sent a chill up Cody's otherwise-normal spine.

"As much as we appreciate the reinforcements," Cody wanted to be tactful in choosing his words, "I'm sure you've heard some mumbles from the men, too. Both sides, I mean." And he looked at each Shock Trooper as they turned to him again. Mickey shrugged, Romeo hummed and the Rookie kept quiet, arranging his helmet and hitting it twice to make sure it worked.

"Honestly, can't blame'em. We've had a genocidal war with a coalition of alien species before-hand, Commander. One difference is, they weren't using Clones..." Dutch remarked as he stood up and walked to one of the computers, to try and see if he could figure out how it works. He hummed, sighed and shrugged, "Then again, lord knows, they weren't democratic like the Republic seems to be. As for the Clones, well, you probably know why your brothers ain't that hot on us."

"Go back a second... What?" Cody seemed confused. The ODSTs soon realized he was referring to the 'genocidal war' part.

"The Arbiter," Buck replied without skipping a beat. Wow, no problem through their alien buddies under the bus? Or was Buck being serious about this? One of their allies was an old enemy that had killed their people, unless he'd openly misunderstood what they meant by 'Genocidal'... Cody needed to know more, so he gave them all a nod to go on with the tale.

Mickey took his helmet off and ran a hand over his buzzcut, boot-camp-style haircut, before offering a snide response, "Supreme Hinge-Jaw was one of those aliens. To say we're still not very fond of'em is an understatement..." And, upon seeing Cody's eyes widen, he also clarified, "But Chief's made friends with him and his people for us, so... We're okay now..."

"Oh..." The Commander paused, before noticing Romeo looking at a set of Dog Tags. He hummed, then asked, "How bad did it get?"

"Over the span of about twenty-seven years... Nearly a dozen or so worlds turned to glass via orbital bombardment." The Sniper actually replied, then looked up to the Commander with a blank stare, "Thirty-three billion dead," and those last few words caused Cody to double over. That amount of casualties, both Military and Civilian, through orbital bombardment...

The Commander let out a deep sigh, shoulders sagging, "... Force... I'm sorry..." before gazing upon the men of the unit with understanding, "I can't believe you can look at the Elites without..." and he bit down on his words. He wasn't sure he should say anything. Force only knew what drove the UNSC forward into the alliance anyhow, but he assumed that they'd won, at least. Being here and not being worried in helping the Republic told him at least that much.

"Yeah... Not an easy thing to forgive, but they were fooled into the war, just like we were unwilling participants to witnessing our own Genocide..." Buck replied softly, then let out a sigh as memories of his home flooded his mind, "A story for another time..." and his gaze turned back to the motorpool. He had a gut feeling something was wrong with it, but he just couldn't quite pin it.

"Right..." Cody sighed, suddenly feeling mighty awkward. He hummed, just as he heard the sound of armored boots touching steel and the whine of an AstroMech's rollers. Rex walked in first, pistols dangling off his hips as, beside him, rolled a trash-can-looking droid with two legs and a central wheel. He was painted white with dark-blue accents and had two cameras and a color-changing 'bulb' as a mouth. It began to beep at the UNSC Troopers.

"... The hell?" Buck turned toward Rex and the Droid.

"This is R2D2. General Skywalker's AstroMech droid," Rex stated, "He should be able to help us more quickly search the Database."

"It's kinda cute," Laughed Mickey.

Buck walked up to R2, then knelt in front of him. The droid turned his camera to face him, before 'twoooo'-ing at him. Rex snorted and said, "They're our new allies..." which caused the entire room to look at him like he was speaking a foreign freaking language. Which, to be honest, he may as well have been, considering the fact he could understand R2.

"Nevermind..." Buck shut down any discourse before it started, then looked to R2 and said, "Alright, little guy. We're gonna need some help here..." before hearing the droid chirp away a seemingly-jovial response. He rolled over on all three wheel pods toward Cody, before straightening up and retracting the central little leg. A connector of some kind emerged out of R2's chest and locked into a port in the computer. The droid began to spin it around, the click-clack of turning gears and whirr of electrical machinery working filling the troopers' ears.

Cody looked to R2 and said, "See if there were any outbound messages from barracks terminals within the last forty-eight hours, R2. We'll need the details... Filter them by destination."

"Little tin can can do it, right?" Mickey asked with a whisper. Buck shushed him as they watched the droid work. R2 turned his head toward the group, camera panning menacingly up at Mickey, to which the Demo Expert ODST greeted the droid with a wave of his hand. R2 let out a dismayed series of beeps, presumably addressing Mickey's manufacturers' family history, before turning back to work and projecting the data onto a screen on the computer. Cody leaned over and hummed.

He then turned to Rex, "One message, to unknown receiver... It's encrypted. And it's been sent from Slick's barracks."

"Slick's not gonna like this," Rex murmured, scratching his chin.

"I bet," Buck sighed, "Should we let you guys handle it? Act as backup?"

"No..." Rex sighed deeply, "As much as they probably won't like it, we need the backup. We can get you blasters and set them to stun for you. We're not here to kill our brothers."

Buck had finally registered the fact Rex called the other clones his 'brothers' with a hint more fondness than one would call his fellow soldiers 'brothers in arms'. No, Clones were Clones, identical in genetic makeup and born from the same machine wombs that grew them and millions more like them. It was only natural, Buck soon realized, that they were all brothers. He nodded to them and said, "We'll take it. We're keeping lethals on us, though... And Captain, Commander? I've had a nagging feeling about the Motor-pool since this entire clusterfuck started... You mind if we send for a team to scout the place out?"

"Why?" Cody asked without any hint of malice. Rather, genuine curiosity.

Mickey hummed, then said, "I think Gunny's scared the traitor might've put bombs on your vehicles."

The two officers looked to each-other, then Rex nodded and said, "Call up your EOD team, then. Make it covert... If the traitor suspects we know, he might touch off the bombs as we search for him. And if he's in Slick's platoon? Best bet's to keep him occupied while the search is conducted."

Buck nodded, "That's fine by me..." before sliding his helmet on his head. He radioed in, "Echo Zulu Seventeen, this is Alpha Niner, requesting EOD within Republic base Motorpool... Possible sabotage may have occurred. Be careful, keep it stealthy," and got an immediate affirmative. Taking his helmet back off, Buck turned to the Clones and said, "Guess this means we're grabbing blasters."

"Right this way, gents... Thanks, R2," Rex nodded, then looked down to and patted the Droid on the head. It chirped appreciatively at the Captain, before turning around and rolling off somewhere else in the base. After leading the ODSTs to the armory to hand them Blasters and calling Slick's men to the Barracks unbeknownst to him, the Clone officers marched them to Barracks No. 7. Slick's Barracks. Entering it, Cody began talking to the very clone officer in charge of the platoon.

"... There's no way!" Slick protested, "My guys are the best! No way they're capable of something like this!"

"Something like what?" A Clone voice echoed from the doorway. Slick turned toward them. Buck looked to Cody and Rex and motioned to the rear of the place, to which the officers nodded. Gunny then led his men to the rear, keeping the blasters close-by in case the traitor decided to make himself known from among the Clones' ranks. The men leaned against the walls, eyeing the Clones as they interrogated their troopers.

"Feels a lil' off, sir..." Dutch said as he watched them go from trooper to trooper, starting with a guy that was only cleaning his rifle after battle. Apparently, he loved to do that, almost like an obsession according to some of his squadmates. Dutch and Mickey could understand it. Any weapon not cleaned properly is a liability, a chance for it to go off in your face due to obstructions.

"Agreed. Something ain't right about this at all." The Gunny murmured, shifting the strange Blaster carbine in his hands. He extended its stock and shouldered it, before asking, "Why would one of their own betray them?" as he gazed back upon his team. All that stared back at him were confused faces of the troopers he'd been working with since before Mombasa.

"Honestly, Gunny, best bet's money," The dark-skinned sniper quipped, a grin on his face as they watched the Clones interrogate their next guy:A fella who went to the mess hall. He shrugged to them and said, "Hell, I know I've seen people do similar things for less at times..." before murmuring to himself, "My ex who's with the Innies, as an example..."

"Nah, there must be something else." Mickey waved the suspicion of Romeo off, much to the Sniper's chagrin. Sure, money was probably a factor, but there must've been something else in the middle. He continued with a quiet question, arms crossed and cradling the Blaster rifle to his chest, his SMG sitting pretty on his thigh, "The hell are Clones to the Jedi or the Republic anyway...?"

"Soldiers," Buck said without even flinching, "Hopefully, the average Rep Civvie can see that they're more than just same-faced cannon fodder..."

"That's what I'm worried about." Their Demo expert stated rather bluntly, watching as one interrogation got a little more heated due to the fact one of the Clones had some battle droid fingers strung up on a chain like a trophy. No comment. Mickey got that, but he still told his mates, "Maybe some of the whole 'being a soldier and nothing more' thing might've gotten to one of'em... What if it gets to all of'em...?"

"Doubt it will." Dutch stated, humming and readying his blaster, "Unless some of the Jedi genuinely treat these guys like shit, we might just be seeing an isolated case."

"Sure hope so, Dutch..." The Gunny replied, watching as the team now zeroed in on Slick for something he said. Could it have been the TL, then? After he held such a short, but passionate speech about his men not being able to betray a fly, much less their own brothers? Buck didn't know. He shifted the blaster back to his dominant hand and made sure it was ready, before murmuring, "Hope my HUD can help me aim, cuz the Iron Sights look like shit..."

The laughter of his team was tenser than prior. They watched Slick's expression change to a threatening one, before he cocked his fist back and slammed Cody straight in the face. He turned toward the Troopers, all of whom lifted their carbines and opened up. Sparkling circlets of electricity lanced forward from the weapons' maws, striking the ground as the Clone Lieutenant dodged and rolled out of the way, before bounding it across through the halls. Rex ordered, "After him!" as he drew his pistols.

The troopers, all of them, ran out into the halls to chase Slick down...

Near the CIS HQ...

A rising tower of crystals and concrete, among a jungle of such items and situated amidst a massive plaza, lay undefended. Two speeder bikes were being followed by half a platoon of Ghosts, painted in the dark-green of the Swords of Sangheilios. The Arbiter tensed, his fingers wrapped tightly around the controls of the hover-bike as they worked to keep up with the two Speeder Bikes and their Jedi comrades.

The Sangheili leader looked to his escorting soldiers and, with two motions of his hands, ordered them to split up. Dividing into half, the supporting element moved to various positions, presumably more advantageous, to provide supporting fire and scouting. Meanwhile, the Arbiter utilized the boost on his Ghost's engines to catch up to Kenobi and Skywalker. The two Jedi looked to the armed bike and the Elite, then nodded, before they all began to slow as they reached the stairs.

Stopping, the trio dismounted, before the Arbiter said, "I have had my Elites secure an escape route, should we need it..." as he tensed. The two Jedi offered approving nods to the Sangheili, before they began their ascent up the stairs. Even Skywalker quietly commented on the lack of defenses for what was supposed to be the Confederacy's biggest control point on the planet.

The Arbiter's hand wrapped around the hilt of Prophets' Bane. He unclipped the ornate Energy Sword off his belt as they entered the tower, with Anakin noting, "You okay, Arbiter? You're looking a little tense..." Before getting a huff and a nod from the Alien. Anakin didn't ask anything again, however both he and Obi-Wan seemed to notice the fact the Elite was sensing something of an ambush.

As they entered the main halls of the building-turned-headquarters, the Arbiter's suspicions seemed confirmed. A young woman, bald-headed, pale and with tribal tattoos and odd clothes, stood atop a platform, a smirk on her face. It soon vanished, however, as the Arbiter ignited the Prohpets' Bane. Obi-Wan said smugly, "Ventress. You seem surprised. Was this not part of your plan?"

"I see you have a new friend, Kenobi..." She replied with the same Snark in kind, drawing her own lightsabers and igniting them. She spoke, "He seems rather... Bulky..." before flashing a cocky grin at the Arbiter, "No matter, really... He'll die with you and your little apprentice here..." before both Jedi ignited their Lightsabers, prepared for the duel...

"You seem to misunderstand the situation you're in," The Arbiter replied calmly, the scarlet blade in his hand glimmering. His voice booming with the confidence of a swordsmaster trained by the generations before him, the Elite challenged, "Surrender... And you may yet be offered mercy..." words which garnered a laugh out of Ventress. Both Jedi looked to the Elite, who sighed and shook his head.

"So be it..."

Chapter Text

The two Jedi beside the Arbiter ignited their blue lightsabers as well, just as Asajj Ventress, Sith Assassin, prepared herself to engage. She dropped the 'skirt' she was wearing onto the floor, revealing her gaunt legs, both wrapped in bandages and protective layers. She roared, jumping from the high ground with both her scarlet blades brandished. Lifting them over her head, she brought them down as she was about to land...

And the Arbiter's reaction time allowed him to lift the Prohpets' Bane to deflect them. With a hefty kick, the Elite sent the Dark Jedi apprentice skidding back across the steel floor. Cocking his fist back and taking a combat stance familiar only to Elites trained in the art of wielding an Energy Sword, the Arbiter said to Obi-Wan and Anakin, "Go. Retrieve any intelligence we require. I will deal with her."

"No disrespect meant, Arbiter, but Ventress is more cunning than she looks," Obi-Wan stated as he took the Arbiter's left flank. Anakin took the right, a grin on his face, before the Alien looked back at the two of them, before huffing as he watched Ventress pacing ahead of them. Curteous of her to let them talk, so Arbiter would, at least, give her the same courtesy. He looked back to Obi-Wan and tilted his head. Obi-Wan raised a brow and said, "If you're sure..."

"I am," The Sangheili replied, "Find intelligence, discover who the spy might be..." and he turned to the Dathomirian Witch ahead of him, blade ready.

Ventress let out a low laugh, before pointing the tip of her right lightsaber at him and stating, "Rather bold for an alien! Do you have the Force?" words to which the Arbiter didn't answer. He simply waited patiently, facing Ventress as they circled each-other like duelists of old times. The two Jedi turned toward another door and ran for the exit. Ventress tried to chase, but the Arbiter bounded toward her, intercepting her mid-charge and slamming her against a wall, before slashing down.

The woman barely ducked under the heavy swing of the Elite, the blade digging into the wall like a hot knife would through butter. A bright-orange gash, thinner than what one would get out of a lightsaber strike, was left in the wall as the Arbiter retrieved his blade and swiped strategically toward Ventress's midsection, almost catching her off-guard. She barely shifted her blades into position to blunt the swipe.

The Elite, however, had performed a motion that one would not believe possible due to the size of his frame. He spun about with such grace and speed, Ventress was stupefied enough to take a hammer-punch to the face from the Elite's balled left fist, before staggering and finding herself on the defensive again. He thrust the blade forward, forcing her to block, before pressing the attack to break through her defenses.

To her credit, Ventress was holding stubbornly to her defense, despite the taller Elite's bulk and swing power. Thel could commend her for that, at least. It was not going to help her, however. He swiped down to the right, feinting a strike, before redirecting the blade and catching Ventress unaware. He'd clipped her hip, causing her to scream out in pain, before said pain got channeled into anger.

The woman thrust both her hands forward, sending a shockwave that caused the Arbiter to stagger, moving a couple of steps back. He huffed, then parried a strike from the girl's twin blades as she began swinging wildly at him. The Elite remained incredibly calm at this display of clumsy swordsmanship, deflecting each strike with the same impassive gaze he had had so far.

Meanwhile, the woman seemed angry, calling out, "You're as worthless as those Jedi, not even bothering to strike at me properly! You barely nicked me, you reptile!"

The Arbiter hummed, before shifting his blade to the right and lifting one of his own hands up. Ventress yelped as she felt her own right hand caught by the Arbiter's left, before the man twisted her arm. She grit her teeth and stabbed toward him, catching the side of his helmet. The blade deflected off the Armor's energy shield, but the Arbiter was forced to let go.

He hummed, looking at the small scorch on his helmet, then nodded and said, "Good. You're learning..." before switching his stance. Ventress took pause upon seeing that, watching the more aggressive gaze of the Elite sweep over her, like he was sizing up his prey. Ventress took her own stance, one blade behind and high and one low and pointed at him.

Before she could even blink, the Elite had bounded halfway to her. She gasped, ducking under an oblique swing from top-left to bottom right. She felt the blade singe a bit of her skin, then gasped as she saw Thel thrust at her chest. Once again, the Elite swiped upward with the blade, deflecting one of Ventress's attacks to the right and one to the left. He struck forward again, cutting inches away from the woman's head.

She staggered, but counterattacked sloppily. Energy sparked against energy as the trio of weapons collided, with the Arbiter utilizing his strength and reach to keep Ventress's own weapons away from him while trying to inflict damage via his Energy Sword. He could potentially use the energy dagger in the left gauntlet to 'even the odds', but he had confidence in being able to defeat the girl without it.

He parried another strike, hoping Generals Kenobi and Skywalker used the delay wisely.

That, they did, too. Obi-Wan tapped into the mainframe of the base's computer and said, "Seems like they'll be receiving reinforcements soon enough... This is not good..." and turning to Anakin. His young Jedi friend had also searched through some of the logs in the place. Obi-Wan hummed and said, "I'm surprised they've even left this little bout of information in their consoles..."

"They probably know we can't do much without hyperspace lanes to the Outer Rim planets like Christophsis under our control. We're already spread pretty thin here," Anakin replied, then sighed and looked to his master, stating, "I got nothing left here... We should get the Arbiter and leave before the place starts swarming with Droids. Ventress probably didn't expect to fight an alien duelist."

"Agreed," Obi-Wan replied, stowing the data on enemy troop arrivals in a pouch on his belt, "Let's go retrieve our friend, shall w-"

Their com-links pinged. The two Jedi looked to one-another and noted the 'caller ID' of a sort was from nearby. They both tapped in to listen to them, before an Elite's voice filtered in, calm and quiet, "Generals. This is Sergeant 'Zadom, of the First Watchers. We've news of an impending enemy deployment... And calls from Shipmaster 'Vadum about the arrival of new enemy forces..."

The two paused, listening to the outside. The whirr of antigravity engines and thumping of machine feet, though muffled by the walls, was clearly audible. The two men ran outside, opening the door to the sight of an entire armada of Droid vessels coming in for landing. Some had already deployed their troops, battalions of tan-colored B1s and silver B2s marching toward them.

"Oh, this is not good..." Anakin sighed, "Let's go get the Arbiter..." before he radioed in, "Sergeant, maybe pull your men back. Doubt it's a good idea to engage the enemy without tanks or reinforcements. We'll go retrieve the Arbiter." and received an affirmative ping. The men saw the Elites' cloaks engaging from afar, somehow, then felt more than watched as the Elites bounded back to cover their escape.

The two Jedi looked to one-another, nodded, then ran inside, lightsabers drawn. Entering the area where the Arbiter and Ventress were dueling, the men saw Ventress get punted across the floor, slamming against a wall. The woman roared, letting out a blood-curdling scream as she charged the arbiter, yet again swinging wildly at him. The two Jedi were stunned, however, to see that the Arbiter was calm and collected when fighting the Dark Jedi.

Deflecting a blade strike to the right and slamming his head into the girl's chin, Arbiter almost seemed like he was playing with his food. She swung at him again and, seeing this as an opportunity, the Elite shifted his blade. The twin-sided energy sword caught Ventress's own lightsaber between its two prongs, before the Arbiter quickly twisted his wrist to the right, stunning and disarming the Sith by tossing her right-handed blade aside.

He then grabbed her by the other lightsaber-wielding hand, spun and threw her against a glass pane, shattering it. Anakin hummed, surprised, then said, "Why'd you...?" before shaking his head, "Nevermind! Arbiter, we gotta go! Enemy reinforcements are en-route to us!" to which the Sangheili offered a nod. The group rushed out and boarded their Speeders and the Ghost, before swiveling them about and pushing at maximum speed toward the base. As they were being joined by the Elites, Anakin said, "Let's hope the boys found the traitor! Tomorrow's gonna be a busy day!"

Republic Base.

The ODSTs and Clone Commanders chased down Slick, keeping pace with the man despite the formers' seemingly heavier gear. Turning a corner as they chased slick, the ODSTs hefted the blasters and aimed, before a volley of stun rounds left the magnetic coils of the weapons. Slick ducked and weaved past one of his comrades, the energy shots narrowly missing him.

Mickey swore, "Fuck! He's a slippery one!"

"Guess the name fits!" Dutch called out, garnering a couple strained laughs from the troopers. Cody and Rex led the way, following Slick out and taking another left with the team, before descending down a flight of stairs and exiting out into the Motor Pool. UNSC Marine EOD teams had removed a good chunk of explosives, considering the stacks of charges laying on the floor without detonation command receivers.

One of the Marines noticed Slick and drew her rifle, shifting to lead the target. A burst of automatic fire left the barrel, clearly an intended disabling shot, but the burst went high and struck the wall, only one round skimming off Slick's back armor and ricocheting off a really narrow angle on his armor. It still seemed to take a chunk of plasteel with it and droplets of blood did hit the ground, but Slick had slipped away.

"Easy on the rounds, Marine!" Buck ordered as they ran past, "We're trying to nab him!"

The girl nodded, "Sorry, sir!" as she watched them move. She looked over to the explosive pile and, with a couple of hand signals, told her other members to make sure every single pin had been removed. Her teammates nodded, going to do the fourth checkup of this kind, all while the rest of the EOD teams scoured the rest of the cache for any signs of Slick's little playthings.

Cody, Rex and the others entered the base yet again, through one of the motorpool doors, with the captain following the trail of blood while the commander tailed behind him and the ODSTs kept their weapons close. They trailed the blood all the way over to its endpoint, specifically, an access grate to the vents. Buck swore to himself, "Shit..." before stating, "How the hell are we going to find him now? He's gone into hiding..."

"One of us can squeeze in there and find him, sir," Mickey suggested. Rookie looked ready to go, thumbing the charger on the DC-15 carbine he had at the ready. Buck shook his head, then looked to Cody and Rex, both of whom hummed. They gave a tilt of their heads in-synch to the ODSTs, all of whom noted the motion. They followed them along toward the command center.

Cody whispered to them as they walked, "He's taken the Vents. They go everywhere in the base so, if he wants to escape, he just needs to take them all the way to an exit... But he probably won't..." because he probably wanted to wipe out the base or at least severely cripple it, were the unspoken chunks of the sentence. Alpha-Niner exchanged glances, then nodded to Cody.

Marching into the command room, Cody left his blaster on the holotable, though it was lacking the mag as the ODSTs noticed, before he stepped up to the console and started playing up the part, "Best guess we have is he's heading for an exit. I'll lock them down and declare red alert..." with as convincing a voice and poker face as he could put up. He turned to Buck and his team and said, "You troopers divvy up and secure the exits! Be ready for anything!"

"Sir," Buck and his men saluted and turned to 'leave'. They fast-marched out of the room and a bit down the hall.

Rex spoke to Cody, "I'll head on out and see if I can't find some way to cut Slick off..." to which the Commander gave a nod, still tapping into the 'sensors' to see if he could locate Slick. Rex ran out as well, his footsteps growing all the more distant. Slick was, of course, well-concealed above the Commander, laying in wait in a vent. The man peeked out and looked for others, before he slowly slinked his way down from the vent, grabbing the blaster from the table and marching up to Cody. He pointed it at his head as the Commander grinned and said, "Hello, Slick..." with a hint of venom in an otherwise joyous voice. He lifted the tibanna gas clip of the weapon and stated, "Gun's empty."

Rex and the ODSTs appeared and surrounded him, with Cody grabbing the annoyed-looking traitor's weapon out of his hand and reloading it, before aiming. Rex spoke to him, "Good evening, traitor..." venom behind his words as well. Slick grit his teeth, raising his hands as the ODSTs pointed their blasters at him as well. It was a textbook ambush, it seemed. And Slick fell right for it.

"I'm no traitor..." Slick replied in a low growl, "I was doing this for my brothers..."

"You were betraying your brothers, you moron. A good chunk of'em nearly died when the ambush failed," Romeo replied, crossing his arms to his chest. Slick stared at him, grit his teeth, then lunged toward the Soldier. A burst of stun rounds struck from the Troopers like a hammerblow, sending Slick slumping forward against the floor. Romeo sighed and said, "Guess he ain't that 'slick' anymore, is he?"

Several groans filtered through the room, with Buck patting him on the shoulder and stating, "Don't, Romeo. Just don't."

The black sniper rolled his eyes and sighed, before taking a knee and checking to make sure the bastard was still alive. Cody and Rex sighed at the sorry sight of their brother, before picking him up. About thirty minutes later, as the Arbiter and Jedi returned, they found Slick tied up, being dragged out by a pair of Clone MPs. Anakin stopped them, then said with a hint of surprise, "Slick? You were the traitor?"

The Clone glared up at Skywalker and spat, "I was, if you consider trying to free my brothers from your yoke 'treason'..." anger behind his voice. Nothing the confusion in his eyes and the glares the ODSTs were giving him, he lashed out, "None of you Basics would get it! We're soldiers, bred for war. No better than cattle to the Republic and you, Jedi. My brothers live and die by your will..."

"And you think betraying our strategies to the Separatists would help?" Cody asked, looking Slick dead in the eye.

Rex crossed his arms to his chest, "Kid. Like the Basic pointed out, more than a few of your brothers died because of you... You are not innocent to the same crimes you accuse anyone here of," before seeing the Clone's face shift. First to anger, then to introspection, then to fear and surprise. He was about to say something, before Rex waved him off and growled, "Get him out of here..."

Anakin and Obi-Wan watched the MPs drag Slick away, with Obi-Wan commenting, "He was one of our best..." as he seemed in thought. Anakin, too, seemed to be considering the situation, while Buck and his men had already considered it. Buck hated to admit it, but both sides had points here. The Clones, as Buck figured, were born and bred as war cattle, pretty much. He didn't know the full context of the Clone Army, but he was pretty sure it violated a lot of sentient rights charter bullet points in one go.

"A damn shame," Cody murmured, shaking his head, "His squad had perfect cohesion, too..."

"They were Pod Brothers, after all," Shrugged Rex, then he sighed. He turned to Skywalker, Kenobi and the Arbiter, saluted and said, "Sirs? What should we expect, now that we're down a Platoon lead?"

"A lot of droids..." Anakin replied, annoyed, "We saw them landing before we arrived. Tomorrow's going to be busy."

Just about every man in the room let out a collective groan of annoyance. Of course, things weren't going to be easy, no matter what they were going to do. Things would always be hard, considering the things they were facing. Uncaring, sleepless automatons armed with energy weapons that would attack headlong toward them, meaning the UNSC and GAR would have to prepare even more proper defenses...

At least, they had the bloody armor saved to back them up...

Chapter Text

The UNSC's twin-engine light gunships, the Hornets, made a low pass in a wedge formation of three. Blaster bolts flashed off their undercarriages as their top-mounted heavy machine guns let loose, thundering gunfire raking the advancing two-hundred-strong Droid Battalion and its armored reinforcements. Missiles lanced forward from the bellies of the gunships as well, before each of them split off in a different direction, explosions rocking the area ahead.

A laser lanced out from a building, piercing the top hull of a tripedal walker droid that had three cannons mounted beneath what seemed to be a radar array of some sort. The walker's innards blew outward as the scarlet SPARTAN Laser beam punched clean through it, before it tumbled over to the side and collapsed over the edge of the highway, onto the massive field of glassy blue crystalline outcroppings below, further shattering its own frame under its weight.

The return fire was succinct, the two siblings of the droid immediately turning their heavy blaster cannons toward the culprits. The ODSTs inside the tower retreated behind the cover of thicker walls just as the plasma bolts blew out half the floor they were on. Thankfully for Dutch, he had made it to cover just in time. Mickey swore, "Holy fucking God almighty, those things have cannons that pack a punch!"

"Don't call the Lord's name in vain, Mickey! We might get shafted next!" The heavy-duty laser-wielder replied to his comrade. Mickey let out a short, mocking laugh at that as he hefted his Jackhammer. He waved to a Corpsman as he saw a Clone laying on the floor, his armor punctured by Shrapnel, before standing back up and activating the Smartscope on the launcher.

Down below, in the street, UNSC Marines mounted on the backs of advancing Warthogs rode into battle, firing assault weapons and the back-mounted turret guns of their vehicles. Tup was sat beside a Marine that was laying down hell with an assault weapon that had a bipod and a drum magazine. Spent casings, hot as blaster bolts, dropped to the floor below the man as he continued firing.

AT-TEs and Scorpion MBTs rolled forward into the battle line, their cannons roaring with fury. The droid tanks in the rear began to reply as Anakin, Obi-Wan and the Arbiter moved up, blades drawn. The Arbiter commented, "This is certainly familiar!" as he looked around at the battle in the skies and the engagement against the Battle Droids, "Though our enemies wore more flesh than metal!"

"Welcome to the fun, then, Arbiter!" Laughed Skywalker as he brandished his Lightsaber.

Obi-Wan looked back to Cody and said, "Cody, tell our armor to prepare to counter theirs! Have our cannons keep them pinned while the UNSC's flanking units hit them from behind!" to which Cody gave a nod and a quick salute. He brandished his own lightsaber and deflected three blaster bolts back at the droids, watching as their Reinforcements ran forward.

Three platoons of clones, including Tup and Check, hefted their blasters and joined the dogged defense, with Tup shouldering his blaster and opening up the moment he hit the barricade made of the collapsed building in the middle of the highway. In the corner of his eye, on the crystalline fields, he could see about a dozen UNSC Fast-moving Vehicles rolling out under the cover of their gunships.

Squeezing off the first shot from his blaster, he missed one of the enemy B1s that were advancing in a square formation toward them. The B1-series Battle Droids were never the smartest bunch, nor were their tactics the most useful, but they had Force-damned numbers. Tup ducked under a bolt that struck a few feet in front of him, then balked, "Kriffin' hell! That was close!"

"We really pissed'em off!" Check remarked as he fired from his heavy rifle. He aimed and nailed one of the B1s leading the assault, before waving over a pair of UNSC Marines and a Corpsman. Another of their brothers took two blaster bolts to the chest from the droids, but he seemed to have survived, so Check directed them to him. The lead Corpsman, an Asian-descended woman, took a knee beside the wounded trooper, took his chest plate off and applied a self-sealing foam to his wounds, before looking up at Check and stating, "He'll be fine! We'll run him back to the Aid Station then ship him to our fleet once the Space Battle above dies down!"

"How the Kriff did these bastards get more ships in!?" Another trooper demanded from their left, hefting a Z-6 rotary blaster cannon and squeezing the trigger. The bulky six-barrel handheld machine cannon spooled started spitting blaster fire. The third tri-droid ahead spun its cannon toward them, forcing the clone heavy gunner to dip back into cover as the area ahead of him exploded thrice-over, dust and debris kicking up into the sky.

"Swung around the planet, according to data. Hit our combined fleet from both sides," Replied the other Corpsman as he set up a stretcher, his voice dull, calm, focused on the duty at hand as they hefted the injured clone onto it nad started carrying him out. The trio of clones seemed surprised to hear that, but their thoughts were quickly squelched as they began to return fire against the droids up ahead, with Tup nailing his first kill for the day just as generals Skywalker and Kenobi rolled up.

Above, the greenish hulls of Swords Of Sangheilios Banshees swept down, their twin plasma cannons letting loose bursts of fire as they strafed the enemy's center and rear lines. The UNSC vehicles from the flanking team had also finally jumped in, sowing discord among the enemy's backline. Several clones watched with muted awe as a pair of dropships deployed a pair of heavy mortar tanks to their rears, followed by a contingent of about two-dozen Elite Minors led by a general.

Said General approached the Arbiter and the Jedi, putting a fist to his chest and stating, "Arbiter, Generals. The Fleet faces heavy resistance above. Reinforcements for the Clone troops may yet be possible, however, as we and the UNSC prepare to breach through their forward lines," as he brandished his own Energy Sword. The Arbiter gave a nod of approval to his soldier.

"Then, it looks like we're breaching through..." Obi-Wan said, "Two-prong attack?"

"You know me," Grinned Anakin. He turned to Rex and called out, "Rex! Get the boys and let's move it! I have a plan."

"On it, sir!" Replied the Captain, before dashing off.

"Should be interesting to see what the General pulls out this time..." Check whispered, poking out to take more shots at the droids. Tup snorted and joined his brother. The two paused as a UNSC Marine took a bolt to the throat beside them. Clawing at the burnt, cauterized injury, the man collapsed backward, only for one of his buddies to be raked by blaster fire in the back as he went to try and help him.

"Fuck!" Another Marine cried out, "Someone fucking kill those tin cans!"

His wish seemed to be answered as a Wraith and a Scorpion fired at the same time, with the former's plasma ball landing square in the middle of the enemy's formation and melting a good few droids with the hit. As General Skywalker departed with Rex, his platoon and a bunch of Jetpacks, Obi-Wan pushed up to the line and next to the UNSC officers with the Arbiter, before stating, "Seems like we're gaining the advantage!"

"We should press it," The Arbiter stated, "Seems like your artillery can keep the enemy at bay with the help of our armor..."

Kenobi nodded, then looked up ahead and stated, "We'll attack alongside Anakin..." watching as the UNSC harassment group from before continued to wreak havoc in the enemy's rear. Several AATs took bursts of heavy fire, while the Banshees and Hornets up above launched continuous strafing runs to pressure the droids. He saw the General and Rex far ahead, jetpacks at the ready, on a high-rise. Watching as the first jet ignited, Obi-Wan looked to the Arbiter, smiled, then lifted his lightsaber to mark the charge.

The Clones and Marines cried raucous battle cries, rifles drawn. Battle Tanks rolled over the rubble alongside AT-TE hexapedal walkers, Wraith tanks and Ghost Jetbikes. Bolts of plasma, blaster fire and bullets met the conjoined formation of Droids, both B1 and B2, with casualties on all sides in the beginning volley. Two Scorpion MBTs rolled over the droids ahead, providing covering fire for the Marines that pushed behind them.

A clone dropped in front of one of the troopers, wounded, while his brother died, filled with Blaster bolts. The Marine dragged the injured Clone toward him and started treating him again as his buddies pushed forward. Two Clones saw the soldier lift their Brother up on his shoulders and start hauling ass toward the rear, where Corpsmen were waiting.

The Arbiter and his Elites, meanwhile, pushed through, cutting a swath through the droids with energy swords and plasma rifles. One of the Elites, a Ranger, jumped into the sky using his jetpack and rained hell down on the Droids below with the two plasma rifles in his hands. The Arbiter's face was impassive as he and General Kenobi cut down the droids ahead of them, bolts of blaster fire flashing off the shields of his ornate armor.

The female Marine that'd interacted with Tup caught up with him and Check, taking cover beside them with her balaclava covering her face. She pulled out a grenade, thumbed the primer, then long-armed it toward a squad of Super Battle Droids. The thunder-flash-snap of the blast staggered the machines, allowing her to poke out with her Battle Rifle and put four three-round bursts into the creatures' central processors with deadly accuracy.

She looked to Tup, smiled behind the balaclava, going by the creases, then nodded to her and Check to follow her in. Check grinned and said, "Your girl just challenged us, Tup. And I ain't losing to a Basic, no matter how cute you find her!" before pushing forward and hefting his blaster. He squeezed the trigger as rapidly as he could, providing cover to the young woman.

Tup had wanted to protest, but he froze when he saw the girl slam into a droid, putting the muzzle of her weapon against its chest and squeezing the trigger three separate times. She saw the other droids approaching and, instead of reloading, she slung her BR on her back, drew her sidearm and blasted the leading droid in the face, cratering its armor with a high-power armor-piercing shot that dropped it like a sack of bricks.

Following up, she head-butted another droid, causing a ringing in her own ears that obviously gave her slight orientation issues. Still, she managed to lift and pin the barrel of her pistol against its chest before putting half the remaining magazine into it. He gasped as he saw one of the Droids approaching from behind and aiming its twin arm blaster at the back of her head.

Standing up, Tup aimed and squeezed. Six azure bolts left the barrel of the weapon by the time the girl had awoken to realize there was a droid behind her. Six cratering, still-hot holes had been drilled into the machine's armor, sending it tumbling to the floor as Tup pushed up next to her and Check. She looked to him as she drew her battle rifle and swapped out a mag, before smiling at him again.

He nodded, smile invisible behind his helmet.

... Before they even properly began their push, however, the Droids began a retreat. Their last Tri-Droid lost its head at the hand of a Scorpion tank's shell. Sighs of relief and cheering and whooping filled the place, followed some hours later by Troops picking up their casualties. Rex sighed and looked at the report as, up above, Banshees flew upward toward the landing zones on top of a cluster of high-rise buildings in the center of the city.

"Sixty clones and forty-five Marines," The Colonel in charge of the Marine ground forces shook his head, "Damn shame."

"Agreed, sir..." Rex replied as he walked with the man toward the holotable ahead, "Generals Skywalker and Kenobi are going to try and call for Reinforcements, but from what I got, the CIS is really trying to keep you and us pinned here... They brought in a larger naval contingent than most of us thought they had in this area of the Rim." and he handed the reports to the officer.

The Colonel shrugged, "We'll see what the Generals and Admirals want to do..."

Approaching the makeshift command center in the middle of some rubble and destroyed enemy vehicles, the captain and Colonel saluted the Generals. Anakin noted, "Nice of you to join us, Rex. We were just trying to get through to the Admirals... Seems like Admiral Yularen ain't willing to answer, though," before he watched the communications hologram flicker, zap with static, then filter and appear. In front of them, Admiral Lasky stood, alongside Rtas 'Vadum, the Shipmaster of the small contingent of Sangheili ships present with the fleet.

Lasky said, "Good day, Generals. Caught us at a decently good time... Admiral Yularen's cruiser managed to slip out of the encirclement and is heading out to gather supplies as we speak. He should be back within the coming hours. In the meantime, I'm still thinking over the envoy I should send to you folks's Galactic Senate. We have quite a few Section One members that are eager to go..."

"Any chance you could spare us more reinforcements, sir? We might need a certain unit to help us break the stalemate here," The Colonel quipped, "If it isn't too much of a bother for them to come down here and help us kick some ass. And if Palmer wants to tag along, too, that's fine..." before he scratched the scar on the side of his head. The two Generals and the Clone Officers seemed confused.

Lasky, meanwhile, chuckled, "I'll see what I can do, Colonel. I think they're eager to get their armored boots on solid ground, so we'll send them over as soon as Admiral Yularen's back with your reinforcements..." and paused just as an explosion roared outside, "We'll talk more when we're done up here... Infinity, over and out." With that, the hologram winked off.

"Well..." Obi-Wan said, "That was interesting..."

In Orbit...

UNSC Autumn-class Cruiser Apache let loose a full salvo of her missiles toward a Confederacy Munificent-class frigate. Turbolaser bolts struck her shields, causing them to flare, all while the return fire from the ship's 50mm Rampart point-defenses raked the hull of the undefended droid vessel. Behind her and a dozen of her sister ships, two Lucrehulk-class Dreadnoughts continued spitting out starfighters. The bitten-donut-shaped warships also fired, maintaining their Point-Defenses against the UNSC's own fighters.

Two frigates joined the Apache, firing their MACs at the enemy ship. Paris-classes, uparmored and shielded, let loose with their own missiles and weapons as they flew on both sides of the enemy ship, coring two of its sisters with their MACs and raking it full of shell and missile holes. They took fire from the sides as they swept back around, their Rampart batteries now spitting Flak and HE against the Vulture fighter droids that tried to pursue them.

Broadsword fighters of the UNSC followed up, reinforcing the two vessels. Two banked down toward the trailing enemy fighters and opened fire the moment their ballistic computers aligned the shots. Magnetic autocannons raked the shieldless droid fighter swarm, forcing them to turn and engage them. Red plasma lanced past the UNSC Pilots' cockpits as their radio chatter played in each-other's ears.

One locked a squadron of enemy bombers with her missiles, banked toward them as her helmet's HUD maintained lock, then aimed and fired. A flurry of anti-fighter missiles lanced out of their bays in the fighter's hull before it veered to the right and refocused on another target. Seven explosions lit the void and four enemy fighters vanished off the radars.

Republic starfighters followed up, joining the Broadsword in formation and engaging the droid fighters ahead with their twin laser cannons. The three-wing-design folding starfighters kept up decently well with the more aerodynamic UNSC one, even as it used its maneuvering thrusters and vectoring engines to engage the enemy and out-turn them. Above them, another UNSC Cruiser fired its MAC.

The subsequent detonation of a Munificent shook its sisters hard, throwing off their aim and ensuring that the rest of the Navy had a clear line of sight on them. The two Republic Cruisers in orbit joined in as well, turbolaser batteries raining fire toward the enemy's vessels, some of which attempted to flank the bulwark of the orbital defense forces present around the planet.

The Droid fleet watched as the UNSC vessels ahead opened up a clear view down the center as they veered to engage the multitude of arriving reinforcements. One of the Lucrehulks took this as a sign they could begin advancing. They started pouring in turbolaser shots toward the UNSC ships moving in to cover the flanks, catching a frigate with its shields draining and managing a decent enough hit to drill a hole through the armor.

... However, the lead Lucrehulk did not expect what came next...

Four bolts of light lanced forth from amid the formation of United Nations Space Command vessels. Four massive ferrous tungsten projectiles screamed silently through the darkness of the void, splitting the dark before striking their intended target at hypersonic speeds. The massive rods of ferrous tungsten penetrated the armored hull of the Lucrehulk amidships.

Two struck the command center, while the other two had torn through the central hull and hit the reactor's coolant lines and the reactor shielding, before all punched out of the rear and into the void. The Lucrehulk itself began to split at the seams, the central command pod losing atmosphere and erupting into flames. as the vessel's reactor suffered destabilization.

For a moment, a bright second sun filled the vision ports on board the UNSC's super-carrier. The UNSC Infinity began its emergence from among its battlegroup, a salvo of missiles leaving the tubes and arching toward the CIS's vessels as the other surviving Lucrehulk began a desperate turn to escape. Lasky, however, wasted no time, ordering, "All elements of the Navy are to provide Infinity cover as we open up a path for the Resolute to jump back in. Roland, all guns forward."

"Yes, sir, captain!" The AI saluted.

"Cortana," The man called out. The blue avatar of the female AI appeared with a grin as the man looked toward the table. She snapped a crisp salute, then flashed a single word on the holotable's side screens. 'READY'. Lasky gave a nod and thumbed the computer's touch screen, authorizing the deployment, to which Cortana flashed off the com and presumably went back to Blue Team.

"Sir," The sensor op reported, "The Resolute is returning..."

"Well," Lasky breathed, "Let's hope they brought those reinforcements... Send our armor, too."

Chapter Text

"So, you're telling me we're getting even more reinforcements?"

Anakin and Obi-Wan walked with Sergeant Johnson toward a designated LZ in order to meet their supposed new arrivals. One was a Republic shuttle that was preparing to land as they spoke, while the other was a UNSC Pelican that had just now touched down. The soldiers in the waiting area, alongside the Clones and Corpsmen, prepared to load the wounded into both vehicles and send them upstairs.

The Pelican dropship was different. Heavily armored and armed and layered with a multitude of extra defensive equipment including extra flare and chaff launchers and an EWAR suite, it was marked with the pyramid of the UNSC's secretive espionage and counter-intelligence unit, the Office of Naval Intelligence. The men that first marched out of the vehicle wore black uniforms and carried silenced weapons.

Strange enough a delivery, Anakin thought. Johnson looked to them with a grin, holding his cigar between his teeth, before taking a drag from it as they approached the vehicle. Both Anakin and Obi-Wan were stunned, however, when a four-man team descended from the transport, armed and armored to the teeth. Clad in extensively-designed, utilitarian suits of what seemed to be a form of Power Armor, the four figures lined up in front of the Marine Colonel, saluting the man.

The Colonel saluted back and told them something, before motioning for them to move on in within the camp. Anakin leaned toward Obi-Wan and whispered, "They're fairly massive..." as they approached. The four-man team turned to see the Generals and Johnson arriving, before three of them, two women and a man, took their helmets off and gave Johnson smiles.

"Blues..." Johnson grinned, "Good to see you finally decided to join our sorry asses groundside."

"Orbital battle prevented us from deploying with the reinforcements," Chief replied as he and Johnson did a rather different handshake, more personal it seemed. He nodded to the man and said, "Good to see you as well, Sergeant," before turning to Anakin and Obi-Wan, the latter wearing a faint, friendly smile while the former seemed a tad shocked. The four Spartans quickly saluted and said, "Sirs."

Obi-Wan hummed, "Take it you were briefed about us, then?"

"Yes, sir," Chief replied, gazing upon the two men that commanded an entire armed force that they were now allies by circumstance with. He began reciting, "Generals Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Grand Army of the Republic. We're Blue Team, sirs." And the stoicism with which the soldier before them spoke told the Jedi enough to understand him. Admittedly, he also emanated a certain aura of calm.

"Spartans. Finest of'em, too," Johnson complimented, taking another puff from his cigar, "I've seen'em win us our War and then kick ass and take names in the post-War period," and he gently hit Chief's shoulder pad. He then shook his hand after an audible, but short zap filled the air. Rubbing his hand, he said, "Could'a warned me your shield was on, though."

Anakin snorted, then paused, "Wait. Shield?"

"MJOLNIR armor has energy shielding," One of the women, with short red hair and emerald eyes, stated, "One of the many layers of defense. They've also recently added plasma-resistant materials to most armors of ours to allow for better heat dissipation." And she hummed, looking around to see a squadron of Elites marching through the place, assisting the Clones in carrying their supplies.

The younger of the two Jedi whistled, "Good to know."

"Indeed," Obi-Wan offered, then extended a hand to the Chief. The Spartan looked at it for a moment with some hint of confusion in his movement, before gripping the hand gently and shaking it. The master Jedi added with his usual tone of friendliness, "I'm sure Captain Rex and Commander Cody will appreciate your support... Do you happen to have names or ranks we can refer to you by?"

"Sir. Master Chief Petty Officer One-One-Seven." Chief nodded.

"Petty Officer First Class Kelly-087, sir," Kelly smirked, crossing her arms to her chest, her helmet clipped to her belt, "Nice to meet'cha both."

"Likewise," Both Anakin and Obi-Wan voiced, then smirked and looked to Linda.

"POFC Linda-058..." The Sniper gave a nod. The two looked to Fred next.

"Lieutenant Frederic-104, sirs. Excuse John, he's... Still not used to Command basically forcing us to interact more," Fred quipped and that garnered a couple of chuckles, one of the offenders being Kelly. Chief cast a glance toward his team, of which Fred simply gave his old friend a faint, almost imperceptible smile, Kelly was still stifling that laugh and Linda had covered her mouth. Not unlike them to joke around, but it wasn't normal in front of superiors.

Johnson snorted, "No offense, Chief, but I'm with'em."

Chief nodded, "Yeah..." before turning to the Jedi, "Where are we needed?"

"Well, we're observing the movement of enemy troops and have had faster-moving troops from your faction harassing them for the time being, so..." Anakin started, then looked to his master, "We could use some help taking out their officers. Some of our scouts said they've seen at least another two Tactical Droids nearby... And a new General deployed with their troops."

Chief looked to Linda, to which the girl drew her rifle and nodded. Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged another glance, shrugged and nodded to Linda. They then turned toward the arriving shuttle from one of their own cruisers as it touched down. Anakin smiled and said, "And there's our reinforcements..." before motioning for the Chief and his team to follow them.

"Perhaps they finally brought that Padawan I've requested," Obi-Wan added as they walked, with Johnson close behind.

Anakin snorted, "Why'd you ask for another Padawan, anyway?"

"Perhaps I miss training..." The Jedi master quipped with his usual back-sass, then added with a semi-serious tone, "And, honestly, Anakin, you should petition for one as well."

"No, thanks. A Padawan would just slow me down," He shot back. The Spartans soon figured Padawan must've meant something like a student or a trainee Jedi. They didn't have the full picture of the Jedi as a group, nor of the Republic as a whole. Nobody in the UNSC did. It was part of the reason their Alliance as a tad bit shaky, but both sides seemed to be trying to mend things quickly.

Arriving at the shuttle just as the forward door popped open, they were greeted by the sight of a young girl. She had tangerine skin and various tribal tattoos on her face, plus what looked to be three tails attached to a 'crown' made up of a pair of horns with thick white and blue stripes running horizontally across them. Deep blue eyes stared at the group waiting for her on the deck, with Johnson murmuring, "Ain't she a bit young to be out here...?"

The young girl descended, then paused as she saw the Spartans and Marines present around. She blinked, then looked to the two Jedi and regained her focus. Walking up to them, she said, "Masters Kenobi and Skywalker? I'm Ahsoka Tano, your new Padawan learner. I've been sent here on urgent matters from the Jedi Council," She explained as she descended from the ramp. Overhead, a slew of UNSC drop-ships flew in, landed, deployed troops and extra armor, then took off again under armed escort.

"Did something happen back on the homefront that we oughta be aware of, kid?" Johnson asked from behind Skywalker and Kenobi.

Ahsoka took a moment to register Johnson himself, then gave him a once-over. She nodded to him and said, "It's important enough that they sent me with the Cruiser that went back to grab supplies for you. There's some ongoing negotiations to open hyperlanes in neutral territories, more specifically, in the Hutt areas, but they've come to a standstill..."

Anakin hummed, then sighed, "And we have our own problems here. Sure, the UNSC's arrival alleviated it a little, but we're still trying to liberate this planet from CIS Control. We kept trying to start up coms with them to send us some form of reinforcements, not to mention some actual diplomats to talk with our newfound allies over here..." before turning to the Blues and Johnson.

Ahsoka shrugged, "They haven't been getting anything. That's why they sent me."

The youngest of the two generals sighed and pinched his brow, "Oh, great. They didn't even know we were in trouble..." before sighing deeply. The UNSC forces around all looked to one-another. Johnson quickly excused himself and stepped away toward his Marines, leaving the situation in the probably-capable hands of the two Jedi generals. Ahsoka seemed slightly confused.

"Why not send a message through the Cruiser that just dropped me off?" She asked, "Or through the entire allied fleet up above?"

... Given some time and that was exactly what happened. Among other issues, most prominent was Anakin's visceral reaction at the idea of helping the Hutts and the fact that the Republic was finally sending reinforcements, too. The UNSC cadre of Spartans watched as the Jedi Generals found out that Anakin was, in fact, Ahsoka's new 'master', by which all four figured she meant trainer. The man who'd teach her the ways of the Jedi, stuff like that.

"He doesn't seem to happy," Linda commented as she was ranging her scope. Fred and Kelly let out a few murmurs of agreement, all while the Chief was simply watching the exchange. The eyes of several dozen Clones were on them, the surprised soldiers of the GAR simply stunned to be looking upon them, it seemed. If one didn't know better, they'd probably sat Blue was full of Droids. Kelly's helmet being off had, however, removed any chance of that idea brewing in the clones' minds.

"Heh," Cortana chuckled, "Seems like standard to me, honestly. Skywalker doesnt' seem like your average general."

"No, he certainly does not," Fred commented as he sat himself down, "So, John. Your call, do we take the mission to kill their general and any supporting Tactical Droids?"

"Best bet to end this quickly, if they have to go deal with those negotiations... Should also free us up to send our diplomats over to their capital," Chief replied calmly, watching as Anakin approached them, an angry look on his face. The Spartans decided to follow along, noting that the little one was also present with them. To their left, they saw the Arbiter talking to some of his soldiers. The Arbiter had noticed them, too. He put his right fist on the left side of his chest and bowed his head in greeting. The Spartans, curteous and friendly to the Elite, returned the greeting in kind.

Ahsoka had also noticed the Alien and excitement seemed to bubble up to the surface, her smile wide. She wanted to greet the big man, too, but found no time to do so as they advanced to an Observation Post manned by both clones and Marines, one atop one of the taller buildings in the city center. Captain Rex, one of the Clone Officers present, looked over the railing at another pair of OPs across from them, then gave a hand signal. He balled his fist and lifted his hand up to the sky, before turning and saluting as he heard footsteps. He greeted, "General Skywalker, sir." then paused and went a bit wide-eyed at the Spartans, "And these are our reinforcements, I'm guessing..."

"That they are, Rex..." Anakin nodded, "Apparently, some elite commandos of the UNSC's."

"Captain, sir," The four soldiers saluted. Rex saluted back awkwardly, then looked down toward the other newcomer and he blinked. Ahsoka offered him a friendly smile in return, but that further exacerbated his confusion. He only somewhat settled down when he saw the lightsaber on the girl's belt. He hummed, looked between the groups of people and sighed deeply.

"Good to meet you all, I guess..." Rex nodded, then looked to the girl, "And the Youngling, sir?"

"I'm master Skywalker's Padawan," The girl said coyly, grinning, "The name's Ahsoka Tano." and Rex seemed dumbfound by that comment, turning to Anakin.

The Jedi General sighed and said quickly, "There's been a mix-up and the young one ain't with me..." before watching Linda move on to set up her sniper rifle. The woman leaned it against the railing and slid her helmet back onto her head, before starting to calibrate the rifle. In the distance, the thunder of gunfire from UNSC harassment squadrons continued their campaign.

"Hey!" Ahsoka called him out, "Stop calling me that. You're stuck with me, Skyguy..." And she grinned mischievously. Anakin balked, while Rex burst into laughter. Kelly herself had to hide her face as she giggled a little. Chief sighed, tuning out the exchange of word-stabs between the Jedi General and his Padawan, before looking ahead at the various outposts the Clones and Jedi had set up.

... Chief had to admit he was sorry Rex was stuck with the kid, but right now, they had bigger things to worry about. He took a knee and squinted toward the enemy's positions, his visor polarizing to meet the demand of a zoomed-in vision. He spoke, "They're setting something up..." his voice impassive. Linda hummed in agreement just as Fred and Kelly walked up to them. He said, "Seems we'll have to take that out before we kill their commander..."

"Could split the team in two," Fred suggested, "I and Kelly disable that construction and you hunt and kill the Commander."

Chief gave an approving nod, "Sounds good... Let's see what the Generals think first, though..." as he shifted his rifle onto his back. The Marines around started playing a tune as they sat themselves down and kept their eyes on the road. A pair of Clones walked up to the men and sat with them, listening to the music being played on an acoustic guitar brought over by one Marine.

The other clones on post tapped their feet to the tune, but kept professional about their watch. Chief hummed, stood to his feet, then motioned to his team to rally up as they prepared to descend and talk about their plan with the Generals. There was still an obviously-high amount of tension between the GAR and the UNSC, but there was a certain air of Détente that was palpable.

Almost as if the Marines understood what it was like to be grunts going up against far stronger opponents than normal. Sure, the droids were easy kills, considering how weak the B1 model was, but they were numerous and dangerous, kind of like the Grunts. And the B2 Supers were just that much more terrifying when advancing behind a wall of weaker droids meant to soak up ammunition, like the Elites did with aforementioned Grunts and the Jackals.

Down below, Tup was listening to another UNSC Marine singing in some foreign language, also using an acoustic guitar that his buddy had brought him. According to some of the soldiers around, the song was called 'Beautiful Green Eyes'. It was by some old artist from their Homeworld, 'Earth'. A weird name for a world that was supposed to be the center of their government, but, well, Tup couldn't really complain about it.

Above, a Hornet flew in low, before turning to land at the UNSC's own little section of the airbase. Beside it were UNSC tanks rolling to get repairs after chunks of their armor had been stripped during the previous battle, just before their new wave of reinforcements arrived. And according to a Marine, word was this was the last of the UNSC's forces being deployed on the planet.

He hummed, then looked to a sleeping Checkerboard and elbowing him in the shoulder. Check woke up with a start, shaking his head and turning toward Tup. He asked groggily, "What?" half-open eyes barely registering where his Brother was. He pointed at some of the UNSC's own 'walking tanks' stepping off the assembly line. Cyclops mechs, Tup recalled.

"Looks like they're really up for scrapping with the droids..." Quipped the Clone.

"Good on'em," Sighed Check, "Wake me up just to see hardware and I'll punch you next time..." before he turned around and made himself comfortable on his piece of rubble. Tup sighed and nodded, then jumped to his feet and walked toward the UNSC camp, watching as a small discussion was about to erupt. A clone and a Marine bumped into one-another hard, almost like one meant for it to happen.

"Hey, watch your fucking ass, guy," The UNSC soldier called out.

He replied, "I'd watch where I was going next time myself, guy," as he glared back at the trooper. The Marine growled and tried to step up to him, before Tup stepped between them. The trooper behind him said, "I got this, Tup..." before he caught a glare from his brother that made him shrink for a moment. Jane appeared from their right, too, stepping between the clones and the Marines.

"That's enough, Gordo. Get your ass back to the mortar pits," The girl glared at the Marine. He rolled his eyes and scoffed, then motioned to his friends to follow him. Jane sighed, shoulders sagging, then looked to the two clones and said, "Apologies for that specific dumbass. He's had a stick up his behind since we arrived here. Doesn't like the idea we're helping an army of what's tantamount to aliens to us fight a bunch of tin cans..."

Tup sighed as he relaxed, shoulders sagging, then nodded to his brother and patted him on the shoulder before sending him on his way. He looked back to Jane and replied, "Teething issues, I guess. We're all still getting used to each-other, ain't we?" to which the girl smiled. She hummed, showed him to wait for a moment, then fished something out of her vest and handed it to him.

He paused as he was handed a bar, with the girl saying, "The manufacturer of our MREs put two chocolate bars in the one MRE I got, so I figured I could share it... Y'know..." She flashed a smile at him as he looked at her, which caused his heart to skip a beat, "Break the ice a little more between our armies," then both paused as jet engines roared overhead. Two UNSC fighter-bombers flew in, nearly scraping the tops of the Christophsian high-rises at their altitude, before veering off to the left. The girl chuckled and said, "Looks like our CAS is flying..."

"You folks really came down with everything but the kitchen sink," Tup commented. His gaze fell upon a platoon of tanks rolling out into an assembly area, probably in preparation to replace any potential losses suffered by the Front Lines. Turning to her next, he saw her give a quick nod and put her helmet back on. She sighed and tapped the earpiece in the helmet's right ear cover.

"Sounds like I'm about to be busy..." She said, pulling down her helmet's visor, "The work of the batal'onaya razvedka never ends, eh?" which confused Tup. She clarified, "Recon Battalion," then pointed at the faded emblem on her shoulder pad. A sword piercing the top of a skull with a binocular below it against a shield. She punched him gently in the shoulder and said, "I'll be giving you guys intel for any counterattacks. See ya there?"

He nodded awkwardly, "Sure thing."

... From afar, with captain Rex, Ahsoka watched the woman step off toward a platoon of vehicles and men and women. The vehicles were light, four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles without a canopy or cover and that seated two people. A driver and a surprising passenger in the rear. It seemed as though miss Staten was one of the drivers, as she boarded the quadbike at the front, waiting for her comrades to do the same.

Ahsoka was more curious from birth. These new people decided to help them just cause the Seppies shot at them first. An endearing thought if it didn't seem too convenient. She was wondering just what their angle on this entire mess was, but she wasn't gonna find out just by hanging back as Rex and her new master seemed to want her to do. With a hum, the girl watched as the bikers sped off.

Chapter Text

Ahsoka had to admit, she was... Impressed. Like... Genuinely.

When master Skywalker had volunteered them to join in on the Spartans' stealth mission. They were following the Master Chief and Linda as they moved to get into position, take a potshot at the enemy commander with a sniper rifle. For some reason, the young Padawan felt some palpitations watching the Spartans' movement. They weren't robotic or laggy, like she'd seen some military units in training be. No.

The Sniper-Spotter duet moved with the agility of a Jedi in their prime and all the stealth skills of a Kath hound on a hunt. Slow and methodical, the four-man team made up of two supersoldiers and two Jedi pushed through with the lightness of a feather. Even in the armor that looked like it weighed half-a-ton, the Spartans moved without making as much as a sound.

Pushing through the rubble, Ahsoka whispered to her master, "These guys are terrifying..."

"Sums up the UNSC so far," Anakin quipped quietly as he ducked under a piece of rubble the Spartans bypassed. Ahsoka followed close behind him as he explained, "They have kinetic weapons. Slug throwers, instead of blasters. Admiral Yularen told me he saw one of their ships split a Lucrehulk in half with a salvo of its main guns. I think we even saw the detonation."

"I saw them when we were flying in," Ahsoka told him in a whisper, "Hulls blacker than night, ships shaped like weapons and built around their main gun... Their biggest ship was massive, too. At least five times one of our own Cruisers..." which caused Skywalker to look back at her, a bit surprised. Sure, Yularen had mentioned the damn thing was massive, but-

The two looked ahead as they heard a finger snap. Chief motioned to them to cut the chatter, then slowly crept forward as they started a climb through the rubble. The two Jedi hummed, nodded and followed the professionals along. Appearing near-by a series of high-rises at an intersection, the group heard the audible thunder of distant artillery engaging the droids, as well as the thump and hum of feet and anti-gravity systems respectively.

Above and to their right, the Droid armies marched unfettered through the intersection, AATs, B1s and B2s on the prowl for their intended targets. The group continued their advance to the base of a tower. The Chief radioed in, speaking quietly, "BLUE One is at Checkpoint Lima. Confirming droid advance in the area... BLUE Two, status on disabling enemy device?"

"BLUE Two to BLUE One. Checkpoint Delta. Moving to Echo... ETA:3 mikes..." Fred replied over com. The Spartan gave a tap on his com to acknowledge Fred's statement, before the group entered the tower. Chief leaned over to help Ahsoka climb, with the Jedi girl smiling as she took the Spartan's hand. He lifted her to the top, then helped Skywalker next, before standing up and drawing his rifle.

The four-man team climbed up the stairs, with the Jedi trailing behind the Spartans. Ahsoka felt a little irritated that they were playing second fiddle to a pair they knew nothing about. Honestly, they were scary, but being treated like a mere guard when you're a Jedi didn't help Ahsoka learn anything. She gasped as she watched the Chief charge ahead. The Spartan drew his knife and surprised two droids, both of which barely got to let out a squeak before they were turned to scrap. Linda pushed up behind him, sidearm drawn, but saw both droids were dead.

She hummed and nodded to Chief, before the man took the lead again while sheathing his knife. Ahsoka whispered, "Nice moves...?" to which the Spartan gave a nod. The group then marched up the tower's way and onto the roof after clearing out another three pairs of patrolling droids. Both Anakin and Ahsoka watched with muted awe as Linda marched up to the side of the building, dropped prone and set up her rifle. Chief sat down beside her and activated his helmet's ranging tools.

Ahsoka sighed and sat herself down on one of the rooftop whatevers, presumably an air conditioning unit's hot-air output fan, before crossing her arms to her chest. She spoke, "Well, this was fairly boring..."

"Some times, boring missions are better," Anakin commented as he sat himself down next to her, still keeping his eyes peeled for any hostiles due to basically being forced to be guards for the Spartans. Ahsoka scoffed, arms crossed to her chest, before Anakin added, "Trust me, I'm not having any more fun than you are. Obi-Wan had me keeping watch one too many times during the early days. But there's an art to patience he taught me back then..."

The young girl hummed, then sighed deeply, "Y'know, I was just supposed to get you guys back to the Temple for the mission... I also didn't expect you to have a reaction like that to the news we're gonna help a Hutt."

"Let's just say I have some... Issues..." He sighed, then shook his head, "Nothing you need to worry about."

Despite Ahsoka wanting to protest and ask more about her master, she couldn't. They watched as Linda adjusted her aim by thousandths of a Force-damned inch, all while Chief was seemingly relaying targeting to her. He looked to the two Jedi and gave a nod as a thundering explosion roared in the distance, only for them to see the building nearby the Separatist HQ destroyed. The two Jedi both watched the plume of smoke rising into the sky, with Chief calling over radio, "SIERRA Niner Niner, report once you've retrieved BLUE Two... Copy."

"Target spotted..." Linda murmured. Ahsoka paused as she saw the girl go completely still, like a goddamn statue. Chief peered down below as the thunder of footsteps echoed. A platoon of Droids was moving in on them. Supers. He sighed and gave a nod to Linda, then started using sign language to provide Linda accurate range and windage. Ahsoka walked up to them and squinted, then looked to see the range.

1200 meters. "That's an impossible shot..." She stated bluntly.

"You don't know Linda, then..." Chief murmured.

"Acquired..." Linda breathed as her heart

"Shoot."

Ahsoka was shaken and almost lost her balance as she felt her legs nearly give way under her. The thundering roar of the Sniper Rifle filled the air, followed by the sight of the contrail of the 14,5mm Sniper round cutting through the air of the place. The snap-pop of a distant impact filtered all the way over to them, causing Ahsoka to go bug-eyed and stare out toward the target, which was at exactly 1,2 kilometers distance from them.

"Kill confirmed." Linda reported, her voice terrifyingly cold enough to send a chill up both Jedi's spines. She picked up the spent casing and slid it into her harness, then slid the rifle onto the back of her armor and stood to her feet, drawing twin Sub-Machine Guns and thumbing their safeties off. She looked to the Chief and said, "Saw the Platoon of SBDs coming our way, right?" which caused both Jedi to go on alert, brandishing their lightsabers.

John shifted his rifle and aimed toward the access hatch they'd used to get up, before taking cover and shouldering the weapon properly. Linda followed suit, taking cover behind him as Chief said, "Our Pelican's coming in to provide CASEVAC, General," as he looked to Anakin. Ahsoka was still awestruck by Linda making that shot, but she'd taken a fighting stance almost on instinct.

The two Jedi readied themselves to welcome the droids, the stomping of their feet coming closer. Chief primed a fragmentation grenade and waited. Once the first droid's bulky frame would appear, he'd throw it. And, indeed, the first gray body of a Super Battle Droid appeared over the stairs. It shifted its arm guns in position just as Chief threw the grenade. A hard thump and shockwave knocked some of the air out of Anakin's and Ahsoka's lungs... Before the young girl rushed ahead.

Anakin called out, "Ahsoka! Get back here! We gotta move in together or you'll be overwhelmed!"

"It'll be fine! They're just droids!" Ahsoka replied with a grin, before throwing the first swing toward the Super Battle Droids ahead, vivisecting one diagonally and slashing the opposite way, digging into another's armor plate. Three more appeared ahead of her and turned their blasters, firing. Ahsoka began deflecting the bolts, a smirk on her face. Anakin let out an exasperated sigh and charged in as well, using Force Push to stop a droid that was flanking his new Padawan.

The Spartans looked to one-another, then paused as another door, this one to an elevator that led to the top, opened. Chief motioned to Linda to go help the Jedi, before turning to face the oncoming machines and racking the bolt of his assault rifle. He quickly Cortana, "How close do you need to be for a wireless hack?" as he opened up on the machines with heavy-duty armor-piercing rounds.

"This should be fine, John. Give me a minute..." She replied as she started working. The Spartan offered her a nod, jumping to the right as blaster bolts hit where he'd been mere seconds ago. Turning back to the Jedi and Linda, the trio met the Droids with heavy fire and some gusto, rifle chattering and fists punching through the tin cans' armor. Ahsoka and Anakin worked together, utilizing their strange magical powers to telekinetically shove a bunch of the droids off the tower.

Fragmentation rounds from the Pelican's nose gun wiped out the next slew of Droids, with the aircraft swinging in for a landing, opening its rear hatch to allow the other Spartans to shoot out from it. The Chief and Linda covered while Anakin told Ahsoka, "Get on the transport, now!" causing the girl to look back at him, surprised. He tilted his head to the aircraft, annoyed, before deflecting a bolt of blaster fire from another of the machines that were still climbing the tower. With a sigh, Ahsoka complied, shutting her lightsaber off and rushing aboard the aircraft.

Skywalker nodded to Chief and Linda, the trio backing slowly onto the ship as they gunned down more arriving droids, among which were B1s now, instead of the B2s of the probably-depleted Battalion that had just recently charged them. Boarding the gunship, Chief gave a click of his com and its engines roared. It took off at high speed, ascending above the tower and closing the rear hatch.

Chief radioed, "Command, this is BLUE Actual. Targets destroyed..." with, yet again, the same cold voice. Anakin looked to them, arms crossed. He was clearly impressed by the display, amazed even. Cold, focused and hardy, the Spartans had proven their mettle to at least one of the Jedi. The Spartan tensed, his body stiffening up just a tiny bit. It was enough for anyone without a trained eye or a sense of the Force to notice, but his team and, by extension, Skywalker had noticed. The man said, "Roger that. We're returning now..."

He turned to Skywalker and Ahsoka and stated, "Droids realized their commander is dead. They're throwing everything they have at the base in one last attack to drive our armies off this planet. We've already received reports of an armored spearhead driving down the boulevard below. Kodiak artillery and your guns have begun harassment fire, but..."

"But they'll reach the first line before they're thinned out enough..." Skywalker completed, sighed and looked to Ahsoka, adding a quip, "You're gonna get to destroy all the droids you want now, Snips." which seemed to get the girl a bit more happy. She had been pouting about five seconds before, so... Chief drew his assault rifle and reloaded the weapon, while the others prepared their own kit, including a couple of new grenades.

Fred lifted up a pair of larger 'explosives' whose protective casings shielded electric coils. A priming button lay on top of the strange weapon, with Fred explaining, "EM bombs. Command handed them to us to test on the Droids..." before handing one to Chief. The Spartan gave a nod of approval as he looked over the Device, with Cortana letting out a low, happy grin.

"Should be fun. I didn't get to do much to the other droids, so..." She chuckled and accessed the relatively simple computer of the weapon, setting a timer, "We can drop them as we fly in and fry a good bunch of droids, seeing as the effective range is about 100 meters from the center of the blast. Now, if it works is entirely up to me figuring out the detonation mechanism and ironing out the kinks and... Done..."

The bomb primed in Chief's hand. She told him, "You'll just press the button and drop them out of the rear hatch. Pilot's already given us clear for it..." to which Fred and Chief looked to one-another. They approved. Walking to the rear of the vehicle as they heard the muffled thunder of the forward-mounted cannon spitting lead, the two prepared to throw their payload. The rear hatch opened to the sight of blaster bolts lancing up at them from a Droid battalion below.

The two Spartans primed the bombs under the gazes of the Jedi and hefted them. The coiled electricity inside began to unfurl as the two weapons left in a staggered drop, one landing in the midst of the droids' rear, while another landed dead between a Battalion of SBDs and a bunch of their Snail tanks. Plasma hit the armor of the Pelican, red bolts punching into armor and heating the sides and belly of the ship up.

The detonation occurred. Two massive bursts of electrical energy arched through the droids around, shattering electrical systems and frying Central Processing Units that were not EM shielded. Two tanks, still rolling due to inertia, slammed into their brethren and derailed the entire convoy just as Kodiak Shells and plasma rounds from Republic, UNSC and Sangheili batteries started landing.

The Pelican swung in and touched down as the Marines, Clones and Elites fought against the closed-in ranks of the droids, with both impressed Jedi dismounting the vehicle with the Spartans, weapons brandished. Both Ahsoka and Anakin deflected blaster bolts back at the droids that were advancing as AT-TEs and Scorpions laid into the advancing AATs.

One AAT caught a Republic walker open and fired its main gun right into the cockpit. The plasma-layered round melted the clone inside and went out the back, causing the Mech to collapse while a Scorpion advanced beside it. The 90mm cannon of the Scorpion spat a round back at the enemy machine, hitting the gullet of the cannon, destroying the turret.

Its twin wing-mounted laser cannons replied, raking the tank with bolts as its base fired the loaded projectiles in the six tubes attached to the repulsor-lift pad that kept it afloat over obstacles. Two armor-busting projectiles found their mark on the Scorpion, detonating and shattering it, the shrapnel wounding a pair of Marines and killing a clone in the blast.

The reply came from another AT-TE. Its main cannon bellowed and another plasma-coated AP projectile lanced out as a reply. The blue-shimmering round hit, boiling away the first layer of armor on the main cupola, before punching clean through into the ammo stowage and detonating. The enemy tank broke and blossomed with the explosion, turning into ash, cinder and twisted petals of whatever metal it was made of.

Ahsoka and Anakin pushed forward, with the Jedi General telling his Padawan, "You wanna survive and fight, stay close to me and we'll make it out together!"

"Understood, master!" She replied, pointing the blade of her lightsaber forward. The two met Obi-Wan, who was at the forefront with Cody and Rex. The bearded Jedi master smiled at seeing them while deflecting the blasts of Tri-Droids' laser cannons back to them. The two Jedi, both the young one and the less young one, nodded to the general of the 212th.

"Good to see you, General!" Rex called out to Anakin.

"Good to see you, too, Rex. Looks like we got one hell of a fight ahead of us," Anakin shot back, deflecting two blaster bolts back to their respective shooters, killing a B1 and slightly staggering a B2. He looked to Ahsoka, who also deflected shots back to their enemy, then stated, "We're taking the 501st and kicking the door! Gotta cut a path through these things!"

"Not recommended!" Obi-Wan called out, "The UNSC has already called for close air support!"

"How close?!" Ahsoka asked as she slashed a droid that tried to flank them in half, before cutting its head off to keep it offline. She gasped, however, when she saw another Droid tank appear, aiming for Anakin. She called, "Master, watch out!" Before jumping just as the cannon fired. She managed to push Anakin out of the way, only to deflect more blaster shots as she landed with a roll.

Skywalker stood to his feet and looked at the spot where he had been before still bubbling after being hit. He blanked, looked to Ahsoka and said, "Thanks..." to which she smiled and nodded.

"Hey. Stick together, right?" She quipped.

"Yeah," He nodded, then jumped back to his feet. He heard the roar of engines from above and, with one hand motion, ordered everyone to fall back. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka both noticed this, as did the Clones and Marines on the front. They pulled back in a leapfrog just as rocket engines powered behind them. Two UNSC Longswords flew in, their undercarriage bomb bays closing.

Six missiles slammed into the line of droid armor, detonations blowing through concrete and shattering the droid tanks' plate armor like sledgehammers striking sandstone. Two more aircraft flew in, dropping a pair of EM bombs each, these ones with a big enough payload to shatter two battalions of droids. Finally, from above, in escort and for ground strike, Y-Wings flew in under guard of Torrent starfighters, dropping payloads as to saturate the area and eliminate even the last of droid opposition.

Cheers erupted across the line as Republic and UNSC troops saw Republic Assault Ships, the famed Acclamators that bore the Republic markings, coming in for landing on the wide fields of crystal outside. The Jedi had gathered in the town square as their troops landed to secure the planet. A Shuttle touched down just in front of them, with the diminutive frame of a green, long-eared man appearing, walking leaned on a cane.

"Skywalker, Kenobi. Good to see you, it is..." He spoke uneasily.

"Master Yoda," The two Jedi greeted with nods. Anakin started, "I take it you're here to brief us for the next part of the mission, master?"

"That, I am. And to ask how your new padawan fares, Skywalker..."

Anakin looked back to Ahsoka, who rubbed her arm as she suddenly felt too exposed. Skywalker hummed, clicked his tongue and said, "Right, well... She's a little rough around the edges, but with some training..." And he saw her perk up. He grinned, then turned to both Obi-Wan and Yoda and stated, "And some patience... She might amount to something."

Words which seemingly got Ahsoka to smile. She gave a nod to Anakin as he looked back, before bowing to Master Yoda, making the elderly Jedi smile softly. He spoke, "Good to hear, it is. For she will be needed in this mission. A lot of trust, the order has. A lot of trust, we put in you... As do our Allies..." before turning to the dropship. The three other Jedi looked up, eyes wide.

"He's not wrong there, General," Admiral Lasky said as he descended the platform under the armed escort of another Spartan. He saluted the group, then said, "A pleasure to see you all face-to-face finally..." and they all shook hands. He looked to see Blue Team advancing toward them and saluted them, before saying, "At ease, Chief. Operation go smooth?"

"Sir," The Spartan replied with a nod.

"Good... Because you'll be working with Generals Kenobi and Skywalker again," The man stated. The confused Spartans and Jedi looked to him and Yoda, to which he explained, "We'll be deploying the cruiser Pass Me The Ammo and a trio of frigates to provide escort for the Republic Assault Ships you will be using to retrieve the VIP. Meanwhile, the rest of the UNSC and Swords of Sangheilios fleet will leave Christophsis and depart for the capital world of the Republic with master Yoda's forces, to initiate proper negotiations and... Well, hopefully find our place in this mess."

His gaze turned to the Jedi Generals as he told them, "Don't lose'em. Chief and his team are the best of the best."

"We saw that," Ahsoka commented, letting out an awkward chuckle, "They were kind of scary..." as her gaze turned to the Chief. The Spartan simply stared back for a moment, then turned to Lasky again. The man hummed and looked back toward the Spartan that was with him. He was shorter of stature than the Chief and his team and wore a different armor. It was painted-over with camouflage patterns resembling nature and had photoreactive panels, shielding and extra pouches for ammo. The Spartan himself carried an MA40 Carbine with a holographic scope and silencer and an M6 SOCOM, not to mention a combat knife on his back.

"Ah, right," Lasky said, "Blue, I'll be assigning another member to your team. Warrant Officer, why don't you introduce yourself?"

The Spartan saluted, then turned to Chief and Blue Team and said, "Sir, Warrant Officer Richard-G295, SPARTAN-III Headhunter Commando, at your service," his voice sounding young. Much younger than Ahsoka and Co had expected, honestly. The Blues looked to one-another, then back to Richard, who said, "I'm a great Scout, sir. You'll find me useful, if nothing else."

"How fast can you run?" Kelly asked, crossing her arms to her chest.

"Ma'am. Fast as needed," He replied confidently.

"You're Gamma... I thought you were all either reassigned or cryo-frozen after the war," Fred stated, motioning to the young man.

He nodded, answering, "Most of us were. I was Cryo'd myself, but I can operate, sir. Got my own supply of what the Eggheads upstairs call 'the Happy Juice'..." before patting a syringe bag on his hip. The Spartans looked to one-another again, before Chief nodded and saluted. Though invisible due to his Generation 3 MJOLNIR's SPI helmet, the young Spartan smiled and saluted back.

"We'll see how well you run, kid..." Linda said in the most non-hostile tone someone could've said such a hostile sentence with. She extended a hand, surprising everyone, then stated, "Welcome aboard..." to which the kid grabbed and shook it, giving a nod to Linda. The trio of Jedi beside her, that being Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan, all smirked at the exchange.

"Now that that's settled," Lasky hummed, "I'll return to my fleet. Prep for departure."

"Follow you, I will. To see your ships closely, I wish..." Yoda quipped, then let out a short laugh.

As the two men boarded the shuttle, the Spartans watched. Only Richard turned back and spotted Ahsoka. Furrowing his brows, he looked over to Chief and asked with a surprisingly brazen attitude, "We gonna be working with that tailhead, sir?" which surprised the Jedi. Ahsoka furrowed her brows at him, before Kelly snorted and shook her head at the quip.

"Relax. They're allies," The Chief replied calmly, less scolding than one would think while looking at the boy.

He hummed, looked to Ahsoka and said, "Alright, sir. If you say so..." before he departed with Blue Team. Ahsoka crossed her arms to her chest and scoffed. The nerve on the guy to be like that. She rolled her eyes and followed with Generals Kenobi and Skywalker, with Anakin snorting. He could already tell where this was going. Someone as stubborn as him with someone as crazy as a Spartan...

... He blanked. Oh, boy.

Chapter Text

So, the mission was simple. Rescue a Crime Lord's son from a Separatist force on a remote planet. Richard had heard of weirder missions, quite honestly. He shifted uneasily, however, when he realized he was going to be working with Blue Team. The Spartans had departed for the bridge, leaving him alone in the hangar of the Republic Assault Ship Guardian with the Clones and Jedi. He was sat on a set of boxes under the shade of one of their LAAT Gunships, a rather interesting beast to look upon, all while tending to his weapons.

With a screwdriver in one hand and the cleaning kit sat beside him, the young man continued working away at the weapon, out of sight of the patrolling Clones or his supposed new 'partner'. He eyed the young, orange-skinned girl as she regaled a platoon of 501st Legion clones, plus a pair of strange 'AstroMech' droids, with tales of how she saved her master during the battle on Christophsis.

He stared, then set the screwdriver down as soon as he'd finished what he needed to finish on calibrating his scope, before turning a dial and thumbing the activation button of the PEQ-style laser sight mounted to the weapon's side. He saw a scarlet beam trail along the path, his HUD's crosshair following it with a maximum degree of accuracy possible from handmade calibration.

He hummed, shouldered the weapon and racked the bolt a couple of times after he had reassembled the weapon. Glad with how it was gliding on the rails, he set it aside and drew his M6 SOCOM pistol, racking back the slide and looking inside. It was a 'fresh-off-the-line' pistol, so grim and muck hadn't acquired, but his rifle had been with him since his earliest days as a Headhunter.

Casting another glance toward Tano, the young man wondered just what? Seriously, she looked decently human, but was an obvious, dead-to-rights alien. Why were they even working with the lot if they used an army of clone slaves and Aliens? Then again, he was one to complain about that, even mentally, considering they were allied with the bastards who burned his homeworld down via plasma.

He saw the team of Clones scatter in the corner of his eye, most of them laughing, before he heard the clap of low-heeled boots against the metallic floor of the hangar. He looked up from his fiddling once again, noting that the alien girl had come up to him, a smile on her face. She waved, "Hey," and leaned against the LAAT's rear with one hand, "I don't think we got to meet properly. I'm Ahsoka."

"I know," He replied with half a mouth, then stood up. The girl blanked for a moment, noting that the boy, in full MJOLNIR GEN-III armor with the SPI attachments stood at seven feet tall. Well above her height. As in her face was at around chest height with the boy in full armor. She had to stare up at him, a hint stunned at the sight. He, however, didn't seem phased. He spoke, "Proper introductions, then. Warrant Officer Richard. Call me whatever." with disregard.

Ahsoka crossed her arms to her chest and quipped, "You don't seem too fond of me, big guy."

"Observant, for an alien," He shot back.

"Oh, that kind of person..." Ahsoka murmured, scratching her chin. She hummed and sighed, before telling him, "Listen, we're on the same side and I do wanna learn to work with you and your new team, which I feel is a considerably good idea for someone who witnessed one of'em take a shot that was impossible. If it's good with you, I maybe wanna bury the hatchet preemptively, before we wind up at each-other's throats."

... He hummed, nodded and said, his voice denoting how impressed he was, "Well, that's a good start at least," He told her calmly, "Though don't expect me to get used to you quickly. We lost family thanks to aliens like you. Hell, it's no wonder they're keeping me away from the Elites." All while checking over his silenced pistol. The girl had to take a moment to register that one.

"Bad blood?" She asked, concerned. She'd also seen the Arbiter in action...

"A whole-ass genocidal war, yeah," He replied calmly. The young woman took a moment to process it as the Spartan reassembled the last of his equipment. With a quick glance to the rest of the hangar, the boy added with the same tone of passive-aggressiveness that Ahsoka had felt from the get-go, "So you get why I ain't so very eager in terms of working with other Aliens... No matter how near-human you look."

"Yeah..." Ahsoka blinked, "I get it..."

"Good," He replied, "I'll do my job if you do yours. Otherwise? Let's stay out of each-other's way..." and he stepped off toward BLUE Team's Pelican. She watched him leave, before turning as footsteps filtered through the place. The entire deck, which was filled with Clone Troops, stood at attention, coming out of the woodwork as Generals Skywalker and Kenobi stepped into the place, BLUE Team close behind.

"Gather up, everyone!" Skywalker ordered. The Clone officers and the main cadre of several hundred Troopers gathered up around the General. He looked to Obi-Wan, who gave him a nod. He lifted up a hologram emitter and turned it on, "Our target is this old B'omarr order monastery on the planet Teth. It's been abandoned for a while and the seppies took it over recently to use as a base of operations. Intelligence suggests that this is where they're holding the Huttlet."

He looked around, "The Recon units also report that the enemy has layered the defenses of the place and has anti-air batteries, so we will have to land within the jungle in order to assault it. The climb's gonna be a bit steep, so I hope you prepared your cables, boys. While we deal with the enemy Air Defense and secure the Monastery, the UNSC will be moving into position to blockade hostile reinforcements. We have one Cruiser and a squadron of Frigates assisting us and we'll make the most out of them. Chief, you're up now."

The Spartan nodded in thanks and stepped forward, "Our joint forces will secure the Huttlet and help evacuate him aboard the UNSC cruiser Pass Me The Ammo for delivery. We have all also been briefed on the importance on this mission. Our success here means the Republic's ability to utilize the hyperlane network belonging to the Hutt Cartels in order to traverse troops and equipment to the embattled Outer Rim. If our alliance is to succeed beyond a political sense... It's resting on this op."

"We'll get it done," Ahsoka smirked, arms crossed to her chest.

Chief replied with a nod, then joined his squad. Richard also followed him to the team, with the others giving a nod to the little Blue team trainee. His weaponry was spotless, clean and at the ready, but Linda was first to note, "Never been on a team with a Headhunter, honestly..." as she gazed upon the young man, "I did read about your kind though..."

"And we did work with Gamma Spartans when we went to help Kurt," Kelly added. Fred and Linda both nodded, before turning to the young man. He didn't say much, it seemed, which was just fine for the S-IIs. And if Admiral Lasky trusted the kid to be good, so did the others. Chief gave a nod and motioned to the Pelican with a slight tilt of the head. The five-man team left for it, with Richard casting one more glance toward Ahsoka.

She flashed a smile at him, showing her desire to be friendly. The boy nodded, then hummed and looked to the others, asking, "Sir, is it normal to be uneasy around aliens even if they ain't Covenant?"

"Considering what we've been told about you and your comrades, Blue Five?" Chief replied with a question, letting the young man decide on his own, which he seemed to have, considering the fact the other Spartans noticed his shoulders slightly sag. He told the boy, "Focus on the mission. If the alliance goes through, they'll be our allies for a good while..."

"Yessir," Richard answered, "Don't need to worry about me, sir."

"Good," Chief shot back as they boarded the Pelican and started preparing their weapons. Ahsoka stood there, arms crossed and watching while the Clones around her packed their kit. She'd actually wanted to ask something else of the boy before the briefing started. To see his face, considering Spartans seemed to have a tendency to keep their helmets on. For the most part, anyhow.

She felt a hand clap on her shoulder, then turned to see her master. He asked, "Something the matter, Ahsoka?"

She shook her head, "Just the new guy for the Chief's team... It's... He told me they had some sort of genocide campaign done on them by aliens they're allied with nowadays. The Sangheili, I think..." and she looked to her master. He nodded.

"I was told as much by both the Arbiter and Admiral Lasky during our more recent convos. He warned me about the guy not being particularly open to anyone not human," He offered, then hummed and added, "Did you two make nice to a degree, at least?" as he considered the fact that the guy hadn't tried to kill her yet. Then again, Spartans were supposedly meant to be machines, soldiers that followed orders to a T...

"I mean, I'd like to think so, but..." She shrugged, "I don't know..."

"Eh, we'll see how you two work together on Teth," He quipped, then gave her a light punch to the shoulder, "Let's go. Gotta prep the gunships before we set off to battle... You can meet your boyfriend there," and he smirked as he walked away. Ahsoka seemed to balk and start complaining, but was inaudible to the already-disappeared Jedi as the man boarded the gunship.

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, before marching up to the gunship, too... As the vehicles began their proper procedures and the UNSC began theirs aboard the vessels, the warships entered low orbit above the target area. A dozen gunships total exited the hangars of both sides' ships, with Pelicans leading the charge while Longswords flew escort.

Entering the atmosphere was bumpy, obviously. The Spartans held on tightly, weapons close, as their pilots took them through the rumble of atmospheric re-entry, with the Clone Gunships not far behind. Flak started popping up in front of them from the Monastery on the raised rock pillar. It was at that moment that the UNSC started to wonder how in God's name could those things have Flak shells if they were firing plasma?

"Alright, Rock Jumpers, prep for drop!" The pilot of one of the gunships spoke...

It didn't seem to matter as the first aircraft touched down. The Spartans, meanwhile, would orbit the monastery at lower altitudes than their Triple-A Could hit, prepping to intervene the moment the Jedi got up the hill. Ahsoka, meanwhile, jumped out of the Gunship with her master and the clones, watching with muted awe as Pelicans fast-roped their troops to the ground while a pair of their own gunship-Pelicans spun up their guns and banked back, firing bursts of rockets that exploded on impact with the rock face.

It seemed, however, the moment the UNSC Gunships realized that the enemy was barely using their defenses properly, they revved up their guns. Ahsoka watched two ships power their directional thrusters and launch up into the sky, readying themselves to hammer the Droids with Autocannons and missiles. The Jedi, Clones and the deployed Marines pushed forward up to the rock face, meanwhile, as blaster fire still rained down on them. Behind them, two AT-TEs also joined in.

... Well, this was gonna be interesting.

Coruscant...

It'd taken a little less than ten hours to arrive at the incredible capital of the Republic. The UNSC Navy had kept up surprisingly well with the ships of their allies' own Navy, despite different FTL Drives. It paid off that the UNSC had adapted much of the Covenant's own modifications to the Forerunners' tech on their own, down to the Slipspace Drives' heavily-enhanced speed and the 'finesse' with which they traversed through the dimensions.

It was a bit breath-taking, to be quite honest. The massive ecumenopolis lay dead ahead of them, guarded by many Republic warships, defense stations and an entire array of other equipment. Glimmering, the dark side of the planet was brighter than the side the system's sun was lighting up, all due to the massive population inhabiting the city-planet itself.

The fleet of Republic ships escorting the several dozen UNSC ones transmitted their clearance codes to the wider Republic Naval Presence in the area. Lasky could swear he felt the spike of tension when their fleet first arrived overhead. Hell, some of the Republic starfighters sent to investigate them were barely now pulling off their attack vectors. Of course, he had ordered that their own fleet be set to Yellow Alert, just in case, so he also felt the tension of his own deck crews.

"I'll be damned..." The shipboard AI spoke, a smirk on his face, "An entire Ecumenopolis."

"Weren't these things relegated mostly to science-fiction back in the day?" Palmer asked, present on the bridge, too. She was going to be Lasky's escort to the meeting with the Senators of the Republic that the Jedi had set up. Roland offered the Commander a nod, while Lasky and the rest of the bridge crew all stared at the Republic's version of the 'Home Fleet' floating all around them.

"I can smell the tension," Lasky commented. He looked to the com officer and said, "Transmit a message to the rest of the fleet. Tell them that the ROE is still 'Fire if fired upon'. Let's not piss the Republic off..." as he turned back to the holotable. He ordered, "Bring up a grid view of the area. And all the detected Republic warships in the AO. See if you can't catalog them."

"On it," Roland replied and dipped into the holo-display for a moment, his avatar vanishing as the three-dimensional visuals on the holomap updated, swirls of data dancing around each of the multitude of echelons that represented the orbital defense fleet of the place. Smaller echelons denoted naval vessels below those of capital class, meaning not the Venators that they'd first met.

"Sir," Roland reappeared, "We're getting a ping. Master Yoda's starship."

"Patch him through," Lasky ordered, then watched as the frail-looking diminutive old man's form appeared on the Holo. The two men bowed to each-other, a sign of courtesy and respect as it seemed, before Lasky told him, "Good afternoon, General, sir... We have to say, we're impressed with what we're seeing. Coruscant is... Definitely one of the most interesting planets we've seen in our centuries of space exploration."

"The capital, it is, for a reason, Admiral," Yoda replied, then let out a short chuckle. He then told the man and his comrades with the usual poise and demeanor that one would expect out of such lived man, "Clearance, our ships have been given. Stood down, the defense fleet has. Your escort and aircraft, you should take. Join us aboard the Champion. Descend together, we will."

"Give me a few minutes, then. I'll have to put on the good dress uniform," Lasky quipped. Master Yoda nodded and gave a quick goodbye, before the com shut off. He looked to Sarah and said, "Call up Fireteam Crimson. We're moving out," before he marched off to his Ready Room. About ten minutes later, two maglev trams made it to the forwardmost hangar of the starship, where UNSC fighter crews were already prepared in case something went wrong. One of the Autumn-class cruisers hovered a few thousand kilometers away, while Frigates of all varietals, including a group of Anlaces, provided security.

Fireteam Crimson walked up to the Commander and Admiral. All four of them snapped crisp salutes at their officers, before Lasky gave them a nod and said, "At ease," then saluted back. "Tom. Lucy. You two ready to go?" He asked the two leaders of Crimson. The smaller-framed female gave a nod. Lucy-B091, of course. One of the more famed children of Onyx.

"And waiting, sir," Tom-B292 answered. Her partner and squadmate from Onyx up 'till now.

"Good. Rest of Crimson's ready, too, I assume..." He offered, then looked to the two other Spartans in the rear. Yet another Gamma company member, Vic-G011, stood to the rear, his bag of medicine at the ready. Beside him sat a lone, familiar figure clad in a black MJOLNIR set bearing Gen 1 Mark V equipment on the Gen-3's adaptive platform. He had a DMR on his back.

"We're ready, sir," Tom noted, then looked to the Spartan in the black armor and said, "C'mon, B312. We got one of the boring jobs ahead of us..." to which his buddy snorted. Alongside some ONI representatives meant to be the ambassadors to the Senate, the UNSC diplomatic corps boarded the Pelican dropship that would take them to the Republic warship Champion.

Traversing the void between the ships, the UNSC personnel watched the Republic Navy positioning itself around various important installations, just in case. Guess even with clearance, tensions remained. Understandably enough, Lasky thought as he joined the pilots in the cockpit, watching them approach the trio of Republic Venators that had escorted them in there.

The main hangar in the bow of the ship opened, the straight scarlet line down the center of the sleek, arrowhead-shaped warship splitting down the middle as it did so. The Pelican banked, its escorting Longswords turning away and back to the ship, before it powered on its directional thrusters. The pilots exchanged some chatter with the Republic ship's ATC before it entered the hold and veered slightly right, entering behind the shield that contained the atmosphere of the ship.

Touching down at its designated spot, the Pelican popped open its rear hatch to the sight of Master Yoda and his escorting Clone forces. Master Yoda bowed yet again, a friendly smile, "Welcome aboard, Admiral. To you and your troops..."

"Thank you, Master Yoda," The Admiral replied in kind, "Let's hope the Senate doesn't mind me and my representatives bringing our own security for the party..."

The group marched out of the hangar as the Republic starship began its descent toward the planetary drydocks. From within the bridge, the group witnessed as the descending ship slowed enough for them to see the eerily beautiful industrial landscape of Coruscant as a whole. Sprawling habitation blocks, industrial pipelines able to fit tanks and the traffic of flying civilian vehicles filled the viewports. Below was the Republic Base on the planet, a complex of multiple drydocks, military facilities, barracks and storage areas containing everything from vehicles to troops.

"Incredible..." Lasky murmured. The most surprising thing was that there was still atmosphere on the planet. That and the fact the sky was still god-damned BLUE instead of some hellish red due to all the pollution he assumed would be present on a planet like this. As the vessel touched down in the Dry-Dock, the Republic crew gave the go-ahead for the planetside support crew to initiate resupply.

"Well, here we are..." Lasky said, "Coruscant... Lead the way, master Yoda."

A short trip down some turbolifts and through the halls of the ship and the Jedi Master and his wards walked off of the starship and onto one of the many corridors of the Drydocks. The squad of Spartans stared at the Clones standing guard nearby, clad in armors with red markings unlike those of normal Legions. Some of the soldiers eyed the UNSC Military's supersoldier group warily, while others simply stood at their posts, making sure the Jedi cruiser was being properly rearmed and resupplied.

Tom whispered to B312, "They're a hell of a lot more tense than we are..."

"Yeah," He nodded, uneasy and keeping his hand close to his M6G. Lucy chuckled beside them as they continued their walk down the path. Through yet more hallways and past security, the group made it to a landing pad area where a multitude of skycar-style vehicles lay. Yoda motioned for them to follow, with the group boarding a specialized transport. Beside it, blue-clad soldiers carrying heavy weaponry nodded, their T-Shaped visors and helmets resembling those of Spartans or Hoplites.

Once aboard the transport itself, a reinforced limousine or bus of some kind, Lasky felt the need to comment, "Flying cars, space ship drydocks planetside and an entire military base that looks like it houses thousands of troops... This place is more impressive than I expected..." as he sat himself down and looked out the window of the transport. They felt the craft's inertial dampeners kick in just as it powered forward slowly, out of the parking spot and right between the two escorting speeder bikes belonging to the Guards.

"Indeed..." Yoda commented. The group all paused and gasped, sans for Yoda, as they flew by it. Aside from the towering series of skyscrapers up ahead, to their immediate left lay a towering pyramid without a top. Five towers adorned its upper part, for of which sat North-West, North-East, South-West and South-East while one was solely in the middle and with the middle one raised higher than the others. It also had a sprawling series of other buildings around it, with a strange architectural style to boot.

"That is...?" Palmer asked Yoda.

"The Jedi Temple..." The old man replied softly.

"Damn," Lucy whispered.

Of course, the best was yet to come. As the vehicle approached the main, they were met by the biggest of the buildings in the place. A dome-like, mushroom-shaped structure with multiple levels and multiple landing pads. Civilians milled to and fro on the pad, which one of the Representatives with Lasky noted by saying, "Looks like the place is always busy, sir..." as she arranged her tie.

"It's the senate ruling over a giant galaxy-spanning state. I'm not surprised," Lasky replied calmly. The transport landed at the top-most pad and the escorting units aboard disembarked. They looked around at the various aliens marching throughout the place and the Beta and Gamma Company Spartans all tensed. As a group of Senate Guards, the men clad in blue, approached, Yoda turned to Lasky.

"Leave, I must. My presence, the Order has requested..."

"Thanks for the escort, sir. Guess we'll take it from here..." Lasky nodded. He and Yoda bowed to each-other, before they watched as the Senate Guards approached. The men saluted each-other.

"Admiral Lasky, I assume..." The man spoke calmly. As soon as Lasky gave a nod, the man motioned toward the main building and stated, "Chancellor Palpatine is waiting for you." words which stunned the entire crew. The Spartans exchanged glances and Lasky could swear he was hearing them talk with their mics offline via single-beam communications. Though, he agreed.

"Weren't we supposed to be meeting a senator, sir?" Asked one of the representatives.

The guard leader replied calmly, "The Chancellor took an interest the moment he heard an informal alliance had been signed with a new faction by the Jedi Generals on Christophsis," before eyeing the Spartans, "Though he presumably does not expect a guard group such as the soldiers behind you... By the Force, what do you even feed them?"

Lucy snorted and replied, "Depends on the time of day, sir," which got an uneasy cough from the man and a few chortles from the UNSC staff.

"Right, if you'll... Follow us..." He urged them to the building. Lasky gave a nod, then turned back. He saw Spartan B312 staring outward at something. Following his gaze, he saw someone sat farther away, clad in a robe and watching them. Their face was obscured by the robe itself, but Lasky could tell they were staring. He tapped Six on the shoulder and the Spartan shrugged, to which Lasky sighed and showed him to follow.

The Spartan eyed the figure once more and... Saw a faint smile appear behind the hood. He hummed and did choose to follow the Admiral in the end. Entering the Senate, to the massive, imposingly beautiful walls, the red carpets and the vaulted ceilings, the Spartans suddenly felt under-dressed for this event. The walk continued, past multitudes of doorways, of races of aliens and humans intermingling and talking. It was... Odd.

Another turbolift trip and the door opened to a beautiful and large office with walls covered in red velvet. A round desk sat in front of a massive, thick window overlooking much of the cityscape around the Senate District, with several comfy, cushioned seats in front of it, a holographic display in the center and various other pieces of furniture and items of interest spread around.

"Well, this is a nice place..." B312 murmured.

"My thanks," A calm, gentlemanly voice spoke from up ahead. Turning on his chair, a man clad in red robes, with white hair, a thin, somewhat wrinkled face and bags under his eyes, stood to his feet, "I do tend to try and keep it as tidy as possible... Greetings to you, representatives of the UNSC. A pleasure to meet you all, finally..." and he offered a kind smile as he approached them, "I've heard much of your exploits from Admiral Yularen."

"Chancellor Palpatine, I presume," Admiral Lasky replied, then offered a curt and friendly salute, "An honor to meet you, sir. I'm Admiral Lasky."

"Indeed," Palpatine nodded, then motioned to the chairs, "Please, follow me. We have much we need to discuss..."

"Yes, sir..." Lasky nodded. The group approached the desk, with the Chancellor sitting himself back down in his seat and waving the Senate Guards off. Lasky, meanwhile, sat himself in one of the chairs ahead as Palpatine called up refreshments. The Chancellor then hummed and motioned to the Spartans to sit down, but Lasky quickly intervened, "While we appreciate the gestures of kindness, sir, the Spartans are better off standing."

"Oh? Any particular reason why?" He asked.

"Our armor weighs half a ton, sir. We'd probably break your furniture if we tried sitting down," Palmer clarified. She saluted and said, "Commander Sarah Palmer. SPARTAN branch commander of the Infinity..."

"I see," Palpatine hummed, then gave a calm tilt of his head forward, "My thanks, Commander. I suppose that'll have to do, then..." and both men watched as a servant droid waddled inside, carrying a tray with various drinks. Setting it on the table, the droid beeped happily, to which Palpatine simply replied with a short nod. He picked up one of the glasses and poured himself a drink. He swirled the amber liquid in the glass, before asking, "So, to start with the beginning... What are you and your forces doing in our Galaxy, Admiral?"

Lasky was more-or-less expecting the convo to start with that. He gave a brief rundown to the Chancellor pertaining their arrival here:The drive malfunction, the fluctuations found just before and all the other semi-necessary information. To his credit, Palpatine listened to them and took every idea with an open mind, including the different FTL drive. With a concerned click of his tongue and a tapping of his fingers on his desk, he said to Lasky, "Quite the story... I must say, I am happy to see your ships made it here in one piece."

"Trust us, sir," Lasky smiled, awkward, "We are, too."

"I suppose that also brings us onto our second point," The man hummed as he offered Lasky the other glass. The man took it, then looked back to the Spartans as they stood there, most of them stoic sans for Palmer, who had crossed her arms to her chest. Palpatine continued only when Lasky turned to him, "What your involvement should be in this war... You are, for all intents and purposes, a neutral third faction brought into the conflict by our foes' common indecency of shooting at anything that moves."

Lasky tilted his head forward, then took a sip from his glass. The beverage was surprisingly sweet for something he had expected to be alcohol, but he made no comment. His reply was also calm and calculate, "The Republic's forces proved themselves professional when it came to dealing with us. Generals Skywalker and Kenobi were more than keen on keeping us around after we promised we'd help hold Christophsis."

"And what a marvelous job you and they have done," Palpatine replied with the faintest trace of... Worry? Fear? Anger? Hidden behind kindness...

All Noble Six-err... Crimson Four, Spartan B312, knew, was that he picked up the slight change in tone. He looked to the rest of Crimson, only to see Tom and Lucy both nod to him, while the Gamma company member stood there, uneasy. He sighed, still listening as the conversation went on. Lasky added, "... We fully intended on actual negotiations to talk about our aid to the Republic in winning their War."

"Oh, so a formal alliance?" Palpatine smiled, "How noble of you. People out of place and yet you still wish to help us win?"

"Witnessing what the Seppies do to planets they occupy?" Lasky shrugged, "Better for all of us, yes. Though we will need the ability to resupply with various materials. Mainly raw materials like Hydrogen, various metals and maybe food... And we will need help, finding a way home..." And he turned to Palmer. She hummed as she radioed in, all while Palpatine was thinking, scratching his chin and the likes.

He hummed and nodded, "Provided you assist us in defeating our enemy, we will provide all of the above and Republic monetary support in the form of Credits. You will be signed on as a military force that is assisting us in the battles ahead. Not mercenaries per se, but still... You understand," to which Lasky smiled. Indeed, he did. A temporary military force akin to a militia, he supposed. It could work. Palpatine must've seen the gleam in his eyes, a smile forming on his face again, "Then it is settled?"

"We can ratify the treaty already, if you wish, sir. I can just send my men back to call up our transport so we can head on out after and leave my representatives to discuss anything else that needs to be discussed with you," Lasky offered. Palpatine showed him to wait a minute, before he started typing on a holographic keyboard on his desk and pinged someone else. Over-eager to achieve results, it seemed...

Lasky looked to the Spartans and motioned for them to go on. Palmer hummed, nodded in reply and showed the others that they could walk to the elevator. On the way down, B312 said, "Something ain't sitting right with me. Guy seemed a bit off about our presence here. And now he wants a treaty this quickly?" and, despite the surprise at B312 speaking so much, the group of Spartans nodded in agreement.

"Maybe he wants to keep tabs on us better," Palmer suggested, then added, "Wouldn't be surprised. We must be one hell of a wildcard for anyone in the Galaxy..."

The group walked down the hallways, with Tom adding, "Don't know... I'm with Six. Something is a bit off about the Chancellor, though we're better off not saying that in public..." then they exited out onto the landing pad. He sighed and said, "I'll call us the Pelican..." before radioing in, "Pelican Four-Two-Niner, this is Crimson Actual, requesting evac on my coords..."

Lasky emerged, running, from the building. With a sigh of relief, he wiped the sweat from his brows and said, "Well... Treaty's ratified and signed... And we left our two reps with Palpatine... Guess that means we get to leave this place as victors, eh?" as he looked to Palmer. The woman snorted, then paused as she saw B312 staring again. She stepped up to the Lieutenant and paused as she saw that same figure clad in a cape and ragged clothes.

Said figure, now clearly female, approached. The landing pad had become eerily clear. Had they picked the wrong one? Maybe a maintenance pad or...? No. The figure continued walking, only stopping a few feet from the tense Spartans and Lasky. She spoke softly, her voice young, despite a wrinkled appearance hidden by the darkness of the hood's peak, "Find what you seek amongst the scoundrels of politics?"

"We have..." Lasky replied, "You are...?"

"A mere local with some concerns," She replied. A pair of dark-blue eyes had light shone onto them for a moment, though the woman's face was distorted, strangely enough. She spoke calmly, "Do you realize what you are?" as she eyed Lasky, then as she turned to B312, she added, "Or what your soldier is? Perhaps you've no idea, seeing as you have just recently arrived..."

"Oh, great, one of those types..." Palmer started, then walked up ahead and said, "Listen, lady, we're not here to have our fortunes read or some shit..."

"I'm not here to read your fortune," Chuckled the woman, "I'm here to ask for a favor..."

"Of what kind?" Lasky inquired, uneasy.

"I wish to see what you're capable of..." She hummed, "To join you, per se. See how the Galaxy fares nowadays... Coruscant has grown a little stale..." And she watched them tense as she took another step forward. With a shrug, she asked, "If you are going to shoot me, I'd suggest doing it now..." before taking another step forward. The tension grew thick enough that at the next step, the Spartans all drew their sidearms...

And the figure ahead shot a hand out, before pulling it back suddenly. The Spartan team felt their weapons yanked out of their hands, all Magnums clattering to the floor and sliding toward her as what seemed to be a mist dissipated from the woman. Instead of a brown, dirty cape, a more clean, yet still ancient-looking one appeared. Below, instead of ragged clothes, a white armor, marked by years of existence and warfare, scarred by blasters and burned. And clipped to a worn leather belt, a lightsaber hilt.

The woman looked at herself, then sighed deeply and said, "Well, I guessed as much when I started using it..." as her voice turned to another, more smooth and warm one. She pulled her hood off her head, revealing dirty blonde hair, messy and caught in a bun on the back of her head. Azure eyes stared at them all, faint traces of scars on a beautiful face and on her neck. She tilted her head and her luscious lips curled into a smile. She said, "Surprise..." as they saw a Jedi symbol, old and worn, on the left of her chest plate.

"... A Jedi...?" B312 murmured, dumbfound.

"Not quite," She said, then clarified, "I mean... Sure, I am a Jedi in a sense..." and she used her Force powers to lift the guns, sending them back to their owners who caught them out of mid-air. Lasky gave a hand signal to stow the weapons as he approached the Jedi, who crossed her arms to her chest and blew a strand of her blonde hair out of her eyes, smirk still on her face as she finished, "But I don't like to be called that anymore... The current Order is a bit of a mess..." which confused most of the people present. Was it?

"What's your name?" Lasky asked, surprised.

"... Call me Meetra," She replied after a moment's hesitation, then looked to B312 and started unsurely, "You have quite the guards...?"

"Admiral Thomas Lasky, UNSC, ma'am," He replied, "And yeah, they're Spartans..." before humming. B312 noticed that the woman was staring directly at him and somehow seemed to get a bit self-conscious, simply turning to flag down the Pelican for touchdown. Meetra chuckled, while Lasky started, "You want to join us aboard our fleet, Ma'am? Why?"

She shrugged, "I like understanding new things better, honestly... I've seen a good chunk of the galaxy at this point in my life, so something refreshing like your unknown force could undoubtedly prove to be a little more interesting," then turned to the surprised Lasky and added, "Not to mention one of your soldiers intrigues me... He was the sole person to spot me out of your unit."

"And actively keep an eye on you..." Lasky murmured as he looked to B312, "Alright, I guess... If a Jedi wants to tag along, who am I to say no?"

Meetra smiled softly, "You won't regret this, Admiral. You'll find me to be quite the pleasant addition to your forces..." before she walked up next to the Pelican and next to B312, greeting the man with a wave. He greeted her with a nod, before they all boarded the Pelican. Lasky and Palmer were the last ones in, exchanging one quick glance, before looking at the Jedi sat aboard their aircraft, right next to B312... For whatever reason.

Sitting down in their own designated seats, the two gave the go-ahead for the pilot to lift off... And once they exited the Atmosphere?

Well, Meetra was grinning ear-to-ear at the UNSC.

Chapter Text

Meetra was awed.

Upon touching down in one of the cavernous hangars of the UNSC Infinity, the woman and her escort were greeted by the UNSC's standard complement of Marines, all neatly lined up with several Spartans. They saluted them as they disembarked from the Pelican, with Palmer nodding wordlessly to Lasky. She and her Spartans peeled away from the party, with Meetra wanting to follow B312 along, as it seemed.

She, however, stopped as she looked over to Lasky, then sighed, following the man along and gazing upon the technological, industrial and utilitarian marvel of the UNSC's flagship. With a hum, she smiled as she watched the ever-active deck crews working their magic, with the shifting aircraft and vehicles going up and down via large cargo lifts, so on and so forth. She looked to Lasky and asked him, "Take it Coruscant wasn't exactly friendly? Ship is still in Yellow Alert."

"We're a rather large naval force that did just arrive in this part of the Galaxy. The Republic Navy presence got tense the moment we jumped in after master Yoda's ship," He replied, clearly impressed at her ability to notice things as he arranged his white uniform and scratched at his collar. The young woman continued to marvel for a moment at the ship, the Eagle of the UNSC embedded into parts of the walls, standing over a globe representing one planet.

She hummed and said with a chuckle, "Spooking the Navy is no small feat, Admiral."

"I bet," He replied as they climbed a stairwell up to one of the hangar's multitude of trams. He turned to her as they boarded one of the trams, watching her sheer awe at the size of a ship that needed Trams, before starting, "If I can ask, ma'am, why did you want to stick with us? Why not help in the war effort? Going by the armor you're wearing and how worn it is, I doubt it'd be that bad for you..."

She shrugged, "Like I said... Things have been getting monotonous in the Galaxy."

"And we're the wildcard that switches things up, are we?" He inquired, a bit dumbfound. How could a galactic war be monotonous, honestly? Something didn't add up with the woman's story. That, or she was just keeping things secret for the sake of keeping them secret, honestly. Tomas didn't know at this point and the man had dealt with ONI spooks way beforehand, when first meeting the Chief. Before the Spartan program became public, the survivors of Corbulo were ordered to keep it hush-hush.

"Indeed... Also, stop calling me ma'am, Admiral," She smirked, "I know I'm old. I don't need to be reminded every time I talk to people..."

Lasky seemed confused as he turned to stare at her. She chuckled and waved it off. Better they didn't know the whole truth yet, quite honestly, she thought as they marched forward. The tram began its route with a quiet hum of the maglev rails and Meetra held on, smiling and looking around. Certainly the tech was not primitive. It resembled what she had seen along time.

"So, ma-... Meetra. Do youi have a family name?" He asked, which caused the young woman to turn toward him, taken out of her thoughts. She seemed surprised by the question, presumably, considering the face she assumed she was making. Like a Huurton in the headlights of a Speeder. She took a moment to actually register the question, then hummed.

"Full name is Meetra Surik," She replied softly, "Though I really haven't used it in a while..."

"Oh?" He raised a brow.

She waved it off and added, "Listen, it's a really long story. I wanted to tag along with your people to see what you're capable of." And she turned back to look at the sights of the vessel, murmuring to herself, "Once I got some context, maybe I will reveal everything that needs to be revealed..." which seemed to give Lasky pause. The transport stopped at one of the stations, one that both occupants soon read was the Labs.

The elderly figure of Doctor Halsey stepped aboard, her eyes shooting wide open for a moment, "Oh, Admiral..." and she turned to Meetra, "And our new guest... Good morning, madam." as she started tapping at her tablet. She whispered to herself, "I genuinely did not think we would have our own Jedi aboard, but here we are..." as the tablet beeped with each tap of a letter.

"Hello," Meetra waved. She could feel the uneasiness of the old woman. The woman nodded back, before humming and whispering something to Lasky. The man gazed at the doctor with a raised brow for a couple moments, before shrugging. The Jedi didn't know how to take the secrecy at first, but decided against any sort of snappy comment, considering she was still not going to reveal everything to them either.

"... I am doctor Catherine Halsey, miss Surik," The woman ahead spoke.

"Good to meet you, Doctor," The Jedi replied, shifting a hint. She was surprised at being called by her family name. A bit too much respect for an old girl such as herself.

"Likewise," Halsey replied, "I must say, I am quite intrigued by your kin. The Jedi, or, well, 'Force Users' in general, are a strange subject to a people who has never seen this kind of..." She hesitated and sighed deeply, "For lack of a better term and courtesy of our Marines, Space Magic..." and that got a laugh out of Meetra. She could hear the contempt a woman of Science had for the word 'Magic' in her voice.

"Oh, it's explainable by a few things," Meetra replied, "And if you need someone to learn from, I'm willing to act as your subject."

Halsey's eyes widened for a moment, but she replied with a hint more warmth in her otherwise cold voice, "My thanks, miss Surik... I suppose I'll be getting off here." And she stood to her feet, "Visit the laboratories whenever you have time. Admiral. Been a pleasure..." then she exited the tram as it reached the dormitories. Lasky was slightly impressed by the fact the doctor was going to sleep, obviously. Meetra chuckled.

"The doctor's a bit eccentric," Lasky quipped as the vehicle approached the other end of the vessel, namely, the Bridge area. Meetra nodded, then stood to her feet with the man as they walked out onto the deck. Entering the main bridge of the UNSC Warship, the young woman was met with a crew that was actively working. Lasky ordered, "Stand down Yellow Alert. We're in the clear. Let's get ready to go reinforce Generals Skywalker and Kenobi on their little trip."

As the flashing alerts fell back and the normal, cold lighting ot the deck came back, Roland appeared on the holo-deck and saluted, "Admiral. Welcome aboard. The Arbiter's apologizing for not being present for negotiations and hopes you signed for them as well. He's off doing something with the Shadow and some Republic ships that left just recently for another system."

"That's fine. And yes, we did sign for them as well," Lasky sighed and let out a short snicker as he sat down. He looked to Meetra, who was staring with wide eyes at Roland, enamored by the AI's avatar, before smiling at her and saying, "This is Roland. One of our AI and the shipboard Smart AI for the UNSC Infinity. One of our best." before giving a thumbs up to Roland.

"Makin' me blush, sir," Snorted the AI. He looked to Meetra and gave her a quick salute, "Roland's the name indeed. Welcome aboard, ma'am."

"Glad to be here," She replied with a smile, then chuckled, "Honestly, the UNSC continues to impress me, but... Arbiter?" And some of the confusion in the woman's obvious reaction showed from the tone of her voice. Indeed, to a newcomer, the confusion about aliens must've been present, considering the UNSC's military was obviously human-centric in nature.

"One of our alien comrades," Lasky clarified. She nodded understandingly, before looking around at the UNSC deck crew. A couple of them were whispering stuff. She couldn't quite make out what they were talking about, but aside from male gazes, there were females intermixed, too, some of them giggling. Confusion seemed to strike Meetra yet again, even while Roland let out a short laugh. Lasky hummed, then asked, "Helm, Coordinates for Teth set?"

"All clear, sir," Replied the crewman. Lasky gave the go-ahead and the craft and its escorts powered their fusion drives. A faint hum and the ship's micro-vibrations told Meetra they'd begun to move. When she looked out the window, she saw the ships all break orbit together, before the Helmsman reported, "Slipspace drive charged and ready. Powering for synch-jump... Three... Two... One..."

Yet again, the Jedi woman's eyes shot wide open as she saw the massive portal ahead tear open with a ripple of azure energy and electrical arcs. The vessel dived into the portal with a flash of light that was shorter than the Jedi's time spent on the ship. She hummed, watching with muted awe as the warship entered the new dimension, a whirlpool of azure. Beside them, multiple ship silhouettes winked in. The rest of the UNSC fleet, obviously.

"Well, this has quite honestly been an incredible experience, Admiral," She stated as she stepped up beside him, "But I have to ask something of you." And she watched the man turn toward her, gaze inquisitive and a brow arched up. Her clarification was, "I want to find the soldier of yours that spotted me first... One of your escorting Spartans, I mean."

"Oh, you mean Spartan B312?" He hummed, then looked to Roland and asked, "Can you find his tag?"

"Sir. Where it usually is, at the memorial..." Replied the AI with a half-smile. Solemnity overtook the bridge as several of the people that had overheard this frowned, a couple bowing their heads. Lasky gave a nod to Roland, who went on to say to Meetra, "Take the tram you took about five stations, then take the first left. You'll find an elevator to the Dome area atop the ship... Should find B312 sat somewhere around there."

"Thank you..." She replied and waved. With a nod, Lasky 'dismissed' her, allowing her to depart. Taking the exact guidance given to her by taking the tram for five stations, which included being ogled at by both UNSC Males and Females, the woman exited at the fifth station and took the first left she found, entering into one of the turbo-lifts belonging to the UNSC flagship.

Once the elevator reached the top, the woman disembarked and walked over to the 'memorial' area, following the arrows pointing her way through. She was, however, awed. Green, lush and beautiful, a massive park lay in the dome that protected the UNSC warship's recreational areas, as it seemed. It was a right forest, in fact, with paths and everything. So, she followed the path down to the memorial, only to see a massive wall with the UNSC emblem emblazoned at the top and the writing 'For Those Who Fell In Defense of Earth and All Her Colonies' in a ribbon just below the emblem. The wall was lined with various names and stood face-to-face with a bench.

Meetra had slowed down, noting some of the people mourning at the wall. Family, comrades and the likes, leaned against the wall themselves. At its base were flower bouquets and candles lining the wall from one side to the other. And there, she saw a lone figure sat on the benches in front of one specific row of names. His helmet rested on his thigh, held in place by one hand. In the other were dog tags.

A handsome man, with short black hair cut to military standard and scars marking his face, including burn marks and gashes on his cheeks. One cut went from the outer end of his right nostril down to his chin and looked deeper than the others. His blue eyes glimmered a bit in the lamps lighting the wall, but his expression remained impassive, almost like a mask of stone... She had seen that kind of stare before... So, she walked up to him and sat down on his right, quiet. He didn't even flinch...

She wondered privately, what was going on in the mind of the soldier?

As blaster bolts fell all around them, plus the heavy cannon fire of the Spider Droids on the sides of the wall, Richard poked his head out. A bolt struck his shields and caused them to shimmer and dip down by a decent chunk. He swore and ducked back into cover, checked his weapon and asked Skywalker and Ahsoka, "So, how do we do this?! Air Support's bound to keep'em pinned if we wanna go up now!"

"We have a couple ideas!" Anakin smirked. He turned to his clones and ordered, "Rex, cables!" before he watched the Troopers pull out cable launcher attachments and sling them below the barrels of their weapons. He looked to Ahsoka and Richard and said, "Race you two to the top!" with a smirk on his face. Richard blanked for a moment, looking at the General.

Ahsoka smirked back, "I'll give you a head start!"

"Hey, wait, I didn't agree to-"

"Your mistake!" Anakin interrupted Richard with a grin. As the cables lanced up with surprising length, the General mounted one of them and started climbing, as did the troops. Beside them, their two AT-TEs started their own climb up, with Ahsoka looking to Richard, flashing the man a grin and jumping onto the next cable. Richard hummed, then grinned behind his helmet and looked to Blue Team.

"Blues, Jetpacks!" Chief ordered, powering on his own jump system. Richard smirked and powered on his, the roar of the small jet engines echoing from behind him as he jumped up. He jumped next to Ahsoka, using one of his feet to bound up a rock outcropping, before jumping yet again by utilizing small impulse bursts from the Thrusters themselves.

"Hey! No fair!" Ahsoka called out.

"Keep up, Tails!" Richard replied, before stopping atop an outcropping and raising his rifle. He squeezed the trigger and a burst came out, silenced, as blaster fire raked the areas around him and Spider Droids let loose with their own cannons. Two Pelicans swept in and fired missiles at a crowd of Spiders on the rock wall, sending several of the machines tumbling down.

Chief appeared beside him and boosted up, firing a burst from his own Assault Rifle, all while Linda sniped off another pair of droids in the distance, their corpses tumbling to the floor. The right-hand AT-TE's cannon roared as the gunner aimed, bracing himself. Return fire came, striking the angled armor of the beast and heating it up as its four main anti-infantry cannons shot volleys forward.

A clone trooper got nailed and fell limply down below the clouds, while the Jedi and Spartans pushed on up. Richard found himself under a volley of fire and was forced to jump down, grabbing onto one of the edges and holding onto it as his rifle whispered death at the enemy. He watched Linda stop, slamming her armored boots into the rock to stabilize herself and aiming her sniper again.

Gazing down, the young man saw the AT-TE Climbing up next to him. To their left, the second one's cockpit burst aflame as it was shot, before the legs lost their clamp and the machine tumbled on backward, ablaze. The return fire from the Air Support was swift, autocannons raking the top and staggering the droids. The Spartan dropped down onto the tank itself, sliding down between the two points at its midsection, right next to the gunner. He scoped in the targets as Ahsoka landed on the front as well, before starting to call out, "Adjust fire by 23 degrees left!"

The gunner swiveled the turret and aimed, to which the Spartan yelled, "Watch for elevation! Depress point-nine degrees and fire!" before watching him do as instructed. Two magnetized shells wrapped in plasma struck a pair of Spider Droids that'd climbed out of some kind of hole in the wall, shattering the machines in the blast. The return fire came from Droids atop the landing platform of the monastery, with the gunner being hit and thrown out of his seat, missing an arm as he fell down to his death.

The Spartan swore to himself and clambered onto the turret, aiming it as best he could with the joystick controls, before thumbing the fire buttons as Ahsoka deflected bolts away from the transport's cockpit. The cannon volleys intensified in speed as the young man aimed and learned the controls. He told Ahsoka, "If you can keep'em off me, Tails, I'll hammer them out so Air Support can flatten them!"

"Gotcha!" Ahsoka replied, "And it's Ahsoka, by the way!"

"Right, right, what am I thinking?!" The boy shot back with a rhetorical question, before turning his turret. He heard the hiss of engines, then turned to see Droids on what looked to be floating segways flying toward them, their blaster cannons spitting scarlet lances. Before they got close, however, a UNSC Gunship got in-between them and the walker and hosed them with its main cannon.

As the debris fell, the vehicle took a blast from one of the droids and was forced to back away from the cliff. Blue Team soon landed next to the boy, with Chief telling his team, "Kelly, take Fred and move up. We'll back up Five," before opening fire with his assault rifle at another pair of droids on spiders. Richard looked to the Chief, who gave him a thumbs-up, then continued firing. Richard did the same, smiling now.

Ahsoka called out, "We'll be hitting the last bump soon!"

She ducked as the main cannon roared again and a chunk of the landing pad was taken off. The UNSC gunships rolled up now, missile and cannon screaming in unison as they cleared a path. Skywalker was, of course, first up on the top now, watching as the UNSC Marines deployed off the vehicles, taking cover behind them and opening up with assault rifles and battle rifles toward an advancing quad-team of Droidekas that were rolling toward them.

The bullets sparked off the armor plates and one of the droids collapsed, shattered and shredded. Another stopped and prepared to activate its shields as it rolled itself out before a standard-issue SRS-99/99 Sniper Rifle snapped off a shot and punched clean through its CPU. The next two were shredded to pieces by the AT-TE's cannon, with Skywalker and the Marines turning toward the AT-TE to see the Spartans and Ahsoka.

"Told ya I was right behind you, master," She smirked as she descended. She looked to Richard and complimented, "Not bad..." before adding, "For a buckethead..."

Richard shot back quickly, "Thanks, Tails. Good to know those things don't get in your way..." as he stepped off the tank with the Chief and Blue Team. Kelly let out a short chuckle as she walked up beside the Chief, turning to him. The man shrugged as he heard the Jedi Padawan and the Spartan behind him start going off at each-other, though going by the tone, they were joking.

"Reminds me of us when we were little... Remember, John? After the training when you left us behind?" The fast scout of the team asked. John hummed and sighed, then nodded. Yes, the memories of their training on Reach were still present and vividly available for the Master Chief to recollect, but this wasn't the time, nor the place. Their objective was dead ahead of them. Finding the little alien slug was more important than reminiscing.

Chief saluted Skywalker and said, "Sir, our troops are securing the perimeter as we speak. We'll find the little Hutt..."

"Thanks, Chief," The man replied, then crossed his arms, "Let's hope the inside of the Monastery's going to be just as easy to clear. Tell air support to be on stand-by in case we need to bug out quick with the kid..." before sighing and scoffing, "Still can't believe we're helping the Hutts of all people..." only to turn and tell the Chief, "For context, Chief, they're basically mafia bosses. Slavery, extortion, you name it, they probably do it..."

"I see, sir..." Chief replied stoically, "Still required, aren't they?"

"Yeah," Anakin sighed, "I'm sure you heard the whole thing with them letting us use their Hyperspace lanes for the transit of troops and everything else that's needed by the War Effort here in the Outer Rim..." before he looked to Ahsoka and Richard still talking smack to one-another and snorting, "They seem to be getting along... Though Richard's a bit more calm than I'd expect."

"Spartan training, sir," Kelly quipped, watching the boy reply to Ahsoka while just standing straight, "Even a III will act like a II if given enough of it."

Skywalker replied, "Good to know," with a grin. He looked back at the kids and sighed, before turning back to Chief and telling him, "If I can ask you to take a platoon of Marines and Clones and check the place, Chief, would ya mind?" making the four elder members of Blue Team snap-to. They rallied up a platoon of Troops as per request just as Rex walked up to Skywalker.

"Sir, perimeter's secure... We're rallying up to find the Huttling now, but it's going to take a hot moment for the boys to get their feet steady again," Rex explained to Skywalker, his hand clasped around one of his pistols. He looked around the place, then murmured, "Abandoned... Gives me the creeps, sir... Something ain't right about it, honestly..."

"Well, the Monks must've left it for a reason. Let's not find out what it is," Anakin replied. He watched the UNSC Gunships taking off, one of them that was damaged in the gunfight flying back up toward the orbiting fleet in order to receive repairs. The Republic Assault Ships hanging out in low orbit maintained a blockade, with the UNSC's frigates and Cruiser at the ready to be the bulwark.

Another gunship came in, though, the Pelican dropping off a fighting vehicle with a 30mm Autocannon and missile launchers before lifting back off and preparing its weaponry. This one carried anti-tank guided missiles and a smaller rotary cannon in its nose, so it was probably going to be working more to wipe out any enemy heavy reinforcements, like AATs or Snail Tanks.

They watched the UNSC Marines sit themselves down nearby within the defended courtyard, some of them exchanging MREs. A squad of Clones went to join them, with Rex commenting, "Seems like Tup's new girl's had a positive effect on relations between our units. Here's hoping they can keep it up... Heh..." as Anakin could swear he heard that smile.

He watched Ahsoka step off, while Richard ran at best speed to join BLUE within the confines of the monastery, then looked to Rex and said, "Things are slow, Rex, but we'll be friends with the UNSC just yet..." and he paused as his com rang. He tapped it, then said, "Skywalker here. Go ahead..." all while bracing for any oncoming bad news. Thankfully, it was quite the opposite...

The UNSC, Swords of Sangheilios and the Republic were now officially allies...

Chapter Text

UNSC Recce units. Ahsoka watched them launching smaller UAVs, drones as they called them, to scour the skies of Teth for any remaining CIS presence on the planet. A pair of Pelicans landed, delivering Air Defense systems onto the deck of the monastery's landing pad. Autocannon tanks and missile launchers aimed their barrels at the heavens in case a CIS fleet decided to swing by and say hello by deploying its fighters past the blockade.

The UNSC Cruiser and its Frigate Escort hanged out in lower orbit, geosynchronous to them in order to provide cover, all while UNSC fighters ran what they called 'CAP', or Combat Air Patrols with the few Torrent fighters they had to deploy in orbit from the Assault Ships. 501st Troopers also assisted, though reluctantly, in preparing the defenses. Most of their men probably thought they wouldn't be here for that long and Ahsoka honestly really didn't blame'em.

Rex hummed as he approached, making Ahsoka turn toward him, then asked, "You okay, kid?"

"Just watching the UNSC go about their business," Ahsoka replied. She hummed and told him, "Wanted to talk to me, captain?" as she turned to face him. He waved it off for a moment, watching the Marines and Army load the Air Defense systems with missiles, plus the added deployed tanks which were also aiming their guns up at the sky. The other UNSC Craft flying CAP above turned and gave a wing salute to the gang below.

He hummed, then sighed and said, "I did. The General's gonna need a team to go into the monastery. He's selected me, you and the SPARTAN. Blue Team's apparently gonna be stuck outside save for him," which caused Ahsoka to roll her eyes slightly. Obviously, her master would want him around. Probably continuously ensuring the Alliance worked well together and all that...

"Well, fair enough," The girl shrugged, "You probably wouldn't be telling me this if you didn't feel some way about it, Captain. What is it?"

"... Right..." Rex sighed and took his helmet off, before scratching the top of his nearly-clean shaven head. He looked to the new Commander and, though his face was impassive, the young Padawan could still feel a hint of worry emanating from the man. He spoke, "I'm not one to usually comment on the General's decisions that much, since he's never led us astray, but I'm not sure how I feel about the kid. There's something particularly off about him... Like he's just... Not all there. Worse than your usual. I've seen clones come out of the Battle of Geonosis much better than him..."

Ahsoka replied to Rex rather matter-of-factly, "He did mention the whole genocidal war thing while we were aboard the transport," and upon Rex's look of confusion, Ahsoka clarified, "Right. Their current allies, the Sangheili, apparently, fought against them in a war that cost a lot of lives and colonies for their nascent space nation. And he was one of the people who lost families to plasma bombardments from orbit."

"... Oh," Rex winced, "Explains it, I guess... He gonna be able to operate...?"

"I am, sir," Richard's voice came from Rex's left, heavily accentuating that last word as to draw attention, both to him and to the fact that he probably did not appreciate being talked about behind his back. The Clone Captain turned toward the man with Ahsoka, only to see him with his weapons stowed and his helmet still on his head. He stated calmly, "I've operated under UNSC Jurisdiction from the Battle for Earth to now. Only got cryo-frozen at the end of 2553."

"Sorry..." Ahsoka apologized, but the boy lifted a hand up to show her not to proceed. She hummed, then added, "Captain just came to tell me we're all going inside. And Blue Team is kinda sticking outside..." to which the boy nodded. She offered, "You okay with walking in just with us to grab the little Huttlet?"

"We got a job and we'll do it," he replied calmly, "Don't worry, Tails."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, "Fair enough."

"Kid, tone it down," Rex warned him, "There's no need for the hostility."

"Aye, sir," He replied with half-a-mouth, then shifted his rifle off his back. He said, "I'm sure she's told you the whole story I told her, Captain, so you'll have to pardon me if I'm just gonna keep being m-" and with that pause, both of them tensed. The Spartan turned to the AirDef system and called out, "Approaching due South-West of us. Two heavy fliers! Bastards were trying to be sneaky!"

The crew was surprised, but they went to action stations immediately. Turning on the on-board radar of the air defense truck and extending out the twin missile pods, they began tracking the approaching targets. Ahsoka and Rex were stunned, to say the least, watching as a pair of missiles roared out of the racks and lanced through the air, leaving billowing trails of smoke as they danced through the air. The distant drone of Ion Engines filled the sky and, indeed, South-West, the trio could make out enemy air assets. Presumably fighters launched from another part of the planet.

Two distant explosions flashed and one of the missile system's crew popped out, giving a thumbs up to the Spartan. He gave a nod back, then looked to the two surprised Republic officers and the Republic's other troops and told them, "I have a sixth sense about enemy CAS... Bad experiences during the Battle of Earth. They might've been a Recce Flight, though."

"Recce?" Ahsoka quirked a brow up.

Richard was thankful his face was invisible behind the helmet, cuz he was stunned that such a simplistic term escaped the grasp of a Jedi... "Please, tell me you people know what Reconnaissance is..." He basically pleaded. Both the Jedi and Captain gave him nigh-immediate nods of confirmation and the boy allowed himself a sigh of relief. At least their allies weren't particularly idiotic...

Back aboard  Infinity.

Meetra looked over to where B312 had been staring. She noted a team name headlining a small, separate section in the Spartans'. 'Noble Team'. She read the names, four of them present and cut into the stone itself more sloppily than the others. There was a knife placed below their column, its tip dulled by use, alongside a strange emblem. She hummed, looked to Six and asked, "Your team...?" with a hint of solemnity in her voice.

He nodded, taking a moment of silence. She did, too. Disrespectful to ask more when the man was trying to grieve his lost comrades. She bowed her head and closed her eyes, slowing her breathing as to let the chirp of the birds and the low hum of simulated wind rustling the place's leaves. While a small biome like this was rather impressive, the fact that they had a memorial this large was even more so.

And that the Spartan beside her knew where to even find his comrades in order to pay his respects warmed her heart somewhat. If she could go to the places she had buried the many friends she had, she would. For now, though, she settled with quietly listening to the hum of the ship's engines as they transited through Slipstream Space, before looking to Six again.

He sighed deeply, surprising her, then stood up and said in a low, quiet voice, "I'd ask why you joined me here, but... Thanks," before watching her stand up. She smiled at him, then nodded, before showing him to lead the way. The two began their walk past the memorial wall, with him speaking to her with his more straightforward voice now. He asked her, "Why'd you follow me?"

"Is it so strange that a young woman is interested in the first man to lay eyes upon her?" She teased with a smirk. Though the faintest of smiles crossed the man's lips, he remained stoic as one would expect of a soldier of his caliber. She chuckled, then said, "It's about that. Honestly, about the fact you noticed me. I usually blend in with the crowds, no matter where I visit."

"I'm not sure many senators wear tattered robes, ma'am," He replied with half a mouth. She chuckled at that.

"True enough, I suppose," She offered, before stating, "In truth, the Force Power I used should have also made my disguise unnoticeable to some degree. That you saw me tells me you've got some great perception skills," while she followed him to the elevators. The Spartan had to take a moment to process what was tantamount to the first compliment he'd received in a while that wasn't from a direct superior.

He hummed, then nodded, "Thanks," before entering the lift with her. He said, "It wasn't a bad disguise, though it was a tad obvious once I caught that good enough glimpse..." as he shifted uneasily. He hadn't much thought he'd be talking to Jedi. No, rather he figured he'd be deployed to duke it out somewhere, or assassinate someone. Crimson Team was an 'assembly' team, basically a unit that would be formed and deployed as needed. Tom and Lucy were also pretty quiet about their own choices of deployment.

"Heh. You make it sound like it's easy for even a Null like yourselves to spot someone using the Force to camouflage themselves. The sole thing being a Null seems to help with is not being directly mind-tricked..." She spoke, but slowed down and completely stopped once she realized she'd used multiple terms the man probably didn't understand... She sighed, "Right. Look, you and your people are what we call 'Force Nulls'. You basically haven't got access to the Force, nor are you touched by it like us. It means that, while we can use telekinetic and other physics-adjacent powers on you, your minds are not susceptible to Mind Tricks, which is tantamount to... Brainwashing, I think?"

"Huh..." Six tensed.

She raised her hands, "Relax. I wasn't going to try it anyway. Rather not break people's trust, especially not a faction who's let me tag along with them. I can just feel the fact you're all Force Nulls, honestly. Well..." She corrected herself quickly, "Not as much feel as feel 'nothing' from you all. Almost like I know life is there, but there's some missing piece..."

"Got it," Six replied, "Hope you were gonna write that in a report..."

"... Am I part of your military now?" She quipped, grinning.

With a shrug, the Spartan answered, "I was just saying, ma'am. Admiral probably wants some reports, considering even a civilian contractor like yourself might be deploying with us. You have a weapon set, after all," which got a grin out of Meetra. For a moment, the Jedi seemed to entertain the idea of fighting together with them. She was a weird one, alright.

Six didn't know what to pin it on, she just felt like the exact same type of person as parts of his team. It both made him nostalgic and terrified of what someone like her could do, but he didn't just mean that she acted like a mix between all of his friends. She carried a pain like those only a SPARTAN-III could carry post-war. Like she'd lost people very near and dear to her. Obviously, he, too, needed to learn more about their newfound comrade.

"So..." She smirked, "You gonna tell me more about yourself, my friend? Or do I have to pry words out of you?"

Oh, Joy, she was one of the pushy types.

With a huff, the Spartan replied, "I keep to myself..." his voice low. It took a hot minute for the young-looking Jedi to register it, but she let out a sigh that confirmed what Six thought would happen:She was upset she wasn't getting more out of him. Good on her. He wasn't going to start spilling the beans about himself. She knew more than she needed to know.

"You already found out a lot more about me than I'd have been comfortable to share within a decade with anyone else," He told her warily, tilting his head vaguely in the direction they came from. Right, his team, the woman thought as they continued their stroll. He told her with that same awareness one would tell any unknown person, "You tell us more about yourself... We'll see how things go from there."

She snorted, then said, "Only if you write the reports, then, Crimson Four. Do you have a name?"

The Spartan pondered telling it to her. He had said that she had already learned far more than he'd intended to let her learn by letting her stay with him. She'd seen him at a vulnerable moment in his life. With a heavy sigh, the man answered, "You'll get it when we know each-other better..." with a rather obvious jaunt to his tune. He had undertaken classes to better interact with people, since Spartans were now viewed as ONI's little box office success and were treated like stars.

Entering another tram, the Spartan and the girl both stood. She answered, "Seems fair enough, I guess..." with a lighthearted chuckle. The clap of boots against steel echoed against the floor as a pair of soldiers advanced up to B312. A young, beautiful blonde with blue eyes like herself and a fairly handsome dark-haired young man with dark-green eyes. Both bore burn scars and marks of their combat against foes that they faced. But still, both saluted, their steely gazes softer in comparison to the Spartan's.

He saluted back and said, "Sergeants. Good to see you both."

"Good to see you, too, sir," The blonde girl replied with a very interesting accent, "Certainly has been a while since Reach..." and she noticed Meetra. The other blonde, a forehead taller than her, waved, smiling. The girl smiled back and returned the greeting, before looking to the male Sergeant and giggling. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek, causing her to giggle more.

"Aww..." Meetra cooed happily, her voice a hint sharp, but also lower, whispered. A melancholic smile crossed her lips as she remembered her own first, so to speak. The Spartan seemingly noticed it, before looking back to the two Marines ahead. Both of them cleared their throats and, with rosy cheeks, snapped crisp salutes again at Six. He saluted them again and gave them a short wave of the hand to put them at ease.

The man ahead of him spoke, "Sorry, sir... We still owe you a piece of cake." a bit shy all of a sudden.

B312 waved it off, despite Meetra's curiosity, then replied, "Just the fact you two and your platoons are alive is enough, Marine. The UNSC needed everyone in the fight and you've all pulled your weight many times over until evac came and got us off of Reach... You and your little Misfit squadron," and he offered a half-smile with the quip. The Marines both offered nods, smiling back.

"So... You going to introduce me?" Meetra asked, leaning toward Six.

"Oh, sorry, ma'am," Both said at the same time as they saluted her, much to B312's seeming surprise. The girl spoke first, "Staff Sergeant Vesna Toma, Third Company. I am second in command for Shade platoon..." with a soft smile to boot. Meetra nodded kindly in greeting.

"And I'm Victor Toma. Gunnery Sergeant for Phantom Platoon," he smiled, then said with a lot of pride in his voice, "And her husband," while the blonde Jedi simply beamed at that. B312 himself seemed to take a moment to re-register the fact that two of the people he'd helped keep safe were finally together. He allowed himself another smile before Victor said, "I think this is our stop. See you later, sir, ma'am..."

"Before we go, ma'am," The girl turned to Meetra, "What's your name?"

With very little hesitation, Meetra replied kindly, "Meetra Surik. It's been a pleasure meeting you both, Victor, Vesna. Hopefully, we'll be working together soon," then she gave them a salute. The two replied with warm smiles, before both stepped off the tram. It took off again, leaving the Spartan and the Jedi alone once more, with Meetra noting, "Even in wartime, people find the desire to love. Adorable..." as she and B312 sat down.

The Spartan replied, "They were all afraid when we were on Reach..." and his voice was glum, tired, eyes open, but his gaze was distant as he recalled, "The planet was burning around us... We thought we were done..." all while looking at the steel floor. He sighed, then said, "He proposed to her in front of us. In front of their friends and me. Misfit platoon is what we call them. Something in me decided I had to get them out."

"And you did," Meetra smiled.

Six shrugged, "Someone had to keep our morale up. Even if it was the last thing we did, we pushed through. And we linked up with Halsey and RED team just in time..." And he shook his head, before his tablet pinged. Pulling it out, he said, "Speaking of the Scientist... C'mon. Our stop's next. Doc Halsey wants to talk to you before we reach Teth..." and he stood back up.

Meetra followed him and, the moment the two exited, they were met by the sight of the Laboratory deck of the Infinity...

Chapter Text

The entry into the main building was slow and methodical. Richard was in the lead, his active camouflage online and already obscuring him pretty well as the main bulkhead door creaked open. The Spartan pushed through first, his VISR Night Vision mode activating as he scanned each nook and cranny. Behind him, the Jedi and Clones pushed through into the already-cleared area, though the Clones still kept their eyes open.

Blue Team and the UNSC contingent remained outside, as ordered, with the AirDef already having activated their radars and keeping the sky clear of any possible Seppie dropships or surprise attacks. If anything was left, it had to be inside the building itself, everyone thought as they pushed through. A platoon of Marines followed the Clones inside, as well, using their flashlights to sweep the darkness and their VISRs to keep tabs on friendlies, which the Clones were now tagged as.

Ahsoka trailed behind Richard, keeping her lightsaber clipped to her belt as the two pushed forward, with the Spartan commenting in a murmur, "Bad feeling..." while pressing forward, rifle raised. Ahsoka could barely make out the rifle's barrel extension, the silencer, due to the active camouflage disrupting most of the guy's form. She had to get herself an armor like that, she thought.

"I get you..." She replied quietly, then looked back to her Master, concerned. Skywalker offered a nod and gave a motion of the hand to the Clones. Rex nodded to the man, then rallied a few of his boys around him and took cover in the darker areas of the massive hallway of the monastery. The Marines gave nods to their newfound Clone comrades as they pushed through, thumbing off their flashlights.

Both Richard and Ahsoka lifted their balled fists at the same time, showing the group to halt. Richard looked to Ahsoka and urged her to cover with a tilt of his head, before taking cover himself. The Marines followed suit, with Skywalker joining the Spartan opposite Ahsoka's position, hand clasped around his deactivated lightsaber. He tapped the boy on the shoulder and felt a slight energy surge, courtesy of both the active camo and the energy shield, presumably.

The boy noticed the tap and raised three fingers in front of the man's face. Maybe thirty droids, Skywalker realized as he heard the thumping of metallic feet against the stone floor, muffled by the walls, but echoing all the way to them from up ahead. The Spartan pulled something off his utility belt and clicked it on. A small red light, unnoticeable even in the darkness, flashed on as the boy slid it down the hall ahead.

Confused, Skywalker was about to ask what it was when the first droids appeared around the corner. Super Battle Droids marched in formation, overlaying their arcs of fire and opening up. Scarlet bolts lit the hallway, catching one clone in the helmet and a pair of Marines that were changing cover in the chest and leg. The one that took a hit in the chest swore as she jumped into cover, while the one who was hit in the leg let out a shrill scream of pain and hefted his assault rifle. The MA40 started its incessant chatter, spent casings clinking on the floor.

The two platoons began opening fire together, the Clones overlaying their blaster fire with the Marines' rifles. Sparks flew off the machines' armor as they continued their advance, with Richard firing sporadically at them and keeping an eye on what the Jedi General soon assumed was a mine of some sort. Drawing his lightsaber in unison with his Padawan, then brandishing it, the man started deflecting the bolts back toward the machines, while Ahsoka did much the same.

The Spartan disengaged his armor's active camouflage and seemed to redirect power to shielding, stating, "Stay behind me if it makes you feel safer, sir!" dry-and-cut, keeping his rifle pointed at the enemy and letting it cough bullets their way. Sparks flew as AP rounds punched through the lighter armored sections of the mechs, before the Spartan was forced to duck into cover as the SBDs swiveled about and focused fire on him.

His shields flared and nearly died before he ducked into cover, plasma melting the stone-and-steel wall he'd taken cover behind, with Skywalker managing to deflect some of the blaster shots and the Marines and Clones now pushing up, undeterred. The Droids also continued their advance, Richard keeping an eye peeled on it. He slung his rifle onto his backside mag lock, then drew his pistol and aimed.

Dipping down as the first droids reached the 'mine', the soldier put a .50 SAPHE round clean through it. A burst of light and a heatwave filled the room. The droids had been shattered, chunks of them thrown all around the place, with one's arm sliding all the way in front of a Clone. The Spartan lowered his pistol as the smoke cleared and called out, "Area secure..."

He stood up, slung the pistol into its holster, then looked to the General, Rex and Ahsoka and told them, "I'm honestly underwhelmed," which caused Rex to snort. Ahsoka, too, grinned, crossing her arms to her chest after shutting her lightsaber off and clipping it to her belt. Anakin gave a nod of approval to the Spartan, who led the way forward once again as pointman.

"Underwhelmed, huh?" Ahsoka chuckled, "Would you have been 'whelmed' if you didn't have that bomb?"

The boy shrugged, "The C12 sure helped with the underwhelming feeling, yes..." as they advanced. Ahsoka kept up close to him, drawing her lightsaber with the motivation in her mind that the enemy already knew they were inside, now, obviously, so why hide? And her master seemed to understand this belief, keeping his own lightsaber drawn as they slowly pushed into the darkness.

Richard waved a few Marines down and told them, "Keep the door open, boys... We'll probably have to make a run for it if my gut feeling's right..."

"Gotcha, Spartan. Deek, Tom, Iacob, you're staying behind," The female Lieutenant of the Marine Corps, one Lieutenant Lee of Chinese descent, told her men. She was scarred, much like everyone else in a certain group of Misfit Marines. Skywalker looked to Rex, who nodded and assigned three of his own men to keep the spot clear as the group advanced.

The architectural strangeness of this place was not lost on the group. It mostly consisted of various massive hallways and multitudes of side rooms and the likes. Anakin commented off-hand, "This place looks like Jabba's palace... The Hutts must have a thing about using old Monasteries as their palaces..." which garnered a short chuckle out of Lieutenant Lee.

She pushed up next to the Spartan and Ahsoka, before pausing and tapping her com. She hummed and reported, "The Battle Group is approximately an hour out from Teth. Means we'll be getting a little more of an extra escort than we bargained for out there..." much to the surprise of the other Marines, the Clones and the Jedi themselves. They stayed silent for now, considering it better to wait and see.

"Hutts ain't gonna like a massive fleet popping in," Anakin quipped as they advanced. A flight of stairs led down and another, up from the massive main hall of the place. Despite the comment, Richard simply turned to ask which way to go, getting a tilt of the head toward the way down, into the dungeons. The troops continued their descent alongside the Jedi.

"Take it they're not very fond of people intruding on their territory, sir?" Lee inquired as they descended. She felt as if that was a little obvious, considering the Hutts were, from what little context most of the UNSC troops got from the Clones, criminals running an empire of crime. She sighed deeply when she saw the General give a nod, before replying, "Well, not much they can do now. Least they'll see we're serious about delivering their little slug baby home..."

"Heh. That's one way to look at it," Ahsoka chuckled as they entered the dungeons. The group grew silent as they advanced, a pair of Marines bringing up rearguard while the officers kept up the advance with the Supersoldier in the lead. The Spartan showed them to halt, before listening for a moment... Then once again moving. Ahsoka looked to him, confused, but keeping her lightsaber close. He shook his head and marched down a few cells, before stopping in front of the last one.

He called up two Marines to take positions on the other side of the door, then hit the button as soon as they were in position. The trio pushed into the cell and did a three-point scan, each calling out, "Clear!" before Richard said, "Area clear... VIP located..." which was punctuated by the whine of a small toddler creature. The group all looked at the small, brown-colored slug with arms that stood before them. It looked up at them with two big, googly eyes, then seemed to extend its hands toward Richard.

"Aww," Ahsoka chuckled, "I think he likes you, Buckethead."

"Shut, Tails..." He replied, then took a knee in front of the Huttlet. He sighed deeply, then murmured, "Good god, are you ugly..." as he picked it up. It seemed to giggle at the Spartan, who turned to Ahsoka. The Jedi chuckled, turned to her master and saw him with a slight frown. Lee, meanwhile, maintained rearguard and a perimeter with the other Marines and the Clones.

Rex told her, "This is gonna be a long mission, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah..." The girl replied, "We've had worse, though," and she looked to see the seeming confusion in the Clone's body language. Turning, she clarified, "Well, there was Earth, where me and several of my good friends were stuck in the rainforests in Africa, actively being hunted by oversized monkeys with weapons made to maximize torture of the target over killing power, plus other cannibal aliens..."

If Rex's face would've been visible, the man would've shown the sheer fearful look of a dumbfound man. Another clone murmured, "I'm suddenly starting to be glad we never got to meet their enemies..." with a bunch of his brothers replying affirmatively, each sharing the feeling. Rex himself gave a nod of affirmation to his brother, before looking to the woman with Asian features. She chuckled, then turned to see that they'd packed the little Huttlet in a backpack and Ahsoka was carrying him.

"We ready to move, General?" Lee then asked Anakin.

"Should be good, yeah. Status on the Fleet?" He replied with a question. Sam took a moment to listen in, then frowned, to which Anakin sighed and said, "Let me guess. Trouble..."

Sam nodded. She told them, "We just got the word. About a dozen CIS ships just jumped into orbit. The Acclamators were told to get out and our Navy's starting defensive combat operations, so I'd expect a few more suns to flash up above soon... Though they may be heavily outnumbered. Main Fleet's ETA is about one hour out. Man, they're really looking to kill the little Hutt, aren't they?"

"They don't want us gaining any sort of tactical advantage," Rex sighed, "I'll get back upstairs and organize with the Marines and our boys, General. You folks hold up in here and keep the Huttlet safe."

"I'll join you," Lee stated, "Baker, Watts, you two stay with the Spartan and the Jedi..." She then ordered two more of her men. The Clones and Marines then rushed upstairs, weapons at the ready. Richard let out a sigh, drew his rifle and showed them to take cover as he started preparing various traps, including EM and HE mines to soften any possible attacking unit up. The Marines, meanwhile, set up arcs of fire and started praying...

"Well," Ahsoka sighed, "This'll be a fun one..."

"Heh. You haven't seen the worst of it, yet, Snips," Skywalker replied...

In Orbit, aboard the UNSC  Pass Me The Ammo

The UNSC captain, a young woman with platinum-blonde hair, stared down the arriving CIS fleet as her shipboard AI calculated targeting solutions... Captain Aada Heikkala glared at the advancing enemy fleet as it came into weapons range, demanding, "ETA to MAC?" and receiving a brief answer. Ten seconds. She smiled knowingly, brows furrowed with the glare, before ordering, "Fire ARCHER Pods! All UNSC vessels, prepare for Ship-to-Ship combat! Enter RED ALERT!"

The shipboard alarms of the Cruiser began to blare as a dozen missiles lanced out of the LS Tubes mounted on its sides and angled armored hull. The explosive tracking warheads of the Anti-Ship Missiles locked onto the leading CIS ship, one of their supposed Frigates, before lancing through the void toward it and slamming into the two protruding top hull portions at the front.

Armor cratered and secondary detonations occurred inside as the enemy frigate and her sisters came into range of their main, bow-mounted turbolaser battery. A flurry of scarlet beams shot out and touched the leading UNSC ship, shields flaring a tangerine-orange under the combining beams of light. The UNSC's reply to this riposte was about six Longswords, two of which had nuclear-tipped anti-ship missiles already mounted.

The volley of missiles launched from the bellies of the craft that had returned from CAP, before all of them veered off to engage the swarms of Vulture droids that now barreled down on the fleet. The fighter craft tracked the enemy vessels with their secondary autocannons, letting loose volleys into the line of enemy craft. Several squadrons refocused on the UNSC's own CAP, a storm of scarlet plasma stabbing at the craft ad they danced miraculously well for massive delta-wing fighter-bombers.

Nuclear missiles made contact with two enemy ships flanking the leading Munificent, a Recusant and another Munificent. The subsequent detonations lit up in bright secondary and tertiary suns. The bow of the Recusant had completely vanished under the blast, while the Munificent's main battery had ceased existing in itself, leaving only a few smaller turbolasers that were now firing at the UNSC picket.

Frigates shot out from their escorting positions, their CIWS and point-defense targeting the CIS's fighters, while a squad of Broadswords flew out from within the cover of the second hangar of the Autumn-class cruiser. Heikkala demanded, "We got that solution!? You said ten seconds!" before receiving a thumbs up. With a manic grin, the UNSC captain barked, "MAIN BATTERY, FIRE AT WILL!"

In unison with its escort's, the cruiser's main battery let out a thunderous roar that shook its very mounts. The ferrous tungsten round lanced out and struck the leading Munificent amidships, piercing through its maw and out of its rear while having hit a coolant line. The vessel flashed and detonated, splitting in two as the overpressure and secondary explosions made way through its hull.

Heikkala grinned and nodded, "Good kill! Helvetin hyvä tappo! Switch to burst-fire mode and let's rock the rest of these Confed pricks!"

"Shields are falling, ma'am! We're down to fifty-three percent!" The engineering liaison spoke. Heikkala waved it off.

She told them, "We can't let them get to the Ground Teams... We stand and fight until the Infinity arrives!" then ordered, "Authorizing STRIKE ONE! Fire SHIVA Tactical at leading enemy vessel, orbital grid position 029-022-001!" pointing toward what seemed to be a Lucrehulk-class starship in the rear, "And get me a firing solution on it!" just as the ship started to shake under the barrage of plasma battery fire.

The Frigates swept in again, MAC Guns roaring. One of the escorting ships managed to score a strike on the other leading enemy ship, following up with a slew of Archers from its pods. CIWS systems raked squadrons of Vulture droids, swatting multiple away like they were mosquitoes, all while the Cruiser itself aimed and fired its main nuclear Torpedo.

The Shiva Warhead was a variable-yield nuclear armament loaded onto a missile that could be guided into any target of the gunner's or AI's choosing, with an easy ability to course-correct mid-flight if required. Currently, the loaded warhead was at 20 Megatons of nuclear power, so something that should've been more than enough to shake the enemy command ship apart, if not give it a nice, bloody nose.

To obscure the nuke's movements, a second volley of Archers was launched at Captain Heikkala's orders, followed up by the famed 'burst-fire' capability of an Autumn's modified MAC. Three slugs left the barrel of the MAC at lower power than normal, gutting one of the ships in the way of the Nuclear weapon. Two were enough to destroy another Munificent, but the third followed the Nuke in.

When both the bomb and the slug connected, the Lucrehulk seemed to stop dead in its tracks, the bright flash of the nuclear fission reaction presumably blinding optical sensors, if the EMP didn't manage to knock the damn things out already. The Pass Me The Ammo, meanwhile, started taking the heat. Its shields flared scarlet, then collapsed, only for the next few volleys to cut into the armor.

Gashes and craters pockmarked the black hulk of Titanium now. One of its Rampart turrets was struck, the mount destroyed by a turbolaser blast. Heikkala swore to herself aboard, demanding, "Status?!"

"CIWS battery twelve is down!" The gunnery officer reported, "We've got no cover on our left!" and the ship shook under a barrage of fire, "Lost batteries thirteen and fourteen! Venting atmosphere in compartment six and we've got confirmed Casualties on Deck 3!"

"Fuck...! Return fire with any and everything we have and get me my goddamn shields back!" The Captain barked, "Call the Frigates back before they get swarmed and tell them to go suborbital! Provide a second layer of air defense to the Monastery! If we get sunk, they'll have to take the brunt of the enemy's orbital assault! Deploy what's left of our troop contingent to-"

The entire group paused as space behind the CIS fleet tore open into a black whirlwind. The first ship to emerge from the storm was the hook-bowed form of the CAS-class carrier, Shadow of Intent. A direct com ping reached the UNSC's leading ship of the picket, with Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum, the half-jawed Alien, appearing ahead of the captain. He spoke, "Apologies for being late, Captain."

"Heh! It's good to see you, Shipmaster!" Heikkala grinned, "You arrived just in time!"

"Good to know, then. All weapons, fire at will. Break the back of the enemy!" The Shipmaster ordered in his usual, grandiose tone. Before the Confederate fleet could even react, great balls of plasma and scarlet laser beams shot out through the void and into their backs. The Lucrehulk itself was cut apart by the lasers, its shields presumably focused forwards now to attempt to stave off any other future projectile strikes.

Plasma melted through the rears of Munificents and Recusants, while Seraph fighters launched from the bays of the warship. Twin plasma cannons tore into CIS Vultures that tried to swivel about and counter them, with the remaining UNSC Pilots joining in the mop-up operation, cannons roaring. Heikkala slumped down into her seat, letting out a sigh of relief and taking her cap off, before ordering, "Get repairs underway to all damaged systems... And tell ground teams we're all clear up here..."

... One hour later, back on the planet, the UNSC and Clone Forces watched as a Pelican began its touchdown sequence. Richard sat with Blue Team, away from the Jedi and the others as they watched the vehicle gingerly touch down on the pad. Ahsoka looked to him and offered a smile, which he replied to with a thumbs up. She turned back to facing the dropship, then warily asked, "Master... Do you feel something strange...?" as the Huttlet on her back started giggling. She pat its head gently.

"... Yeah," Anakin replied, arms crossed. A touch in the Force, something almost ethereal. It felt empty, but somehow vibrant at the same time. As if an entity that was unlike the overall Null population of the UNSC had come into being. The duo of Jedi and Rex, who now joined them, gazed upon Commander Palmer disembarking from the Pelican. She saluted the Jedi, who gave her a nod in return, before both of them paused, eyes growing wide.

The armored figure of a young Jedi woman dismounted from the Pelican next, her equipment old, worn, battered. Clipped to her belt was an ancient-looking lightsaber, her demeanor denoting calm, but her minute body language telling of someone who had lived long and seen a great deal many things. It was only when the two's gazes settled onto the beautiful blonde's smiling visage that they realized who it was.

Or, well... Presumed?

Ahsoka started jumping on the spot, giddily calling out, "Master, is that who I think it is!?"

"Impossible..." Anakin said, wearing a smile showing more confusion than joy. The Jedi woman smiled at them, pushing a strand of her blonde hair out of her eyes with a huff, before she stepped forward and extended her hand. The 'Chosen One' started, "I've... Never seen you before around the Jedi Temple..." before gripping her hand. As he started into her blue eyes, the man knew what he saw.

He saw what her old master had seen. A void. The Death of the Force...

"Because I haven't visited in a few years," She quipped, "Good to finally meet you, o' Chosen One of the Force. I'd've thought you're just a rumor," then she turned to Ahsoka and said, "Ooh, and they gave you a padawan..." as the girl giggled and started jumping from one foot to the other. The blonde chuckled, then said, "I see she's also very ecstatic. Reminds me of me during the good old days, as well."

"Ma'am," Rex nodded to her, deciding to be the sane man, "If you don't mind us asking, what's your name?"

"Meetra Surik," She replied, which stunned both Jedi.

"I knew it!" Ahsoka called out, smiling widely, before grabbing onto Anakin's arm, "Master! It's her! The Exile!"

"Heh. I lost that title a while ago, I think," Meetra replied, crossing her arms to her chest. Rex was confused, honestly. Though he could tell his general was just as, if not more so, considering the man seemed to stare at this Surik woman as if she was the living dead brought to life. Honestly, for all the Clone Captain knew, that might as well have been the case.

"How...?" Anakin asked, completely stunned, "You lived 4,000 years ago..."

Meetra smirked, "Trade secret. We can talk more when the Huttlet's back with his ugly father," and she patted them on the shoulder before turning back to the gunship. The group of Republic military members looked to one-another, then to Meetra and watched her step away, Ahsoka still incredibly giddily jumping up and down, presumably having gotten to meet one of her heroes. Richard had watched this from afar and had to admit, it was sort of adorable, seeing someone geek out so much. He would have done the same when he met the Chief and Spartan-B312, had he not been trained to somewhat contain those outbursts.

It was still kind of cute, for lack of a better term. He would never espouse those views to her, though.

Ever.

Chapter Text

Meetra was sat in her room aboard the Infinity. Alone yet again and left to her own devices, the blonde, who was young only in looks, stared out at the whirlwind of Slipspace. It was tranquil. The hum of the ship's repulsor engines, the eerie blue hue piercing through the window and the otherwise spartan room reminded her a little of her time on the Ebon Hawk.

Sighing softly, the woman sat down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and at the presumptuous number of sensors and cameras that had been installed in the place. She knew that the UNSC had its own intelligence agency, the Office of Naval Intelligence, and that they were fairly particular on keeping tabs on anyone and everyone, but the amount of security slotted in her dormitory was... A bit overkill.

Letting out a sigh, the woman utilized Force Pull to bring a tablet from her desk into her hand, grabbing it mid-flight and starting to browse it. The UNSC had left her some basic reading materials about their people and their Wars. The Human-Covenant War, AKA the war that lead to the UNSC being the way it is right now, was one of her main subjects of interest. Beginning to read through details on said war, she was already horrified.

Massed casualties, a genocidal campaign, planets burned and melted into glass. Tens of billions dead. It was a gut-wrenching telling of how evil their enemy had been. And a surprising news to see that the UNSC had, in fact, allied with one of the species belonging to this 'Covenant', in order to dish out the revenge so necessitated by the loss of so many lives. Had such a crippling war occurred anywhere within their Galaxy, she dreaded how great the howls in the Force would have been. Perhaps even worse than Malachor...

She shuddered, remembering her old choices with some fear. She set the tablet aside and sighed, feeling the comfort of the mattress she had on her bed gave her. She'd slept on steel or the ground for the most part, never really wandering off of Coruscant while the world around her continued to exist for a little over 500 years after the High Republic Era... Her mistakes still hounded her.

She jolted as she heard a knock on her door. Straightening up, she told them, "C'mon in," before she smiled as she saw B312 walking in. He gave a nod to her while a figure clad in a jet-black uniform with no recognizable markings stepped inside. She slicked back her red hair, then nodded to Meetra, who raised a brow, curious as to who this woman was.

"Greetings, general Surik," The woman in black spoke, "I'm Major Smith, Office of Naval Intelligence. I've been asked to finally begin an interview and a background check by the higher active duty members of ONI and the Admiralty board on board the Fleet..." and she noted Meetra's confusion. Impassive, the woman continued, "It's only a formality, so to speak. One we had little time to do while running back-and-forth between Christophsis, Coruscant and Teth."

"Ah," Meetra nodded, "Right, so it's a questionnaire and I just need to answer as truthfully as possible, right?"

"That about sums it up, yes," The woman nodded, then motioned for her to follow. B312 and a couple more members of Crimson acted as her escort as she walked out with the Major, the group going through the halls of the UNSC warship under the gazes of Marines and troops that barely now, did Meetra notice. Riflemen clad in black uniforms stood in the shadows, staring at her and the ONI officer.

Meetra asked Six, "Why didn't this happen earlier, anyhow...?"

"Like the Major said. Everything from the battle of Christophsis to us moving now has kept everyone a fair bit busy, so protocol was ignored when you joined us. The Colonel commanding the ONI Staff on board was kind enough to remind the Admiral and doctor Halsey, though," B312 then replied as they marched, climbing onto a tram that belonged only to ONI Staff, some of which was also on board.

The stone masks that the UNSC's intelligence agency staff basically wore as faces, never shifting, eyes cold, somewhat made Meetra feel uneasy. The fact that they were also Nulls made it even worse, because she couldn't even feel how they viewed her. Similarly, the Spartans wore their helmets now, so they were inscrutable automatons to her as well. The sole one who showed any form of emotion, which was an eerie calm, was the Major herself.

The tram arrived with terrifying velocity in ONI's own section of the warship. Entombed deep within the laboratory section of the UNSC vessel underneath many layers of armor and honeycombed supports, the UNSC vessel, the Office of Naval Intelligence's mobile Headquarters was a closely-guarded area only accessible by that one tram that could presumably travel throughout the whole ship, switching lines as required.

The Major showed Six and his teammates to stop at a door, then slid a magnetic card through a scanner and peered into what seemed to be a retinal identification scan device. A door appeared out of the wall with a hiss, sliding to the side and revealing what one would expect a very modern interrogation room to look like. A couch that surrounded a rather large table where refreshments and food had been laid out.

The Major motioned to the Jedi to walk in, then told Six and the others, "Nobody is to interrupt this conversation. We let a security risk slip for a little too long, so the Admiral will go through us for any further arrivals..." before she nodded and stepped inside. The trio of Spartans, specifically 312, Tom and Lucy, looked to one-another, then took up positions around the 'wall door' as it closed, disappearing into the titanium wall.

Inside the room, Major Koroleva told Meetra, "Please, take a seat..." as she took one at the head of the table and pulled out a tablet from her pocket. Meetra plopped herself down and looked around at the snacks on the table. She didn't recognize many of them, though they smelled sweet and had obviously been baked fresh. All had various colored toppings, some even including a rarity, that being chocolate. Koroleva didn't even look up from her tablet as she said, "Feel free to take any of the donuts that you like the look of. You may as well make yourself comfortable for this interview..."

Meetra nodded, then warily leaned forward and grabbed one of the 'donuts'. One with colored sprinkles and a pale-white frosting. She bit down into the round bakery good and suddenly felt her mouth assaulted by the sheer, mind-numbing sweetness. The young girl let out a short, muffled, but happy moan, before proceeding to consume the donut in several quick bites, following up by grabbing another, this one with chocolate frosting, and scarfing it down.

Koroleva, for all intents and purposes, let out a simple snort and shook her head at the cutesy behavior of the quarry. She set aside the tablet and poured herself some coffee from one of the thermoses on the table, before setting it aside. Taking a sip from the dark beverage, the woman let out a sigh of contentment, then looked to Meetra as she was still basically munching down on the stuff. She commented, "I'd say you should be wary. Those things can still cause major stomach aches."

Meetra blushed and staggered, stopping her little mass donut munching, before looking apologetically to the Major. The woman waved it off, then told her, "I'm ready to begin whenever you are, general Surik..." as she lifted up her tablet. The meek Jedi gave a quick nod, wiping some of the crumbs of food from her mouth and taking a quick sip of the glass of water next to her. The woman hummed and pulled up the questionnaire, stating, "First name, Last Name, Meetra and Surik respectively. Birthplace?"

"Dantooine. I guess the current location would be called Khoonda City?" She replied, unsure. The Major hummed, suspicious of Meetra, before turning back to the questionnaire.

"Age..." She said, her voice almost unnoticeably hopeful.

Well, Anakin Skywalker had already said it aloud, so it was only safe for her to shyly tell, "Four thousand...? Give or take a couple of years...?" which made the woman blank. She looked to Meetra, finally showing a hint of emotion. Said emotion was surprise. She murmured something about 'General Skywalker telling the truth', before clearing her throat and picking the tablet back up.

"Right. That is basic data out of the way... How did the medical checkup go when you came aboard, by the way?"

"Good, actually. Turns out I'm all in the clear, heh!" Meetra gave an awkward thumbs up. The woman ahead took a moment to read through the files, before murmuring something to herself, all while the young-yet-old Jedi maiden sat there, staring at what was tantamount to Secret Police interrogating her dumb little brain for any information she could give about herself.

The woman then strode into the next question, "Occupation is Jedi, obviously..." which got a frown from Meetra that did not deter her interrogator. "Here we go. First question of this questionnaire. What is your intention in coming aboard a UNSC Warship as volunteer Civilian Service, miss Surik?" She then asked, looking at the blonde. Meetra had to have expected this question. And she had.

"I wanted to tag along with the new kids in the Galaxy. See what you're all about and see if I could help... Perhaps right some wrongs I've done," She replied softly, rubbing her arm. The Major seemed sympathetic, for what little a change in the glimmer of her eyes told Meetra about her feelings. She jotted it down, then hummed and went on to the next question.

"Do you feel comfortable with the idea of serving with our men and women in combat as a trained combatant, should the need arise?"

"Yes."

"Good..." The Major jotted that down as well, "Do you understand that the UNSC and we, of the Office of Naval Intelligence, will be keeping you under watch for the duration of your evaluation?" And she got a nod from the girl. Jotting down the answer and casting a glance at one of the cameras in the room, the woman hummed, "Next, then. Into more personal matters. Have you served as a soldier prior to coming aboard our ship?"

"Yes... A long time ago," Meetra was, yet again, seemingly trying to be distant, even though her voice told of great pain. She breathed in, then out and thought to herself that she had already revealed to some her own past, so what was it to the interrogators? "I fought in the Mandalorian Wars several thousand years ago... Led the Republic alongside two close friends of mine... Against the Council's orders."

"I see... That would answer the next question, then..." The Major hummed, "It is... Odd to hear you're that old, ma'am, if you'll pardon me saying so."

"Oh, it's quite fine. I'm surprised at how 'in stride' you're taking talking to what's basically a zombie, heh..." She joked, though the joke obviously landed flat. She coughed, then whispered, "Sorry..." averting her gaze. The Major waved it off, then went on a couple more tangentially related questions, such as 'How experienced are you in commanding troops?' and other such things.

... Nearly an hour later, the Major hummed, then sighed and said, "Well, last question for now. Do you understand what will happen to you if we discover any attempts at betrayal or lies, miss Surik? Because what ONI says are not idle threats. They're truths..." And she seemed to stare Meetra dead in the eye. The blonde didn't even flinch, however, staring her right back in the eye. She simply gave a nod to the woman, unfazed.

And the Major hummed, then smiled, "Then, that'll be all... You may finish the donuts if you wish..." before she stepped off with her tablet in hand.

... That was uh... Surprisingly simple...

The Bridge.

"You're kidding," Lasky raised a brow at General Skywalker.

"I'm most definitely not," The man replied, arms crossed to his chest. He motioned with a hand toward the holo-screen displaying the interview that had taken place minutes ago. While Meetra herself continued to eat, the General told them "Unless it's someone impersonating her, it's Meetra Surik, the Jedi Exile that's basically at the basis of the entire modern Jedi Order as it stands. Save for a few of the dogma-related things, anyhow."

Ahsoka, meanwhile, giddily bounced up and down still, much to the chagrin of Captain Rex and their escorting Clones. The clone with platinum-blond hair that was basically buzzed off to the point it was a thin layer on top of his head stared at the Padawan as the girl looked on at the interview room. Rex hummed and looked to Richard, who simply held position nearby.

"This is terrifying..." Lasky murmured, rubbing his eyes, "Is she safe?"

"Honestly, admiral?" Skywalker shrugged. Despite the sigh from Lasky, who, let us recall, was the one who let her aboard, Skywalker continued calmly, "I can't feel any ill intent from her, but for the most part, it's genuinely been four thousand years of her being alive, so we don't really know what new skills she's learned. One thing's for sure, though, the Order is gonna be surprised when they hear of her existence..."

"Don't worry," Meetra's voice echoed across the bridge, "It wasn't like I'm gonna reveal myself to the Order any time soon..." And everyone turned to see her. With her arms crossed, 'General Surik' stepped forward, her escorting trio of Spartans also entering the bridge. They saluted Lasky, who saluted back in response. Ahsoka, meanwhile, started freaking out again. Meetra chuckled and patted her on the head, then told her, "Easy does it, young Padawan. I'm not that big a thing."

"Agree to disagree, Master." Skywalker shrugged, looking the woman in the eyes. He told her, "You're basically the reason for the Order's existence after the First Purge." before he motioned to her greatest fan, a little Jedi known as Ahsoka Tano, still giddily waiting to talk to her hero. Meetra was honestly happy to know that she was still influencing people, but she hoped that meant they'd do good. Alas.

"And the Order today is a disappointment..." She murmured, arranging her robes over her armor. The Order was full of the same dogma that had led to the First Purge through their inaction. She wondered if there was a Malak or a Revan out there today, ready to take up arms against the Republic and the Order once more because of the War and because of how much, or how little, the Jedi were doing.

"What?" Anakin blinked, surprised. He thought he might've misheard her.

"Nothing..." The girl sighed, mentally berating herself for nearly letting her views on the Order as a whole slip. She told them calmly, "I'm afraid I'm not really that much of a Jedi anymore, either, so, please, don't tell the Order a damn thing. I don't want them on my case," then, she turned to the UNSC officer and waved at him, smiling, "Greetings, Admiral Lasky."

"Welcome back to the bridge, General." The Admiral replied calmly, smiling at the woman.

Meetra frowned, then inquired, "... Why do you folks keep calling me that?" which garnered a few chuckles out of the people on board. She didn't understand what was so funny, though, considering it was night impossible for her to be a General. She looked back to see the Spartans remained the same straight-laced, straight-faced people she knew very well.

"Because it's what the Clones call their Jedi, so-" Lasky clarified.

"Pardon the interruption, Admiral, sir, but we only call them as such when they're commanding us as part of the GAR." Rex added, with a few of his troopers butting in to give approving nods and confirmations. Meetra hummed, then gave a nod of thanks for the Captain clarifying the little situation. She then crossed her arms and looked around the bridge, stopping at Six and smiling. The Spartan gave her a nod.

"Understood, Captain. Thanks for the correction. Still..." Lasky shrugged, then chuckled.

"It's fitting, honestly," Ahsoka added with a bit of heart.

"Heh. Thanks, Padawan Tano," She offered the girl a smile. Ahsoka smiled back, giving a very jaunty thumbs up, much to her Master's and Meetra's joy. (And probably Richard's going by the way the boy was staring). Meetra cleared her throat, then added, "Anyway, how's the little Huttlet? I presume he's being taken care of within one of the UNSC's medical bays?"

"He is." The Admiral commented, before looking around. One of the crewmen marched up to him and whispered something in his ear, to which he gave them a nod and dismissed them, before telling the rest of the group, "We're nearing Tatooine as we speak, too, so the handoff should go off without a hitch," as he picked up a tablet and started setting up a roster.

"Nice," Meetra smirked, then looked to the others around her, Six included, "So, how're we landing with the Huttlet?"

"We have an escort of three Pelicans and two platoons of Marines loaded up already," The man told her. A show of force, Meetra thought. Good enough, considering the Hutts did respect strength. Admiral Lasky told them, We're also sending the Spartans and the Jedi downstairs to provide proof the Republic was heavily involved in the young one's safe return," then set the tablet back into his uniform's pocket.

"Guess that means I gotta put my politicking face on." The 4,000-year-old Jedi quipped, arms crossed to her chest, still. She motioned to Anakin, who paused, then asked him, "You don't mind if I tag along, do you?" with a witty smirk. B312 stepped up beside her and wanted to reply for the General, but decided not to piss off one of their new allies this quickly.

"Not at all," Skywalker snorted, then shrugged, "Heck, I'm sure Ahsoka'll be glad to have you with us, heh."

"Indeed, I am!" The Togruta padawan remained as jovial as ever. Six cast a glance toward Richard, who cleared his throat and looked away. B312 stifled a snort, then nodded to the young Gamma Spartan. Richard sighed and gave a nod to his Lieutenant, before stepping up as well, weapons still attached to the magnetic locks on his armor's back and right thigh.

"Heh. Alright then, ladies and gentlemen. Pack your kit," The Admiral ordered, receiving nods of approval from everyone. "You'll be meeting the two platoons soon. Dismissed... And General Skywalker, I forgot to say it to you and your troops, but, welcome aboard the UNSC Infinity..." And he offered a kind smile to the Jedi. Skywalker gave him a quick mock salute.

The group waded off under escort from the Spartans, boarding a tram. Ahsoka looked to Meetra as the two sat together, then told her, "I've read all about you. I know of the adventures you went on with your comrades, including things like the hunt for Nihilus and how you basically helped reform the Order through the Lost Jedi. I have to ask, was the Handmaiden really that tough?"

Meetra snorted and looked to Ahsoka, smiling, "Bri was one hell of a hand-to-hand fighter. I've learned a lot of stuff from her, Teräs Käsi moves included, even if she didn't know she'd mastered a few alongside her own Echani ways..."

"Wow..." Ahsoka beamed, giddy still, "... C-Can you teach me some?"

Meetra giggled, "Sure thing. If your master will let me."

The two women gazed upon Anakin now, who sat opposite them, between Six and Rex. The man let out a short laugh and shrugged, "Hey, one less thing I have to teach her, I guess. Just make sure to go easy, seeing as she's still a kid..." which got a pout out of the girl and a short laugh out of Rex. Meetra let out a chuckle, then shook her head. They reminded her of Atton and Kreia a bit.

As the tram arrived at the hangar and the Clones, Jedi and Spartans disembarked, they were met by the trio of heavily-armed Pelicans that they would be landing with. The leading of the squadron had a maw-mounted heavy autocannon, wing-mounted fragmentation missiles and various other weapon systems, while the other two carried 30mm cannons in their noses and various other armaments.

The Marine platoons were already present, several of them checking their weapons and desert BDUs for the deployment. One of the leading men, a gruff-looking guy with multiple burn scars and a prosthetic right arm, saluted the Jedi and Spartans, then said to them with a relatively light accent, "Welcome, sirs! We're the Black Devils and we'll be your escort for today's fun-filled ride."

"Sergeant Nemeth," B312 said, "Yet another one walks the Earth still."

The man snorted, "Evening, sir. It's real hard to kill a Reach citizen," before turning to the Jedi and Clones and said, "Taking we're gonna be escorting the group here. Good to meet you all, folks..." and eyeing Ahsoka a bit suspiciously. Richard nodded to the Marine, who nodded back in return, before shifting his Battle Rifle onto his back and telling them, "Don't worry. We'll keep you and the slug safe..."

He pointed toward a cradle in which the Huttlet was being carried. It saw Ahsoka and chirped happily, grabbing toward her while in the arms of a Navy Corpsman. She walked up to Ahsoka and handed it off, telling her, "Stinky here's all yours. She seems to like you, ma'am..." before stepping off while holding onto her nose. Ahsoka looked at the little guy, who cooed, before giggling and rolling her eyes as she put the harness onto her back.

The Lieutenant in command of the Devils gave a spin of her fingers and the group began boarding. Anakin tilted his head toward the Pelican with the Marines for Rex and the Clone and his men took the order to heart. Climbing aboard with the Marines, Rex told the Sergeant, "General's orders are we tag along with the UNSC's troops. I'm Captain Rex, GAR."

"Sergeant Paul Nemeth, UNSC Marine Corps, sir," The man extended his prosthetic hand toward him. Rex shook it, surprised.

"Looking a little rough there, Sarge," Quipped a Clone as he sat down, "Seen a bunch of combat?"

"On and off, yeah. On my homeworld and off it, while it burned," The man said with little regard as he sat down, though Rex could see that fire burning in his eyes. He humped his kit off to the side while Rex sat down, before telling the Captain, "We'll talk on the way over, Sir! If you have any questions you wanna ask us, feel free! Heh, we're always happy to chat up new buddies!"

"Noted!" Rex nodded as the aircraft's engines roared. The rear door closed behind them.

And the aircraft took off, Rex feeling a pit in his stomach as gravity fields seemed to collide, before normalizing. He felt the craft dip forward...

... And toward the Planet...

Chapter Text

Meetra gazed upon the sands of Tatooine, a sense of nostalgia striking. Though she'd never really been to the place, the Jedi had long-ago heard of it and the messes it got people into, including a certain Jedi General currently aboard the Pelicans with them. She watched as the aircraft skimmed the surface, bothering layers of sand unmoved by the centuries in the Dune Sea.

She'd also heard of Revan's second escapade through Tatooine, to search for a map of some kind, guarded by a Krayt Dragon. Now, that must've been a fight, she thought with a smirk as the aircraft gently banked left, toward a series of massive rock outcroppings meant to be a set of mountains. As she stared out of the ship's forward window from her seat, she could see an old Monastery, now one of the Hutt Crime Lords' Palaces.

She hummed and scratched her neck, then murmured, "Wonder if he's related to Vogga..." as she checked her lightsaber. The Pilot lifted his finger, showing they were about a minute out from drop. She prepped, donned her hood and nodded. The aircraft swung in for touchdown, thrusters powering to the max as they descended, kicking up dust clouds all around them.

The first to disembark were the Marines and Clones, followed by the Jedi and Spartans. Richard looked around and murmured, "A bit sandy, sir..." which got a slight exhalation from the nostrils of the Lieutenant. The young man seemed to like stating the obvious, Six thought as they looked at the massive gate ahead of them. The little alien was in the care of the UNSC's Corpsmen.

The massive bulkhead door to the monastery opened, out marching several pig-looking guards with massive axes and tusks. Meetra whispered to Six, "Gamorreans. As tough as they are ugly..." which made the man tense. There was about four Gamorrean guards. Behind them were several pirates with light armors, pistols and creased-looking, rock-like faces, as well as what looked like a three-eyed lizard-person with a long mouth and brown skin.

Said brown-skinned alien saw the baby with his three eyestalks, then nodded and motioned for everyone to follow. Six looked to the Marines and showed them to be at the ready with a single motion of his hand, then checked his weapon. The group of guards led them inside with the little guy, Ahsoka carrying him on his back. Skywalker tensed. Both Spartans noticed it.

Neither asked, though. Ahsoka didn't, either, to her credit, as the group marched forward into the cavernous and familiar maw of the Palace. The Marines kept their eyes on the corners, Rex and his Clones doing much the same as they advanced. Ahsoka held 'Stinky' close, while the Corpsmen walked with her to make sure the little guy wasn't gonna get sick or something.

Descending down some stairs, the group started feeling the foul smell of the bigger Hutt already, with Meetra sighing deeply. She really hadn't missed the smell. One Hutt was enough to deal with in a lifetime. A second was just a bonus pain in the behind. Strolling down into the main area, where a band was playing various tunes that seemed to irk the UNSC's staff, the group came upon the biggest slug they'd ever seen.

Several Marines stifled laughter, while the Spartans simply stared, dumbfound, at the massive green alien slug. They looked toward the child and Richard murmured, "So, that's what it'll grow into..." before feeling Ahsoka elbow him in the shoulder. She whined quietly after hitting the armor, which got a snort out of him. Meetra, meanwhile, seemed to be talking to General Skywalker. He nodded to her.

She showed Ahsoka to follow her, then stepped forward and bowed toward the slug, "Greetings, esteemed Jabba. I am Meetra Surik, a representative of those who aided the return of your young son," before showing Ahsoka, who carried the little guy. The Slug spoke in some unknown language that the UNSC forces could not understand, though, by the tone of his voice, he was ecstatic.

"The Great Jabba welcomes the return of his son," Spoke a protocol droid from next to him, its voice monotone, fairly female, "And wonders who the soldiers supporting the Republic and your people are, Jedi."

Meetra tilted her head toward Jabba and Ahsoka walked forward, taking a knee and handing the little guy over. The 4,000 year old Jedi opened her arms as if to show the UNSC around her and said, "These fine soldiers are representatives of the United Nations Space Command, a faction that has allied with the Republic in our quest to end this war as quickly as possible."

The Slug spoke again, this time a hint sharper, before the droid translated, "The Great Jabba greets this new faction, though he wonders to what end you may've come with them to meet us." And the Marines seemed to pause, one of them looking to Rex, who showed him to stay calm. Meetra hummed, then looked back to the corpsmen and officers. She sighed.

"They assisted us in keeping your son safe and alive. Their medical corps, though they know little of Hutt physiology, was able to ensure the young huttlet's arrival without as much as a scratch, while their Marines ensured that the recovery went unabated during the operations on Teth," She explained calmly. Jabba squinted, seemingly a hint wary of the new faction.

The droid translated his speech yet again, "And how are we to know that they did not participate in the kidnapping, being such a new group?"

Meetra blinked, then said, "Great Jabba, you must see the folly in such a thought, surely," as the Marines behind her audibly tensed, grips tightening around their weapons. She continued, waving the Marines off to calm them down with a motion of her hand while Skywalker, Ahsoka and Rex all stared on. Softly, she spoke to Jabba, "They are outsiders to everything pertaining to Galactic knowledge, including knowledge of the Hutt Empire's outreach. They had no reason to attempt a kidnapping, especially not after having arrived over Christophsis, only to be shot at by the Confederacy. As I said, they knew nothing of the Hutts beforehand."

"The great Jabba understands," The droid replied, "... Then, as per the agreement with the Republic's leadership, your forces will be allowed to utilize the Hutt hyperspace lanes for the Outer Rim." And that seemed to get everyone to quietly sigh in relief. Meetra bowed in thanks, before the group as rather hurriedly dismissed by Jabba, presumably so he could tend to his kid.

"Well, that was close..." Muttered one of the Marines as they walked back up the stairs toward the Pelicans, "Guns must've put him off trying anything."

"You could tell he would do something, too, eh?" Meetra quipped, then looked to Six, who nodded. As Meetra looked to Six, she said, "Could've gone worse, honestly. One single unfounded and quickly disproven accusation of kidnapping toward your folks is better than entire heads being lopped off. Something tells me things would've gone a hell of a lot worse, though..."

"Thanks for taking the role of negotiator. Short speech, but you got the point across," Six commented, words which got the hums and nods of approval from the rest of the gang. She smiled proudly, giving Six a light tap on the chest with her fist. One light tap that sent a current flowing through her hand and turned it numb. She let out a quick 'ow' as she rubbed the tingling appendage.

"MJOLNIR shields, ma'am," Richard quipped, "Don't like being touched all that much."

"I can tell..." Sighed the woman. She clenched and unclenched her fist until the tingling static disappeared, then climbed aboard the Pelican. She looked to Anakin and Rex and said observantly, "You two have been awful quiet..." as they entered the Pelicans outside, under the twin suns of Tatooine that beat down on them. The Marines laughed, with Nemeth grinning as he plopped himself down into his seat.

"Just taking in the fact we left the Hutts without a fight," Anakin quipped, crossing his arms to his chest as he leaned against the vehicl "Guess you're every bit the persuasive person they said you are, master Surik."

Meetra waved it off with a smile, "It's just Meetra, master Skywalker. I'm not that type of Jedi anymore..." before humming and sitting herself down as the aircraft began their liftoff, the rear doors closing. She looked to Ahsoka, who seemed giddy still, before giving the kid a nod. She looked over to Six as the man settled himself in position, checking his equipment.

"Radio the INF," Six told the pilot, "Patch it through to the holo-com in the Blood Tray."

"Copy, sir."

A trio of holographic display devices flickered to life as the Pelican's engines kicked on into afterburner. Admiral Lasky's form materialized ahead of the group, his voice modified by the speakers on board as he asked jovially, "Ladies. Gentlemen. Good to see you're all alive and okay. Status on the delivery?" as he arranged his dress uniform. The Pelicans flew out into the void, with the visible UNSC fleet dead ahead, alongside a ship unfamiliar to Meetra, but familair to the others.

"Accomplished, sir. We've secured the routes for allied FTL transports, too, courtesy of the delivery." Six reported just as the shipboard artificial gravity kicked in. Lasky gave a nod of approval, to which Six motioned to Meetra and said, "She talked for us all. Wanted to, as well..." which got the Admiral to look toward Meetra. The blonde blushed and rubbed the back of her neck, letting out a short, awkward giggle.

The man nodded approvingly, "Welcome aboard, general."

"Glad to be here, sir," She saluted, too. The man nodded, then dismissed everyone with another quick wave of the hand and shut off communications. Meetra, meanwhile, looked to corporal Nemeth. The man glared at the ship that was unknown to her, which prompted Meetra to ask, "Something bad about that ship, Marin-" only to notice the warship's design, "Oh... A CAS carrier..."

"That's our allies, ma'am," Quipped another Marine, "Nemeth here's angry cuz the hinge-jaws burned Reach. Understandably, too."

"Was my homeworld. I was born on Reach alongside a childhood friend," Nemeth explained, "I can tolerate them, but you won't see me workin' with them for too long..."

"Fair enough..." The Jedi replied, then turned to her fellows. Both of them looked over to Richard, the Spartan humming and simply giving an affirmative forward tilt of his head. Well, good to know the other shipboard xenophobe openly approved the thought process of one of their Marines. The aircraft touched down in one of the Infinity's hangars, the crews descending off the deck. Meetra turned to Ahsoka and Anakin and said, "Say hello to everyone else when you get back to your ships, I suppose. I'll be staying with the UNSC."

"Alright," Skywalker nodded, "Gotta get Obi-Wan here to meet you, too, heh..."

"Gonna teach me those moves later, right?" Ahsoka raised a brow, though she wore what the UNSC called 'puppy eyes'.

Meetra chuckled, "I promised, didn't I? Swing by any time you want a lesson in hand-to-hand and Force usage..." before she patted Ahsoka on the head. The girl beamed and nodded, which got a cough out of Richard. Meetra chuckled at the reaction, then watched the Jedi and Clones depart for gunships. Richard sighed and took his helmet off, then looked to Six.

Six nodded and said, "Let's move it out. Command's probably gonna want us to give a debrief... I'll handle it."

"Be my guest," Meetra offered as they walked together toward the bridge. Along the way, however, they met a certain dark-skinned man...

"Sergeant-Major," Six nodded, saluting him.

Sergeant-Major Johnson grinned and saluted back, offering a quick, "Good to see you made it back from the slug's place, Lieutenant. Chief and Blue team've been lookin' for you and Crimson to have a chat," then turned to Meetra and said, "And this must be our very own personal Jedi. Evenin', ma'am," with a pearly smile as he saluted. She saluted back and nodded.

"That, I suppose I am," She chuckled, "Evening, Sergeant-Major. I'm Meetra Surik."

"Sergeant-Major Avery J. Johnson, ma'am. Good to meet'cha," He nodded, "If you'll excuse me, El-Tee, ma'am, Imma go deal with something my Marine platoon screwed up after we came back from Christophsis..." before walking off. Meetra hummed and chuckled, then continued following Six and Richard toward the bunk area so she could get some RNR...

... Come a few hours later, Meetra was laying, sprawled out in her bed and staring up at the ceiling again while playing with what the UNSC folks called a 'Stress Ball'. Basically something one squeezed to de-stress. She was, however, utilizing the Force to push it back and forth out of her hand, keep it floating, that type of stuff. She hummed, yawned, then set the ball aside and jumped to her feet off the bed.

Part of her wondered just how much more they'd have to do. Or what the next few battles would entail. Shew as also tempted to go meet the Sangheili, the warriors that'd allied with the UNSC and, by extension, with the Republic, to handle the situation in the Galaxy. They seemed like interesting characters with an even more interesting 'warrior culture' that was adapting with the times. Sort of like how the modern Mandalorians were.

Man, she missed Mandos. They actually came for a good fight back in the day. She was, however, glad that the Kryze family was following through on the promises made by Canderous, the Force allow him rest. She started pacing around the room while reading more data on stuff like the Spartans(What little of it had been declassified for her viewing), then thumbed the drive and tossed it back onto her desk.

She sighed, before turning to look at her open wardrobe. She had some UNSC standard-issue gear in there, including basic clothes to run around in while off-duty. A khaki shirt with the letters INF plastered above the Infinity's crest on the chest, cargo pants and military boots, as well as a standard Navy uniform with grey and missing rank pins and chevrons.

She picked the PT uniform, which included a sports bra and pants, donned them alongside a pair of more comfortable shoes, then decided to hoof it to the gym. She had to keep in shape. That and she was meaning to ask a certain Spartan to help her train back up her old skills. She promised to teach a certain Padawan some of her old moves and she intended to keep that promise.

Marching to the gym, the young woman was surprisingly able to avoid most of the gazes of the Marines and Crew around her that were Male(And some female), strutting into the Gym itself with a smile and bee-lining it directly for a certain benchpressing table, where two Spartans resided, just by the boxing ring. Six himself was sat there, drinking water, clad in nothing but a tank top, shorts and pants, same as Richard.

Speak of Richard, the young man noticed Meetra approaching and tapped Six on the shoulder, then tilted his head toward the girl and whispered, "Jedi General on our immediate one o'clock, sir..." as a faint grin grew on his face, watching the Lieutenant turn and face the blonde, his eyes growing wide at her shapes, seemingly. Dick turned back to his own work, tying his laces better, before standing to his feet and patting himself down. He saluted the Lieutenant and told him, "I'm gonna be going to another workout, sir. See you."

Six saluted and nodded, then turned toward Meetra as she approached, all while under the watchful gazes of several men and even some women, again. Whistles and a few silent catcalls filled the room, but she greeted Six with a quick, "Hey." As she looked over at the weights on the bar. She went a little wide-eyed at the seeming size and thickness of each plate, before looking back to Six.

"Hello, General," He replied, then stood to his feet. Even out of armor, the man was taller than her by a good margin, being forced to shift his gaze down in order to look her in the eye. He slung his towel over his shoulder and asked her, "Can I help you?" as he started walking toward a pair of boxing gloves and a sandbag the size of him. She hummed, feigning a thinker's pose.

Then nodded, "Yeah. I need a sparring partner."

"Huh?" The Spartan stared at her, dumbfound. She didn't just ask that.

"Yep," She smiled. The confusion and concern on Six's face told her he thought she asked something stupid of him. She sighed, then clarified, "Look, Padawan Tano asked me to teach her some of the moves I know from an old friend and I wanna see if I forgot them nearly four millennia later..." as she put her hands on her hips. The Spartan gave her a once-over...

She was well-built and looked like the average supermodel blonde back home. Still, even with all that, he saw the muscles were well-developed, a probably necessity with being a Jedi, honestly. They weren't anywhere near his, obviously, him being a male and a Spartan. That gene engineering did a lot for people like him, including the enhanced muscle growth.

He told her, "You do know what you're asking for, right?"

She nodded. Sigh sighed and pinched the bow of his nose, "Alright... I can say no, you do know that, right?" before taking a moment to think about it as she gave him an affirmative reply, though it was backed up by some variation of 'puppy eyes'. Six did, however, figure out one way to solve this issue. He sighed, then replied, "Yeah, fine. Sure. If you wanna practice some moves you forgot..."

She beamed, then said, "Thank you! Now, c'mon! In the ring! I'll do my warmup there..." as they climbed into the boxing ring. Stretching under the gaze of a good bunch of people, the girl smirked at Six, while the Spartan averted his gaze and sighed deeply. He was gonna regret this, or so he felt, anyhow. He had decided to act the part of a training dummy, so as not to cause any problems.

He gave a taunt toward her as she finished stretching. She grinned, then rushed forward with a surprising burst of speed. She skidded to a halt in front of him, swept low, then slammed an open palm into his wrist, diverting it to the right, before dropping to the floor and swiping his legs out from under him, sending him tumbling to the floor with a hardy thump, much to the surprise of a few gym-goers.

She smirked and stood to her feet, then extended her hand toward him. He took it and said, "Not bad..." without so much as a huff. She grinned, then started bouncing from one foot to the other, before seemingly scouting out one of the many openings the Spartan was giving her. She hummed, spun, ducked, then sprang up behind him, grabbing one of his arms, then the other, and pinning him to the floor.

Helping him up once again, she commented, "Are you going to fight back?"

"You said you wanted to practice some moves, so, no," He replied, stretching and cracking his various joints. He sighed and turned to her as she pouted, before asking her, "What? Do you want an actual fight now? You do realize what a Spartan is. You have read about us, after all..." as he leaned over the ring's lines and grabbed his bottle of water, taking a sip from it as the girl looked at him, arms crossed. He wondered just what was going on in that mi-.

"I bet I can kick your behind," She smirked. Six quirked both brows up as a few Marines and Spartan-IVs let out short laughs, before humming and looking at her again. She shrugged and stated happily, "C'mon, it'll be fun! Plus, we're in the gym, in a training ring. It's a safe fight, ain't it?" as she cracked her knuckles and stared at him, still wearing that taunting smirk, before taking a fighting stance.

Six sighed, rolled his eyes and said, "Alright... Don't say I didn't warn you, then..." as he prepared to... Still go easy on her, but not as easy. She grinned, took a step forward, then ran toward him. The Spartan stood his ground, his defenses now looking mighty impregnable. She seemed to chicken out, trying to break off the attack. The Spartan, however, extended his right arm out and...

... Well, Meetra was now sitting on a medical chair in the sickbay, rubbing her jaw and nursing a Coke. The Spartan sighed, walking toward her, then told her calmly, "Cola doesn't mesh well with the pain meds..." before sitting himself down next to her. He sighed and told her, "I did warn you, didn't I?" which got a huff and pout out of her. Six couldn't help but think it was sort of... Cute? He didn't really know how else to put it.

Spartans never found things cute if they weren't, say, a puppy or something, and even that was a rarity in Gamma company, considering how fucking Psycho those kids were. Still, he couldn't help himself in thinking like that. Unlike the S-IIs, the IIIs lacked the hormone suppressants that would usually put such thoughts at bay, so it was definitely not abnormal for him to have them. He was, however, well-trained in keeping them contained.

She hummed, then rubbed her jaw and said, "I apologize for the fact you had to bring me here..." as she frowned, "Should've figured a seven-foot-tall brick of a human being would be more than capable of putting me flat on my back in one or two moves. Especially a SOF member like your Spartans..." only to look to him. He hummed, then grabbed the bottle of soda from her hand and took a swig.

He sighed, "It happens. Overestimating one's strength shouldn't be a thing when you're a four-thousand-year-old being, though..."

She burst into a giggle, "My mistake... I thought I could take on a soldier after, well, years of soldiering myself..."

Six nodded and handed her the soda back, adding, "Overconfidence. It's good to be confident, honestly, but..." And she waved it off quickly, trying to avoid the discussion. With a sigh, the Spartan said, "Look, general, we're going to be working together. Next time, just tell me you want an actual spar instead of whatever that was. I'll probably be more prepared for that."

She smiled, "Next time, eh?"

He nodded, which got an even brighter smile out of Meetra. She nodded and replied, "Very well, then." before downing the whole bottle of soda and humming. She looked to Six and inquired, "Know any decent food being served at one of the ship's mess halls today, Spartan?" as she arranged to go to her room and change into more comfortable attire than her sports-wear.

Six paused. What was she asking him, exactly?

Chapter Text

The four millennia old Jedi did her usual jaunt through the Infinity's corridors, running into the usual suspect crowd of contractors that she was pretty sure were working for ONI in order to keep tabs on her. Even so, they'd become a little more lax since the delivery of the little Huttlet went off without a hitch. Now, the UNSC Navy was resting above Kuat as they negotiated with the owners of the Drive Yards for the ability to repair and replenish their vessels and supplies, respectively.

Climbing onto one of the trams leading to the bow of the ship, more specifically to the Bridge, the young woman sat down and pulled up her UNSC-issued tablet, checking the time. Not even two seconds later, an armored figure climbed aboard the tubular tram as well, exactly on cue. She smirked and said, "Good morning, Lieutenant..." as she watched him sit himself down in front of her.

"Mornin'," He replied calmly. Noticeable to Meetra was the fact the man carried only his combat knife and pistol this time, instead of any extra weaponry. Either he figured that he knew enough to take down the young-yet-veteran Jedi Knight by himself with those, which was a hint offensive to Meetra, or he finally understood that she was not much of a threat and that, in fact, she was a friend.

"I see my Spartan escort is doing fine today," She chuckled, "I didn't expect you to come so lightly armed."

He shrugged, "Admiral and ONI are starting to buckle they do trust you a little more after that little display on Tatooine. Figured I should be nicer, too..." as the tram began its travel, a hint of a pit forming in both their stomachs. Lights began to flash past the windows as it travelled down the tunnels, past other trams, past stations above and below and across the massive ship's innards.

"Not by much, though," She quipped, motioning to the man's semi-limited arsenal and adding a jokey, "Still have to make sure the Admiral's new investment is behaving a little, eh?" then she gently shifted her right hand a little to the right, lifting her fingers off her thigh and trying to unclip the binds holding his knife in its sheath. She slowly, slowly pulled it out while staring the Spartan in the eye, before yanking once. Somewhat surprising to her was the Lieutenant's reaction, though.

Without hesitation or even looking at the weapon as it started flying out, the Supersoldier caught it by the hilt before it got two inches away from his armor's chest plate. He brandished it with some flurry for a moment, spinning it between his fingers and sheathing hit in one quick, concise move. A giggle escaped Meetra's mouth as she stated, "Without even looking. Impressive."

"Just showing off, ma'am," The Lieutenant shot back with a half-joking tone, leaning himself against his seat. She nodded approvingly, then leaned forward as well, while he told her, "Word is General Skywalker and Commander Tano are bringing in another Jedi to see you. General Kenobi, I believe. You must be a really big deal to them, if you've really been around for a little over four thousand years."

She nodded, "I was one of a group who originally re-founded the Order as it is today, though we'd tried to keep them from being as dogmatic as in our time. Obviously, we sadly failed," And she hummed, looking at her hands. Six caught the almost imperceptible shift of her sclerae from their standard white to a pure black. He blinked behind his visor, thankful the Knight couldn't see his reaction. Her own expression seemed to shift as well, from a calm smile to a seeming longing, tired one.

Only to come right back around. She looked up at him, straightening herself onto her seating position as she said, "I'm honestly surprised you haven't asked me why I'm going to the bridge..."

"Aside from what I said about General Kenobi coming in?" He shrugged, "Going to assume you wanna have a chat with the Admiral..."

"More-so make some suggestions, considering you guys openly call me a General."

"Uh-huh..." The Spartan replied. There seemed to be little else to say, the two falling into a silence that was somewhat characteristic of the Spartan and less so of Meetra herself. As the tram stopped at another station, another Spartan figure stepped in, clad in his PT Gear. Both of them saw Richard, the boy bearing the scars of combat and, now, some fresh bruises.

He stretched and sat himself down, face impassive, before turning to see both Six and Meetra and snapping a salute. Six snorted and said, "At ease. You don't need to salute me when you're off-duty, Dick..." before giving him a once-over and asking him, "Where'd the bruises come from? Did you fall a little too hard during a balance training session, or...?"

"Petty Officer 087," The boy replied, stretching his arms to presumably dissipate a mild muscle ache, the arm bruises being revealed due to him wearing a tank top.

"Kelly. Kelly did this," Six stated, then snorted again, "A Blue Team hazing thing, or-" And Meetra was a bit surprised that Six could easily refer to another Blue Team member by their name...

Then again, he was a hyper-lethal vector like the Chief, so, maybe that earned him some respect?

"No," Richard shook his head in reply to the Lieutenant, "Just training. Wanted to make sure I was in ship-shape before we went out to fight again..." Then grunted as he ran a hand over one of the bruises, murmuring to himself, "She kicks like hell, though. Seriously..." Only to look up and see Meetra. He waved and said, "Good morning, ma'am... I'm gonna be getting off at the next station, so I hope I wasn't interrupting a convo."

"Oh, no, we just went quiet for a bit," Chuckled the blonde, "Surprised you two are acting so chummy."

"Six helped train me up for future operations, ma'am. Became like a brother figure to me, too, so I suppose it's only sort of natural that we'd act like this..." Richard admitted. Six gave a nod of confirmation and Meetra had also noted how much more open he seemed now, what with another Spartan being present. It was nice to see him be more talkative, at least to the others around him, though she could somewhat sense he still felt guilt, presumably for his former team's death...

As Richard's station came up, the boy stood to his feet and gave a quick wave goodbye to both Jedi and fellow Spartan. With that, the trip continued unabated all the way to the bridge section. Upon dismounting from the tram, the Spartan and Meetra both noticed a pair of hunchback aliens clad in black armors. The two stared at them, before both put their right fists to the left of their chests and bowed their heads respectfully. Meetra waved awkwardly, while Six gave a nod of approval and the two stepped toward the Bridge itself.

Entering the active command deck of the UNSC's greatest warship(and most dangerous displaced asset), Meetra saw that the ship was moored at port next to the massive orbital shipyard ring of Kuat itself, the glimmering emerald orb gently spinning in its orbit. The Drive Yards were a hive of activity, with dozens of ships travelling to and from the UNSC fleet and the close Sangheili command ship that were docked with them.

They noticed a representative of the KDY was in the middle of the room, talking to the admiral and to the Arbiter. She seemed rather direct and focused, her lekku, the twin-tails standard to the Twi'leks laid back and covered by a net with fancy details and iconography of her people. Her own blue skin shined brightly in the light of the stellar body around which Kuat orbited. Her KDY uniform was pressed clean and beautifully-made, obviously, probably for a good first impression, and she held a holo-tablet in her arms, pressed firmly against her chest.

She spoke, moving her right hand, which was covered by a fingerless glove, to emphasize her points. "... We understand that the UNSC wishes to employ the aid of the Kuat Drive Yards for any possible extensive repairs required by your Navy in the long while, but I'm afraid we'll need a lot of information on how your warships operate and the materials you may require."

"I get your point, madam representative. We were merely looking to start preliminary negotiations for now, ensure that we have a spot at the table for the future," Laskey offered, then looked to see Meetra and Six. He nodded to them and showed them to wait, before returning his gaze to meet the Representative's, "With that said, you'll have to understand our predicament."

"We do," She replied, stern, "We're glad you guys have the Republic vouching for you, else this would be a really strange partnership in the making."

"Agreed," The man nodded.

"Well, with that in mind, we'll wait for your representatives to land on the Yards so we can start the chatter and get the details we need about your ships. In the meanwhile, feel free to visit the Concourse if you wish. We'll be ironing out some details with the higher-ups," She told them, then gave a quick nod goodbye to the Admiral and Arbiter and stepped off, sidestepping the Jedi and Spartan and going for the tram, where two marines were waiting to escort her.

"Well, that's gonna be interesting to watch develop," Lasky murmured under his breath. Thel hummed in agreement, then the two looked at the Spartan and Jedi that had just arrived on the deck. Six gave a crisp salute to the Admiral, while Meetra gave a bow. Despite the fact she didn't much consider herself a Jedi anymore, the young woman still wanted to act the part of a respectful friend to her newfound companions.

"This must be the young Jedi you found during your talks with the Chancellor," The Arbiter observed. He greeted Meetra with a bow of his head and said, "Good afternoon, general Surik."

"Arbiter Thel 'Vadam," She replied kindly, "A pleasure to meet you, finally."

"Likewise. And Spartan B312. The Demon of Reach," The Arbiter then stated. Six gave his usual quiet nod in greeting to the Elite, before waiting for Meetra to ask what she'd wanted to ask. The Arbiter inquired, "I don't presume you are here to discuss our findings while scouting out the nearby star systems, are you, general?" in his usually smooth voice.

"Actually, I was here to talk to the Admiral about what our next job's gonna be. Since we secured Christophsis and got the Huttlet home..." She shrugged, "I figured the Republic was going to give us a new target to hit soon."

"ONI has credible data that there's something brewing, too, so it's very likely that we'll be looking at an enemy assault to try and recoup any losses Christophsis might've given them," The Admiral stated. The surprise in Meetra's eyes was obvious, to the point the Admiral smiled and said, "The Office started settling into your Galaxy. Sure, they're few and far between outside of a rather important force we have with us, but... When they get down to business..."

"Data starts flowing," Six finished, crossing his arms to his chest.

Meetra understood the concept. And, well, she was happy to have some eyes that could see the world better than her for a change. She gave a nod of approval, then looked to the Arbiter and asked, "Wait, what did you find?" as the Fleet prepared for any future combat assignments. Of course, among new arrivals to Kuat was a Jedi Cruiser carrying Skywalker, Ahsoka and the man that they'd want meeting Meetra...

Mess Hall, an hour later...

Obi-Wan had arrived with his Star Destroyer and the 212th to meet up with their allies at Kuat after a prolonged mission back on Coruscant, to discuss the matter of the UNSC alongside master Yoda. He had not expected Anakin and his Padawan to drag them to meet someone in one of the mess halls of the command ship their allies worked off of. Especially without telling him.

He had to admit ,the excitement of young Ahsoka had him intrigued as to who it could be. Anakin's concern/admiration cinched it, though. He had to meet this strange person, whoever they were. He looked to Anakin as they walked into the mess, asking, "Are you sure you can't even give me a hint, Anakin? Because I did not expect your reactions toward this person to be so visceral."

"Look, master, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," Anakin replied, raising his hands defensively as they walked toward the table. The man scanned the room for a little, while Ahsoka giddily jaunted forward as well. Finally, Obi-Wan's Padawan's eyes seemed to settle on a table where a pair was having their lunch. A blonde-haired woman wearing ancient, tattered Jedi robes and one of the local 'Spartans', supersoldiers that Anakin had told Obi-Wan about back before they left Christophsis.

The Jedi-like figure seemed to straighten up her posture as the Spartan shifted his gaze from his food to the arrivals. He gave a greeting nod to the Generals and a quick salute, while the blonde-haired Jedi turned to face them. She smiled upon laying eyes on Ahsoka and Anakin, as it seemed, while Obi-Wan? Well, good old master Kenobi had pretty much frozen stiff at the sight of the woman's face.

Not because of her beauty, though she was a striking woman. No, her resemblance to a certain Jedi from ancient history was uncanny to the point Obi-Wan had to take a few seconds to make sure he had not gone and lost his mind. Staring at the figure, however, told him he had, in fact, retained his mental faculties. Ahsoka approached the Meetra Surik like one would approach an old friend, with Meetra greeting the young Padawan with a smile and knowing look.

She turned to meet master Kenobi's gaze and greeted him with, "Hello there." a smirk on her face

"... Hello..." He replied, stunned, then turned to Anakin and said, "What did you do?"

"Wha- Master, this is not my fault... Or, well, not because of me. I'd've been taking credit for finding her!" Anakin seemed appalled that his master would even imply this being his fault, somehow. Meetra giggled at the reaction, while master Kenobi simply stared on at her, filled with disbelief. He scratched his chin, considering what to even ask first, while Anakin introduced them, "Master Surik, this is my master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Master, this is the Meetra Surik."

"You put too much pomp next to my name, master Skywalker," She chuckled, then said to Obi-Wan, "A pleasure to meet the man training the supposed Chosen One, master Kenobi. Yes, it's me and no, this is not a prank. You can ask the UNSC's staff about my existence here. I've been here for near four millennia now and my body doesn't seem to plan on dying on me any time soon."

"I see," Obi-Wan hummed, then said, "An..." he took a moment to consider what he wanted to say, then sighed deeply and said, "Well, it is nothing else but an honor to meet the woman who aided in rebuilding the Jedi Order from the ashes after the Civil War and the subsequent Purges, master Surik." only to give her a respectful bow and a smile. Meetra maintained her smile and gave a bow back.

"And I'm honored to meet the man training the Galaxy's best hope for Balance," She replied kindly, while Anakin got a kind of smug smile. Ahsoka, meanwhile, rolled her eyes, but still wore a smile. Six, in the back, hummed and kept eating, trying to ignore the ongoing convo. This whole thing felt like it was above his paygrade and desire to care about, anyhow.

"I try," He replied, seemingly settling in to the discussion, "Apologies for interrupting your meal, master, but these two insisted in coming to see you before we went to talk to Admiral Lasky."

"Not a problem, honestly," She shrugged, then looked to Ahsoka and said, "I still have those moves to teach you, I guess, heh. We'll probably work on them when whatever mission comes next is completed," to which Ahsoka simply gave several quick, happy nods.

"Hey, kid," Six started, getting the girl's attention. He tilted his head to the left, at another table, then said, "Richard's right there. Kid needs company of his demographic."

Ahsoka chuckled, "Sure. Sorry for interrupting the meal, big guy," then she stood up and walked toward him. Meetra, Six and the other two Jedi present watched the girl join Richard for his meal and the boy seemed to maintain the same stoic face Six wore most of the time, though the elder Beta Company Spartan could easily make out the ticks and tells that this was both a surprise and a slight annoyance for him.

"Well, he's in for it," Murmured Six as he turned back to eat, "Might as well..."

"Heh. Yeah..." Meetra chuckled, then turned to them, "Speaking of... What is our next job?"

... "So, you don't seem very happy to see me, buckethead," Quipped Ahsoka as she sat down ahead of him, a grin on her face. Richard remained impassive, simply casting a glance up at her. She told him, "It'd be nice if you said hi, too, y'know?" as she stared him in his eyes. He nodded, then pointed at his mouth as if to emphasize the fact he was still chewing. She snorted and replied, "Pardon me, mister manners..."

He swallowed his food, then replied to her, "Honestly, Tails, it's a rather unsurprising turn of events that you guys swing about just as we start talks with the Drive Yards about repairing our ships here..." before humming and looking at her, "What's your angle, though?" which caused her to raise her strangely painted-on brows at him in confusion. He had to admit, the reaction was sort of sweet, but he explained to her, "You got any particular reason you're hanging around me for, Tails?"

"I just find weirdoes in armor interesting," She jabbed back, grinning, "Plus, you're probably one of the few people I've openly talked to among your rank and file without so much as feeling weird. It's odd, but your presence is soothing in this really strange way." And that actually got Richard's mask of stoicism to fall, causing him to stare at her like a deer in headlights. She shrugged, "Guess you're really easy to read, Buckethead. Makes it nice and calming to talk to you."

He sighed, pinching the brow of his nose and shaking his head as he elected to ignore that comment. He turned back to his food, asked, "What's in the pipe? We delivering something or someone again, or are we hunting targets now?" and continued eating. Ahsoka gave him a nod and handed him a datapad with the basic info about a new Confed ship that they'd need help in hunting. He whistled.

"Yeah... Not a lot we know about her, but we have a Jedi Master already hunting it down with his fleet. They'll hopefully be able to put it out of commission before any harm's done," Ahsoka told the boy... She paused, blinked and realized, "Hey, wait a minute, how old are you? Six said something about ya needing company of 'your demographic' before he sent me your way."

Richard cast a glance toward Six, who gave a thumbs up, impassively chewing his food. With an 'older sibling' model like that... He replied to Ahsoka warily, "Classified... Look, I don't really know why Six would send you my way, considering everything he knows, so he's either doing it for fun, or actually trying something that I have no idea about yet. Let's maybe not feed his research, eh?"

Ahsoka shot a look toward Six and the man didn't pick it up as he was eating with Meetra. Ahsoka then looked back to Richard and hummed, then gave an approving nod. No point in playing along for now, she supposed, though she'd still sit with him while he ate. She wanted to get to know the guy a little better, considering they might wind up stuck together more often than not later down the line...

Or soon?

Chapter Text

The UNSC Infinity had departed with an escort force for the target area reported by the Grand Army's command. It'd been some time since the allied fleets had met over Christophsis and fought together against the Confederates, delivering the young huttlet to his father. Once more sat alone in her room, Meetra watched the familiar vortex of the UNSC's own FTL swirling around the ship.

She hummed and moved to her desk, activating the holographic display and starting to write away in her journal. She didn't censor anything much about her thoughts, since she really had nothing to censor, to hide from her allies. Not for the time being, anyhow. ONI had also reduced the taps and microphones hidden in the room to half the usual detail and, for the most part, they were off.

She hummed and wrote about the previous day of transit, the kind of stuff she did, Doctor Halsey's little checkups and her tests. She really liked the doctor. Old woman reminded her a bit of Kreia, back when Kreia had still been alive, training her again after she lost the Force. She had lost the Force for a good reason, she thought, however, but she didn't write it out.

The UNSC's views on her had remained decently warm and the feeling was mutual, considering the fact the Marines only catcalled a couple times, heh. She donned her PT training gear, then stepped out toward the gym, covered by her robes. Part of her wondered calmly where their next trip would take them, but the order was for them to hunt something or other, if she'd read the briefings correctly.

Some new big CIS vessel was making the rounds, as far as she heard. They were gonna take it down, ship-to-ship, if the UNSC could help do so. Right now, though, they were expecting target confirmation from the Jedi fleets, hence the UNSC vessels being on alert. Entering the gym, she found the place unusually calm despite the order for half a fleet of forty-odd alien warships to prepare for battle.

There was, however, an underlying tension. The air was just that bit heavier as she felt it, most of the crew present being assistants to various major parts of the ship's function, training and passing the time with chatter to relieve some of the stress. Gunlayers, gunners, assistant loaders in case the guns' ammunition trolleys jammed, cleaners and the personnel occupied with assisting in case of any kind of failure in the feed systems other than the trolleys.

There were now two shifts operating, the day and night shifts. This was the Night Shift, taking a well-earned rest. Spartan units had also been deployed across the fold of the ship's naval forces, all of Gypsy Company's squads providing enhanced security detail against possible boarding droids and the likes. Some of the personnel that joined were Marines now.

She hummed and started doing reps while still listening to the conversations. Some men and women spoke of the deployment of the Fleet's multitude of 'Prowlers', what she recalled were Spy and Intelligence Stealth Ships utilized by the UNSC to their fullest extent during the Human-Covenant War. They could've been gathering intel already, for all she knew. Apparently, some of the men here were friends with the Office of Naval Intelligence's staff operating aboard those Special Warfare Ships.

After her training, the young woman walked onto the bridge once more, simply sitting in the back and watching as the crew on the deck went about their usual business, the AIs aboard discussing matters together pertaining to the angle they were going to go in at, the possible contact with CIS troops and vessels, the escort fleet of this new enemy warship. It was tantamount to listening to briefings back in the day, when Revan, her and Malak still ran things.

She looked over to the left as a door opened and saw Commander Palmer. Palmer herself, to her credit, saluted and said, "General," causing Meetra to snort. The blonde saluted back, then nodded the Commander at ease. Palmer then asked, "Take it Admiral Lasky's still asleep... Understandable, I guess. Trip's still gonna take a while to complete... How're you faring aboard?"

"I'm good, Commander," Meetra nodded, "Thanks for asking."

"Hey, we're all on the same boat, ma'am," Palmer shrugged, "Pays to be nice. Still surprised ONI's letting you walk around free."

"I got an escorting Spartan from your ranks from the get-go, remember?" She snorted, rubbing the back of her neck. Palmer chuckled and nodded. Meetra then added, "And, honestly, I understand the apprehension. Especially as someone who probably uses what's tantamount to magic to you people to fight her battles. That and my Lightsaber, which is eerily similar to the Elites' Energy Swords."

Palmer nodded, replying, "You'd be surprised how scary we find both, heh."

"Well, I'll keep my blade pointed at the droids, if that's alright with you."

"Fine by me, ma'am."

"Just Meetra," The girl quipped, then noted the confusion in Palmer's gaze, which she found sort of adorable. As adorable as an old woman would find a young one's confusion on matters like that. She clarified, "Call me Meetra, commander. I'm not that fond of either the title of General, or that of Master anymore... I'm just a citizen fighting to assist the Republic and to learn more of our new allies..."

"Understood, gen-..." Palmer cut herself off, then hummed and said, "Meetra..." tasting the familiarity of using the girl's first name. She told her, "You can call me Sarah if you want."

Meetra smiled, "I'd love to call everyone by first names, but there's some degree of respect... Maybe when we're all off-duty, aye?"

"Aye," Sarah nodded, then gave a light tap to the General and said, "I'll go check in with Roland and see how far out we are. Been a pleasure, Meetra..." then stopped midway through leaving and snorted, "I'll call you Ma'am and 'General' during combat and duty hours, too, then, if that's alright... See you," And she waved, stepping off to the holographic table.

"Making friends?" A voice familiar to the woman sent a chill up her spine. She nearly yelped and jumped out of her skin, turning to face the source and seeing the Lieutenant, helmet slung under his arm. He walked up beside her and looked around the Bridge, before stating, "Commander Palmer's a bit of a hardass, but I can respect her choices... She still gets mocked for saying she expected the Chief 'would be taller' when they first met."

Meetra snorted, "She did that?"

Six nodded, "She'll admit to it being a stupid thing to say, but she was apparently excited to meet the Spartan that pretty much saved humanity... Which is strange for an ODST..." Then he and Meetra started walking together. He looked upon the young woman that was supposedly four millennia old and asked her, "So, how is it?" only to see the confusion. He clarified quickly, "Being millennia old. Witnessing history being made. That type of thing."

Meetra's usual smile seemed to strain a bit, her demeanor a hint more solemn now than it was before as memories of the past seemed to resurface. She rubbed her arm and started, "I wish I'd..." before snapping out of it and shaking her head. No, no, no thoughts like that. If she gave up right now, she would just become like something she destroyed long ago, something she did not want to become like. The Spartan noticed this, his curiosity piqued. She told him, "It's hard. Knowing that any and every person I will ever meet, I will outlive... It's more of a curse after the first person you've known dies."

"... I'm sorry," Six frowned, "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

She gave him a half-smile and told him, "It's fine. I understand the curiosity... Nice to see what's supposed to be a deadly superhuman weapon showing friendly behavior," She then quipped and looked forward again. Six rolled his eyes as they kept up the walk toward the turbolift, only for the girl to hit the button, the car rolling down the rails it was designed to move on.

"At least I'm trying to be friendly," He shot back as they disembarked, "I heard we're going to be engaging in an orbital fight..."

"That's what I've heard, too," The girl nodded, "The CIS Warship Malevolence, some new design of dreadnought for them, is the prey... Well, as you can guess, I hope she's the prey. It wouldn't be any fun for us to be prey ourselves to her..." and paused for a moment to ponder the fact they were about to be part of what would probably be the greatest naval engagement in the Galaxy's recent history and of the war up to this point.

Six was about to reply when the PA of the ship kicked in with a shrill screech. Admiral Lasky called out, "All crew, this is Admiral Lasky. We've lost contact with the Jedi fleet deployed within the system, presumed due to engagement with the enemy vessel and her escorting fleet. We are entering Yellow Alert. All crew, to their stations. I repeat, all crew, to their stations, yellow alert. ETA to System is ten minutes."

"Well..." Sighed Six, "Guess we'll see you around. I have to go to my assigned bulkhead..." And he gave the girl a quick salute. With an awkward smile and a wave, the girl nodded. She then took the elevator back to the bridge. Arriving on-deck, the woman snapped a salute to the Admiral as she joined the crew. She saw the staff already at their stations, the muffled wails of the sirens echoing and the gold lights flashing around her.

"Welcome, general Surik," The man nodded. The tension on the bridge was so thick one could cut it with a knife, "Master Plo Koon's fleet is set to meet us in the system. The first General sent in the area barely managed to send a mayday out before his fleet got destroyed, so this probably means the enemy's there in force..."

"Taking care of their new battleship, yes," Meetra hummed. An oppressive feeling hit her, like the Force was warning her. She tensed visibly, causing the Admiral a hint of consternation. He cut sideways with his right hand toward one of the crew, someone she couldn't make out the rank or occupation of. The Jedi closed her eyes and utilized the Force to see if she can feel the ebbing tides of fate, tell how the battle would go.

She did not manage to, sadly. Not before the call came through from the Admiral. The whirlwind of Slipspace dissolved into realspace, the eerie, dim glow of a stellar body bathing the fleets in crimson. Roland reported, "Detecting Jedi fleet Debris in the AO, multiple in fact. No beacons or Maydays emanating, no life signs... Stand by, we got a contact on scopes. Low orbit near the star."

Abregado, the system of a dull red star and home to Abregado Rae, was to become the site of the next great naval war. Lasky ordered, "Deploy squadrons and prepare to engage the enemy fleet..." as the holographic table flared to life, displaying a system-wide map with the positions of the allied fleets. The man then radioed in, "General Plo Koon, this is the Infinity. Sensors detected the enemy vessel and her escorts..."

As the figure of the Jedi appeared next to the holographic table, Meetra quickly camouflaged herself from his point of view, keen to watch the battle unfold for the moment, seeing as she didn't have much to do. The voices of the two fleet officers faded to the back as she watched the fleet dispositions change. Around them, the combined UNSC-Republic fleet took a battle formation, the front line with UNSC and Jedi cruisers at the tip of the spear.

"Enemy fleet has spotted us, confirmed. Supporting ships are vectoring to counter," Roland reported, "Issuing Red Alert order as per Admiral's request. All ships, prepare for battle..."

The first slew of squadrons, Longswords and Broadswords, had taken off into the void between the two fleets. Whereas the UNSC and the Republic had a combined 20 ships, the enemy had only ten with their massive new vessel. The UNSC Fleet needed to get in range, much like the enemy's ships, in order to fire their main weaponry without the risk of the enemy dodging their shots or shooting their missiles down. They'd left some of the ships back at the Docks for repair and refit, obviously, while others hanged around in Slipspace.

Meetra stared at the disposition of forces, then looked out at the shadows that lay against the scarlet star of the system. Even the enemy battleship, a vessel with an open maw like that of a preying sea hunter, turned to close the distance. Crews called out positions, targeting sequence percentages and the likes. One crewman on sensors called out, "Enemy fighters have been deployed! Counting a hundred strike squadrons!"

Decent numbers for a droid force, Meetra thought as she watched the distance between the two fleets close. The enemy's own ships had taken a battle formation that pitted the battleship at the back, while a retrofitted Lucrehulk led as the tip of the spear. The tension on board the vessel was oppressive as the group eyed the enemy's warships and they definitely glared back at them.

... Aboard the Malevolence, a sole figure stood. Clad in a cape that covered most of the skeletal cyborg frame he was confined to due to past injuries, one of the CIS's greatest generals glared at the enemy fleet, catlike eyes peering through the bridge's vision ports at them. His voice was rough, harsh and low. A short, quiet cough escaped his speaker system, before he turned to the crew and ordered with an eerie calm, "Maintain approach and remember the reports from Christophsis. Prepare all batteries to fire and initiate charging procedures for the Ion Cannon... The Malevolence's first real test has begun," golden eyes glimmering in the scarlet light bouncing from the sun behind them.

The elusive figure was General Grievous, a hunchback cyborg born out of a species that had died some decades ago by the hands of the Jedi. His mask, resembling the face of an angry animal, forever locked his gaze into a frown that was accentuated by his auburn eyes and slit pupils. He was cunning, vile and short-tempered at times, but he had little reason to be so now, for he had a million tonnes of Confederate steel at his disposal, armed with the best weapons that the CIS could muster, under his command.

He told them, "Ensure that the support elements within the Debris field are ready to engage our friends..." as he eyed the distance. A droid replied his affirmative while a holo-display flared with data. Distant explosions flared as the two fleets' fighter complements engaged each-other. Clone Torrent fighters and these new enemies' craft engaged in a furball in the middle as the two fleets closed distance, entering the debris fields of the Jedi fleet that arrived prior. He then ordered, "Bring us to broadside, shunt power to charge the cannons and tell the Sanctimonious Donation to move out of the way... We shall have our First Strike."

Both officers of the fleet glared at each-other's vessels as the ranges ticked down. More and more, the human and Clone crews tensed, while the Droids had gone silent on the ships. The Lucrehulk shifted its flight path, at first further obscuring the Malevolence, much to Lasky's chagrin. Roland called out, "Sir, we're in effective firing range. On your mark."

"Fire at will. We'll take the enemy's flagship out with a second volley," The man nodded.

... "Fire!" Grievous ordered as their path cleared...

And the void was set alight...

Scarlet plasma bolts traced criss-crossing patterns in the void as white flashes came from the bows of the UNSC vessels. Ferromagnetic slugs lanced out from the bows of the UNSC vessels and, in a devious reply from the Malevolence, a halo of crackling electricity shot out of one of the two ion pulse cannons on the side. Interlacing shots met, missiles launching from the tubes of the UNSC warships and narrowly avoiding the EM shot.

First to get caught in the blast were the first few UNSC and Droid squadrons, the EM Pulses disabling them, leaving the furball dead in the water as the ion blast pushed forth. Lasky's eyes shot wide open, as did Meetra's. She was about to call out for them to avoid the ion pulse, but Lasky was way ahead of her, yelling over fleetwide coms, "All ships, brace for impact! Shunt power and maximize shield output, NOW!"

The attack pushed on regardless, even as turbolaser and cannon shots were exchanged between the fleets. It first made contact with the leading ships of the fleet, electricity arcing into the energy shielding of the UNSC and Jedi Cruisers, leaving the latter disabled, while the former's coms echoed, though not with maydays. The captains seemed annoyed at the hit.

Finally, the massive blast crossed the Infinity, sparking off the shield blanket and glowing a burning crimson as energy met energy. Weakened by first contact with the fleet's vanguard, the blast exploded outward, reverberating across the dreadnought's hull and deactivating the energy shields. Roland called out, "Admiral! Our shields are down! Enemy must've fired some sort of high-intensity EM Blast at us! All other systems nominal but the shields are rebooting!"

"It was an Ion shot!" Meetra gritted her teeth. She pointed to the Jedi Cruisers whose engines flickered and said, "They managed to disable master Plo Koon's three Venators..."

Lasky frowned, then barked, "Push us through and drop rescue boats, give cover while the Jedi are getting their ships back in order! Roland, fleetwide order, Assault Plan Charlie!" as he straightened up. The hull of the UNSC vessel began to groan as the turbolaser shots made contact. Geysers of fire erupted on the bows of a couple of the UNSC's ships, scarlet shots flashing past the bridge of the command vessel. Lasky glared at the enemy fleet's flagship, then ordered, "Groups of three or four vessels! Divide up, maintain spacing between groups and engage enemies one ship at a time! We're charging the Malevolence!"

Close the distance and mingle with the enemy's fleet to survive and sow confusion. If the hostile commander cared enough, maybe he wouldn't fire that weapon again. Or, if they were lucky, it'd take time to charge. Time in which the Infinity or an allied ship could scour it with a MAC. He reactivated the hologram table and looked at the sensor displays, noting that their Alpha Strike had done damage, too.

The Lucrehulk Sanctimonious Donation had lost one of the main propulsion systems on its back as it had cleared a path for the Malevolence's first shot, courtesy of the Infinity's four MACs firing simultaneously. Various other escorting vessels had lost chunks of hull and weaponry courtesy of the missiles and guns of the UNSC, with a Frigate flying almost dead in the water.

Meetra braced as she felt the ship's pulse drive kick into gear. The UNSC's other ships followed in, Frigates, Destroyers and Cruisers entering diamond formations of four ships each, with the Infinity receiving guard from the 10 Frigates she now dropped from her belly. Strident-class Frigates and and a couple of Anlaces formed up with the INF. Bolts of plasma scored glancing hits and came to near-misses, while UNSC CIWS systems finally opened up, 50mm Coilguns, shorter-range missile pods and even the Anlaces' DEWs firing.

"Shields will be back online in one mike!" Roland reported, "Entering secondary range!"

"Fire at will! Prep Nukes!" Lasky barked.

Meetra suggested, "We should aim for the ion cannons! If we can disable those, we can cripple the ship!"

"Relay that to the rest of the fleet! Target the Ion Cannon bulges on the sides of the ship! Fire MACs, Nukes, anything you can slip through!" Lasky bellowed as tracers danced across the viewports. The forward hull shields closed over the bridge's windows and switched over to external view cameras as the enemy's turbolaser batteries started returning fire.

On the Malevolence, Grievous ordered, "Prepare another Ion Pulse. Aim for their flagship..." as he started at the UNSC warship bow-to-bow with his own vessel, its missile pods and kinetic machine cannons answering the CIS Capital ship's turbolasers, blasters and other heavy weapons. The enemy's fleet seemed to have split into groups, the frigates dropped from the ship's belly focusing on engaging Malevolence's escorts. The General then said, "Call up escort Frigates two and three, tell them to stay close... Perhaps we can use them as armor should they fire another kinetic volley."

Five groups of four UNSC ships each engaged the enemy's escorts. Cruiser MAC guns fired, drilling holes into the plate armor of the enemy ships while plasma struck back. Heikkala's cruiser had taken a lot of fire, its hull ablaze in several places, but the old girl still flew, firing at the enemy everything from gun to missile. Heikkala barked orders in Finnish and English, a crazy look in her eyes as the vessel dived into the enemy's lines alongside her escorting frigates.

The second wave of fighters and bombers had also launched while Pelicans and Tugboats provided SAR for the various craft left disabled in the former furball, dragging them toward the rebooting Jedi Cruisers, from aboard which Master Plo watched the ongoing engagement with muted awe. He spoke, "Quite an incredible sight... They engaged the enemy up close."

"Probably figured it'd be better to divvy up their forces, sir. Make it less likely for the enemy ship's Ion pulsers to knock them out of the fight," His officer suggested, looking up at the alien being with a black mask, orange skin and a strangely-shaped head. Plo nodded, while the Clone said, "We're nearly at 100% again, sir. Should be able to join Admiral Lasky's strike soon."

"Let's hope we can provide at least some support," The man nodded. "Contact the Order when our coms are back online. Tell them to deploy reinforcements..."

"Sir! Look!" Another Clone Navy ensign pointed out at the fleets.

In a true mess of orbital warfare, the UNSC warships seemed to be holding their own even as their shields slowly recharged. A Frigate whose PD array seemed to also be rebooting after several hits to their guns swiveled about, utilizing her directional thrusters to aim at the enemy Flagship. When the CIS Frigates at its side noticed this, one redirected, swiveling about and utilizing its own thrusters to align itself. The twin turbolaser in its maw opened fire on the UNSC ship, glancing hits that boiled thin layers of plate armor away.

The Frigate's MAC flared in the night. Half-charge, the shot punched through the maw of the enemy Frigate, disabling one of the two barrels of the Turbolaser and damn-near breaking the tower which held the bridge amidships. The winged CIS vessel started spewing Fighters now, a dozen Vulture droids sweeping forth toward the frigate, escorting Hyena bombers.

Bolts of plasma and torpedoes roared toward the vessel... Just as its golden blanket of energy winked back to life. They impacted, causing the shields to flare. The Frigate, the UNSC Only Easy Day, had its PD mounts reboot. 50mm coilgun-launched explosive fuzed ammunition cracked the cold void and caught the Vultures by surprise as the CIS Frigate closed distance with them.

Return fire came in the form of the Droid warship's smaller laser batteries. Volleys of energy fire impacted the shielded vessel, causing its energy protection to flare once more. It flashed, flared and died, bolts of energy cutting into the hull of the Frigate now. Missiles lanced out in reply, followed by another MAC shot that hit the bridge of the CIS ship and tumbled inward, deeper into the hull. The CIS frigate now floated dead in the water, while the UNSC's still flew, though it had many more marks of the battle on its hull.

The Infinity's own shields powered back on as it aimed its weapons at the enemy vessel. Head-to-head, Commander and Ship were once more about to test their mettle. Super MAC rounds roared out of the barrels of the Flagship, while the Malevolence attempted to turn on its axis to present a broadside as its main cannon was charging. Grievous, however, took a moment aboard his flagship to consider this.

With a huff, the half-machine, half-man ordered, "All ships are to converge and provide us a corridor out! We are not losing the Malevolence to a situation that has become tenuous..." only to hear the audible confirmations from his droids. He stepped down to the command deck, then said, "We've tested the ship's weapons... And we need to learn to adjust for the enemy's shields."

Heikkala's cruiser moved at full power toward the enemy ship, aiming one of its nuclear warheads at the ion cannons as more energy weapon fire poured down on her. They'd regained and lost their shields five times at this point and it was getting annoying, so Heikkala decided on the best course of action. She radioed, "This is Captain Heikkala. We're firing one of our nukes at the enemy ship... The bastards are trying to pull out, so we'll leave'em a parting gift! Get us close and hit the bastard, now!"

They watched the ship try and peel off, its support fleet taking fire from all sides, MACs pouring down on their comrades and, finally, turbolasers of a blue tint from the Republic Navy's ships as they flew in. Plo transmitted, "Apologies for the tardiness, Admiral. We're on our way in now-" only to blink as they gazed upon a sole missile leaving the UNSC warship's tube amidst the continuous crossfire.

It banked toward the enemy vessel, dodging all the focused point-defense batteries, all the Vulture droids and all else, only for it to strike. A blinding flash covered a good chunk of the enemy ship's side, a shockwave causing the entire fleet to shudder even here, in the void, where it could be somewhat omnidirectional. The detonation sent a more internalzied shockwave through the Malevolence, a droid calling out, "We've sustained damage to the Ion cannon!"

"How severe?" Grievous demanded, his voice low.

"Batteries inoperable, sir!" The Droid replied, "Residual radiation confirmed!"

"Get us out of this furball faster so we can repair!" Grievous barked back, angry. He looked upon the enemy fleet and stated, "Next time..."

... Before long, the extent of the damage had made itself clear. A cratering wound was left where one of the twin Ion batteries had been. Fires burned and radiation emanated from the gash, vaporized hull giving way to the inner workings of the war machine. The Malevolence's engines burned now, brighter than ever as its escort fleet took heavy fire to the cheers of the shipboard crews of their enemy.

Lasky ordered, "Bring us about and pursue them!" to the helmsman, "All ships, this is Infinity! We're pursuing the enemy!"

Meetra, though awed at the UNSC's display of force, nodded and said, "I'll take a fighter out there when we intercept them, too... Best for all of us to participate..." before turning and departing from the bridge. The UNSC had just won an engagement the likes of which could truly determine the fate of the early stages of a war. A crippled enemy ship limped away, while its escorting fleet had been torn to shreds. The UNSC had lost crew and ships had been severely damaged in this engagement, too, but they had done it...

If anything, it reinforced beliefs...

They were worth investing herself into...

Chapter Text

"We're in pursuit with master Plo's fleet. Per reports from the Prowlers we have trailing it, the Malevolence seems to be aiming for a nearby nebula to utilize as cover so they can perform emergency repairs. We've already sent a message to the Shadow of Intent, but were hoping you could reinforce us, too, Generals," Admiral Lasky spoke as they stood before the holographic table. The other holograms amidst the group were Generals Kenobi and Skywalker, Admiral Yularen and even master Plo himself, communicating from aboard his flagship.

"We'll see what we can do," Anakin replied with eagerness for action in his voice. It seemed to be standard to him, Lasky observed, the kind of brashness that would usually get any other man killed. Skywalker then looked to Obi-Wan and told him, "Our ships are fairly close to the Ryndellia system. If there's any place the Malevolence might hit up, it'd probably the Kaliida Nebula... Going to be a pain to navigate for them, though"

"We'll have our Task Force redirect toward Ryndellia. The Malevolence's commanding officer may attempt to strike at the medical center nearby, too, maybe as a sort of Last Ditch should they be caught still repairing," Obi-Wan suggested, "Admiral, do give a hello to the medical staff if you reach the area ahead of us, please. They are treating some of my men at that center."

"We'll say hello once the enemy's capital ship's out of action, general," Lasky nodded, "Sending current coordinates and estimated time of arrival near Ryndellia now..." And he motioned to Roland to do it. The AI gave a nod, before shifting several screens around him and transmitting the data to the Generals. Lasky, meanwhile, snapped a salute and said, "See you at the whale hunt, sirs."

"Take care of yourselves, Admiral, Resolute, out."

The Generals' holograms winked off as Lasky sighed, rubbing his eyes. He looked over to see Meetra sat by one of the consoles, looking at the slipspace whirlpool ahead with a focused, mute expression. He approached her and told her, "They might need you on the S-Deck, ma'am. I didn't get to tell the Generals that other Prowlers have reported an enemy task force moving in to try and reinforce our quarry."

"And what're we going to do, Admiral? It isn't exactly easy to board an enemy ship. We'd need to surround it, disable its engines, shield and weapons and then send in dozens of craft into potentially far too risky encounters, tight corridors. Each corner would be a fortification or ambush point," The girl replied, a more militaristic, focused tone. She blinked, shook her head and chuckled awkwardly, "Sorry... Slipped back into my old general persona. Guess hearing that the enemy's planning to repair and hit something as defenseless as a hospital didn't help with the tension and tiredness I've been feeling..."

"That's fine, ma'am," The Admiral replied, "We're all a little uptight now."

"Dealing with an enemy battleship that's almost the length of the Infinity and bristling with guns ain't exactly a bright day for anyone, sir, so I don't think any of us blame you two for worrying so much," Roland quipped as he appeared next to the two, "Sorry for interrupting, sir, ma'am, but we got incoming from the Shadow. Shipmaster 'Vadum's calling this time."

The two turned toward the comm table and approached it, watching as Shipmaster Rtas Vadum's form materialized ahead of them. He placed his right fist against the left side of his chest plate and greeted, "Hail, Infinity. We've received your message and are making headway to the intercept point. We'll hopefully be able to arrive at the same time and pincer our enemy..."

"A pleasure to cooperate with you again, Shipmaster," The Admiral nodded, "Take it the Arbiter's busy?"

"Indeed. Our Reliquary activated recently," The Shipmaster seemed to let those words be processed for a moment. The woman beside Lasky seemed a bit confused as she saw the faces of surprise worn by everyone aboard, including by Roland. With a bow of his head, Rtas continued, "Fear not. The Arbiter is with his special operations unit. Whatever they discover will be brought aboard and shared with the UNSC to study. For now, though, I wish to ask how heavy a resistance we should expect."

"... One capital ship, heavily damaged," Meetra told him calmly. Best to share reports quickly, she thought as she spoke to him, "Possibly dozens if not hundreds of turbolaser turrets and various other armaments. It'll have a lot of broadside firepower to concentrate, so I'd suggest coming in from the rear or front if you detect them before they do you. Their heavy offensive armament, the ion batteries mounted to both sides of the ship's bow, have been disabled by the UNSC fleet. They're probably executing emergency repairs, so go in prepared for weapons that can disable shielding."

"I see. Many thanks, General Surik," The alien leader replied, "Your acumen begets your experience. One such as you is a valuable comrade."

Meetra blushed and smiled, rubbing the back of her neck, "My thanks, Shipmaster. I have vowed to myself that I will do everything in my power to assist you and the UNSC in your bid to fight here, so I can't exactly stay back anymore. Too much darkness is brewing in the Galaxy again for me to just sit back... Oh, one more thing, beware of the enemy's own fighters. We might have wiped the floor with her escort fleet, but the Malevolence still has hangars from what I've seen."

"We will have our own fighters providing the combat patrol for when we engage. However, we will hopefully go after the enemy together. Should we expect any other reinforcements while on our way?" He then asked, turning to Lasky. The man nodded and sent a full data package with the expected allied force roster to the Shipmaster. Once the data fully transferred, Rtas looked over it and nodded, "Very well. Fair winds, Admiral, General. We shall see you at Ryndellia."

"To you as well, Shipmaster. Infinity, out." Lasky replied cordially, then watched the hologram wink out. He hummed and scratched his chin, "This is concerning."

"Isn't a Reliquary, as the name implies, somewhere where they store relics? What's so special about it that its 'activation' would ask for an entire task group of Special Ops Elites?" Meetra inquired. Unless a reliquary suddenly meant an entirely different thing in the UNSC's time or galaxy, she thought, then it really shouldn't have been as big of a deal as it was.

The Admiral looked at her and replied with the same calm he tended to answer many questions about their world, "A Reliquary is an ancient alien artifact that guides us to other artifacts of its makers. Ruins, technologies, various things like that. The fact that it activated here and of its own accord means there's something in your galaxy that's Forerunner..."

"Oh..." Meetra blinked, "Is that bad?"

"Depends on the technology," Lasky shrugged, "Could be anything from another map to a weapon of mass destruction that's capable of wiping out entire sectors in its blast."

The Jedi's eyes shot wide open, "You said that waaay too non-chalantly, admiral... A WMD that powerful!?"

"That's what the Halo rings were, if you remember them from some of the briefings we handed to you," He shot back. It took a moment for her to remember, but her heart sank when she did. With a quick nod, she licked her lips, which suddenly felt like they were chafing and dry, then looked out again. He told her, "We'll help the Arbiter and his unit pursue this stuff after we've dealt with our current objective."

"Yeah..." The woman replied, wary as she crossed her arms to her chest, "Just gotta hope the confeds don't get to touch it before we do..."

"I hope to god they don't have a Reliquary of their own," Lasky quipped, smiling at her.. He then told her, "Best you head for S-Deck and get some rest. Now that you mentioned boarding, I'm not ruling out the possibility of it happening..." before turning back toward the bridge crew as the red lights continued to flash on the bridge. The ship was on Red Alert still.

Meetra nodded to Lasky, then stepped off the deck. She marched through the hallways, surprised to see saluting staff and Marines as she did so and saluting them back. She still wasn't used to being back in command of anything, much less part of an actual fighting force. What were the UNSC and their alien allies at this point, anyhow? Mercenaries? Affiliated parties?

She sighed as she entered the tram, finding Halsey traversing the ship again. The doctor looked up at her and said, "Hello again, miss Surik," in a pleasant, if slightly flatter tone than usual, "It seems as though these next few days will be quite busy for us... I just received a message from Roland to proceed and check our own Reliquary after what the Shipmaster and Arbiter reported. We locked ours away when we figured we were no longer near our homes, so..."

"Trying to see if it's a fluke now is better than later," Meetra shrugged.

"Indeed," Halsey replied. She then turned to face Metra, "Speaking of, I appreciate you taking your time for those previous tests. These new types of cells embedded into the human bloodstream are a rather interesting discovery... If not a bit concerning. I would like to ask you to help me again at a later date in understanding the properties they offer. I understand the idea of this 'Force' as you Jedi call it, at least enough to know that there is some form of explanation for it..."

"We never got a proper explanation for it ourselves," Meetra shrugged, "Just the knowledge and feeling that it is what binds all living things in the Galaxy together. And it's also why we see you all as outsiders of sorts, I guess. I'll admit, I felt a bit uneasy at first... But I think you all have grown on me in a way," one which she would never truly specify, simply due to the kind of concern it could elicit out of them.

Halsey nodded, "I understand," before pausing as the tram dinged. She told Meetra, "Perhaps you'll be able to assist us in the next recovery operation if and when we do discover more ancient artifacts, general. Until then, I must bid you a good day," as she watched her stand up. Meetra smiled and wordlessly gave her a wave before stepping off onto the S-Deck. Several Spartans and personnel climbed aboard, including janitorial, to which she said, "Oh, ensign Presley, I'm going to require some maintenance crews in laboratory 12."

A heavy sigh escaped the hardhat-wearing woman's mouth, "Yes, doc..."

... Back with Meetra, the young-yet-ancient woman stepped onto the Spartan Deck, to the sight of the hundreds of armor stands being tended to by techs, some of which were occupied by Gypsy Company's current roster of Spartans, either getting into or getting out of armor. The woman approached Commander Palmer, who was leaning against a railing next to the command center overlooking the place, then greeted, "Commander?"

Sarah twitched a little, then turned and gave a quick salute, "General... Sorry, didn't see you there."

"You seem in thought," Meetra said as she, too, leaned against the railing, watching the Spartans go about their business. The Commander didn't try to deflect or deny. She simply tilted her head forward to confirm. The Jedi looked at her and asked, "Anything specific?"

"The fact we're in another weird mess thanks to Forerunner tech, ma'am," the girl replied, "Thank God we wound up here with our support fleet, else I doubt the Infinity's factories alone could've kept up with all the stuff we need replacements for. Two gun mounts got screwed during the last fight as far as I heard. We're already manufacturing replacements..."

"You also have the contract with Kuat now," Meetra shrugged, "Plus the Republic Credits to pay for it, considering..."

"Yeah... Point is, I know the old girl's supposed to be a deep space vessel and all, considering what she was originally built for, but this is feeling like we're a bit too in over our heads..." Palmer let out a sigh, "But, hey, at least we got a guide in this clusterfuck that seems to know at least half of what they're doing. You've been keeping up to date with the Galaxy at large, right?"

"Trying to," She nodded, "Makes it easier, being off of Coruscant, I guess."

"Yeah, fair..." The Commander sighed, then paused as she saw the girl's smile suddenly grow. She took a couple seconds and murmured, "Okay then, see you, General..." before turning back and marching toward the trams. Meetra, meanwhile, landed with a roll in front of Six, the man and his protege, Richard, blanking as they saw her spring up to her feet with a grin.

She spoke jovially, "Six, Richard."

"Ma'am," Both chorused, a little surprised.

She started walking with the two, noting that they were out of their armors as well, then quipped, "Seems like there's a possibility we'll board the Malevolence. You fellas don't mind helping a girl out, right? I need to train a bit in CQC with your weapons, just in case he situation calls for it. I mean, I'm mostly hoping we don't have to board it and can just sink it, but..." then watching both men look to each-other. They shrugged and gave nods of approval. She smiled at them properly now.

Aboard the Nubian Starship belonging to Senator Amidala

Queen Padmé Amidala, Senator and ruler of Naboo, sat aboard the luxurious Nubian that the Naboo Royal Family owned, simply checking her items. Her job today was two-fold, it seemed. One was to begin negotiations with the Banking Clan in order to secure their withdrawal from the War and from supporting the Confederacy. Then again, that was much easier said than done, considering. The other job, however, was being assigned as a temporary representative aboard their newfound Allies' capital warship. That latter part was going to be... Interesting...

She sighed and rubbed her eyes, turning to the console of her ship and looking over the estimated time of arrival. Another couple hours before they'd be making it to their target area. She turned to the golden protocol droid that was walking around, the whirr of his servos echoing through the ship, and chuckled, then said to him, "Threepio, settle down. It's a standard negotiation."

"Oh, I know, mistress Padmé, but can you truly blame me? We are flying near the Front Lines and there's these rumors of a new vessel of the confederacy prowling the area..." The Droid actually seemed concerned. More-so than usual. He admitted, "I'm just worried over what'll happen if we meet any sort of problems along the way..." before he seemed to fall into thought.

Padmé sighed, then said, "It'll be fine. Take a seat and stop stumbling around, your servos still need to be re-oiled..." before turning back to face the console and looking out toward the hyperspace vortex. She had thought for a moment that she'd seen a flicker, but shook her head and said to herself that was nigh impossible, really. It didn't matter. They still had only a couple of hours to go before they reached their target system.

She stretched, told Threepio, "I'm going to try sleeping. Wake me up when we reach the system," then leaned back into her seat and shut her eyes while her droid companion began his watch. Her mind was then left to wander in her semi-conscious state, wondering just how strange these new people would be. Reports read that they had kinetic weaponry with them. Slug throwers that were far more powerful than your average, rail guns and magnetic cannons, missiles and shields. The Separatists must've considered shooting at them the greatest mistake at this point.

She staggered, suddenly awake as the ship shook, then asked, "Threepio, what just happened-" only to freeze as she saw the sight of the glowing nebula clouds around them... And the metal beast stalking the place dead ahead, fires and craters still marking her massive, damaged shark-like frame. Warnings blared across the Nubian's consoles as Padme murmured, "They have us in their tractor beams... How did we get pulled out of hyperspace!?"

"I don't know!" Threepio replied with panic in his voice.

They watched the turrets tracking them, with Padmé murmuring, "Well, if they wanted us dead, they would've gunned us down by now..." only to pause as she noticed a slight flicker to their immediate right. She blinked, sighed and said, "Hoping that flash was Republic reinforcements would be a bit too much, wouldn't it...?" almost like a hopeful plea. She leaned back into her seat.

"I'm not detecting anything else here..." Threepio murmured, scared, "Perhaps they are, but they're just outside the Nebula? I did send a distress signal..."

"We'd have gotten a ping back by now..." She replied, "Hang on. Looks like we're going in."

Indeed, in they went, into the maw of one of the dozens of hangars on board the Subjugator-class warship Malevolence. And here she was hoping this was gonna be a blue milk run. Rather obviously, it'd never be the case for anyone even remotely hoping to be part of the Skywalker family, considering the things Anakin always got up to within the last few years.

As the ship's landing gear extended, the senator stood to her feet and walked over to one of the ship's compartments, propping it open and pulling out a self-defense blaster. She motioned to Threepio to follow her to the gangplank so they could get off, before sighing. She told Threepio, "Well, I guess that if we make it back, we can report the enemy ship is real..."

She popped the rear hatch open with the press of a button, watching as a series of menial droids milled about the cavernous bay that contained the warship's escort squadrons. With that, she said, "Let's hope whoever's commanding this ship isn't fast... C'mon," then took the lead. Padmé Amidala, daughter of the Naberrie family, senator, queen of Naboo and secret lover of Anakin Skywalker, was nothing if not a woman of action. And action here would be simple:evading capture until they could escape or be rescued.

Because if there was one thing she was sure of, it was that Anakin was already on his way to save her...

Planet Ossus

... Despite the appearance of a barren, almost flash-boiled landscape, the planet of Ossus was still lush with life. Animals and creatures treaded at a distance from the landed Phantom as the Arbiter and his supporting squadron of Special Operations Elites first set foot on the world. One of the Elites murmured, "This world reeks of death... Almost as if a great cataclysm befell it. Arbiter, are we sure this is wise...?"

"It is where the Reliquary has pointed us. Whatever lay on this planet is Forerunner," The Arbiter replied, his armor faintly glistening in the light of Ossus's distant suns. The hisses of the various creatures and the creak and rustle of the trees moved by wind and animal alike echoed around them, off the steep rock walls of the valley they had landed within like death echoes. After that brief pause, the Arbiter added, "Best we bring it aboard the Shadow so that we and our allies may begin to study it... Whatever it is."

"Understood," The Elite replied, drawing his plasma rifle off of his hip and scanning the area, his eyes darting left to right. Another Spec Ops Elite, this one with a fully sealed helmet bearing an opaque visor, looked to the Arbiter, lifting a needle rifle. The Arbiter gave a nod to him and he proceeded to take off in a sprint, before activating his jetpack and launching forward into one of the tall trees nearby to utilize it as a perch.

Thel raised his hand and waved it forward, then spoke over the communication system, "Dokan, you and 'Sarom will be our reinforcement should we encounter any problems," and he scanned the trees as well, gently grabbing his carbine off of his back and checking to make sure the focused plasma-spewing weapon was loaded. He nodded approvingly as they began their march through the trees.

"Understood, Arbiter. We shall be your eye in the sky," The pilot replied. The whirr of the Phantom's engines filled the air as it lifted off and went to a higher altitude, its multitude of turrets scanning the areas ahead and around with their spotlights on. Night came rather quickly on the planet. The Elites continued their trek, however, unabated. Even as shadows started to move amidst the trees in their peripheral vision.

Twenty of his finest warriors marched with him on this alien planet. He had no fear toward the wilds here. He knew these warriors well, had fought beside them since before his punishment of becoming Arbiter. And even after, as he served with the Shipmaster and his men, he recalled the service of these fine Sangheili. So, yes, he was confident. But confidence was a slow, insidious killer.

Hence, he tempered himself with cautiousness, watching their marksman Elite jumping from tree to tree, holding close the needle rifle and scanning the area. Their own system motion trackers worked overtime, picking up and filtering the various fauna around to the best of their abilities. The humans' upgrades to such systems had proven to be monumental in combat, during the Civil War on Sangheilios.

He hummed and looked toward one of their younger recruits, who seemed to be wary, if sharp and focused. Noting that his commander was looking upon him, the Elite tensed for a moment, before returning back to the standard sharp, no-nonsense state troops such as theirs were expected to be in. The Arbiter simply gave him a reassuring nod, before continuing to scan their surroundings.

An older Elite, Usze 'Taham, the Commando officer that had helped the Arbiter and the Master Chief during the final stages of the war, spoke, "The strangeness of finding our galaxy's ancients within the confines of this one is undeniable. Arbiter, what if they had an operational base here? Maybe even on this very planet?" as he looked upon his leader. "The technologies here alone could change the tide of this war."

The Arbiter nodded, "Then we shall find it with all due haste, Usze."

"Indeed," Usze hummed, "I suppose you have noticed local creatures that are tracking us, too, yes?"

"For the past half-hour, yes," The Arbiter replied, "They aren't simple creatures, though. It seems to be a pack. They hunt together... And there's a rattle of equipment not unlike that of our human Comrades," and he turned back, noticing the silhouettes amidst the treeline, covered in shadows, holding close what looked to be firearms. He didn't want to startle them... Though these humanoids soon seemed to realize that they knew they had been spotted, quickly vanishing behind the trees.

The Arbiter and his soldiers tensed, lifting their weapons...

And a war cry resounded...

Chapter Text

Their arrival had been precipitated by the Shadow of Intent managing to block the only forward route out of the Nebula ahead for the Malevolence. The UNSC Fleet now formed a cordon alongside two extra Venator squadrons to keep the enemy vessel boxed in within the confines of a nebula filled with alien life and moving creatures. The shadows of the space whales living in the cloud of gases passed close to the edges of the cloud, to the point they were visible from aboard the allied fleet. They were also one reason the entire UNSC navy wasn't laying into the enemy vessel with impunity. One.

The other was relatively simple. It was what Lasky was explaining to Generals Skywalker and Kenobi now that they were aboard the Infinity, while Meetra and the others waited by the sideline. Lasky pointed at a holographic recreation of the events and said, "... And exactly one hour ago, a Starship exited Hyperspace near the Nebula, presumably pulled out by the gravity disturbance keeping it together, or by the presence of the Malevolence. The Red Horse's Captain, one Foucault, identified the ship as one we were briefed to expect:A Nubian starship, belonging to Naboo."

"I have a nagging feeling I know who that's gonna be," Anakin sighed deeply, pinching the bow of his nose. He told a confused-looking Lasky, "Senator Amidala, queen of Naboo. She was probably heading toward this place specifically to rendezvous with your fleet so she may join as a sort of political liaison, meaning she's our ambassador to the UNSC as a whole... We need to get aboard and save her."

"My thoughts exactly, General," The man nodded, then said, "Roland, ping Cortana. Let's get the Chief and Blue Team to prepare to board our friends' ship... In fact, send a message to Spartan B312, too," and pulled up images of the ship. Deep penetrating sensors began scanning the vessel across the fleet to find chinks and weaknesses in its armor. He told them, "We might be able to knock out two birds with one stone."

"Send a team to rescue the Senator, while a team..." Kenobi hummed, caressing his beard and grinned, then pointed to the engine room, "... Moves in to sabotage the vessel's Hyperdrive. Setting a few explosive charges should do the ship in."

"We could simply knock it out with the guns once we get the Senator out," Anakin offered, "Your kinetic weapons are really effective for some reason..." Then he paused and had one of his critical thinking moments, "Right... They may be able to perform at least emergency repairs to the Ion batteries on the side... Get enough to fire a volley and create a breach."

Ahsoka crossed her arms and grinned at that, shaking her head. She looked to the ship's schematics and said, "We should probably get moving if we wanna save the Senator," as she motioned to the ship, "Their sensors should hopefully be partially jammed by the nebula and fully by the UNSC's Electronic Warfare, giving us a nice window of opportunity," only to turn to Skywalker and Kenobi, "Right?"

"Yeah. Nice work, Snips," Anakin smirked, "We'll tag along with Blue Team if that's alright."

"And I will go with Fireteam Crimson," The group then paused. They turned to look toward Meetra, who spun her Lightsaber in one hand. The Jedi still couldn't believe the young-yet-old woman was actually alive. Stepping up to the table, she looked to Obi-Wan and stated, "We will need someone to keep the Jedi vessels in line alongside master Plo Koon. That or backup in case things turn sour. Plus, I really wanna stretch my legs."

"Understood, master Surik," Obi-Wan smiled. He then requested in a playful tone and manner, "Someone, please tell the leader of Fireteam Crimson to record the fighting. I'm quite interested to see how a Jedi of old fights..." which caused the blonde girl to let out an awkward chuckle. Ahsoka and Anakin exchanged looks for a moment, then both snorted at that.

"I'm not a master, but thank you, master Kenobi," She replied after she quickly composed herself. She looked to Admiral Lasky, who gave a nod of approval and looked to Roland. The yellow-glowing Bomber man AI gave a thumbs up to Meetra, who nodded in thanks, then said, "With that, I'll depart and prepare any extra gear. I need to grab a pistol from the armory..."

Anakin hummed and said, "Well, this is gonna be interesting. We'll be heading out to prep, too, I guess. See you later, Master," and he gave a wave of goodbye. He and Ahsoka walked out as well, with Lasky and General Kenobi saying goodbye with a simple nod. The General walked out next, probably heading back to the hangar to board a ship back to his own vessel.

Meetra walked out to one of the side hangars of the ship, finding Crimson already prepared and armed by a smaller CALYPSO-class infiltration vessel, a Pelican-sized Prowler that would allow them to board the ship undetected by any of its remaining functional sensors. She noted Six as he readied his rifle, then requested jokingly from him, "Take a girl for a ride?" with a smirk. The Soldier nodded without so much as scoffing, while a couple of Crimson Spartans chuckled.

The group boarded the transport, with Six stating, "Ecklund, keep your asses in gear. We're getting aboard an alien warship that Roland just sent us a rough schematic for. Our job's simple:We put bombs on their FTL drive and get out of dodge the moment Chief and his team manage to retrieve the Senator that's gonna be the Republic ambassador on our ship. Roger?"

"Roger!" The other Crimson members barked as they racked the bolts of their weapons. The blonde Jedi smirked, too, as they boarded the transport. To the left, she could see BLUE, Skywalker and Ahsoka boarding a similar transport as well, readying their weapons. It was gonna be one hell of an op, she thought to herself as she ensured she had plenty of ammo and her Lightsaber with her.

As they sat down and the CALYPSO craft took off, she checked her pistol. Looking over to B312, she nodded in thanks to him for teaching her how to utilize this weapon. He nodded back, then showed everyone to quiet down and perform one final check of their weapons as they floated toward the enemy ship. Confirmation nods were followed up by the clicks and snap-pops of weapon press-checks.

B312 then radioed, "This is CRIMSON to BLUE... All green... Going radio silent."

Two clicks filtered through the com system. He nodded, then held onto his harness as the vehicle made a burn toward the enemy flagship. The inside of the troop hold grew dark, the sole thing now illuminating the group of Spartans and the Jedi being a red light. Meetra tensed and prepared mentally as she felt the slight gravitational shifts of the ship's approach toward the Malevolence.

The Pilot reported, "... Thirty seconds out... Stealth systems holding," in a flat tone as the audible pressing of buttons came in from the cockpit. One of the Spartans tapped her foot beside Six, cradling her Battle Rifle. Another, with a wolf's motif and EVA helmet, checked his knife and a pair of EM grenades he had taken for testing by the team. The final Spartan was the one who carried the plastic explosives they were gonna be using. She seemed to be synching them up to her armor to give a clean detonation.

Seconds ticked away on the mission clock as the vehicle turned, causing slight pits in the stomachs of both the pilots and the passengers due to the gravitational shift. It angled to leech onto a hatch on the enemy ship near the engineering deck. The vessel's hull thumped and reverberated as the magnetic attachments locked into place around the hatch, before the bottom trapdoor on the CALYPSO opened, revealing a ladder and an open hatch leading to an upright and very utilitarian corridor, pipes, wires and the likes hanging amidst rib-like metal supports.

The pilot said, "I'll be staying here for an hour and a half, Spartan. Do what you need to do and radio when the bombs are in place. We'll synch up our departure with BLUE Team..." and got a nod from B312. The man showed the team he'd lead the way, drawing his pistol as he 'descended' into the hallway, feeling his stomach turn upside down thanks to the gravity field intersection. He dropped in, aimed his pistol around and gave a thumbs up to the group, before stepping away to make room for them to enter.

Next in was Meetra herself, who drew her M6. She felt its weight a little in her hand, then murmured, "Can't wait to test this thing out myself..." before looking to Six. The Spartan watched the rest of his four-man team enter the ship, weapons drawn, then balled his fist and showed them to follow. Meetra looked to him as they moved at a quickened pace, then asked, "You think we have enough charges?"

"Yeah," He replied.

Coming upon a corner, the Spartan raised his balled fist, showing the group to stop as metallic feet hit the grated floor of the maintenance tunnel they were in. Their Motion Trackers all picked up a platoon of Battle Droids in synch, advancing on patrol, with the Spartans and Meetra all hearing them speak in the same voice. The commander of the platoon said, "This is where the sound came from."

"Do you think they docked a dropship onto our hull?" Another droid asked, showing a bit of concern.

"That'd be impossible. Our Point-Defense would've shredded them," Yet another replied, annoyed, "Must've been one of the space whales nearby hitting us. That or some rocks."

"I dunno..." The second droid answered again, "I got a bad feeling about this..."

"Quiet down and keep your optical and auditory sensors sharp! Whatever it is, we're investigating it!" The Commander barked, surprisingly enough. Seemed as though the Droids did have a degree of a brain beyond just 'walk in a straight line to be shot'. Surprising to Six, but honestly it made some sense. They were sentient to a degree, he thought as he heard a flurry of same-type answers.

"Roger, roger"

"Roger roger."

"Rogerroger!"

"What do we do?" Ecklund asked as she brought up the rear. Six took a half-second to think about it, examining where they were. They were right at a T-intersection that led to their left, where the dozen or so Droids marched. Their objective was another few hundred meters past those Droids and they had to reach it and plant bombs before long. He clicked his radio once, a question.

The answer was two clicks. He reported in short bursts, "Contact. Platoon. Twenty droids. Searching for Breach. Status?"

"Contact, similar," Chief replied over Radio, "Engage at own leisure."

Six clicked once, then motioned for the Spartans to bring up the EM Grenades. The wolf-masked one tossed him a grenade, then moved to the opposite end quickly. Six lifted three fingers as a countdown, utilizing his thumb and pinkie to pull the pin and prime the grenade. He counted down, letting it hit max charge, then rolled it in. It hit the back foot of one of the droids and caused it to look down. It let a sound of concern out just before the grenade burst. A flurry of lightning flared, encapsulating the entire platoon of Droids, their vocalizers overloading and pitching up their voices as they screamed... Then all collapsed.

The Spartans then moved forward, Meetra right beside them as they pushed toward the FTL Drive. Six spoke over radio, "Contacts eliminated, though expect hostiles to notice patrols are missing. Proceeding on foot, time on mission clock, one hour and fifteen minutes left... CRIMSON Actual, out," before drawing his MA40 assault rifle and racking the bolt back. He told Meetra, "I think they know we boarded."

"I'd be shocked if the sensors for the hatches didn't work, honestly. They're probably proximity or contact-triggered," Meetra suspected, mostly, but she still said it with confidence. Six and the Spartans nodded, affirming the girl's suspicion. Part of him wondered how BLUE and their added elements were doing, fighting things out in the middle of it all.

With Blue Team

Skywalker brought up the front with Chief and Kelly, while the rear was covered by Ahsoka and Richard, the lattermost of them keeping tabs on his Motion Tracker more than anyone else. They were advancing toward the hangars, where the Nubian starship was located, pushing through corridor after corridor in order to assist and evacuate the Senator. Chief and Kelly both noted the look of determination on the man's face.

Cortana spoke, "Keep it moving. We're a few hundred meters away from the Hangar. Droids are also converging on the Calypso from what I'm getting on their BattleNet," her voice low, quiet. Almost as if she expected them to be caught if she didn't keep her voice down. She hummed, then spoke over com, "All Blue members, stand-by..." which got Chief to raise a balled fist to show the team to stop. They crouched at the corner of a cross-intersection from where hissing echoed. Cortana hummed, then murmured, "Like I thought... We're near a point where MAC rounds pierced. Be careful, atmo here is playing loose."

The Chief nodded and sealed his suit, then said to Ahsoka and Anakin, "Possible hull breach nearby. Atmosphere is unstable..."

Anakin replied calmly, "Well, we did do a number on her," before turning around and throwing Ahsoka a small rebreather. He knew of them because master Kenobi had used them when he was still Qui-Gon's Padawan. They'd used them to swim to Jar Jar's village. Sliding it between their teeth in order to keep it in place, the two sighed deeply and let it activate.

They pushed forward, through a thin veil of energy that was almost unnoticeable. The place suddenly grew quiet as they quickly moved past the corridor. When they looked left, they saw the impact point of the MAC Round and the twisted and bent metal around the entrance wound. Moving past another veil, the group had survived the way through, with Skywalker breathing out as the pressures equalized once more. He coughed and shook his head, then said, "Thank the Force they kept some pressure in there..."

Ahsoka nodded, "I think I'm about to pass out..."

"Easy does it, Tails..." Richard quipped as he covered the rear with his rifle. He spoke, "Sir, we should move out," toward the Chief, receiving a nod. Surprised, the Jedi looked over to the Chief, who nodded and showed them to follow along while Cortana was making calculations and jamming the enemy's coms in certain areas. Pushing deeper, the group arrived at an open door that led to a cavernous hangar. Cranes held up sleeping Vulture and Hyena droids that were undergoing maintenance, catwalks underneath allowing Engineer Droids to check on them.

Lowest point was the main hangar deck itself, where a few transport ships resided. The Nubian, a sleek, chrome and silver starship that looked exactly like the kind of Sports Car one would expect royalty to drive, sat in the middle of the Hangar, its hatch open. Two droids guarded the entrance as a dozen other patrols milled about. The Spartan looked back to the General and asked, "We can go loud if you want, sir... Or we can send Five forward with his SPI."

"Whisper like the wind, sir," Richard seemed excited, despite his voice being flat. The group looked over to Anakin, awaiting his approval. He sighed deeply and gave it, only to watch Richard's form disappear as the photoreactive panels of the armor kicked in. He slinked out from behind cover toward the target ship, while the Spartans and Jedi watched with bated breaths.

Ahsoka whispered, "We probably wanna find another way off the ship... Seems like the fields holding what little atmosphere remains in that bubble together are about to fail..." only for a rolling blackout to momentarily cause darkness across the ship, accentuating her point. She sighed and said, "Guess you guys must've also hit the reactor or something..."

Chief hummed, then simply continued tracking Richard as the young man moved past the confused Battle Droids and into the ship. He'd half expected to find some prissy place and he did. It was literally a luxury cruise-liner, meaning he'd probably have to cover the woman's ass as they moved, like with any politician. Inside the ship itself, the young man turned on his VISR system and stood to his feet instead of crouch-walking, then whispered, "Senator Amidala..." as he scanned the place. The boy sighed and whispered again, pressing it, "Senator Amidala... This is Spartan G295, I'm with the people you were supposed to be an ambassador to... We're here to rescue you."

He narrowed his lips, then thought for a second. General Skywalker seemed mighty upset the girl was stuck on this ship alone, so that meant they were probably close. Easy enough, he figured, then spoke, "We're here with General Skywalker and his Padawan. He volunteered..." only to pause as he felt a blaster's barrel put up against the back of his helmet, though he'd also noticed her appear as a dot on the MT. He was quicker, stowing his rifle, grabbing the woman by the arm and disarming her, then pinning her to the wall. He told her, "Easy. I'm a friend..."

"... Really, now?" She asked, wary.

"Not everyone gets the drop on a Spartan," He nodded, "Congratulations for that. I can see why the General probably likes you..." and he took a step back. Peering into the compartment she'd come from, she also saw a golden droid step out slowly and fairly stiffly. He sighed deeply and said, "Lemme guess, your droid?" as he almost prepared to draw his pistol. Golden tin cans. Great.

She nodded, "That's C3PO. Anaki-err..." She caught herself, then smiled awkwardly, "General Skywalker built him and gifted him to me..." and the Spartan furrowed his brows. With a sigh, he nodded. Best not to argue with her at this point, but if this didn't prove something was going on between the General and her, then Richard was a donkey's ass.

"C'mon. Let's move while the rolling blackout's still in eff-" He paused as the lights of the Hangar suddenly turned back on, the voices of droids echoing up the Ramp. He sighed deeply, radioed, "Sir, I and the Senator might be a bit late to the Tea Party..." and drew his rifle again, aiming it at the door. He saw the woman do the same with her pistol, while the Droid rambled, concerned.

The thundering footsteps of an approaching droid patrol caused the Senator to ask, "Any bright plans for getting out?" only for the boy to pull out a pair of EMP Grenades. He showed her to get behind her, pulled the bolt of his rifle back to make sure he had ammo in the chamber and that there was no jam, then shouldered the rifle properly with one hand, priming one EM grenade with the other.

Chief's voice called over com, "Prep to run. Causing distraction..."

The Spartan hummed, then 'put the pin back' into the grenade, so to speak, stowing the EM bombs and sliding his rifle onto his back. He walked over to Threepio and lifted him off his feet, throwing him over his shoulder despite the Droid's yelp. The robot asked, "What are you doing?!" quite severely concerned over this predicament. The Spartan looked over to the Senator.

He answered Threepio, though, "I saw how slow you move. I'm carrying you to our buddies..." before listening for the distraction.

Amidala quipped, "Heh. Ain't he a little heavy?" with a smirk.

"Oh, my lady, please!" Threepio shot back, almost embarrassed. The Spartan and the girl snorted, then waited for the signal. What the boy assumed was gonna be something simple turned out to be, in fact, qutie simple:An explosion that rocked the place. The Spartan sighed, hefted Threepio and drew his pistol, then showed the Queen/Senator to follow, dashing down and dropping the first EM Grenade between a platoon of droids.

Behind him, the woman jumped down, following along and firing her pistol at any Droid that suvived with terrifying accuracy. The Spartan, who was firing his own gun as he ran, complimented, "Not bad for a politician!" before kicking down a droid mid-run, shattering its frame and shooting another of its comrades square in the face while looking for his team-mates.

"In this Galaxy, you have to know how to defend yourself!" She smirked, then gasped as she saw the two Jedi engaging ahead, deflecting blaster bolts as their escorting supersoldiers engaged with automatic fire from kinetic rifles. She spoke, "So, that's your team-mates, then!" to which the man nodded. Anakin and Ahsoka immediately swiveled about, with both moving forward to provide them cover from Droids who were now shifting their fire. Alarms, quiet before, now blared around them as the ship entered high alert.

Richard left Threepio to them and moved up to join Chief, firing from behind metal boxes at the enemy's units. He asked, "We shooting our way out, sir?"

"Mixing things up a little," Linda completed the sentence from beside John as she sniped an enemy drone, though it was in her characteristic deadpan. She complimented, "Nice sprint, kid," and Chief gave a nod of approval. Fred and Kelly engaged a platoon of Droids trying to come up on them from the right flank, but both gave thumbs up to the kid as well. He smiled behind his helmet, thankful he was proving at least a little useful to Blue Team.

The Jedi and Spartans pulled back, Ahsoka and Richard acting as rear security again, with Ahsoka deflecting blaster bolts. She told him, "Betcha I can take out more than you! Hope ya ain't too scared of some fun, Buckethead!" then deflected two bolts back toward their shooters, destroying both as she and the Spartan moved to cover thier allies. Almost as if she was trying to show off and goad him into it.

"We're in the middle of an enemy ship," He replied, then looked over to her giving him a slight mocking gesture with a grin. He scoffed and replied, "You're on, Tails," before tracking three targets. He nailed each one from about a hundred yards with headshots, sending the now-scrap-metal collapsing to the floor with holes in their heads and oil painting the floor.

The girl called out, "No fair!"

"Heh, don't start what you can't finish. Let's move!" He shot back, before throwing one of the EM Grenades, not realizing it'd overcharged. The detonation sent a rippling lightning storm through two hallways in the distance, not to mention the catwalks above, frying several dozen droids. He also sniped another one as it was trying to lift its blaster and shoot them, its legs disabled.

Ahsoka growled, "Only counts as one!"

"Sore loser," Richard shot back, called out "Let's go!" then grabbed her by the wrist and ran with her to the door. Chief slammed the butt of his rifle into the control panel, breaking it and sealing the bulkhead door behind them. The younger Spartan told her, "Keep tabs on the kills, Tails..." before looking to Chief as she stuck out her tongue at him. He requested, "Permission to take point, sir? You can guide me via the schematic."

"Granted. Check your shots. We might have to double back and RV with CRIMSON now that the gig is up," The Spartan ordered professionally. Richard nodded, racking the bolt of his rifle after slamming a fresh magazine home, then he looked to Ahsoka, who stared at him. He nodded, then started sprinting ahead, weapon at the ready. Blue Team formed a defensive perimeter to protect the Senator, her droid(Which Kelly had had to pick up due to how slow he was moving, much to his chagrin) and General Skywalker and his Padawan.

Skywalker snorted and said, "You two make for one heck of a team."

"As if," Ahsoka scoffed, then turned to follow quickly as vanguard. She concealed a small smile as she did run, though. Richard was witty, despite what his outer 'tough guy' appearance showed. Maybe they could be good friends, xenophobia included. It made him even more fun to mess with, she thought as she caught up. The two, weapons drawn, began leading the way forward.

"Cute pair, I gotta say," Amidala snorted, much to the Spartans' own quiet amusement. She smiled a little more brightly than the Spartans expected at General Skywalker, stating quite warmly, "Thanks for the prompt rescue, General..." And then she looked over to the four-man team around them as they started following the kid to the next intersection. She raised a brow, a little confused on what to call these guys, and asked, "And Soldiers?"

"Spartans, ma'am. Follow us," The man replied. The group began to sprint behind the kids, Chief on coms.

Chapter Text

With Crimson...

The Spartans and the millennia-old Jedi pushed forward as alarms blared. Ecklund commented, "So much for stealth, eh, sir?" from beside the Lieutenant, who huffed in agreement as they ran. Meetra brandished her lightsaber when the first line of Droids appeared up ahead and switched places with Six. Deflecting several blaster bolts, the woman then aimed her own pistol and snapped two shots off at the Droids, destroying a pair before coming into close quarters contact with them.

She swung her saber, vivisecting another pair, then swung again and cut the head off of another droid. Spinning, she thrust the blade forward, tip-first, and pierced two more droids before executing a third with her pistol. Six and the Crimsons opened fire on reinforcements, ther droids' shells sparking and leaking oil and coolant as they collapsed, painting the floor black.

Six slid in, drawing his knife and pistol himself, then sliced a droid across its metal chest, cutting out the CPU and stabbing another through the top of the head. Meetrta stowed her pistol and started using her Lightsaber two-handed, throwing heavier swings that cut Droids completely in half, including Super-Battle Droids that had come to reinforce their thinner, frailer and dumber brethren. She swept low, removing the legs off of three SBDs and cutting them open.

The Crimsons finally got into range as well, Ecklund slamming into one of them and pinning it to the floor before putting the barrel of her rifle against its chest and firing, spraying herself with its innards and some sparks that caused her MJOLNIR's shields to flare. She looked over to her partner, who drew his large knife and cut a Droid in half at the midsection with a deadly swing.

Meetra thrust her sword forward again, clean through the midsection of another pair of droids, before showing the group to follow her. Deflecting blaster bolts into the walls and right back at droids, Meetra beamed. She was still really able to fight. Well, almost, as a blaster bolt slipped past her defenses and singed her coat and hood. She sighed, keeping the robes on, then shot her hand forward.

A shockwave of Force energy blasted through the corridor ahead, sending several Droids flying back and scrapping a good chunk of them. The Spartans fired at the few droids in the pile that weren't destroyed, then proceeded forward. Six reloaded his DMR and complimented, "Not bad for an old lady!" as he grabbed a Droid by its scrawny neck, bent said neck and tossed it into some of its comrades in a side tunnel.

Meetra laughed, as did the rest of Crimson, then replied, "Oughta give you a piece of my mind later for calling me 'old'!" but she knew he was right. There were slip-ups here and there. Still, when her hand shot out again, she immediately turned it around, bent it back and utilized Force Pull, bringing a trio of droids to her that she immediately cut in half with one swing. She deflected more shots, drew her pistol and opened fire as they continued the forward assault.

The Spartans' shields took a few hits from blaster bolts. Droids waited in ambush in side corridors, but were gunned down in return by the Special Forces Squad currently busting down the doors to reach their target. Six radioed, "Crimson to Blue, ETA to target is thirty seconds!" before looking to their explosive carrier and nodding to him. The Spartan started priming the bombs mid-run.

"Dinh's really getting into it!" Laughed Ecklund as she reloaded her rifle. Six nodded his approval, then threw a fragmentation grenade to the left. Several droids screamed, then exploded with a thump as they rushed forward. Ahead, the group saw the hall suddenly grow into a massive room. Stopping by the doorway, Ecklund and Six swept the place with their gazes and saw the massive Hyperdrive system of the ship, a large core with glowing lines and connections leading to a central circular calculation supercomputer and some sort of particle field generator that aided in entering Hyperspace. FTL travel logistics were beyond their Paygrade, Six thought.

"Jesus," Ecklund murmured, "I think we gotta fastball the bombs, El-Tee. That's too big a jump to make without jetpacks," as she surveyed the massive chasm ahead of them and the various hundreds of large and small pipes leading all around the ship and into the Hyperspace Drive itself. They couldn't make it to the main drive itself in time and the battalions of droids advancing on the two other catwalks across from them weren't gonna make it easy.

"Agreed," Six replied, "We'll cover. You throw'em..." then he looked to Meetra, who grinned and at the wolf-faced Dinh, who nodded in approval, clearly giddy at the prospect of demolition. Six sighed and murmured, "Reminds me a little of the engine room on a freighter..." before turning about as the thunder of metal footsteps echoed from behind them. He bluntly said, "Seems we're surrounded, Crimsons... Good thing we can shoot in every direction. Retreat?"

"HELL!" The three Spartan-IVs called out.

"Retreat?!" The Lieutenant demanded from his team again.

"HELL!" They cheered again, racking the bolts of their weapons.

The man nodded in approval, looking to the grinning Meetra before stating, "Ecklund, get as close as you can and throw that stuff. I and the General will cover you. Dinh, you and Linea cover this place. It's our escape route. Execute!" and he, Ecklund and Meetra sprinted forward. The Spartans fired their weapons at the advancing enemies, Ecklund now carrying the bombs.

Blaster bolts hit Six's shields, draining them in bits, while Meetra deflected and shot. Ecklund held the container with the C12 charges in one hand and fired her Magnum with the other as they surged forward. Arriving at the center console on the T-shaped catwalk, Meetra and Six took positions by Ecklund's flanks, obscuring her from advancing Battle Droid battalions. Blaster bolts and bullets were being exchanged as the woman fully primed the charges, cocked back her hand and hefted them.

The long-arm throw caused them to arc as they headed for the center of the target. To nobody's surprise, though, Ecklund's throw was dead center of the device. She then threw several more around the core's various intersects and pipes, even dropping one from height onto the largest pipe. She gave a red light, signaling she was winchester on ammo, which meant it was time to pull back.

The group was about to head back and rally up with Dinh and Linea, but paused as the thrum of two Lightsabers igniting filled the air. Dinh flew back toward the Spartans, skidding across the catwalk and nearly falling off. He scoffed and aimed his pistol at the machine that had walked in. It stomped forward, one of its hands gripping Linea by the throat. It spoke, its voice deep and menacing, "... Truly a surprising set of creatures, you newcomers..." before tossing Linea over toward Ecklund, who was charging to try and save her.

Both of the women fell upon the impact, nearly falling off the edge of the ramps as more Droids advanced behind the hulking, hunchback behemoth. The Spartans all stood to their feet, watching the Hunchback cyborg approaching. His amber eyes glared at the Jedi among them and said, "And you... I expected Kenobi to be the one joining the raiding party when I heard Skywalker was with the ones in the Hangar."

"Sorry to disappoint," Meetra shot back, then aimed her pistol and fired. The creature raised his hand and deflected the bullets off of his armor plate. They left dents, however, with the cyborg huffing. It sounded like a combination of a cough and a revving engine, but Meetra wondered why he didn't use the lightsabers he had on hand. She spoke, "Fancy blades... Where'd you get them?"

"Your kind," He replied menacingly, "Easy kills..."

"You'll find I and these guys are way tougher," She shot back, twirling the blade. She leaned toward Six and whispered, "He's bad news... Jedi Hunters are hard to come by. Last I've seen were the Mandalorians..." to which the Spartan nodded. He raised his DMR and fired three rounds, but the monster raised his hands again. The bullets stopped, but pierced the strange white metal protecting his arm. The Cyborg scoffed.

"Pest..." He growled, then gave a wave of his hand to his droids. The machines opened fire again, forcing Meetra and the Spartans into a defensive posture. They returned fire, kinetic rounds sparking and detonating some of the machines with direct hits. Meetra herself deflected shots and fired her pistol, then gasped as she saw the monster stomping his way toward them.

Six swiveled about, drew his combat knife and pistol and charged the monster back. He ducked under a swing from the half-machine, half-alien, threw two grenades as he slid between his legs that took out a chunk of the platoon supporting the monster, then stood to his feet and started firing his pistol at the creature's back. Shots pierced the cape he wore, but the monster ditched it and charged the Spartan, swinging his plasma blades straight toward him.

Six fired his pistol, backing away with full awareness the blades could probably punch through his armor. Dinh tried to support him by attacking the hulk's back, but was kicked away by the heavy, claw-like feet on its bow legs. The Spartan tried to aim for its joints while Meetra and the others staved off the Droid assault. He pulled out another EM grenade which he rolled back toward the remaining droids to his rear and let it detonate.

The monster swung his blade at the Spartan and the tip clipped his shields, causing them to flare. The Spartan dropped his spent magazine and aimed again, this time for the monster's head, but he was close enough to swat his hand away with he hilt of the blade and try to swing for his chest with both blades. The Spartan's shields flared and almost died due to the heat of the green and blue lightsabers, but he managed to dodge it.

He decided to take the advantage, charging the monster and slamming into him with all his weight. He staggered him, then delivered a kick to the stomach of the beast that dented the plate around his gut. The creature huffed angrily, then stowed one of the blades, grabbed him by the Helmet and lifted him up and off the ground, preparing to stab him as he squeezed the helmet.

Meetra's hand shot out and a Force-laden shockwave impacted the back of monster, causing it to stagger. Six grit his teeth, pushed himself off the beast's leg and kicked as he spun backward. Landing on his feet, the Spartan charged forward again, but stopped in front of the monster and ducked under a swing, kicking up and off the ground and launching himself over his foe. Spinning, the Spartan fired his pistol from up-close, damaging the monster's armor further. He landed behind, then turned to Meetra and gave her a nod of thanks, before pulling back to help Dinh, Ecklund and Linea hold the line.

Meetra switched up places with Six, raising her Lightsaber to parry the monster's own. She flashed a grin as she looked the machine in its amber, slit eye, their blades sparking as they made contact, then teased, "Sorry, but that's my dance partner. Go back to Kenobi," only to then use Force Push to send the monster skidding back again. The bastard huffed and huddled up as the roar of Droidekas filled the room. Three rolled in and reassembled, activating their shields and firing their blaster cannons at the Jedi, who began deflecting them.

She was pushed back to the Spartans as well, stating, "We might wanna tell Chief we'll be late! Time!?"

"Ten minutes left!" Six replied as his shields flared and began to die under the whittling droid barrage. He looked over to the bombs on the Hyperdrive and then to meetra, who nodded. He showed the detonator's handler to touch them off, which they did... And a dozen staggered explosions filled the room, causing the catwalk below to buckle. The Spartan barked an order and the five-man team broke into a sprint, jumping or running past the leader of the ship as alarms began to wail across the entire vessel...

With Blue Team

As they approached their infil-exfil point, Blue team felt the ship's hull rumble, then heard its superstructure groan. Another rolling blackout darkened the halls, followed by the activation of red emergency lights and the wail of alarms filling their eyes and ears, respectively. Ahsoka looked to Richard and Chief and said, "I'm guessing they ran into trouble... Sounds like the Hyperdrive and Engines just got destroyed..."

Chief nodded and radioed, "CRIMSON, BLUE. Report."

"Engaged enemy commander. Cyborg. Bastard had us in his grasp, but we made it out with a little ingenuity. Might wanna get moving, sir, this ship's about to sink," Six replied as the sound of gunfire filled their ears. Chief checked the mission clock and saw they had five mikes left before the UNSC would promptly open fire on the ship and probably sink them with it.

He replied to Six, "See you on the Infinity. Blue, out," then looked to everyone and said, "Let's go!" as he led the way. Their Motion Trackers picked up hostiles just beyond the corner they were about to turn. Richard kicked the door proverbially as pointman, raising his rifle and opening up on the platoon of Droids guarding the entrance. Blue joined up with him immediately, while Ahsoka and Anakin deflected blaster bolts. Linda herself still carried Threepio.

The Spartans punched through the group of Droids like a MAC through armor, disabling or destroying them all and leaving little to no work for the Jedi, or Amidala. Padmé chuckled, looking at Anakin, then said, "If these are the folks I'm supposed to be an ambassador to, at least I know they're keeping you and Ahsoka out of harm's way..." and she shot a Droid that was still alive as they passed by.

As they reached the hatch, more blaster bolts filled the hallway, causing the Spartans' shields to flare. Chief opened fire toward the enemy unit as Linda popped open the Hatch and began the climb. Threepio complained, "My gyrostabilizer! I'm going to be sick..." as if droids ever got sick. Anakin also joined Chief, deflecting blaster bolts from him and his Spartans as they all boarded.

"You made him complain this much, sir?" Chief inquired. Skywalker laughed.

"Nah. Came with the personality matrix I found," The man replied, then used Force Push to send the forward Line of Droids into each-other, causing them to break apart from the impact. He gave Chief a pat on the shoulder, retracted his hand the moment the current of the shields coursed through his hand and said, "Ouch. C'mon, let's go!" And the Chief gave a nod.

The group quickly boarded the Calypso craft, strapping themselves in. Padmé looked around as Anakin sat down next to her and stated, "There's a lot of things I'm going to need to talk to your leaders about," as she saw the Chief give the Pilot the go-ahead. The Spartan then nodded to her, sitting down in front of her and Skywalker as his team sat beside him. The hatch at the bottom of the ship closed and pressure seals engaged, the CALYPSO taking off from the hull of the ship.

The pilot radioed, "This is CALYPSO-BLUE, we're away with the HVI. Awaiting CALYPSO-CRIMSON at RV point..." and he tracked the vessel at its hatch. The enemy dreadnaught had explosions rippling across its hull, but amidst the debris, the Calypso pilot detected a single starfighter leaving the hull, then jumping into hyperspace. He sighed, logged that in and looked back at CRIMSON's ship.

It was moments later that their pilot reported over Radio, "Crew aboard, objective accomplished! CALYPSO-CRIMSON EN-ROUTE to RV point!" And it detached, lifting off from the hull of the enemy warship. The Pilot of Blue Team's ship reported, "This is CALYPSO-BLUE. CALYPSO-CRIMSON and CALYPSO-BLUE at minimum safe distance. Command, fire at will, we wanna enjoy the Fireworks."

Screens inside the ship's hull turned on, the Pilot poking their head back in and stating, "Enjoy the show, folks. Time to watch the Malevolence sink..." only for UNSC and Republic vessels to move on up above, approaching the CIS Flagship and opening fire. Frigate, Destroyer and Cruiser-size MACs opened up, volleys of ferromagnetic slugs struck the bulbous vessel's hull, digging deep craters. Scant few enemy turbolasers swiveled about to meet the volleys, bursts of scarlet meeting the deep blue and the burning white of the Allied Fleet's guns. Two Venators overhead laid into the enemy ship's exposed midsection, causing flurries of detonations. Beside them, the Shadow of Intent's lasers pulsed and her plasma torpedoes washed over the cracking armor plate of the CIS vessel, boiling it.

The Infinity, aligned with the rear of the enemy vessel, fired its four main MACs straight down the center of the sputtering, fading engines of the enemy ship. The massive ferromagnetic slugs of the warship's four Super-cannons cut through the thinner plate of the rear, shattering four engine cowlings on impact and hitting what remained of the Hyperdrive and reactor. They punched through into the hull of the ship, stopping amidships as the vessel began to completely break apart, droids aboard be damned.

The Senator and Jedi gasped as they saw the ship's reactor go critical, detonating in an almost blinding flash that lit the hold of the ship like a second sun, the shockwave causing a ripple through the Nebula's clouds. The two Calypso craft flew back toward the Infinity, the pilots communicating with the ATC for landing. As they touched down and the groups exited, the Senator was surprised to see that UNSC Navy officers, clad in pure white uniforms, had come to greet her.

Lasky snapped a salute and said, "Senator Amidala. Welcome to the UNSC Infinity. Apologies for the bumpy ride."

She smiled and said, "Thanks to your soldiers, it was far less bumpy than it could've been, but we did lose our ship on the trip over," while looking back at the Chief, Blues and the Jedi descending from the ramp. The Admiral chuckled and nodded. He dismissed the Spartans with a nod of approval and a quick 'job well done' before looking to CALYPSO CRIMSON's craft and giving a salute and nod to Six, his team and Meetra.

The group replied in kind, then stepped off toward medical to heal up. Six seemed to have a pair of superficial plasma marks on his armor's breastplate, while Dinh looked banged up and Linea, like she'd been through hell. Meetra was the calmest out of the lot, really, simply strolling beside Six with a smile. Lasky nodded approvingly at that, then looked back to the Senator and offered, "General Skywalker, Commander Tano and I will lead you to your accommodations, if you want."

"Thank you," She bowed, then looked to Anakin and a smirking Ahsoka. As they began the walk, with Threepio in tow, Padmé looked around at the ever-active hangar bay of the UNSC vessel. She watched the allied naval fighters, large delta-wing starcraft, touching down to be refueled and repaired, while the Frigates outside formed up with the massive, 5km long warship to provide it escort. She spoke, "If I read the briefings correctly, Admiral, your fleet came here by random chance?"

"Appeared over Christophsis, where the Seppies shot at us," Lasky nodded, "Aye, ma'am."

"Lucky break for us, we were looking for reinforcements," Anakin joked, smiling. He told her, "Their first unit came down in drop pods, too."

"... Didn't the Republic military theorise about that and say they were a little too dangerous, or am I misremembering," Padmé asked, a little horrified at the reveal. Anakin shrugged, while Ahsoka was playing catch with Richard as they walked behind BLUE. Catch as in:She was throwing a grenade with its pin on at him and he was throwing it back. There was something inherently stupid and dangerous about this, but 'stupid and dangerous' were Anakin's middle names and hence, Ahsoka's to a degree. Like Master, like Padawan.

Lasky tried to ignore the sight much like the rest of Blue Team, continuing, "The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers perfected the method of jumping out of a perfectly good ship in a metal egg in order to kick the enemy's behind in via surprise attacks. ODSTs are the best non-Spartan troops we have at our disposal, most of them acting as heavy and assault infantry. Shock troops, exactly like the name says."

"Can't imagine the shock of your enemy suddenly appearing from above like a meteor shower," She replied to that, smiling awkwardly, "I know I wouldn't dare try something like that... Then again, I am a politician, less of a soldier. I know how to use a blaster just as well as I know to use a pen, though, if the need arises..." and the group entered the tram station of the hangar. A tram arrived and they all entered, sitting themselves down face-to-face.

"We can tell, ma'am," Lasky nodded, "I'm sure you'll also find your stay aboard the Infinity enjoyable, considering we do have amenities no military ship really has. An entire atrium dedicated for recreation sits atop the ship, so if you wanna go there to relax from the daily woes, feel free. We'll also provide you with a map of the ship and its tram system so you may more easily navigate it."

"Thank you, Admiral," She smiled, then looked to Anakin and said, "Y'know, I probably should've called ahead, huh?"

Anakin shrugged, "Everybody likes a surprise, but... Yeah, maybe call next time you're aboard an enemy dreadnought. We'll be quicker on the uptake to save you," then he smirked. The Admiral and Ahsoka looked to one-another, snorted and continued watching the two flirt. It wasn't long, however, before they reached the civilian habitation area of the Infinity, where Contractors, scientists, non-military engineers and the likes stayed.

Lasky had shown the woman her room, a rather luxurious, apartment-looking place that more-so openly resembled one of the fancier lounges in Coruscant. Two-person bed, separate bathroom, a small kitchenette and the likes. Threepio also had a small charging station installed near by the central screen that acted as a television, com system and just white noise. There was also an armored window showing the outside, where UNSC ships and Republic ships gathered for their departure. After bidding goodbye to Anakin and the others, she sat down on her bed and smiled. It was a thankfully cozy place...

"I think we're gonna enjoy it here," She smiled, looking to Threepio as he settled in his charging station.

Chapter Text

Rishi Moon Outpost

... The most boring detail in the Grand Army of the Republic had to be service on the Rishi Moon Observation Outpost. A bland, dark, crater-filled moon in the middle of nowhere that acted as an Early Warning System for the Cloning World of Kamino. Many Clones would normally find the prospect of defending the only home they've ever known very much an honor. Being an EWS meant exactly that.

It still didn't stop it from being frustratingly dull. Having to stare out at the rocky, chasm and crater-filled moon's surface and only seeing the faint traces of an atmosphere that could potentially support carbon-based life on a 24-hour basis meant that any and every trooper stationed here waited to be rotated out of the place, guns, gear and all. It was a starting position, so to speak. Assigned to the post was the newly-deployed 'Domino Squad'. A group of five Clones.

CT-782, named 'Hevy' by his brothers in blood and arms due to his propensity for the Z-6 Rotary Cannon, arm-wrestled his fellow tough guy clone, CT-4040, designated Cutup, as they all sat on guard duty next to the central sensor console. In the background, cantina songs played as several four other clones, three of which belonged to the Dominoes, went about thier business as usual.

"Did you guys hear?" Asked CT-5555, Fives, as he looked over a report regarding the station's sensor suite having gotten refurbished a couple of days ago. As the group, sans Hevy and Cutup(being caught in their little arm wrestling match), turned to face him. He spoke, "The new group who joined up with our troops near Christophsis apparently had a talk with the Republic. They're sending a small garrison."

"Here?" CT-00-210, Droidbait, snorted, his light accent hitting, "They're sendin' the refuse, probably. Darn Basics don't know this place is a dead end job..."

"Keep your eyes on your side of the outpost, trooper," The base's Sergeant replied as he walked in. The men all turned toward him and snapped salutes. He saluted back and ordered, "At ease. I want you all on your best behavior when our new allies get here. They probably know how important this quadrant alone is to the Outer Rim and our operations here."

"Sir, yessir!" The five clones answered.

The Sergeant, CT-19-7409, or O'Niner, sighed and took his helmet off as he approached Hevy and Cutup, watching the two keeping tabs on the sensors of the base. He told them, "I know you boys don't really like Basics intruding on our jobs, but take it with the thought of seeing some new faces after cycles stuck on this rock. Any extra pair of eyes is bound to help us keep this hellscape safe, meaning Kamino's safe."

Cutup looked to him, scratching his five o'clock shadow facial hair and asked, "Sir, wouldn't it be better ta just deploy a new platoon of Clones? We ain't exactly got the most space in the Galaxy on our little rock as is. If they'd let us build an expansion to the place, maybe, but as it is?" and he looked around as his brothers nodded in agreement. The Rishi moon had a decent barracks.

The Sergeant nodded, "They'll only be deploying a fireteam. Five, maybe six people at most. We have the space to house'em."

Sighing, Cutup said, "Alright. If you say so, Sarge," then leaned over to the com station and pulled up a local channel. He radioed, "Hey, Wide-Eye, you there?" over the com-link. Meanwhile, Hevy looked at the camera surveying the landing pad, a long strip of metal built just over the chasm the damn outpost was set up on. It was filled with random tarp-covered boxes and containers from old supply runs and the station-borne trash.

"Here and waiting," The Clone with macrobinoculars attached to his helmet replied calmly, "You guys picking up anything on sensors over there as a sign for when our new arrivals are set to drop by?"

Hevy was about to reply, but Echo's console echoed(heh) with the ring of a radar warning. The man straightened up and looked at it, then said, "Affirm. Friendlies en-route and transmitting identification codes as we speak. Looks like a single dropship. They appeared out of their FTL," before pulling up the data and sending it to Cutup's side of the terminal.

The man snorted and switched channels, calling out, "Dropship Oh-Niner-Niner Heavy, welcome to Rishi. Hope you folks came with some fresh food and good news, eh?"

A female voice replied, "Rishi Outpost, this is Dropship Oh-Ninety-Nine Heavy, copy that. Good news first is we wiped the floor with a Seppie ship. As for the Food, we've packed some extra MREs as greeting," With a certain degree of joviality. The boys looked to one-another, noting the pilot was a woman. They looked over to the wall beside the holo-transmitter displaying news segments and saw their pin-ups of Twi'leks and Humans alike.

Cutup and Hevy bumped fists with a grin, while the Sergeant sighed and replied over the radio, "Oh-Ninety-Nine Heavy, this is Sergeant O'Niner, CO of Rishi Outpost. You're clear for landing. Watch your drop, we have one of our boys on overwatch out there..." before he put on his helmet. He told them, "Keep your eyes on the job, Rookies. I'm gonna go say hello to the Basics..."

"Man, no fair," Another clone, Nub, murmured as he sat in the corner, playing with Sabacc cards by himself. He said, "Boss gets to go see the Basics and we're stuck in here. What if they're all hot chicks?"

"Doubtful," Echo shot back, "You wouldn't wanna stick a fireteam of girls out here, alone, with a bunch of guys. Plus, they're not Twi'leks. You know the rumors about their women," and he took a sip from a brew. He set the mug aside and continued looking over the sensors, then stated as the alarm blared, "Seems like we've got a meteor shower set for the next couple hours."

"Joy," Hevy called out as he looked over the cameras, "Means the pilot won't be able to take off for a bit," and he continued watching the cams, leaning his head on his hand as he did so. The man watched the Sergeant walk out onto the landing pad as the 'Basic' Aircraft swung in low, powering its four engines to slow its touchdown, kicking up the dust on the massive landing pad.

Outside, the Sergeant and Wide-Eye watched the squad of four infantry dismount. O'Niner, arms crossed, saw two women and two men grabbing their gear from the back of the armed dropship. Two blondes, one with purple eyes and one with blue, followed by two men with black hair, one with green eyes and a few scars, while the other bore a couple of prosthetics.

The four stopped in front of the Sergeant, who saluted them and said, "Welcome to Rishi... Not the nicest place for a family vacation. You must be Gunnery and Staff Sergeants Toma, as well as Corporals Nemeth and Zielinska. I'm Sergeant O'Niner and this is my deck officer, Wide-Eye," only to receive salutes and nods back from them. He told them, "I didn't think they'd put a husband and wife in the same unit."

"Little incentive to fight harder, sir," The male, Victor, spoke. He looked around and stated, "Christ, even Luna was less barren than this..."

"Listening posts ain't usually that beautiful, Sarge," Wide-Eye commented. He put his hand up to his helmet's side and nodded, then told O'Niner, "We've got a meteor shower coming in, sir. Scheduled to last a couple of hours," which caused the man to sigh. He was about to turn and say to them that maybe their pilot should lay low for the time being, but it seemed one of them was ahead of him.

The female Staff Sergeant, the blue-eyed Vesna, turned about and called to the pilot, "Keep the bird down, Clara! Meteor shower!" to which the Pilot let out a short tirade of swears and gave a thumbs up. She sighed, then turned to the Sergeant and asked, "Mind if we help unload some of the foodstuffs we brought with us?" as she jabbed a thumb back the way of the pilot.

The Sergeant shook his head and said, "Wide, let's move. Best get the stuff inside just in case," before he, Victor and Paul, the Nemeth man, took the lead. Helping the pilot lift and push some boxes out of the back, the group carried them over to the entrance bulkhead of the outpost. Above, the sky flashed with the lights of meteors passing through the thin atmosphere.

Entering the Outpost with all the food and supplies, the group got the Pilot and Co-Pilot of the Gunship in as well, to ensure their safety and all. Inside, the four soldiers fully introduced themselves. Vic started with a salute and said, "Gents. Gunnery Sergeant Victor Toma, at your workin' service. I'm guessing we'll be stuck together 'till the next rotation for us comes in like two months..."

Up next, Vesna slung her MA40 on her back and greeted with a salute and a soft smile, "Troopers. Staff Sergeant Vesna Toma. Hope we get to work well together..."

The Marines heard one of the men murmur a 'Damn' under his breath about Ves being married. They snorted.

Paul came next, giving a nod to the men as he leaned his sniper on his shoulder and stated, "Corporal Paul Nemeth. Don't worry, I shoot straight," then cracked a smirk. Beside him, the other three let out short laughs. He continued, "For real, though, yeah. I've got your backs if you got mine, same as everyone else here, so don't worry," and looked over to the last member.

The Polish woman came last, speaking, "Corporal Katja Zielinska. Call me Kat," as she smirked, hefting what looked to be A Battle Rifle of some kind. She had scars herself, though not as many as her Hungarian counterpart. She gave a gentle elbow in the gut to Paul and said, "Me and this dumbass are basically glued together, same as Ves and her Hubby, but I'm hoping we get to work together well, too. Fancy armors, by the way."

O'Niner nodded to his boys. It was their turn. Seeing that, Echo sighed, turned about on his chair and said, "Trooper Fourteen-oh-Niner, acting sensor operator. Call me Echo, ladies and gentlemen. I and the four other dummies you see here are from Domino squad, so I guess I'll go around introducing us. That on the optical sensors is Hevy. He's our heavy-duty gunner."

Hevy grinned and cracked his knuckles, saying, "Wouldn't mind trying an arm-wrestlin' match with Corporal Nemeth, considering the man's Augs. Kriff, could make for a fun test!" and he saw Paul grinning, too. Seemed like a challenge accepted to the heavy weapons specialist of the Dominoes, he thought to himself as he prepped. He let Echo continue, first.

Echo rolled his eyes, jabbed a thumb behind him at the man sat at a table playing Sabacc and said, "That playing Sabacc over there is Nub. Not part of the Dominoes, but he's stuck on this assignment with us," only to get a wave of the hand from the man. Echo went on to point at the guy next to Hevy and say, "That's Droidbait over there. He gets shot first."

"Kriff you, Echo," Droidbait smirked, while the others laughed.

"Heh," Echo chuckled, then pointed at the man sat beside him and said, "This is Fives. He's making sure the Station diagnostics are all in the green."

"Five-by-Five's the saying," The man joked, leaning against the console, "Don't worry. I do my job mostly well."

Echo then pointed at the next clone and said, "And that's Cutup. If it isn't Wide-Eye with his eyes peeled outside, it's usually him going around on the patrol. Some times, he gets joined by Nub when everyone else is off-duty. You already met Sarge and Wide-Eye, speaking of," and he stood to his feet, "That's pretty much it for us. Like you said, let's hope we work well together."

The Gunny and Staff Sergeant nodded, while the Corporals grinned. Vic said, "I'm sure we'll do just fine and dandy together, lads. Now, mind telling us where the Armory is? We need to dump some of our gear in there and this freaking SAW," and he lifted a light machinegun with a bipod and a box and belt that fed its large-caliber ammo, as well as a scope with a three-digit digital ammo counter mounted onto the gun's top rail.

"Heh. Here, I'll show ya, Sarge," Hevy jumped off his seat and told Droidbait, "Take my seat. I'll be back in two," before he patted the Sergeant on the chest. Vic and Ves exchanged looks, smiled, then nodded to each-other and Kat and Paul. Vic followed Hevy while the others got to talking and settled into their new positions. Hevy commented, "Know something about heavy weapons, I see, Sarge."

The man grinned, "I'm our Platoon's heavy weapon specialist. You put me and this baby in any decent fighting position and no enemy, tin can or otherwise, gets past me."

"Heh. I think you and I are gonna get along just fine, sir," Hevy smirked. Vic noted the tattoo on his right cheek, nodding in approval. The man approached a bulkhead door and hit the button on the side, stating, "Here's the place where the fun happens," as he walked into the room. Dozens of blaster rifles, carbines and a couple of rotary cannons sat off to the side, alongside a workbench for repair and maintenance, spare ammo cells and other tidbits, as well as a gonk droid.

Kneeling and hefting up a Z6, Hevy looked to the Sergeant as he set his guns down and activated the barrel rotation, stating, "This is my baby. Nobody's touching her but me," before he deactivated the rotation and set it down gently. Vic nodded in approval and the two men started walking out to haul the supplies from the hall, where the Pilot and Co-Pilot of the Condor they'd arrived in sat, arms crossed and chatting. Hevy asked, "So... Why did you Basics even join us?" a bit surprised.

"Here, or in general?" Vic asked as he picked up a large ammo box containing linked belts. "If it's the latter, the tin cans and their masters shot at us first. Former? Well, I, Ves, Kat and Paul wanted a little time away from the Infinity and heard the Republic wanted volunteers from our unit for an interoperability test here at the Rishi outpost. Said why not and volunteered."

"Damn, so enemy of my enemy, huh?" The gunner asked, hefting a box of grenades and bringing it toward the armory. Vic nodded, the two setting the items down to the side. Hevy stated, "Heard your ships did a number on their dreadnought. Don't wanna sound rude, but how, considering you folks are using kinetic batteries and even infantry weapons?"

"Simply put, every round and missile we fire has a lot of ass behind it," He quipped. Noting the confused look of the heavy gunner, he explained, "That means it's got a lot of momentum going in. Our missiles also pack a punch in the form of High-Ex warheads and nuclear charges in the tens to maybe hundreds of megatons. We don't go easy on our kinetics, so..."

"W-Wait a kriffing minute, you lot use nukes?!" Hevy... To his credit, it seemed the man grinned at the thought of utilizing megaton-strength warheads. Vic nodded, to which Hevy's grin grew wider. He said, "Oh, yeah, if I ever get off this rock, I'm tagging along with you lot for a job at some point. Kriff, might drag the rest of the boys over with me, if they feel like tagging along."

Vic snorted, then nodded. After transferring a few more boxes into the armory and locking it behind them, the Marine and Clone returned to the room where everyone else was. They saw Paul and Katja had already set up on the catwalk above, peering through the reinforced windows at the meteor shower falling all around them. Vic himself sat down next to his wife, whom he covertly hugged, causing her to giggle. Hevy had been the only one to notice this, but he said nothing as he sat down with a grin.

A familiar tune played over a radio brought over by the Marines, with Vic smirking as he murmured, "Strength and Muscle and Jungle Work..." only to be joined by his wife and the other two up top, "Strength and Muscle and Jungle Work! Strength and Muscle and Jungle Work! Strength and Muscle and Jungle Work!" and, during the last one, Hevy tagged in as well.

"Nice tunes," O'Niner quipped, crossing his arms and watching his boys go about their business. Maybe this wasn't gonna be so bad after all. He hummed the instrumental track as he went up onto the catwalk as well and watched the outside with the others. Still, something felt like it was wrong to the Sergeant. Like bad news was coming pretty soon. Hm.

Best to tell everyone...

Ossus

The Arbiter and his Commandos moved fast toward their designated objective, firing bursts of plasma fire back toward the advancing locals of Ossus. Travelling through the strangely nightmarish landscape of the bombarded planet, the Elites kept moving, dodging kinetic projectiles that hit with the force of railguns against their shields, damaging them. Jumping into a small ditch, a crack in the stone and soil that split the road ahead in twain, the Arbiter popped up and fired a burst from his rifle.

Their Phantom's pilot warned from above, "The humanoid aliens approach fast, Arbiter. Shall we support you?"

"I believe we may be able to handle the situation, Dokan. Keep the ship ready in case we require evacuation," Thel replied. He dipped back into cover, activating his weapon's cooling mechanism as Usze beside him fired his own plasma rifle. The rookie farther ahead of Usze fired a plasma repeater in short bursts, ducking as a round impacted his shields, causing them to flare.

Usze scoffed, glaring at the targets as they attempted to advance on them, then said, "This situation is becoming untenable, Arbiter. If our Motion Trackers are correct, there must be a Legion of these warriors..." only to duck as a shot struck right next to his head. He stood up and fired his plasma weaponry at the advancing enemy. Hearing a groan as the sign he'd hit his mark, he nodded and murmured, "Perhaps we can get lucky like that 200 more times..."

"Agreed," The Arbiter replied, then called, "Dokan, do you spot any structures or caves nearby where we may take shelter from the enemy?" before listening. A rustle in the bushes to the left of them echoed once, then twice. He drew his energy sword and powered it on the third, slashing sideways only to see two halves of a familiar species fall into the bottom of the trench.

A human. The Arbiter blinked, then spoke, "Humans..." only to feel the weight of a train throw him against the wall. Another human, clad in tribal clothes with the bones of dead animals acting as his armor, lifted a kinetic rifle and squeezed the trigger. There was no standard pop like that of a bullet being fired out of a UNSC rifle, nor was there any form of familiar whirr and snap like that of their railguns.

No. He felt a minor, yet pressing weight on his psyche as the bullet zipped right into the ground next to his head. They were utilizing the force to propel their projectiles. These were all Force-sensitive humans. He lifted his plasma rifle and fired a burst into the assailant that had fired at him first, watching his body turn to scarlet mist. That seemed to stagger the assaulting force just as Dokan called out, "Scans indicate a structure embedded within the walls farther behind your defensive position, Arbiter! It also seems to be the source of the Reliquary's activation!"

"Sweep in, low and fast! Everyone else, follow me... We move for the Structure!" The Sangheili war leader ordered. The Elites nodded their approval as the dropship swept low, firing its concussion cannons. Their jump-pack toting marksman fired as he took off from the trees. A needle shot pierced one of the humans clean through her skull armor and own skull, causing her to drop dead. Behind her, the needle detonated. Another of the Elites drew his own needler pistol and fired a burst. Five needles connected with another and exploded.

Behind them lay jagged wall of rock, resembling a pillar that arose from the ground during the planet's scouring. However, it, too, contained secrets buried within, it seemed. As the Elites rushed toward the area, firing their weapons to try and keep the feral human assailants pinned, the Arbiter caught sight of their target with the corner of his eye. An ornate building, seemingly made out of stone, poked out from amidst the unpolished rocks of the rock pillar. He dropped behind and marked it with a navigational point while covering his men.

Another pair of shots struck them, one of which managed to pierce shields and skim off of the Arbiter's armor, luckily only marginally damaging the ornate plates of the old armor that they'd so thoroughly upgraded to match the times. The Arbiter stowed his weapons on his magnetic locks and ordered, "Dokan, get to orbit and await the Shadow of Intent and Infinity's arrival! Guide them to land near us, for I fear we will lose contact within the structure ahead."

"Your will be done, Arbiter. As the humans say, good luck," The Pilot replied. The distant whine of the antigrav engines echoed all the way to them as the manta-like craft barreled into the upper atmosphere, then out of it. That left them with only one way to go, that being the structure itself, the Arbiter thought. He heard the cries of the humans at the rear. The Force-powered gunfire slowly drew down, going completely silent when the Elites had reached the door.

His motion tracker showed no enemy troops chasing them as they burst through the massive, ornate metal doors of the structure, with two of the Elites stopping by the door and pushing it closed. The Arbiter breathed a sigh, then looked back at the grand lobby awaiting them up ahead. Dust and cobwebs had settled onto the pillars and much of the structure seemed damaged, collapsed pillars of beautiful design laying on the floor. The walls to the left and right, almost completely concealed by darkness and stirred dust, were lined with ancient wooden book-shelves that, in turn, were filled with what seemed to be ancient knowledge in the form of tomes.

Usze hummed as he swept the place with his gaze. He activated his Energy Sword to provide a light source, then paused as he felt his hooves touch a different material than stone. Looking below, he spoke, "Arbiter. Gaze upon what lies below our very feet..." which took the Arbiter's attention toward him. The man lit the ground below with his sword, showing a familiar emblem encased in a white circle and embroidered upon a red carpet.

Two wings spread, surrounding a shimmering star. The symbol was weaved with reflective golden fleece that shined back the azure of Usze's blade at him and the Elites. He spoke, "... An emblem belonging to the Order of the Jedi. We have seen similar emblems on General Surik's old armor set. Perhaps..." and he'd wanted to suggest something, but he knew the Arbiter knew.

"This must be one of their ancient sites," The Arbiter supposed himself, "... It would certainly explain the presence of Force-sensitive humans on this world."

"Indeed," Usze nodded. He knelt and pressed his three long fingers against the fleece, murmuring, "Odd... Perhaps we can ask the General when she is to arrive."

"Yes... Until then, let us proceed deeper," The Arbiter replied. He pulled data up onto his personal Heads-Up Display and linked with the other Elites, marking the location that the Reliquary had pointed to. It was deeper within the confines of this place, an Ancient Jedi Library, from the looks. They all gazed up, to see the vaulted ceilings were almost invisible to the naked eye, their height causing them to be shrouded in darkness.

Still, they could make out an emblem on the back wall of the lobby. The same emblem as on the dusty carpet below. Usze looked back at the door and approached it, shining his blade's light onto it as well. Murals made of metal depicted great battles between lightsaber-wielding Jedi and their supposed, rumored dark counterpart, the Sith, all emblazoned in a chromed metal frame that held together the thick wood doors.

"Usze," The Arbiter called. His Elite compatriot turned, huffed in affirmation, then followed. The Arbiter powered his own Energy Sword to provide extra light as they walked. Entering deeper into the place while listening to their own footsteps reverberate in the great stone halls, Thel made the observation, "The Humans haven't followed us in..." with little to no surprise in his voice.

"Perhaps they see the place as Holy," The New Blood of their group suggested, holding close the Plasma Repeater. The Arbiter and the others agreed, nodding to the young man. Their hooves struck the stone floor below, steps audibly echoing many miles around them. Each door was a tall arch bearing the symbols of the Jedi, each wall was lined with bookshelves and each room showed signs of damage. Yet, one noticeable fact was that there were no corpses. No Skeletons. Perhaps, before they'd turned feral, the humanoids outside had buried their dead... Who knew but they who waited outside for the Sangheili?

Those that could be asked the history of this place had died centuries ago...

Chapter Text

The soldiers sat together, both watching the display of space's weird nature outside and simply chatting each-other up. Vic and Vesna were on the catwalk next to the windows, having taken Sergeant O'Niner's place as they peered through binoculars at some of the meteoroids that were landing around them. It was a beautiful sight, if a little concerning, but, well, kinetic energy wasn't much of an issue, since the moon supposedly had some sort of specialized defenses.

In the meanwhile, they listened in on Paul and Katja talking with the squad below. The Dominoes and Nub seemed to be getting along well with the entire group, thankfully, though that was a given since these guys were apparently Rookies among the ranks of the Clones. One of the reasons they were even put up in this outpost was to make sure they earned some experience before they were cycled out with the next platoon. The group, however, talked to the muffled tune of Russian band 'Agata Kristi's' 500 year old song, 'Like In War'.

"... And the she drove us over a BROKEN BRIDGE and managed to flip the vehicle!" Paul described the battle of Szurdok Ridge, a major part of the campaign on Reach. He was laughing loudly, as were the Clones around him and Katja. He continued jovially as he arranged his rifle strap, "I still don't know how I survived, but I've since sworn to never get in another car with Spartans!"

"Yeah, it was something!" Katja chuckled, then flashed the lads a grin as she leaned her back against the wall. The clones continued to listen, laughing, while katja joked, "You'd think they give you a driver's test before letting you behind the wheel of a 'Hog, but not for Spartans, apparently!" and yet more laughs filled the room, even from the folks sat at the top of the catwalk.

"You're kriffin' kidding me, man. Supersoldiers that can't drive, heh," Hevy shook his head, arms crossed as he shot a glance every once in a while toward the screens. He looked over to one of his brothers and asked him, "You hearing this, Fives?" as said brother was watching the hologram screens with Echo. Cutup, who had brought some food, sat himself down to keep listening to the story.

"I heard it," Fives replied, rather unimpressed with the shenanigans when his mind returned to some of the bantha crap they'd be doing in training.

"Hey, Paul..." Cutup started, looking over at the guy as he handed him a drink, then started on his own. After taking a sip, he asked the Hungarian soldier, "If ya don't mind us 'Regs' askin'... This where you also got those prosthetics?" and he tapped the metal arm he had. Ves and Victor up above looked down from the catwalk, a bit sad at this memory being brought up.

"Same battle, yeah. Well, part of them anyhow, like the arm being taken by a Covvie Elite during CQC. Same planetary defense... My home," The Hungarian replied in a low murmur. He lifted up his mechanical hand and looked at it, clenching and unclenching the mechanical fist that now acted as his own hand. He was thankful for UNSC procurement getting them the stuff necessary for him to still feel pressure and some other sensations through the fingers, but...

Echo, suddenly curious, turned to ask, "What happened?" only to feel the room temperature drop.

At first, it was a frown on Paul's and Katja's faces. The Reach native started describing, "The Covvies emerged with a small group during the early days of the invasion. The Battle was going well at first. We were winning on the ground, fighting hard. Hell, even space didn't seem to be that big a problem..." And he sighed deeply, rubbing his face and trying to contain his anger. Katja nodded, looking at her own drink as she listened.

The Hungarian descendant's voice grew low, angry, "Then the Covvies just started throwing more and more assets. The Spartans and we destroyed one thing one day, they'd appear with two of the same thing or worse the next. Six weeks of continuous fighting and all of it went to hell the last fucking days of the fight. Entire Covenant fleet, five hundred ships strong, bore down on Reach while we were evacuating..." Then he sighed, noting the surprised looks on the boys. He explained and motioned to Kat, Vic and Ves and stated, "I, Kat and the other Misfits barely got out thanks to NOBLE Team."

"Kriff me..." The heavy gunner of Domino squad blinked, while O'Niner listened, ever stoic.

"They managed to pour in that many reinforcements...?" Fives almost couldn't believe it, arms crossed. "How strong was the Covenant?"

"Stronger than us, that's for sure." The Polak beside Paul shrugged, then sighed deeply.

"The fact it took their Schism and the hinge-heads joining our side for us to have even an inkling of a chance at winning should tell you. Bastards burned every colony they ran across during the near 30 years of the war..." Paul himself replied, Katja giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder while the Clones looked to one-another and back at the duo, stunned.

"Hinge-heads being the alien allies we came in with..." The girl rubbed her face, then paused as she saw the sheer confusion of the men. With them, her own confusion grew a little exacerbated as she asked, "You guys okay?" while the room felt a little more cold than usual. She had a nagging feeling on what they were gonna aska bout right then and there...

"... Did you say 'burning'?" The entire squad asked suddenly. Everyone from O'Niner to Echo and to Heavy basically chorused the same four words. They looked to one-another as twins normally would again, then looked back with concern to Paul and Katja, as well as to the Romanian and his Russian wife up above, both of whome had been tuning into the conversation. What did they mean by burning, exactly, thought Fives.

"Covenant had a thing for orbital plasma bombardment. Saturation bombardment, too..." Paul nodded, then continued to explain even as the men's faces grew grim with the realization, "Turn the world to glass, leave nothing standing on the surface. I'm pretty sure there's still some fires burning somewhere on Reach's surface today, nearly..." The Native of the planet now in question turned to his friend and asked her, "What, eight years later?"

"About?" The Pole shrugged, seemingly a bit disheartened, too.

"... That is..." Mumbled Fives, his eyes shooting wide open.

"Kriff me, man, that's horrifying... And you had to witness this while leaving...? Your own home?" Hevy seemed surprisingly sympathetic for the man who carried the assault cannon into battle. Paul nodded, while Ves and Vic simply looked upon one of their friends with sympathy. The Clone Troopers took the reactions to heart at that, noting just how much Paul was trying to contain some degree of fury in his mind.

"I have footage from my helm cam on it, yeah..." The Hungarian replied, a little strained in not just bursting into tears of fury. He pulled the chip from his helmet and handed it to Hevy, who passed it to Echo in turn. Paul breathed shakily, then watched the men slot the chip into the side of a hologram display that immediately powered on into a flat screen. Images of the fighting, bullets and tracers lighting the void. Images of warships up above exploding under the constant stream of energy weapon fire from the five-hundred strong Covenant fleet that'd come to finish the job. Footage from aboard one of the few surviving UNSC vessels showing the planet's demise at the hands of plasma beam batteries.

"... Holy hell..." The Sergeant blinked, eyes wide. It felt all too familiar to a Republic Navy order as they watched it. The massive excavation beams on the bellies of the Covenant's seamonster-like warships cut deep gashes onto the surface of the once blue and green planet, boiling away the oceans. Indiscriminate destruction boiled the oceans away as Paul's hands balled into fists, his grip on the seat he was on causing the metal to dent on the chair's leg.

Hevy finally showed his colors as the team's heavy weapon specialist, a fury boiling in his words as he spoke, "... And you guys say you're allied with'em now?" while the rest of the Outpost's Clone garrison looked to him with little surprise. Ahead of them, images taken out of time, showed the Misfits in the middle of battle. Paul was the cameraman, while Katja was beside him. Vic and Vesna led the way, with a few others whose ID tags played revealed as they advanced, including the Platoon's 1st Lieutenant. All of them were bandaged, injured, marked by plasma and bloody bandages and heading for one of the last evacuation sites on Viery... Fighting still, to the last bullet. The Silhouettes of Elites and other alien troops bore down on them...

"Hinge-heads suddenly got stabbed in the back and realized their 'Great Journey' isn't what it seems to be," Katja offered, her voice a bit of a growl. Paul, meanwhile, seemed annoyed as the girl continued her explanation, "Their leader, the same bastard who burned Reach, is leading the Swords of Sangheilios, basically the folks we came here with..."

"I'll be damned if that there's not ironic," Cutup murmured in his unusually thick accent as he leaned back in his seat. Droidbait, meanwhile, sighed deeply as he looked at the Marines clambering onto evacuation drop ships and firing their weapons. Another man got caught in the plasma blast, falling as his armor boiled away. His comrades pulled him into the ship while Paul fired a handgun with his sole good arm, his left.

The group remained quiet for a little as Echo shut the hologram down, then turned to them. He watched Paul calming down in real-time, slowly, as Katja patted him on the shoulder. He watched Ves and Vic descend from the catwalk as Fives took their place to watch the storm, before the two approached their friends and put reassuring hands on the man's shoulders. He breathed again, less shaky, then nodded in thanks to his friends.

Cutup said, "You folks are close as can be, huh?"

"From training to fighting together all the way to the end of the war," Vic nodded, "It's how I and Vesna met and how this entire platoon of a dozen weirdoes linked up," and he smiled, "We've basically been a team since we were all eighteen," and he sat down next to them with Ves. Echo chuckled at that as he kept tabs on their sensors, then hummed as an irregularity appeared.

Vesna chuckled, "We've been through a lot, regardless of when and where we went."

"So, this is just another adventure for you guys," Hevy quipped, grinning, "One where it ain't extermination that's threatening the world, but a bunch of slaver bastards with an army of clankers and fighting side-by-side with us, Clone trooper Regs, eh?" which got the Misfits to laugh. Well, whatever part of the Misfits these four soldiers were. Echo, meanwhile, furrowed his brows.

"Uh, guys...?" Echo called out, a bit worried, "... Sensors are malfunctioning..."

The entire room suddenly went quiet. Vic and Vesna approached the console to look over the receiver data, to which the Clone explained to them, "Data from the main radar dish array and the connectors stopped streaming in when an Asteroid landed nearby, about... One klick off the base," before he tapped a few extra buttons and adjusted a pair of knobs, trying to re-adjust the antenna. He huffed and said, "Huh... Sarge, we may wanna contact the pilot and Wide-Eyes. Tell them to get inside."

O'Niner nodded, then activated his com and started, "O'Niner to Wide Eyes. Get yourself and the pilot inside. We might have a situation..." only for static to play in his ears. He huffed and spoke again, "Hey, Wide, come in. We have a situation and we need all hands on deck..." before sighing. He looked to Vic, who was trying to contact their pilot. He gave a shake of the head, then murmrued, "Something ain't right. Nub, grab a gun and let's go. We're investigating."

"Sergeant, with all due respect," Vesna started, surprisingly stoic and serious, "We should send a Mayday and prepare... This doesn't feel like a coincidence..." as she checked her pistol. The man hummed, looked to his boys and shrugged. They all nodded in agreement, to which Vesna added, "If they're still alive... They're probably in hiding. If not, I'd rather we be prepared. I understand if you wish to go look for them, so do I, but..."

"Safety of the outpost comes first," O'Niner sighed deeply. He spoke to them, "We can continue our chat after we've secured the area. Boys, get to the armory and gear up. I've got a bad feeling about this and I'd rather we'd all be armed and ready..." only to get nods of approval. The group scrambled for the armory, while O'Niner looked up and asked, "What do you see, Fives?"

"... Trouble, sir," The man replied, dead serious, "Big trouble."

... A sole Confederate drop-pod lay in the distance, open.

Infinity

It really hadn't been that long since Padmé had come aboard the UNSC's command vessel. Yet, here she was, having dinner with the officer cadre of the ship and watching them at work on the Bridge. Never a dull moment, Admiral Lasky had told her, especially not when they were on their way to an important operation to support their allies. She chowed down on something they called a 'Burrito', something that could be eaten by hand, and found the flavors incredible, honestly.

She was also thankful most of the people on board spoke Basic, or English, as they called it. Even with some heavy accents going on, the group welcomed her and Threepio aboard with very little issue. Heck, she felt part of the crew as she sat here, a styrofoam plate in one hand and the burrito in the other as she watched the group working. An engineer had come onto the deck to repair a shorting console relating to a minor subsystem that also had redundancies.

The ship was much more spacious, too, though that should honestly have been expected with a vessel that was five kilometers long and necessitated a tram system to properly traverse from one end to the other and around. She sighed as she finished the burger, then looked over to her left as Threepio trotted over, stating, "Hope the maintenance bay was nice."

"Oh, the people there were wonderful! Very friendly, too. It seems that master Skywalker has decided to give them the schematics he made of me, so they know how to build Spare Parts, too," The Protocol Droid replied. He looked around the control room, then said, "I don't presume you've seen the Lieutenant of Crimson Squad, have you? It seems as though General Surik is looking for him."

"Haven't really seen the Spartans around. Has she tried the place they call the 'S-Deck'?" The woman raised a brow.

"I suppose I should find her and tell her. Thank you for the suggestion, milady," Threepio replied kindly. Genuinely, how had he not thought of that immediately? It was really kind of obvious, regardless. He nodded in thanks to mistress Padmé, then turned and paused, surprised, even though his steely, gold-laced face didn't actually show just how suddenly surprised he'd been.

"You're welcome, Threepi-OH!" The Naboonian queen yelped, almost jumping out of her skin and dropping her food and plate. She'd managed to surprise even the folks behind her, one of whom had bumped his head against the console's top by mistake. The engineers looked at her with furrowed brows and a little miffed. She gave an apologetic look... Then looked to the General.

"Hi," Meetra smiled coyly, well aware of what she'd done.

"General Surik!" Padmé scoffed, then crossed her arms to denote her anger... Not before taking another bite of her burrito, however. She chewed, swallowed, then berated, "You scared the life out of me!" while the electrical engineers behind her chuckled at that, their anger quickly replaced by amusement at the woman's slight expense. She cast a glare back, which got them immediately back to work, then looked back at Meetra with a sigh and a more understanding, yet still slightly angry look.

"Heh," The girl rubbed the back of her neck and laughed awkwardly, then told her, "Apologies, milady. I figured I should drop by the bridge to see our ETA to the planet before I find Six. Did Admiral Lasky ever mention where we're going? Because I've missed the briefing on it..." admitting on the side in a quiet whisper, "Slept in, heh," as she averted her gaze, avoiding meeting the woman's eyes.

"Some world named Ossus..." The Queen, to her credit, didn't continue berating her. She did, however ask, "Something wrong?" upon noting the narrowed eyes, furrowed brows and the overall look of semi-confusion of the woman. It was almost as if she was trying to remember the name of the place through sheer brainpower. Threepio, meanwhile, waddled off to have a chat with Roland nearby the hologram projector table, with Roland greeting the droid with a heavy sigh.

The woman then grinned as she recalled, "I know Ossus... It's a former Jedi world, ancient..." Then her grin grew twice-over, obviously with her knowing something nobody else did, "I see. Oh, that's gonna be fun. Hope the Arbiter and his team are okay with waiting for a few more minutes before we arrive..." as she arranged her robe. She wondered privately if they had already gotten into any form of trouble.

"Something the matter, General?" Padmé inquired, feeling a little worry well up in her gut. It was probably nothing, though.

"Nope..." Meetra shook her head, then offered with a smile instead of a grin, "Just something familiar, really," then she turned fully to Padmé and told her with a hint of friendliness, "I'm gonna go find Six and the others down on the S-Deck. Oh, by the way, master Skywalker's downstairs with some of his men, eating at one of the mess halls," before departing.

Padmé nodded in thanks, looked at Threepio probably bugging the hell out of Roland, smiled, then stepped off to take a tram with Meetra. She stopped the girl mid-walk and asked her, "Why are you looking for one of their Special Forces members, General?" as the two walked together. Well, this was a rather surprising twist of events, honestly, thought the Queen, but alas.

"I and Six are... Well, he's the first strangely similar person I've found on this boat. I met the Chief and the others as well, but there's just something about him that stands out... Guess finding him nearby the Memorial Wall at the top of the ship really helped set the tone for what kind of soldier he is," Meetra offered, remembering the fact the man was looking at four names, a set of dog tags in his hand clinking. It was a tone-setter alright.

"He must've lost comrades. I want to know how..." Padmé offered, then continued, "What war could the UNSC have possibly fought to lead to them being this well-armed?" as they entered the Tram and sat down. It was a strange situation, knowing the Sangheili and them had been at war through hearing the murmurs of the various crews told her some part of the history, which is why it was surprising that these folks weren't much worse off.

"They offer up the briefing on the Human-Covenant War quite openly. Be ware, though. It will make some of the more recent 'wars' seem like kids' play... Not to downplay the current War or anything, but the Casualties in their Great War alone are horrifying. It paints you a pretty picture about how surprising their alliance with the Sangheili is." Meetra replied with a terrifying calm about her, despite Padmé seeing the turmoil within her as well. Anakin had told her that Meetra may well be an Ancient Jedi. Weird prospect, but the Force was strange as it was.

"Oh..."

The awkward pause that began now persisted until the two reached their respective destinations. Technically, Padmé had gotten off first, going to the Mess to talk to Anakin. It was cute that they thought they could hide their little relationship, but it was about as obvious as the difference between Day and Night on any planet with a proper orbital cycle that permitted the two to be different. She'd bet a Credit on it.

Entering the S-Deck after descending a couple of decks, the woman smiled as she saw Richard and Six in the Gym, as usual. The two were training in hand-to-hand again, but the difference was that there was a certain someone watching them go through the motions. Meetra approached Ahsoka from behind and poked the girl between her shoulder blades, causing her to yelp and jump. The blonde Jedi then chuckled and asked, "Enjoying the show?" with a teasing voice.

The two men were in their sparring outfits:Grey tank tops with the UNSC emblem emblazoned upon the front, as well as shorts and training shoes. It left very little to the imagination for any young woman who would be interested in such matters, regardless of if they were a Jedi or not. And Meetra was, much to her dismay, blushing a little after seeing Six in that outfit.

Ahsoka, despite her own initial reaction of surprise, giggled at that as well, then said, "Guess I'm not the only one here to enjoy the sho-" only for her voice to crack as she realized that she had, in fact, admitted to the very thing her hero had asked. Yes, Meetra was a personal hero of Ahsoka's. No, Master Skywalker was, too. The girl thought to herself that young women could have multiple heroes, as if it was fact.

As the silent freakouts of the two Jedi women occurred, Richard asked Six, "Do you think they know we can see them...?" while they took their momentary break. He plucked up his bottle and sipped some water, then looked right at Ahsoka, murmuring something like, "And do they have to be like that...?" though Noble Six was sure that, even with his enhanced hearing, he'd misunderstood it.

Six shrugged, "Honestly, Dick, I don't think it matters..." then sighed deeply as he looked over to Ecklund and Dinh, both of whom were laughing. The blonde with braids and the Asian man with long black hair grinned at their CO, only to realize he was looking at them and immediately turn back to their own training, fistfighting some hard-light stands meant specifically for training. He sighed, turned back to the girls to watch them freak out, then tilted his head toward Richard for them to start their own spar again, regardless of prying eyes. Richard nodded quickly.

Six swore to himself, the Spartan-IVs Jun had picked were some times the least disciplined bunch of the UNSC. Some times. Compared to them, though, Dick was a saint that could actually listen to orders.

Even if he was from Gamma Company.

Chapter Text

"How many d'ya reckon there are?" Hevy asked, his voice muffled and modified by the helmet's external speakers. He lifted up the six-barreled Z-6 rotary cannon, then hit the side power pack to make sure it was properly seated in the well. He aimed it toward the stairwell that led up from the landing pad. O'Niner shrugged as he readied his own DC-15A, checking it over and making sure the power output was nominal.

"On your order, Sarge," Cutup spoke as his hand hovered over the console. The sole thing keeping the Republic forces from coming to help reinforce Rishi right now was 'All-Clear Signal' being broadcast by the station's communication system. What the droids had taken out were sensors, but coms were still operational and transmitting that signal. Now, if the squad couldn't hold their ground, that meant that they'd need to disable it and fall back to either the barracks, or outside the base.

O'Niner showed him to halt as, beside him, Victor set up what looked to be an automatic, belt-fed weapon. Racking the bolt of his own heavy gun, the man peered down the scope and told O'Niner, "We've got enough forward firepower concentrated here. Someone should keep an eye out in case the Droids, whatever they are, decide to use some alternate means of entry."

"Only ways through are the windows and the vent system," Vesna spoke as she took cover beside the console, rifle in hand. She peered from between one of the Console stands and checked her own radio, while Katja and Paul took up positions on top of the catwalk, aiming their scoped BRs at it. She sighed and shook her head, then added, "Still no contact... Wait, stand by. Motion tracker detecting movement."

The UNSC Marines tensed, while their Clone counterparts readied themselves. Armed with a longer DC-15 blaster rifle, Fives shouldered the weapon and prepared himself to fire, thankful he had the AP capabilities to possibly take down even the bigger Droids of the Separatist military. He spoke to Hevy, "Betcha fifteen Creds that I'll have more kills than you by the end."

Hevy snorted, taking his firing stance again, "You're on."

Nub, meanwhile, tensed as he held close his own DC-15A Carbine, partially praying the Droids wouldn't start breaching. However, the moment his mind started registering the fact they were about to enter into a fight and he prayed it wasn't gonna happen, the door started thumping. Joy, he thought to himself. Least he could finally fire his weapon in something that wasn't just the weekly shooting training.

The Marines tensed, grips tightening on their rifles. Paul looked back at the window, listening for any movement outside, only for him to spot a shadowy figure move in the corner of his eye. He swiveled about toward the windows, going back-to-back with his childhood friend. Katja clicked her com twice, looking to Vesna. Ves nodded, then showed her to face the same way. She did, turning on her heels and giving Paul a pat on the shoulder as if to tell him she's got his side.

Cutup, meanwhile, held his blaster pistol up, carbine clipped to his belt. Echo himself was armed with a carbine and was farther in the rear, keeping an eye on the other necessary systems and the small grate that led to the outside through the ventilation shafts. Droidbait hummed from beside him, aiming his blaster at anything that moved. He spoke, "This is gonnae be interestin'..."

"First taste of combat, boys..." O'Niner murmured, "Hope you ain't cowering on me now..."

The Clones all let out short laughs at that, while the Marines didn't answer, simply letting their weapons do the talking when the time came. They all paused, however, when light flickered ahead and the console lit up. An almost monotonous voice came from the com system. "Brothers. Can you open the door? The outside is clear and I and the Pilot want to take cover..."

"Wide-Eyes?" Ves asked, obviously skeptical.

O'Niner shook his head, "No... Too weirdly monotonous," and he aimed his blaster, grip tightening on his weapon. "Eye swears up and down most of the time, too."

Cutup leaned over to the com console and murmured, "Are the clankers wearing his armor...?" a bit surprised. Everyone else looked at him, concerned, before Vesna peered toward it, too. Sighing, she nodded, then pulled the mag out of her weapon to make sure she'd loaded armor piercing. Slamming it back home, she looked to Paul and Katja, then to her husband. Vic gave a thumbs up, while the Clones nodded. The Droid wearing their dead brother's armor spoke again, making the request to open the door, but it only served to further anger the men.

Vesna thought that'd be useful. Anger would drive any man to fight like hell for their brothers. She knew just how driven her own comrades were to get them off of Reach, Earth and the Ark alive. She kept her weapon steady, while Paul aimed his Sniper. The door began to hiss more loudly and the flickering intensified into a blinding flashing as the Droids started cutting through the door.

O'Niner gave the Go-Ahead to Cutup, just in case. Better to turn that All-Clear off now, he thought to himself, than to let the Droids kill them all if push came to shove. He heard the distant thump of magnetic charges being placed on the doors, then showed the team to ready up. Paul tensed, weapon at the ready. Kat thumbed the safety off her Battle Rifle off, peering through the scope.

When the hissing of the torch stopped, the thump of the breach echoed and Cutup hit the off switch, the Signal dying as incredibly-agile droids, painted black with only their eyes visible, pushed forward. Their blaster rifles snapped as they fired volleys, advancing up the stairs. Vic shifted his aim and immediately started laying down a volley of bullets down the stairs, spent casings and links clinking on the floor.

The thunderclap of the Sniper and the snap-pops of the Clone Blasters followed up, alongside the burp of the Battle Rifle and Vesna's own slow-chugging MA40. The squad laid into the line, filling the corridor with lead and plasma. They'd caught three enemy Commandos in the volley, bodies sparking as they collapsed under the whittling barrage of firepower. The other Droids, however, were smarter. They took cover and fired back at the Clones and Marines.

Paul fired his sniper again, the loud shot ringing out indoors and nailing a droid as it tried to throw a grenade. One of the classic thermal detonators still flew through the breach, however, landing right beside Vic. The Romanian autorifleman scrambled off to the side and turned his back to the blast, covering his head. A few others ducked, too, as the detonator exploded in a flurry of heat.

That gave the Droids time to advance. The Commandoes pushed up, firing their blaster bolts toward the Sniper and his backup BR-wielding comrade. That gave the Clones at the rear, Hevy included, the time to open up. And Hevy, to his credit, "Welcome to Rishi, boys!" before squeezing the trigger. The rotary cannon spooled and spun, a trail of azure bolts leaving the barrels of the weapon.

"Nub, look out!" O'Niner called out. Nub stood up and opened fire, too, meeting one of the Droids head-on. The machine let out a strange, almost mechanical gurgle as it drew a hefty blade off of its back and swung it at the Clone. It cracked through the plasteel armor and drew blood, sending the Clone tumbling to the floor with a nasty mark. The Droid then performed some form of acrobatic and jumped up toward where Katja and Paul were set up.

The droid swung at Katja, nearly taking her head off, but Paul was quicker. Cocking back his prosthetic, the Marine swung for a hard punch and a massive, reverberating clang echoed as the Droid's neck was snapped and bent. It collapsed, falling backward and off the catwalk while the Marine reloaded his rifle. Katja grinned and gave him a pat on the shoulder, to which he gave a thumbs up.

Other Droids advanced, one of them taking a swing at Vic that Vesna intercepted, gunning it down with Armor-Piercing Ammo. Anger seemed to boil over in the woman's eyes as she fired burst after burst from her weapon toward the Droids. Vic soon followed up, having regained his footing, then stood to his feet while brandishing his LMG. He opened fire on the Droids as well, joining Hevy in the Cannonade and gunning down a Droid that was about to swing for Vesna's head.

She looked to him and smiled, then joined him, reloading her rifle in the meantime. Vic hefted his LMG and fired from the hip as more Commando Droids pushed through, sweeping both the entrance and the area ahead. One of the Droids charged O'Niner, with the man narrowly dodging swings from the Droid's blade as he tried to acquire a good shot on it.

Fives popped up from cover and headshot the droid, then aimed his blaster and said, "Cutting it a little close, sir!" while Echo and Droidbait joined up as well. O'Niner let out a sarcastic laugh as the group began falling back, before Vesna and Vic slowly moved around the console. She looked to Katja and Paul and whistled at them. When they turned to her, she balled her fist and showed them to form up.

Both nodded, Paul drawing his M6 and covering for Katja as she jumped off first. The girl ducked under a swing, blunted another with her armor plate, then headbutted the droid, sending it back. She aimed her rifle and fired the last 12 rounds in her mag to kill it, then quickly reloaded as Paul joined her, firing his sidearm. O'Niner, meanwhile, ordered, "Fall back to secondary defensive positions! Hoping someone realizes we need help..." he started firing.

Hevy slowly backed off, firing his gatling blaster alongside Vic, the latter sweeping the area ahead in a 180 degree angle, each bullet and spent casing hitting or near-missing a Droid's important internals. The group rolled back behind the cover of the walls and support struts as blaster bolts started hitting their position. Vic knelt behind cover, dropping the empty plastic box and locking in a fresh one, before slotting the belt in and opening up with the weapon. Vesna beside him fired her MA40, noting, "Backed into a corner! Any plans for escape, Sergeant?!"

"Got a couple!" O'Niner quipped as he took cover. He ordered, "Dominoes, form up and prep smokes! We're getting our outpost back!" before priming what looked to be a smoke grenade. The Marines hummed and looked to one-another, before Paul grinned and drew his Sniper. He poked out and fired, doming another Droid as Vic and Hevy kept the enemy suppressed.

As the Troopers prepared the smoke grenades, Vic activated his Radio and told Ves, "I think we've got a link to Captain Heikkala's cruiser! They should be in a nearby system!" before hefting his LMG and firing. Their transmitter system had been linked to the base's communication system. They only had to hope the bastard droids hadn't jammed their coms, too.

"I'll try to give them a call, get us reinforcements!" The girl replied, then radioed, "Mayday, mayday, this is MISFIT BLUE to UNSC Pass Me The Ammo, the Rishi Outpost is under direct attack! A Droid Commando force has infiltrated the place and we are engaging it as we speak! Requesting reinforcement!" before listening in. At first, she could make out Heikkala's voice, but the radio was slightly distorted by something. She sighed and said, "Only hope is they heard it..." before turning to O'Niner and nodding.

They threw the smoke Grenades, only to hear a Commando Droid speak, its voice thick, deadpan "This is Unit 26, requesting support from overhead assets. Enemy resistance is greater than expected..." which made chills shoot up their spines. The enemy's new Commando Droids were terrifying, though Vesna. However, so were UNSC Marines. She primed two fragmentation grenades and showed O'Niner to wait before rolling them forward into the smoke.

"They just called for backup!" O'Niner spoke as the two grenades thumped, shattering a couple of droids.

Vic replied, "We've gotta pray our Mayday got to Heikkala's ship!" before peering out and stabilizing his LMG with his hand. He squeezed the trigger again, tracers lighting the silhouettes of the machines in the darkness as Hevy's gun cooled. Hevy himself aimed and fired a volley as soon as the damn thing stopped emitting steam, with Paul and Katja close behind, firing their rifles into the clearing visual impairment ahead.

Two Commando droids surged forward, one of them slamming into Hevy. He pinned the heavy gunner to the floor and aimed its blaster rifle right at the Trooper's face, but Paul grabbed it by the neck with his prosthetic and slammed it against its sibling that was trying to kill Vic. The two machines creaked and broke, sparks flying as the Marine then used the corpse as a shield from the last two droids.

Vesna stood up while Vic now covered her, then surged forward. She drew her blades from their sheaths, two heavy-duty combat knives, then charged one of the two Droids as blaster bolts whizzed by and even struck parts of her armor. She slammed into one, cocked back her hand and buried the blade deep within the machine's central processor.

Katja, immediately beside her, put several AP slugs from her rifle into the last on just as it was aiming to kill her boss. The two blonde women smiled at one-another, then gave nods of approval and looked back. The Clones and the two men lowered their weapons and reloaded them, with Hevy commenting, "I'm actually gettin' kinda jealous..." toward Vic and Paul. The two Marines grinned and bumped fists, then walked forward.

Cutup approached the com console while Fives ran up the Catwalk and pulled out a pair of macrobinoculars. Using them to peer up into the sky, he swore, "Kriff me! They've got an entire Droid Fleet up there! I'm seeing three Lucrehulks and maybe half-a-dozen Frigates on approach. They've started deploying troop ships toward us," only to lock onto the first massive transport vessel, what resembled a one-legged table that had a wide cut right down the center to him, slowly swung in for landing.

"They were planning for an all-out invasion. Kamino must be their target..." Murmured O'Niner.

"Your home planet, right?" Vic asked as he walked over to the console, too. The Sergeant and the Clones nodded, to which the man replied, "We ain't gonna let'em take it. We may be 'Basics', but we're all way too familiar with the concept of losing our homes..." before looking to the others. The three members of the Misfits present nodded their approval, while the Clones, a bit surprised, looked to one-another.

"I think we figured you Basics were on our sides when you came down to help us in this dead-end job, sir," Hevy commented, leaning his heavy gun on his shoulder. He took his helmet off, revealing a grin, then asked, "Question is, what the hell do we do to stop them? That's a Droid army coming down on our heads, presumably their last resort before having to ditch this op. We're... What, ten people and ten guns?"

"We'll figure something out, Hevy," Echo quipped, hefting his Blaster, "Maybe if we hold long enough..."

"Bastards started jamming our coms..." Cutup sighed, "Can't raise our own defense fleet, so..."

"We pray to whatever Gods are listening up there that that UNSC Cruiser heard our calls. Until then," O'Niner took charge, cocking his blaster as to emphasize what he was about to say next. "We hold the line as best we can. Last resort, we blow this place... Stop them from getting any form of control over it," before turning to the Marines and asking, "You folks any good at setting up IEDs?"

"Bet your sweet bippy, kurwa," Katja grinned, "Hand me any grenades you have. I'll booby trap the main door."

"What did she say?" Droidbait asked, crossing his arms to his chest. The three other Marines laughed awkwardly as they watched Kat depart with several kilograms worth of explosives. The Sergeants convened while the Troopers looked around, with Droidbait adding, "We're gonna have a battalion coming down on our heads... One ship first, then another and another 'till we're all dead or we run outta ammo."

"Fangs out, then," Paul commented, patting him on the shoulder, "You're all Rookies, but you've done just fine."

"We've got incoming!" Cutup then called out, "Ship's being chased by enemy fighters!" with the soldiers scrambling to the top of the catwalk. Indeed, in the distance, a three-wing shuttle was coming in with five fighters on its tail, plasma raining hell on its engines. They burst aflame as the rear shields failed, the aircraft crashing into the surface of the moon.

"Son of a bitch..." Murmured Paul, "We should send a team to rescue them, sir. Might have the extra guns on board we need to fight the coming 'Bots."

"Good idea, corporal," O'Niner replied, then said, "Fives, Echo, Cutup, head out and find them. Take the 'side exit'..." And he pointed at the grate in the main hallway with two fingers. He looked over to Katja, who racked the bolt of her battle rifle and asked, "Mind if you back them up, Corporal?" to which she grinned and shook her head. Paul put a hand on her shoulder and she put one back onto his, smiling. The two nodded to each-other, denoting the years of trust, before the girl rallied the men.

"Let's go, lads. We got some fellow troopers to rescue," She stated, then jumped down from the Catwalk. The three men looked to one-another, nodded, then followed the girl down, blasters at the ready. O'Niner's thoughts had been the same as the boys'. Why would any sane military send a squad of their own to what was basically a dead-end job in the middle of nowhere? Especially Basics like this 'UNSC'.

He was glad they did.

Crawling through the ventilation shaft, the girl quipped, "Well, if this doesn't feel like Die Hard..." as she held close her BR75. The three clones stared at her, confused. She looked back and grinned, then said, "Oh, we have so much shit to teach you about, boys. 600 years of human cinematography..." before she turned a corner. She quipped, "Just don't stare at my ass so much!"

The men snorted, with Cutup commenting, "Aye, aye, Corporal..."

"These guys are really strange," Quipped Fives as they crawled through into the red safety lights of the tunnel.

Echo replied, "Could be much worse... And hey, we're still alive," just before they reached the grate leading to the outside. Katja kicked the grate off of the wall and climbed down first, then swept the ridge they were on with her rifle. Looking up, she saw the Droid ship coming in for landing and hummed, then stepped forward to let the lads climb down and felt her foot catch on something.

She looked down and gasped, eyes wide. The corpse of a stripped clone lay on the floor, his throat slit. Beside him, Clara, their pilot, lay dead as well, a blade having pierced through the back of her neck. She knelt beside the woman and turned her over, feeling a fury bubbling up in her heart. Gently, she slung her rifle onto her back as the Troopers joined her. She took the dog tags off of Clara and slotted them into her pocket, before closing the woman's eyes, then turned to Wide Eyes and did the same for him. For the latter, though, she handed the tags to Fives.

Standing up, she said, "This right here is why we're backing you boys up. These tin cans shot at us first... And this is how they care for the dead..." then she checked her rifle over and gently pulled back the bolt to see if there was brass in the chamber. Nodding after completing the check and letting the bolt slam home, she showed them to follow, mumbling something in her language that the three men didn't understand.

The girl raised a balled fist as she heard the screech of chitin against rock, then showed them to take cover. Fives asked, "What is it?" in a whisper as he readied his blaster. She looked back at him and shrugged, pointing to the tunnels dug into the walls, to which he said, "Oh... Probably one of the local worms. We may wanna stay way from it. They're carnivorous, I think. Right?" And he looked to Echo.

Echo nodded, "Yeah..."

"Move low and keep quiet, then..." She told them. Crouch-walking by the wall, the group continued their ascent as the engines of the enemy landing ship droned loudly above them. They were about to make the climb when the girl saw a silhouette up ahead. She whistled and aimed her rifle, with the boys all readying their guns as well. However, it wasn't long before that giant worm emerged from hiding, hissing as it opened its four massive armored jaws at the group. The girl and the Clones turned about and opened fire on it, bullets embedding themselves in the armor and blasters not penetrating, somehow.

It dived toward them, Katja suddenly seeing her entire life flash before her eyes...

... A blaster rang out again, the azure bolt piercing the eye of the beast and sending it collapsing to the floor next to the men and her. They kept their weapons trained on the dead creature. It bled blue from the hole pierced into its skull and Katja got a full, good look at the brown chitin that made up its body, including the holes pierced by her rifle and the scars left by the blaster.

She dropped the half-spent mag into a dump pouch and slid in a fresh one, murmuring to herself annoyedly as she made a count of how many rounds she had left, noting it was half her load spent both in fighting and in shooting this thing. Scoffing, she swiveled about as she heard rocks get kicked out of the way, then paused as she saw blue stripes, a black 'skirt' and a strange collar cover on the man ahead. She smiled, however, then saw the man in the orange-striped armor following close behind.

"Well, Rex, old boy..." Cody spoke, arms crossed, "Guess we found our staff. Corporal Zielinska."

"Commander Cody. Captain Rex, sirs," She saluted, grinning.

"Glad to see you're alright after what we heard... We picked up the Distress when we were on our way here," Rex spoke, "Bounced it off our com relay to the Pass Me the Ammo before we entered the system, but we didn't expect things to be this bad..." And he paused, looking over her shoulder at the three Clones. He hummed and asked her, "Taking care of a bunch of Shinies, are you, Corporal?"

"They're holdin' their own decently well," She nodded while watching Rex approach the dead creature. He ran his hand over the blood and rubbed his fingers together, looking at it with a little concern. She chuckled as she watched the man approach the Troopers, all of whom took their helmets off. Rex and Cody both did the same, noting the confusion the three looked at them with.

"You got names, troopers?" Rex inquired.

"Sir. Cutup, Echo and Fives," Echo spoke, though he also asked, "Also... 'Shinies', sir?"

"Yeah, you're shiny and new," Rex quipped, putting his hand on the right side of the man's chest, basically emblazoning the white of his armor with the blue handprint, then smirked and told him, "Just like your armors. Though I'd like to think you're a little more than that now that you've tasted combat," and he saw them smile, too. He nodded proudly at his brothers. New kids or not...

"Speaking of, we should get to the Outpost. Defenders still whole?" Cody asked. Katja nodded in reply.

"We've barricaded the main 'lobby' area and mined it, so we'll have to go through the vent shaft we came out of," She told them, smirking, "Hope you don't mind scraping your knees a bit..."

"Back in the hole?" Cutup sighed deeply, "Man, I hate tight spaces..." and that got some laughter out of his brothers and a couple nods of approval from Rex and Cody. They showed the boys to lead the way over to the vent, which Katja did by taking point. There, the Clones and Marine helped each-other climb to the top, with the first one in being Katja, while the last one was Echo. They'd also seen the corpses and the two Clone Officers had quickly paid respects.

Then, it was back into the Lion's Den, so to speak.

Chapter Text

The group had climbed back up into the building, only to be met by a blaster at the grate. However, when the Clone Trooper, namely Hevy, noticed it was actual Clones and the two Misfits returning, he took a step back and offered his hand to the leading man. As they all stood up, Hevy snapped a salute at Commander Cody and Captain Rex, having probably noted who they are. He then said, "I'll be damned if you aren't a sight for sore eyes, sirs. We've got a lot of clankers coming up the proverbial hill now."

"Uphill, every way, Trooper," Rex spoke with a nod, then looked over to see the Sergeant in charge of the defense arraying their troops in various positions. The distant thrum of the landing ship's engines caused the gentlest vibrations in the outpost's air, but the presence of the two Clone officers seemed to have been felt. The Sergeant and the others soon turned to salute them, with Vic, Ves and Paul immediately smiling.

Rex hummed, then quipped, "You know, if I knew they sent a bunch of the Misfits over, I might've just brought the rest of you lot. Good to see you, Corporals, Sergeants," and offered the group a salute back. He and Cody approached the Sergeant, giving him a nod to relax, before asking, "Sergeant O'Niner. Situation on ammo count and your troops?"

"All in the yellow, still, sir. We'll see what happens when the Clankers send in that battalion they have on board their ship," O'Niner replied, checking his blaster carbine. He told them, "They really want this outpost... We think it's because they wanna strike at Kamino," as he took his helmet off, clearly dumbfound by the droids' strategy for this battle. Why try to take the outpost when what must've been the main objective, keeping the All-Clear Signal online, failed?

"They already lost the element of surprise if that's the case," Cody stated, taking his helmet off. He told the group, "Before we got blasted out of the sky, our sensors detected a large gravitational disturbance matching UNSC FTL at the edge of the system, meaning at least a Cruiser's coming here already..." And that got a few of the group to smile. The message had gotten through. Cody noted that they must've called the Cruiser in, then continued, "You can be sure they've probably sent out for a squadron of Venators to come support us. Either the officer of the fleet above wants us all dead for interfering, or he has a different plan."

O'Niner shrugged, "I don't know, sir. I'm not paid to think on wider strategies," and that got some laughs. He then told them, "It might just be the sunk cost at this point. They lost a platoon of Commando Droids for taking out two of our boys and the UNSC Pilot that the Misfits came here with," motioning to the Marines. He continued, "We turned off the All-Clear, too."

"That, we noticed," Rex nodded, then crossed his arms to his chest, "We thought it was the Droids jamming us when we spotted the fleet, though, so it's nice to have the confirmation of foresight. Well done, troopers," only to look toward the Droid with the bent neck and then to Paul's robot knuckle being scraped. He snorted at the thought of the man punching a droid's neck in like that.

"Sir," Droidbait grinned, "Just doin' our jobs, protectin' our home..."

"With some Basic lovebirds backing us up, mind ya," Cutup added as he readied his blaster, pointing jokingly toward the four Misfits. The other clones and the Marines let out laughter at that quip and the two Clone officers gave their nods of approval. Cody excused himself to go check the mines, to which Katja followed him in to ensure he wasn't going to step on any of the placed mines.

"Sergeant Toma," Rex looked over to Vesna, who nodded. She and Vic walked up to him and he told them, "How much of your platoon is currently away with the Infinity?"

"Rough estimates of of Seventy-Five Percent," Vesna replied as she shouldered her rifle, "Our officer, the Lieutenant, isn't with us, obviously. We've got a few more of our fellow Elite troopers with the Infinity for now, but they're waiting for injuries from Christophsis to heal, so we're the only ones who were capable of deploying here. Seeing how small the Outpost is, it's a good thing."

"Agreed-" Rex paused as he heard the muffled thumping of mechanical feet outside. Immediately taking command, the man pointed with his open palm to various positions. Katja and Cody rushed back up the stairs, readying their weapons and taking cover behind boxes and the consoles. Rex drew both of his blaster pistols and prepared to engage the enemy with the group as they took the positions he ordered them to take.

Hevy, who now took cover behind one of the consoles, looked to Echo and pointed at his chest, stating, "Nice new mark," as he noticed the palm. Echo nodded in thanks and tilted his head to Captain Rex, who still had a bit of the dried blood on the hand he'd used to make the mark with. The soldiers gripped their weapons tightly, readying themselves to engage the Droid menace.

The deathly quiet that fell upon the AO was probably a surprising change for the troopers and Marines, all of whom prepared to engage. The thumping footsteps drew closer and closer, until the first spindly silhouette of a Battle Droid stepped through the door, followed by more of its brothers. It spoke in its strange voice, "Optical sensors open! The Clones here can put up a fight!"

"Roger, roger!" The rest of the square formation of Droids replied. Katja and Rex looked to one-another, the man stowing one of his pistols and giving her a countdown on detonating the mines, which would subsequently set off the other charges. The girl had set up Claymore-style mines, the detonator of which being connected to her helmet's BattleNet system.

Rex gave a thumbs up and the girl hit it. The rumbling explosion that followed reverberated across the station's innards, the walls groaning and the shockwave nearly breaking the windows. An entire force of Droids was wiped, but yet more were audible, now advancing at a quickened pace. Through the fire emerged the first BD-1, which Rex promptly domed with his blaster pistols. When the second and third emerged, the troopers all opened fire into the smoke.

Azure blasts punched through the cloud of smoke wafting up the stairwell, causing ripples and holes to be drilled into it. Automatic fire from the kinetic assault weapons of the four-man Marine Fireteam filled the air once more, spent casings clinking next to spent casings as Rex and Cody, now at the forefront of the defense, engaged the Battle Droids with accurate and deadly fire.

Red bolts started flying up the stairwell in answer, rounds striking the metal roof and the stairs themselves, all around the Clones and Marines. The four poured down bullet hell from their barrels, while the Clones kept up their own suppressing fire, aiming center-mass of the droid silhouettes attempting to advance up the stairwell. It wasn't long, however, until their more heavily armored counterparts rolled up. BD-2 Super Battle Droids.

One of said droids had an arm-mounted cannon it aimed up the stairs. Rex's eyes shot wide open as he barked, "TAKE COVER!" before jumping out of the way and dragging Vesna and Echo with him. The projectile lanced forward and struck the ceiling, breaking the windows, the concussive blast causing the Marines and a few of the clones to stagger. Vic, however, never let go of the trigger of his MG. His shots went wide, yes, but some struck and staggered the machine with the arm-mounted cannon. Rex and Cody recovered quickly, too, much to their credit, immediately snapping their blasters up at the enemy Droid and filling it full of plasma.

A sniper shot rang out from behind them and a second droid with a similar pedigree was nailed clean through it's CPU, but the armored assault Droids pushed forward and up the stairs, firing their four arm-mounted heavy blasters at the group. Being forced back into deeper cover allowed the Marines to start hefting and long-arming whatever leftover fragmentation grenades they had, Cody commenting, "We got into one hell of a mess this time!"

"Can't be any worse than what we usually go through!" Rex replied. He stood up and blasted two more Supers with his pistols, his aim terrifyingly good even in the hectic close quarter battle within the Post. Vic poked out with his MG from behind cover and let loose a burst, catching one of the droids in its knee servos and sending it toppling over. Vesna moved forward next with Katja, the two letting their rifles spit AP Rounds out at the Droids.

Vesna gasped, however, as she saw one of the SBD's cock its fist back as Katja pushed toward it. She slammed into the girl, pushing her out of the way and lifting her own rifle up to meet the strike. Bone snapped audibly, Vesna being thrown back by the punch. Vic gasped, looking back to see her falling to the floor and grabbing onto her arm. He scoffed, stood to his feet and shouldered his gun as he pushed over toward her.

With surprising accuracy, the man laid down a hail of bullets at the Mech that'd punched his wife and broke her arm, bullets spraying oil and metal shards onto the floor. When the first SBD collapsed, Vic swept the gun high and to the right, away from their comrades and toward the Droids themselves. Vesna had managed to draw her pistol and fire at the SBDs, too, while the others focused fire on the leading elements.

When the last round in the current belt rang out, Vic threw the gun onto his back and grabbed his pistol out of its holster, snapping of fifty-caliber Semi-Armor Piercing High Explosive at the enemy drones with reckless abandon. She walked over to Vesna and lifted her to her feet, looking at the broken arm as she quickly put it in a splint. With a tug on the splint itself and a slight wince, the girl let the forearm, whose radial and ulnar bones had broken, hang as she fired her pistol. Vic took her into cover as a volley of plasma landed around them.

Hevy, who was covering them as Vic tended to her, called out to the crew, "Don't mess with a man's wife, you clankers!" and nodded to Vic. The others fell back to the rear corridor, too, engaging the Supers with direct and accurate fire from their weapons, but more and more poured through the door, with Hevy being the bulk of the firepower focused on them.

After making sure his wife was fine and healing, the Romanian heavy gunner quickly reloaded his LMG and joined in, firing the weapon from prone with its bipod down again, the barrel starting to glow red. Rex pushed forward next to the two heavy gunners, tapped the Clone on the shoulder and swept with an open palm to the left, to which the gunner nodded. He knelt next to the Sergeant next and made the same motion to the left for him. Vic nodded and immediately started shifting his fire, MG barking.

Cody, who was on the radio while firing, spoke, "Reinforcements are here!" and pointed up. It took Paul a second to take his aim off the enemy and aim through the window. He saw the tear in realspace, saw the cannon and bow of the Cruiser come out first, only for two more smaller escorts to follow along, two Frigates. He smirked, then turned his rifle back toward the enemy, firing his sniper rifle with anger.

Katja, right beside him, paid the Droids back for breaking Vesna's arm and prepped...

Over the radio, a voice spoke, "Rishi outpost, this is Colonel Tarkov, 105th ODSTs. Stand by, we're coming in with a Hot Drop..."

On board the UNSC  Pass Me The Ammo

Captain Heikkala watched space tear open ahead, revealing the Rishi system. Barren overall save for the Outpost they were here to save from the enemy and the enemy fleet dead ahead, Rishi was a relatively boring place. Well, was until now. She spoke, "All crew, we're at Red Alert. Give me a MAC solution on their largest combatant, load our Nuke tubes, launch all fighters and deploy Colonel Tarkov and his boys ASAP. Let's ring some Tin Can bells."

"Aye, ma'am!" The voices of her crew called out as the muffled alarms of the warship echoed in the background, the vessel's lights flaring red. She counted the enemy ships in her mind:Six enemy 'Munificent'-class 'FRIGATES', with the heavy air quotations necessary, and three Lucrehulk-class Battleships from the looks. Not easy prey by any means, especially not for her small battle group, but they'd make do until the reinforcements they'd also summoned would come in.

She hoped the enemy's leadership was either dumb enough not to want to back off immediately, or smart enough to retreat, now that whatever element of surprise they'd wanted for probably seizing the clone-making world of Kamino had evaporated thanks to allied resistance. She still wanted to get at least one kill, piss off whoever it was that was in charge of the enemy formation.

She walked over to the hologram table, which displayed their arrayed ships against the CIS's battlegroup. They were outnumbered two-to-one, but the Frigates she'd brought with her were anything but weak, honestly. Despite its age, the Paris-class Heavy Frigate was still the backbone of the UNSC Navy while the Anlace and Strident fleets were being built up and the newer models were also coming out.

"Ma'am, MAC solution achieved on leading Lucrehulk! We're synched with the Pay No Mind and Silver Tongue, on your mark!" The gunnery chief spoke as the flashing dots of enemy fighter squadrons appeared. Their own Broadswords and Longswords met the enemy ahead in a violent exchange of fire, while their bombers were being loaded with nuclear warheads, too.

She smirked, then barked, "Tuli!"

The void rippled as the MAC of the Cruiser let loose its first shot of the battle. The high velocity magnetically-accelerated slug and its two smaller, Frigate-borne brethren, accelerated toward the enemy fleet and arced for the leading Lucrehulk of the trio, nailing the vessel center-mass and drilling nasty holes and gashes into their armor. Behind the MACs were a volley of missiles, among which nuclear payloads.

Several dozen missiles impacted two of the leading Munificents as those ships got in range with their main heavy cannons. Twin blasts of scarlet energy left the barrels of the each front-mounted cannon and struck the bow shields of the UNSC Formation. Behind them, however, the nuclear warheads detonated on the leading Lucrehulk, flashes of boiling white taking what looked like massive bites out of the armored body and central sphere of the warship.

The leading Lucrehulk was gone the moment the flashes from the nuclear warheads vanished. Now, the ships focused on the Munificents, which were closing into a Phalanx for the other two vessels. In the middle of the orbital battlefield, their fighters were engaged in destroying the supporting Vulture droids of the enemy fleet, too, meaning the UNSC Cruiser and Frigates could focus on the enemy.

Before they got too close for comfort, though, Heikkala gave the go-ahead for Tarkov and his men to drop into battle, a hundred Single-Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicles dropping from the belly of the UNSC Cruiser down onto the Moon below in a tight formation. As the Cruiser and its escort reached the battlefield, their point-defense began to track enemy fighters, 5cm 'flak' rounds exploding and raining shrapnel onto the Droid Fighters.

The enemy's own warships finally reached proper firing range, their turbolaser batteries and secondary weapons engaging, volleys of scarlet lighting the void, being responded to in kind by MAC, kinetic rounds and explosives from the missiles, including yet more nukes from the Bombers, which now came under the escort of reserve fighters in order to drop their tactical payloads.

A UNSC fighter pilot banked right amidst the furball, aiming for an enemy Hyena bomber that was trying to slip through. He fired a tracking anti-air missile that struck the enemy voidcraft dead-center, causing it to fold in on itself, before he utilized his directional RCS Thrusters to veer away, a Vulture tailing behind him and firing its own twin cannons at the aircraft. The pilot refocused his shields to the ship's rear, letting them take the brunt of the red plasma's fury. Ahead of him, another Vulture dived for an attack run.

He aimed his cannons on his pursuer's partner and let loose, the magnetic coilguns raking the enemy craft with high-explosive rounds, shattering it and leaving a dead husk in the pilot's wake. He veered away from the debris and cocked his head as one of his buddies called for support. Three Vultures bore down on him like their angry namesake carrion bird, blaster fire overloading his shields and nailing his engines.

The man spun out of control as his buddy finally managed to turn and engage, firing a volley of rounds into the Droid birds furiously, followed by a flurry of missiles, one locked on each enemy drone fighter. Explosions rippled in the darkness. Three droids and one UNSC Pilot were gone in the middle of the fight... But the UNSC was handily winning this one, surprisingly.

Even as damage began to rain through the UNSC ships' shields, they held, their armor lightly cratered by Turbolasers as the trio of vessels employed a simple tactic:Firing all three of their MACs at the enemy's Frigates one at a time. That had gotten them three kills so far. Those three more to go wouldn't get the chance to be shot at, though, as the Lucrehulk fired all of her main batteries at the warships, causing damage to the already-hurt UNSC Cruiser and hurting her escorts ever so slightly. The enemy's retreat, however, was precipitated by the arrival of six Republic Venator-class warships in orbit.

Down below, the ODSTs breached the thin atmosphere and landed on the Moon, punching out of their pods and gathering to support the Marines and the Clones in the base. When Rex saw Tarkov, the commander in the golden armor, step through the gate with his silenced SMG coughing rounds into the back of the Droids, he was impressed at their guts to say the least.

Thank God for the UNSC's troops...

On Ossus...

The Arbiter and his escorting soldiers continued to delve deeper into the wide halls of the Library, finding ancient books, covered by Dust, still on their shelves and untouched, layers of dust caked upon them. The Elite felt for those that must have once tended this place. The Jedi that had had to leave it. Had they even survived the cataclysm? Were those Force-wielders outside them?

The Arbiter's gaze swept the ancient chambers around them, the deep caverns that permeated this place being open to them. He spoke, "It almost seems like a setpiece, frozen in time. The lack of corpses, however, worries me..." as they pushed forward, deeper into the place. It was, indeed, a rather 'creepy' thing that there weren't even any skeletons to look at. Again, he hoped those outsides were the descendants that buried said corpses.

They entered an antechamber of some kind, however. One where the collapse was more apparent, as some of the columns were damaged, chunks and chips of stone littering the dusty floor as they walked in. The strange antechamber, however, proved to be a little more than just that. In the chamber, there were statues, a dozen of them, surrounding a central pedestal in a half-circle, each bearing a blade, each looking a little alien.

Some were human, obviously, though the armors and equipment they bore resembled nothing of the modern times. The little altar looked younger than the rest of the Library of Ossus, whatever it may have been to the Jedi Order. The central pedestal itself bore a glimmering object that felt so eerily familiar to the Elites, they moved in to get a closer look. And indeed, despite it all, the body of the device was marked by familiar symbols.

Though the flags flanking it weren't... A deep blue flag shone in the light of their Energy Swords, the Elites remaining terrifyingly taciturn as they looked upon them. In the middle of a hexagon, lay a symbol that was, yet again, almost familiar, but not quite. Like an eagle with its wings sprawled, but gripping something in its claws. Two smaller hexagons with strange emblems, one resembling that of the Jedi Order, while the other looked eerie, almost like that of the Republic, but more jagged.

"This is the Artifact indeed..." The Elite Commando beside the Arbiter spoke as they turned back to the device. The Arbiter hummed as he ran his finger over the strangely familiar alloy. The Elite told him, "Shall we prepare to leave? The Infinity shall soon be here..." before pausing as he heard movement. All of the Elites soon drew their weapons and looked around, the hum of antigravity engines filling their ears.

They were deep within the mountain, meaning it could not be their Phantom. Nor could it be any device built by the locals, because they probably never heard of technology like anti-gravity, lest some remained nearby as an example. The Arbiter looked at the device, clipped it to his belt and drew his own plasma rifle, preparing for whatever came. And what came was indeed a surprise.

Silver-colored Sentinels, the standard defensive complement of Forerunner infrastructure, gently dived down from the ceiling. Three Sentinels, their eyes glowing blue, descended within the room, their under-slung weapons systems seemingly already powered. One floated over to the Arbiter and its sole 'eye' seemed to be examining the hinge-jawed alien from head to toe.

"This is familiar..." Muttered Usze as he readied his weapon. The Arbiter huffed in agreement, as did the other Elites. Meanwhile, attempting to activate their communication devices did very little. They were probably going to be alone down here and, if the Sentinels decided to engage, they had almost nowhere to run to at this very moment. It was fairly unsettling. Even so, they prepared to engage.

The Sentinels seemed to have notice this tension in the Elites. One quick scan later and they floated upward, trying to surround the Elites, all of whom formed into a circle around the pedestal as the Drones orbited around them, their weapons trained and ready. Why were they not attacking, the Arbiter thought. Were they waiting for a Monitor, perhaps? He did not want to deal with another of the 'Oracles' again.

... Then, he paused as he saw them flying back up into the shafts they'd come from. His communication system immediately picked up a barely-audible signal. It was the Infinity's. They had already arrived in system, but the Arbiter couldn't make more than that out, even as the ground around them began to rumble. He quickly ordered, "Out! Now! We may be facing a tremor!"

Chapter Text

Meetra held on tightly to the harness of her Pelican's crash seat, looking over the platoon of Marines, Six and Richard, all of whom had tagged along with her on this drop by her own request. Ossus was going to be, for all intents and purposes, one of the more dangerous unexplored planets to preen through for information. And whatever the Reliquary of the Shadow of Intent and that of the Infinity had found, it was probably important enough.

Still, she knew Ossus. She had visited it once before during the latter days of the Galactic Cold War, so she knew the situation here. Having an infantry platoon in support would've done them a world of wonder in deterring the locals from attacking them. Then again, by the word of Rtas, the local population had, in fact, engaged the Sangheili warriors that came down with the Arbiter.

As the Pelican touched down, the woman watched the Marine platoon fan out in a half-circle around the bird, 12 infantrymen aiming their various bullpup assault weapons around in a 180-degree perimeter. She dismounted with Six and Richard guarding her flanks, then took off her robe and hood and tossed them onto the ship, letting her Jedi Armor, ancient as it was, see the light of the sun once more.

She balled her fist as Six had taught her, then showed the pilot to take off and orbit around them in case they needed evacuation, then brandished her lightsaber. Night had fallen on this side of the planet, meaning they needed lights, or at least the in-built night vision capabilities of the UNSC's armors. She hummed, looked around and then turned to Richard, asking, "Do you mind acting as our forward recon? You've got the stealth armor."

Richard nodded, "I'll be your EWS, ma'am," before looking to Six. The two bumped fists, then the boy activated his stealth armor coating and moved forward into the shrubs, rifle at the ready. Meetra nodded, smiling at that, then rallied the squad and ordered a staggered column formation through hand motions. Six and her would be in the lead, while the rearmost unit would be the Marines with battle rifles and snipers.

The millennia-old woman activated her com device and spoke, "Admiral, Shipmaster, this is Meetra. We're planetside and heading to the last known location of the Arbiter and his troops now," before starting the advance through the thicket. Six, weapon at the ready, looked around via his VISR, keeping visual track of Richard's position through his IFF System. First time operating alone with the General, Six thought, this was gonna be interesting.

They kept moving, however, through the shrubs, past bullet holes left by the locals' weapons and the marks of plasma rifle fire. She paused when she saw the Phantom Dropship overhead, with the pilot radioing them and saying, "I will join you and provide air support as well, General. Fight well," to which Meetra simply clicked her com in acknowledgement. She hoped they really wouldn't have to do any fighting against folks with Force-based Slugthrower rifles.

She hummed as she listened to the quiet thrum of the antigravity engines intermixing with the drone of the Pelican's own Hydrogen-powered engines, the two gunships providing them cover from above against anything hostile, or at least an early warning much like Richard, who was farther ahead than the rest of the fireteam. Of course, a Scout's job was to be farther ahead, she thought as they pushed deeper.

It didn't take long for them to reach the cliff face, but they still had to move parallel to it to reach whatever entry point was between them and the Arbiter's force. She hummed, then balled her fist as she saw Richard do the same. It took her a hot second to ready her Lightsaber again, only to pause as she heard the crack of gunshots and the deep thrum of energy weapons replying to the heavy fire.

The group crept forward to the edge of the treeline and saw humanoids in tribal clothes and armed with slugthrowers engaging a flurry of Sentinel Drones. Six and the others immediately tensed, while Meetra ordered, "Both gunships, wave off for now. To the Sangheili, head back to the Shadow. We'll handle the situation down here..." before she looked over toward the nearest enemy drone.

"You thinking of engaging? Saving these folks?" Six asked as he peered through the scope of his DMR. Meetra shook her head, watching one of the beams hit the pointman of the unit. An electric current seemed to pass through him, causing his muscles to lock up. Another volley struck the lines, followed by another and another, the strange locals being knocked out by the hits, rather than killed.

"Stun beams," Richard whispered as he appeared beside them, causing Meetra to let out a yelp of surprise. He snorted and lowered his rifle, then said, "Think the Sentinels are gonna be pissed, though? At us, I mean. If we advance..." to which the entire squad shrugged. Meetra rolled her eyes and pushed forward. No, they wouldn't be mad at them. Six had wanted to counter her by dragging her back to the line, but he watched her calmly stride toward the Sentinels, one of which soon noticed heri.

It dipped down and gently floated over to the Jedi Exile, then scanned her, only to let out a chirp. It also noticed the others, causing them to tense. What caused them to tense more was the word 'RECLAIMER' appearing on their HUDs, written in blue font. It gently hovered up to them, then extended one of its strange boon arms toward Six and Richard, before showing them to follow.

The confusion on the troops' faces and in their movements was tell enough that they didn't expect it to be this easy. As they moved forward, they were led by the Drones toward one of the few entry points into what seemed to be a massive structure that was buried within the cliff face. Meetra, who had stowed her lightsaber by shutting it off and clipping it to her belt, smirked at Six and Richard while the two Spartans simply stared.

"I feel extremely useless now..." Murmured Dick as they stepped through into the opening, powering on their flashlights. Meetra stopped four Marines and showed them to set up by the entrance, keep the door open in a sense, before following the Drones into the place. The group was a little surprised to see that the building within the cliff was still relatively intact, cobwebs, caked layers of dust and other crap notwithstanding.

She smiled, stating, "Ah, the Great Jedi Library of Ossus... Legendary and lost all the same," as she walked over to one of the shelves and retrieved a tome. Blowing onto the book's hard cover and wiping the muck and dust away, she opened it and looked through the stored information with a smile. Noting the confusion in Six, Richard and the Marines' movements, she raised the book and said, "Old novels. Fancied reading them back in the Temple on Coruscant. C'mon, I got my reading materiel to check out and we have an artifact to find..." before closing the book and sliding it under her arm.

The jaunt in Meetra's step was awe-inspiring for the troops of the UNSC. She waded through the place, whose many facades and eerily-intact glass windows glowed a deep blue now that the UNSC approached them. Sentinel presence must've meant that they were nearing some sort of Forerunner artifact. Six spoke, "Remind me to write this in the report for Doctor Halsey when we get back to the Infinity. I think she'll ask the Admiral to deploy a research team here ASAP."

"Roger that," Richard replied as he scanned the novels lining the many bookshelves and some of the abandoned wooden desks with his weapon-mounted flashlight, the gun on safe. Their footsteps almost seemed to echo endlessly in the great halls of this ancient repository of knowledge. The Sentinels that now hovered around them seemed almost excited to see the Earthborn humans marching through the place.

Which... Brought into question how they would feel about the Sangheili. Part of Richard really didn't give a damn about the hinge-jaws, but he knew that, if the Arbiter died under their watch, Shipmaster 'Vadum would be a problematic individual to appease. Xenopolitics, so damn tiresome, he thought to himself as they strode forward now. The Marines behind them kept their eyes on the Sentinels, as did they.

Entering deeper into one of the Sanctuaries of the Library, the group were stunned to find that the Sangheili were, in fact, fine. Better than that, the Arbiter had the artifact they were looking for clipped to his belt while he was browsing books. They could still see the marks of the Force-propelled slugs from the local tribesmen. Meetra smiled and said, "Arbiter 'Vadam. I hope the Ysanna haven't been too much of a problem for you."

"General Surik," The Arbiter bowed his head, "If you are referring to the local feral humanoids, they were more or less just a nuisance. Our shields and weapons kept them at bay, thankfully."

"That's good, I guess..." The girl sighed, then walked over to him. She didn't really need to say anything, the Elite pulling the Forerunner-looking artifact off his belt and handing it to her. She saw it glow at her presence, then smiled a bit melancholically and approached the banners in the room, running her fingers over the emblem and blue colors, then looking over to the Statues. She noticed the one in the middle and chuckled, before approaching it. It was that of a young woman with a double-bladed Lightsaber and familiar features. She spoke softly, "Hello, Satele, my old friend... Been a while," as she ran her hand gently over the stone, "Galaxy's a right mess again..."

"You alright?" Six asked as he approached. She looked over to him as he stared up at the statues, noting that there was even a man with a rebreather and heavy armor, another pair of warriors to the left with armors, one of them a female with short hair and a smile and the other, a young man. All of them seemed to be Force Wielders, but the emblems at the base of each statue told they weren't exactly the normal Jedi.

"Yeah," she nodded, then whispered as she stared at the young man and woman's statue, whispered "The Wanderer and Kira... Heh... " only to cough and add, "... I know every single statue here, meaning my suspicions about this place were right..." before lifting up the device. At its base, she saw a symbol, an azure, glowing circle with a Hexagon in the middle. Said Hexagon also had two prongs poking out of the ten o'clock and two o'clock lines and had thicker lines. She chuckled and caressed the symbol, then stated, "And who made this, of course. C'mon, we oughta get aboard the Infinity, turn this on."

"You gonna give us context, ma'am?" Richard asked as he approached.

She chuckled, "Aboard the ships. Let's move it out and let Doc Halsey take a peek at the place... Some of the novels in here might actually be a fun read for her if she likes history," and she clipped the strange somewhat Forerunner device to her belt. It wasn't long before the entire group exited the place under the watchful gaze of the Sentinels and called in for their evacuation ships. Six and Richard both wondered just what the hell kind of device and place they'd found. Doctor Halsey had even spoken over com with the General and immediately deployed a Research team with Lasky's approval.

Aboard the  Infinity

Research Labs

Halsey gazed upon the device with a hint of muted awe. Yes, she recognized the symbol from John's reports, murmuring, "The Librarian came as far as this place... Incredible..." before she adjusted the Device's position and stared at it through the lens of specialized tools. Sergeant-Major Johnson, Chief, the Arbiter and Lasky were present, side-by-side with Six, Richard and Meetra, who smiled as she explained everything...

"... And the Eternal Alliance was formed. The one time in our History where both Jedi and Sith, Republic and Empire, cooperated to combat greater threats," She explained, then said, "I aided them as a shadow of a sort. Concealed through the Force, much like when we met on Coruscant. I hid myself well from them and acted only as another Jedi. The few people who've learned of me were those with statues within the Sanctuary containing this device... And the woman who designed it. An alien."

"We know of her," Lasky nodded, "We encountered the Librarian on a Shield World named Requiem after we've managed to secure the Chief and Cortana," The Admiral then offered. Meetra looked at the group, then at the Chief specifically, and smiled, then crossed her arms to her chest. She figured they'd know her, since the Librarian did speak of the Reclaimers.

It made sense that it was them, now that she thought about it, too. There was never a coincidence with that woman, never a simple moment of things not occurring as they were meant to. The Librarian had always planned a few steps ahead, even if those steps were millennia apart, so she wouldn't be surprised if the UNSC was sent here through her intervention.

She watched Halsey loom over the device as Johnson spoke, "Feels like we're pokin' a WMD, for some reason..." as he took a puff from his cigar. Lasky and the others seemed to agree in their different ways, while the Arbiter simply watched the unfolding procedure ahead. Doctor Halsey's fingers gently pressed against the device's silvery form, only for her to move them over the Librarian's symbol.

The symbol itself seemed to glow for a moment, the central part of the device opening to reveal a hologram projector of some kind. A short burst of energy caused the inner sanctum of the laboratory to lose power for a second, the lights flashing brightly, going dark, then activating normally again with a flicker. The entire group tensed almost immediately, a seemingly familiar event to them.

It wasn't long, however, before a swarm of pixels danced into form ahead of Doctor Halsey. Clad in a silver dress with a strange headdress, looking humanoid if lacking the same form of nose as a human and violet eyes, the ancient alien woman stared at Doctor Halsey with a smile. Halsey, however, didn't need long to realzie that this was another Personality Imprint like that on Requiem.

The Forerunner-grade AI/Memory opened her arms, revealing the items floating above her wrists, with calm, then spoke, "I thought this day would never come... Welcome to this most strange Galaxy..." before she floated over to Doctor Halsey. The Doctor stared up at the figure, while Meetra simply decided to forego calm and stepped inside of the Laboratory, arms crossed to her chest. The Librarian AI saw her and smiled, "And the Exile..."

"Hello, First-Light-Weaves-Living-Song... Certainly been a few millennia, heh," She chuckled, then stepped forward, "Hope you don't mind us asking some stuff."

"Not at all," The Librarian offered, floating through the table to the other side, opposite Meetra and the stunned Doctor. She motioned to the Device on the table and said, "I hope you enjoyed the sight of the Ossus Sanctum. It was the sole of its kind I could build for these devices. Speaking of them... I know that you will ask, but they are chunks of a specific map."

"I had a feeling..." Halsey spoke as she leaned forward, "Much like the Janus Key."

"I hope you've found it of use," The Librarian offered. She then told them, her words feeling more like a warning than anything, "But this does not lead to mere technological caches, I'm afraid. The Exile, in her infinite age and wisdom, should be able to speculate what it is," then looking upon Meetra. The woman scratched her chin as her mind began to race...

"... A map to Iokath," She quipped, arms now lowered beside herself. She leaned forward and said, "A map to the Eternal Alliance itself, if they're still alive and whole. Or to the remnants of their technology, if not," only to look to Doctor Halsey. She said, "The Librarian herself helped us decode stuff from Iokath, but the Alliance's main goal forever remained containing threats to the Galaxy, not stopping whatever events unfold naturally. Say, you have the Clone Wars now, it was never under their Prerogative to intervene..." Only to murmur, "Though damned I be if I wish it was..." as memories of her failures in the High Republic came to her.

"So, like organizations of old," Halsey sighed deeply, "Observe, but let natural evolution take its course."

"Indeed," The Librarian bowed her head, "It was at the request of the Hero of Tython and his wife that I left breadcrumbs, should the galaxy ever truly need help... And going by the presence of the Immortal Exile herself aboard your vessel and your arrival here? That certainly seems to be the case..." before she sighed, "My engram will provide assistance with reading this map. Start the search if the War you are currently fighting does not impede it..."

"We will, as soon as possible..." Halsey spoke calmly, then said, "It is a pleasure to see you again, Librarian."

"All mine, Doctor... Likewise, a pleasure to see the Reclaimer himself," The woman motioned to Chief. She paused, listened for something, then said, "I do assume you have visitors, however... I'm afraid we're going to have to cut this meeting short. We shall speak when you acquire the other fragments of the map," before she bid a quick goodbye and disappeared into the device, it in itself revealing the map of the Galaxy, divided into sectors that included Ossus and a line drawn from it to their next possible target.

Lasky hummed and checked his wristwatch, then said, "Ah, right... Chief, get Blue Team and head for the Hangar. The Chancellor mentioned in a communique he wants you all to work with one of their own Special Forces units, so I figure it'd be good for you to meet them first... Everyone else, on me. We're heading back to the Bridge and preparing to plot a course. Doctor Halsey, get us those coordinates.

"Understood, Admiral," She nodded, then got to work.

... Within one of the Infinity's hangars, Blue Team had gathered all five of its members, watching as a ship hanged out in the distance, past the Shadow of Intent and the UNSC Battle Group. A sole shuttle flew in from said ship, a transport vessel, before it folded its wings up and began its landing sequence within the Hangar. It touched down as Fred commented, "Republic Special Forces and a request from the Chancellor himself... Odd."

"Agreed," Kelly quipped. Chief swiped with his hand to the right to show the group to quiet down. They watched the ramp of the Republic shuttle, which bore the Greek letter 'Delta' on its side, drop down slowly. The cargo hold of the ship was dark, the only light visible from the inside being four blue, glowing visors. Quiet settled between the group as the four figures descended.

They all wore the same armors, though they were personalized, heavily modified to some degree for each member of the team. They were a bit taller than your average Clone, too, from the looks of things and their armors glowed a little, showing signs of an in-built energy shield. Cortana commented, "... Katarn-pattern armor. Clone Commando special..." from John's helmet, "This is gonna be interesting."

The leading man's armor was personalized with orange marks. A single stripe ran down the center of his helmet, while his shoulders were painted and half of his chest plate was split in orange and grey, the left side bearing three orange dots that marked him as a Clone officer. Behind him was a clone clad in a gold, grey and dark-grey armor with a bit more of a jaunt to his step and two massive storage tubes poking out of his backpack. Next, came a clone with more heavy green detailing and what looked to be communication attachments to his backpack. Finally, the one clad in red and grey looked the part of a hunter, his shoulders bearing extra magazines for his weapon of choice.

The lead stopped in front of the Chief and gave the man a once-over, then snapped a salute. Chief saluted the Clone officer back, with the Clone stating, "Clone Commando RC-1138, reporting with Delta Squad. Good to finally meet the allies we've heard so much about through back channels. These are my men," he pointed to the one in yellow and grey, "RC-1262," the green one, "RC-1140," and the sniper in Red, "And RC-1207."

"Call us Boss, Scorch, Fixer and Sev to make it easier," The yellow one quipped, probably grinning behind his helmet.

Chief nodded, "Welcome aboard the UNSC Infinity, Deltas. I'm Master Chief Petty Officer 117, TL for Blue Team. Behind me are CPO-087, CPO-058, Warrant Officer Gamma-295 and Lieutenant 104."

"Didn't know Basics used numbers for their names nowadays," The more gruff-sounding Sev quipped, looking the squad of Five up and down. "You Clones these folks employed, or just a very specific brand of their Basic soldiers?" though he seemed a little confrontational. Probably didn't help the fact some Clones didn't really see 'Basics' as anything worth their salt in combat.

"The latter," Linda replied, looking the Sniper in the eye, matching him beat for beat. The two officers looked back at their respective Snipers, showing them to stow it for now, before looking to each-other again. Both sides immediately noticed the similarities between the two no-nonsense officers and Scorch gave a nod of approval. Richard, however, felt out of place.

"Sir," Richard started. Chief looked back, with the boy continuing, "Permission to remain aboard the Infinity for the upcoming mission you have with Delta, sir..." And upon seeing the slightest hint of confusion in Chief's movements, he explained himself, "I think I'm gonna be third-wheeling it if I don't hang back. I'll go with CRIMSON on their next mission if need be, but this feels like an original Blues and Deltas only mission."

"Granted, Richard," Chief replied after a moment's hesitation, "Are you okay?"

"Sir," He nodded, "I'll be alright."

"... Understood," The Spartan said a bit warily. Linda gave Richard a pat on the shoulder as if asking him to come with, but the boy nodded in thanks, then shook his head. He didn't wanna feel like he was a burden to the team, especially when they were trying to make a good first impression on a foreign Special Ops unit. He was Gamma. The more Brutish Spartan-III unit.

'Boss', as his nickname was, looked to the young man and said, "Any extra hand is welcome, Warrant Officer. Though it's your choice."

"I know, sir," Richard replied with a nod, "Thanks. Best I go where the main frontline is. Better off."

"Understood. You're welcome to rejoin the team any time, though," Boss replied with a hint of kindness behind an otherwise stern voice. He then looked to Chief and said, "Our Adviser will be providing us intelligence on the operation ahead. Preliminary data we got on our way to RV with your fleet mentions a friendly ship that went missing some time ago reappearing in another Sector, so we should move fast if we don't want to lose her."

"Lead the way," Chief nodded. Delta all boarded the transport first, followed by the Blues. Chief stopped and looked back at Richard, however, who nodded and saluted them all as they departed. With a heavy sigh, the Spartan climbed aboard and sat down, watching the hatch close and feeling the shuttle take off, the lights inside turning on almost immediately.

Part of Chief wondered what was going through Richard's mind. The kid was a good soldier.

... He'd ask when they returned home.

Chapter Text

Aboard Republic Transport Ship en-route to the Corbantis System

Chief and his team readied their weapons in the cargo hold of the transport, their fine-tuned ears allowing them to hear the quiet hum of the ship's engines and the Hyperdrive operating. Their target was only a couple dozen more light-years away, while they'd picked up word that General Surik had received a call from the Jedi Order to come to Coruscant. Lot of work ahead for the group, John thought to himself as he disassembled his MA5.

Unseen to the Chief as he was working on cleaning his gun, Delta-38 had walked in, weapons stowed on his back and suit seemingly prepared for the kind of insert Spartans usually abhorred, that through the void. Watching the Spartan clean and tend to his rifle, 38 thought two things:The fact the UNSC was a major faction still wielding slugthrowers was interesting and Spartans were well-behaved and capable soldiers if they maintained their gear as spotlessly as Chief did. He cleared his throat and spoke, "Master Chief."

Chief turned around, only to be met by the man in the bulky orange and grey suit. He greeted the man with a nod as he continued working on his rifle, then spoke, "Commander," while slowly starting to reassemble the weapon, ensuring the conversation could go smoothly without hurrying him along. He asked next, "Anything I can help you with?"

"I don't suppose you know much of us," Boss offered, "So, I figured it'd be best if our squads understood each-other, seeing as we all have specific roles in combat," and he leaned against one of the support struts in the cargo hold, watching the Chief meticulously work, making motions he must've rehearsed a thousand times slowly so that Boss could keep up. He appreciated it, though the intricacies of guns were a bit lost on him when they had Blasters.

"You're squad leader, Forty is your hacker and scout, Six-Two is the demolitions expert and Oh-Seven is your sniper," Chief explained from what little he'd seen of the squad. It was dead-on accurate, though, much to Boss's surprise. He simply gave the man a nod of approval. A nearby astromech droid approached Chief and handed him a screwdriver, but the Spartan refused calmly. The Droid let out a sad 'bwoooo' then rolled away.

"Yes. And for you, 087 is your scout, 104 is a rifleman and 058 is your sharpshooter," Boss offered a retort, watching the Chief still. He stated, "That begs the question of who your in is on the technological side," and walked in front of the Chief's table. The rounds in the rifle were fairly large-sized, about the length of his own index finger from the looks, if not a little more dangerous. He jumped a little as a blue avatar formed on Chief's shoulder.

"Heya!" The AI greeted, smiling.

"... An AI?" The Clone blanked. He'd certainly never expected their allies to be carrying artificial intelligences within their armor suits. He assumed she was coming from the armor suit, anyway, because it was the only thing that made sense. She waved, then crossed her arms and looked to the Chief, the two seemingly speaking to each-other via the Armor itself. He nodded.

"Smart AI. Evening, 'Boss'. Call me Cortana," She introduced herself, arms crossed and still grinning.

"Ma'am... Didn't know the UNSC heavily employs AIs," The Clone seemed a bit uneasy. Nobody could really blame him, though, considering the fact the Grand Army of the Republic was fighting automated machines probably led by Artificial Intelligences and blessed with the ability to think and maybe adapt. Not all of them were that capable, obviously, since B1 units still marched in what was tantamount to a straight line at Clone troops. Their only advantage was numbers.

"Cortana and I have been cooperating for nearly a decade at this point," Chief assured him, now looking at the Clone properly. He told his fellow soldier, "She's got our backs in there," which seemed to cause the AIs' avatar to glow a slight pink. Boss wasn't usually one to understand Basics' cues, but the fact an AI could do what was tantamount to 'blushing' told him a lot about how the UNSC viewed their AI companions.

"Noted," He spoke, visibly relaxing. Might as well be friendly, he thought, then added, "Glad to have you aboard, then, ma'am," as he watched the Chief completely reassemble his rifle in five quick moves. So, he was pretty much just letting him see how the weapon operated from up-close. Good to know, should he need to lift it himself in their defense.

"Glad to be here," She saluted, then looked to the Spartan and asked him, "Chief, shouldn't we join the others?"

"Right. On you, Commander," Chief told Boss. Three-Eight nodded and, without another word, led the man to the rallying spot of the two fireteams, noting that Linda was sat in the back, tending to her DMR as well. She'd picked something more for mid-to-long range just in case, considering they were going inside a ship. Kelly herself kept her shotgun cradled close, while Fred had picked out an MA40.

"... So, what is it you Spartans do, then?" Fixer asked them as he wrote some notes on a tablet. He added jokingly, "Outside of looking menacing," Which got a few, short, but open laughs out of the Spartans. Fred slid a new mag into his rifle, racked the bolt, then made sure the safety was on before he slid the weapon onto his back. Chief had half-a-thought to ask him why he wasn't playing with a knife.

"Same thing you guys do, I guess," Kelly quipped as she slung her shotgun onto her back. She turned to face Fixer and leaned forward, supporting herself on her hands as she clarified, "Special Ops, behind the Lines wetwork, even some front-line combat if the need arises," all while watching Fixer make a few notes on them. He nodded in thanks to her, to which she gave a thumbs up.

"If we ever got into frontline combat, someone made a mistake with Intel," Scorch replied as he slid several explosive charges into his backpack's container slot. Noting that the Spartans' eyes suddenly focused on him, he, too, clarified to them, "Not sayin' we couldn't handle it, just that we're better at the covert stuff," while raising his hands defensively. Sev snorted.

"There's nothing 'covert' about you, Scorch," The Sniper teased as he clipped his rifle to his backpack. A few more laughs echoed, including one from Fixer, while Scorch looked slightly unamused. Though he only looked that way because of the fact he stared at Sev like he'd just spoken an alien language instead of Galactic Basic. Sev knew it was more likely for Scorch to just be considering a comeback.

"Haha, Sev. So funny I almost forgot to laugh," He seemed to have given up, though, sounding slightly amused.

As the two Pod Brothers laughed at one-another, Fixer cocked his head right. He saw the source of the footsteps he was hearing coming in and ordered, "Can it, you two. Boss and the Chief are here," before straightening up and saluting the Spartan and his own Team Leader as they entered. The Blues jumped to their feet and saluted, too. Chief went with their body language when he asked what he was about to ask.

"Having fun?"

"Yep," Kelly chuckled, "Deltas really are like us.

"Linda's been awfully quiet," Fred jabbed a thumb back toward their Sniper, who took a break from properly zeroing her scope to look at Fred, visibly tilting her helmet forward to denote a raise of the brow. The Lieutenant shrugged at the sight while Kelly and Chief exchanged one quick look. To be fair, both they and Fred knew Linda got into the Zone more often than not when it came to adjusting her guns.

"I was tending to the mid-range option I picked for this job," She told them, "We're going internal on a ship, aren't we?" and she got nods of confirmation from her team-mates, while Boss and his Brothers watched the exchange. They felt like siblings, too, in a way. Siblings in all but blood. Delta had gotten a short briefing on Blue team's own operational history. Over thirty years of service with the UNSC, proudly delivering victory after victory to mankind in their war. Respectable.

"We're about to find out which ship it is, Redhead," The Clone Sniper butted in with a quip, which got a hum of affirmation out of Linda.

"Indeed, we are. Everyone, gather up. The Adviser's contacting us," Boss ordered. He pulled out and tossed down the holographic com system that Delta Squad had used so often to keep in touch with the man during their missions. The holographic system engaged, a spool of pixels swirling into the air and forming the shape of a Clone sat within the ship's command area.

"Hello, Delta Squad," The Adviser nodded, then looked over to Blue Team. He spoke jovially, "I see the Chancellor's request for our new allies came through just in the nick of time. Greetings, Blues, I'm Clone Adviser CC-01/425. Glad to have the support from UNSC elements on this mission," before looking the Chief up and down. Heavily armored, tough, no-nonsense-looking.

"Sir," The group clicked their heels together and saluted.

"Respectful, too. Good to know..." He nodded, glad to see it. He then did a quick sweep with his gaze across the hold, to take in all eight members of this deployment, then stated, "Well, let's cut straight to the chase, then. Deltas, this next objective may be familiar to you. The Prosecutor, an Acclamator-class Republic Assault Ship under the command of Captain Martz," and schematics of the Republic Assault Ship, the triangle-shaped troop-carrying heavy transport of the Republic, appeared next to the Adviser.

"The Prosecutor was our first home..." Boss told Blue Team, a hint of melancholy in his voice. The ship they were on rumbled a bit as they exited hyperspace, probably in the area where the Prosecutor was. Boss then stated in a quiet whisper, "We were stationed on her for a long time," as he stared at images of the ship's schematics and service record.

"Her last patrol was in the Corellia sector, ensuring the safety of Republic trade routes in the area," The Adviser explained, pulling up the relevant maps of the Corellia sector and the ship's patrol routes. A red dot flashed on the hologram, which caused the Spartans to tense. The Adviser then added, "But we lost contact with her over two weeks ago. She's only just recently emerged here, in the Corbantis System.

"This is nowhere near Corellia..." Sev murmured. He motioned to Scorch to start checking his suit, make sure that the armor was ready for the zero-gravity insertion they were gonna be doing. Scorch did as asked, approaching the man's backpack and doing a quick and thorough check, diagnostics run and seal press-check. He slapped Sev's backpack, which caused the sniper to turn around, only to get a thumbs up and nod of approval from his Pod Brother.

"... And Republic Assault Ships can't exactly go rogue with a mass of troops that're as loyal as you Clones are to the Republic," Fred offered, then quickly added, "Sounds like a trap to me," as his own suit's diagnostics ran. The Spartans also quickly checked each-other's suit seals, while Boss and Fixer checked theirs, too. Best not to have an oxygen leak when traversing space.

"Possibly accurate, Spartan 104..." The Adviser responded, then sighed and continued, "However, their last transmission was strange. Spoke of finding an unknown vessel floating among wrecks in a relatively out-of-the-way system. They were sent there to investigate by someone high-up after a Scout Ship discovered the debris field..." Annoyed he had no images for it.

"And said vessel somehow brought them here," Fixer quipped, then added, "Concerning, but I suppose we'll get all the details when we move in to check it out."

"Indeed, Delta Four-Oh. Which is why we're sending our most qualified squads," The man spoke rather proudly of Delta and of the Blues as well. He told them, "Someone noted your excellence on Geonosis and Blue Team's capabilities," before the hologram flickered off. Their Suit seals engaged as the place depressurized. The rear door of the bay opened, revealing the space outside and the massive vessel as it sat in the middle of nowhere.

"Hear that, Sev? Someone thinks I'm excellent," Scorch joked. The two brothers quickly bumped fists.

"That makes two of you," Sev shot back.

"Deltas, Blues, prepare for low-gravity insertion. Seal your suits. Good luck," The Adviser then spoke over the com.

"Alright, teams of two! Boss and Chief, 104 and I, 087 and Scorch and 058 and Sev!" Fixer spoke, waving the group forward. "That's our order of insert! See you all inside!" and the duos marched toward the door. This was gonna be one of the most stomach-churning experiences, John thought to himself as he saw the ship outside. Cortana giggled at the group's enthusiasm.

"Woohoooooo~!" Scorch cheered as he did a backflip, Kelly diving forward like an acrobatic swimmer. Linda and Sev followed up, activating their suits' thruster systems to guide themselves toward their insertion point. Meanwhile, Chief's HUD flashed with a NAV Point locked directly onto one of the missile tubes. Fixer shrugged at the two, then sighed as he watched Chief and Boss get out at the same time. The ship looked like it still had power... Though something suddenly felt extremely wrong to John. Familiar even...

This couldn't be good.

Coruscant, with Meetra

A singular UNSC Pelican flew amidst the crowds of skycars and speeders toward the Jedi Temple today. Meetra, who was sat at the seat nearest to the ramp, held onto the Pelican's side and watched the place. Her return to the political center of the Galaxy was unexpectedly sudden and brought about by the fact that someone had blabbered about her to the Jedi Council.

As they flew over the massive cityscape of the planet, the former Jedi, now clad in her old brown robes, tunic, belt and baggy pants, watched the world below go by while her thoughts wondered to her two major dealings with the previous, Pre-Purge Jedi Order. How their dogmatism and seeming deadlock had forced others like herself, Revan and Alek to take action against the Mandalorians alone, how she was hailed when she returned after Malachor V, as nothing but a traitor. How she had to relinquish her Lightsaber.

Then, when she met them all again after the Purge itself, when they attempted to kill her on Dantooine, or rip the Force from her very being, not understanding just what she'd gone through and how strongly she fought to regain her powers, even after that Void had been ripped into her very soul at Malachor, when the Mass Shadow Generator had been activated.

There had been another couple of encounters afterward with the Order she helped reform through Atton and the others, namely the Cold War times of the Old Republic and Sith Empire and the Eternal Alliance, her probable pride and joy. The ones that defeated the Sith Emperor of the day, the ones that managed to fully and utterly remove the threat of a world-ending anomaly not to far from Nihilus, if not a little worse...

Atton... Even four thousand years later, she remembered his face and his voice. And more...

Her mind couldn't even comprehend it'd been so long since she'd seen her compatriots from during the hunt for the Triumvirate. Atton, Teethree, Forty-seven, Mical, Bao, Brianna, Visas, Canderous, Mira... Even Kreia. She missed them all dearly. All of them, no matter how they displayed themselves, had been her trusty companions and had helped reform the Jedi Order after she'd gone to fight Tenebrae alongside Revan. She missed that bastard revanchist, too. Hell, he was the reason she'd been a godmother in the first place, heh...

Feeling a hand land on her shoulder, she was taken out of her momentary fugue and looked back to see Noble Six sat there beside her. In the Blood Tray of the Pelican, Anakin, Obi-Wan and a very apologetic-looking Ahsoka sat, the latter twiddling her thumbs as Richard, who was sat beside her, simply wondered about how they wound up as security detail for this meeting. The rest of CRIMSON was also aboard:Ecklund and Dinh, more specifically.

Six asked, "You alright, General?"

"Living for now, yeah..." She sighed deeply. It was obvious to Noble Six that she didn't want to be here again, especially since she'd specifically joined the UNSC's ranks as a freelancer to get away from Coruscant after so long. He needed to have a chat with her when they returned to the Infinity. He was actually looking forward to see how this whole situation developed, though. The chat with the Order.

"Approaching landing area!" The pilot, a young woman, spoke from the Pelican's cockpit. The group all turned back and properly seated themselves, feeling the Pelican start to decelerate, the slight gravitational shift causing pits in their stomachs. Ahsoka looked at Meetra with the most apologetic and fearful look any Padawan had ever given a senior Jedi. Meetra, however, smiled and waved it off, while Anakin gave his Padawan a light, but reassuring pat on the back.

As the Pelican touched down on one of the elevated platforms on the sides of the Temple, the group of people stood to their feet. Six motioned to Dinh and Ecklund to keep the Pelican safe, only to pause as he saw men and women clad in white armors, their masks featureless save for the slits that acted as eyeholes. They wore ornate robes with white and gold and flowery shapes and carried double-bladed lightsabers that glowed gold.

"Temple Guards..." Meetra whispered, then said sarcastically, "I feel like royalty..."

Six snorted at that, though Meetra found it a lot less funny. Stoically, she stepped forward, her escort of three Jedi, two Spartans and the four Temple Guards leading her forward into the wider halls of a place she had never wanted to see again. Entering the great halls of the Temple, they were met by the sight of the vast Libraries that still contained nothing but a fraction of the Great Library's information.

Padawans, Jedi, Knights and Masters as well seemed stunned when they saw Meetra and her friends walking in. Padawans and younglings stared with mouths agape at the Four thousand-year-old woman that had waded into their temple, Lightsaber clipped to her belt and hands hidden underneath her robes. Masters Kenobi and Skywalker were beside her, with a fellow Padawan, Ahsoka, walking with.

Meetra felt the weight of everyone's gazes as she looked around. She also felt the weight of what lay below the Temple itself, the Darkness of the Nexus they had so foolishly covered up with what was meant to be a monument of the Light Side, trying to bury something they never should've touched in the first place. Even in the great, decorated halls, even amidst the thousands of Jedi and Force Sensitives present here, she stood out.

She stood out because she was a Wound. A Wound that was never closed by the Jedi and a Wound that vowed to assist a different breed, a change in the Galactic Order that the Force couldn't foresee. She'd joined the human forces of the United Nations Space Command in hopes of doing what Kreia couldn't so long ago:Break the damnable cycle of the Force. Save this version of the Republic, or help rebuild it into something new, whatever cataclysm may befall it.

If the Order was going to judge her for it once more, she would judge them back, much like Kreia did on Dantooine. Well, no, not quite, she wasn't going to outright cut them off from the Force and let'em die like she did, but she had some choice words to say to the ones who returned the Order to its pre-Purge state... As they entered an elevator in the Main Spire, Meetra felt the weight of the Force suddenly pressing down upon her once more. Like she had returned before, victorious but damaged, so she returned now, a new woman.

Ahsoka and the others had kept quiet for the trip. They'd keep quiet, still, but they felt the radiating energy of the woman. Yes, many knew Meetra as "The Exile' and 'The Wound Not Closed' in some circles of historical context. They also knew her as one of the reasons the Jedi Order had survived the Great Purge so many millennia ago, so she was pretty much one of the reasons the Order existed still.

It was why Ahsoka felt a little bad about yapping like she did over com and bringing attention to her. She must've had a reason as to why she didn't want to come back to the Temple after so long. She watched the usually cheery Jedi Master staring out at the cityscape beyond the elevator's thick glass with uncharacteristic stoicism. And when the elevator reached the top, they all stayed in the back of the room.

Meetra showed Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka to stay as she took a step forward into the sanctuary of the Order. A dozen Masters sat in the Council seats, though a few seats were either empty, or occupied by holographic displays of the Jedi that would have come to... Do what, judge her? Speak to her? It mattered little. She saw their eyes widen, their gazes locked onto her.

"By the Force..." Mace Windu, Jedi Master and one of the most loyal of the Republic's wardogs, stared with wide eyes. The blonde woman immediately noted the aura of disapproval behind the man's posture. He wasn't staring, so much as glaring at her and trying to mask it. Oh, she knew she was gonna enjoy this little dressing-down now, simply looking back at her friends and smiling reassuringly at them.

"So, she's truly alive..." Master Shaak-Tii whispered, scratching her chin. She spoke warmly, "Master Surik, it's an honor."

"... To think we were so close, only a shuttle flight away. Apologies for not greeting you properly, master," Master Plo Koon bowed his head, then looked over to the somewhat giddy Ahsoka. IF he could smile, he would right now, knowing that Meetra had been a sort of major influence for Little Soka's early training, especially considering just how focused the girl had been on studying about her in the Archives.

"It's alright, master Plo, master Shaak-Tii..." Meetra spoke, though she could feel the stares from some of the other Masters present, Windu included, weren't warm. So, she chose to comment on the division, stating rather bluntly, "This is a little familiar. There's no stone in the middle of the Council Chambers this time, though, but I am wondering if, with so many eyes on me, you are all going to pull a fast one for old time's sake and ask me to surrender my lightsaber... Like Vrook, Atris and so many others back in the day did," which immediately gathered gasps from them all. Good. She'd struck a nerve.

"I think you misunderstand the reason for your presence here, master Surik," Windu commented, fingers interlaced in front of him as his previous surprise was now replaced by his unusually stern gaze. Every other Jedi seemed to have picked up on it, the weight of the air in the room almost doubled by the Force presence of someon as attuned as Meetra. And they could feel Meetra's annoyance slowly bubbling up.

"It's the freakshow element," Meetra quipped, grinning at Windu, "I know. Seeing the dead walk the Galaxy when I was supposed to be a Force Ghost? Believe me, I'm not here by choice. And I mean that in every sense. However, I think the Force did something good for once... It brought me face-to-face with the descendants of the Order I helped rebuild four millennia ago to talk to you all. Let's start with the basics first, what is it you all want to talk about?"

"We want to know how you are still alive, master," Depa Billaba, Windu's former Padawan, a middle-aged human woman, offered calmly, trying to maintain the neutral tone Meetra had been hoping to keep for herself during this convo. Depa, however, complimented, "You look good for a dead woman, might I add," which garnered a few snorts, though not out of Windu.

"I appreciate it. As for why I'm still alive? Well..." Meetra spoke, her voice growing low. The room's temperature dropped almost a hundred degrees in a nanosecond as the Jedi woman's skin grew paler and her eyes darkened. She told them, her voice reverberating like a dark Echo in the Force that sent chills up everyone's spine, "As good a time as any to reveal that that Wound you all fear so much has never truly healed," and her form and hair shifted for a moment to a dark version... The Wound In The Force all feared, a black, soulless husk almost, one so different from Meetra it was visible even to Richard and Six.

And to say it seemed to terrify the Jedi was an understatement...

"... You shouldn't be here," Windu growled as Meetra's form soon shifted back to its usual self. One of her escorting soldiers had wanted to step up, make sure she was okay. She'd felt it and gazed back at Six, offering the young man in MJOLNIR an awkward 'We'll talk about it later' smile, before turning back to Mace after his comment. Her blue eyes had returned to their normal hue and so had the whites around them.

She replied, "You summoned me!" while laughing at the absurdity of Mace's comment. All other Jedi in the room suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable, but those who had welcomed her warmly did not seem to avert their gazes. Even Depa, ever so carefully guided by Mace to become someone like him, stared on at the Anomaly that was Meetra Surik, stunned.

"It was obviously a mistake," Windu shot back.

"Oh, no, this wasn't the mistake, Master Windu..." Meetra did, too, balling her hands into fists under her robes, her fury felt through the ripples in the Force. She told them, "The mistake was mine... For hiding and not coming here sooner. Look at me, all of you. Death and destruction could not put an end to one of the last Jedi from before our Fall four Millennia ago. I can feel you all, so scared of the truth, so surprised to see that the Dead do not have kind words for you to soothe you, to say you've done well. This Order is wrong..." Then she declared, loudly and audibly, "It is BROKEN."

"Broken, we are? Walk the Galaxy as undeath, you do. Broken, are you not?" Yoda, the eldest of the Jedi here, chimed in, trying to maintain the calm.

"Master Yoda..." The blonde let out a sigh, "As much as I appreciate your intervention, I'm well aware of my own predicament and don't need to be told off for it," And she looked at Yoda, too, recalling the days they'd operated together in the High Republic and the Golden Age that had been. She told him, |We worked together during the High Republic Era, after all. You should know that."

"Worked together, we have. Changed, you have, too. What happened...?" He almost seemed remorseful when he asked that.

"... We both know what happened when my Strike Team perished, master," She replied as anger started bubbling up again, "As for the rest of you, those who stare at me with that fury, that hatred for starting to try and open your eyes and the eyes of every other Jedi in this room that dares listen... I'm going to give you all the Benefit of the Doubt and say that most of the smart Jedi of the Old Republic's Order left with the Eternal Alliance when that came about, with the High Republic age destroying the last of your sanity. It's like I'm looking into a mirror of the past," And she finally snapped at them, "The same dogma, the same failures, the same mistakes that BURNED US YEARS AGO!"

She breathed in and manage to calm herself again, then told them, "The one thing I can say that would be even remotely close to a compliment for all of you would be that you were all at least a little proactive about joining this War instead of letting it fester like the Old Order did when the Mandalorians came about, forcing me, Revan and so many others to leave and fight."

"And where did that lead them? Where did it lead the mighty Revanchist and Knight Alek? Into the arms of the Dark Side... Or did you forget that, Master Surik? Adherence to Code is what saves us from falling, too. We joined this War because the Republic is the only way forward for us. We've learned that in history and we don't want to make the same mistakes you did," Windu snapped back, standing to his feet and glaring at Meetra.

"... You dare bring up my friends, both of whom are long-gone, to try and make a point about falling, try to point fingers at us and yet forget Revan, the mightiest of us all, brought an end to both Mandalore's capabilities and left it nothing more than a regional power...?" She asked, staring at him. She attempted to contain her fury, bottle it up, simply speaking now with a subdued anger to try and maintain an air of calm, "The same man who saved the Galaxy thrice more from Darkness, the same man whom I've spent a hundred years of captivity by just so we could stop Tenebrae... You truly have lost your way, Mace Windu, for not seeing that what they did is what you wish you could do, cowering behind your Code and your Words. I can sense that Darkness within you."

"Being a Wound has dulled you. The Code you deride so much has kept us going even through the High Republic's darkest days!" The man bellowed, much to the surprise of his fellow Jedi, even Obi-Wan and the others. Honestly, the entire discussion had gone in an unexpected and somewhat interesting direction to them. That there was a four thousand year-old being making her points toward what mustv'e been tantamount to a toddler for her...

"That Code speaks of attachments as if they're a mistake. I'm sure you derided young Skywalker for his while you bear the most toxic attachment of them all. That to this corrupt hellscape that is the Republic. A thousand-year-old beast that needs reform, not stagnation like you're trying to maintain. Your own comrades have gone quiet here, Mace. Do you not notice that even the mighty and ancient Master Yoda has gone silent...? Are you truly that attached to it all that you can't change your ways?" She almost pleaded with the man to. Hell, she was pleading to him mentally, she wanted to see the Jedi return to what she'd built them as.

"These ways have kept us running for generations after you've disappeared! You could have become Grand Master and changed all of this if you so wished, but you fled, leaving us with only this. You built this Code and then left the Order after the High Republic..." Windu replied, staring down the woman and finally seeming to calm himself down, too. Good. At least they weren't making fools of themselves anymore, Meetra thought dispassionately.

"I did... Because I wanted to protect the Order I thought would still live through from myself, should I ever fail to contain the Wound," Meetra replied, shoulders sagging. She told him, "Not this mess, so cowardly and hiding behind the Light as an excuse, while your connection with the Force has been dulled to the point the Veil of darkness blinds you to everything in the Galaxy."

"You've all lost touch with that which you wish to protect, for what...?" She was distressed, obviously, having to ask this and causing the entire room to fall ever-more silent. "To be pawns to a corrupt Senate? While it's true that the Republic was half decent during the High Republic times, you let the failure of the Starlight Beacon to overtake your collective psyche with fear, making you stick to your oh so great temple on Coruscant, a temple that was, mind you, built atop a Dark Side nexus, or did you forget?"

"... Time, you should give us, perhaps. Reconvene, we must." Yoda requested, trying to finish the de-escalation process that was currently ongoing, despite Windu seemingly being ready to go into a tirade to counter her. The dark-skinned Jedi sighed and sat himself down, rubbing his face, while Meetra simply seemed to let her hands fall by her hips now, looking at Yoda.

"I won't be coming back here anyway, master Yoda. Do whatever you want and need to do," She replied, her voice now soft and calm. With one wave of the hand, she motioned for her friends to board the Elevator. Ahsoka, who looked like she felt extremely guilty about this, got a pat on the head from Meetra as they entered the Elevator, seemingly soothing her.

"... That went terribly well," Kit Fisto quipped, pushing aside one of his head-tails and sighing. Much of the history of the Order was in the backs of everyone's minds whenever they convened. The very room they found themselves in was proof that History would forever repeat itself in the halls of the Jedi Temple. That the Force itself wanted it to be so. And yet, some would deny it.

"She's a monster. We should never have let her come here after all," Mace had protested them bringing in this supposed 'Meetra' from the get-go. It had only taken one touch of her powers for them to realize she was, in fact, the real Meetra Surik. The true Jedi Exile. And it irked Windu something awful that they'd decided to hear her out in the first place. Of course, she wasn't going to be happy.

"I'm surprised you're so vehement about this, old friend," Plo stated, staring at Windu.

"She insulted everything we know. Everything we've built..." Windu replied, but Yoda showed him to calm down. Right, no point in letting his mind wander...

Back on the Elevator, the only two people making any sort of noise where the Spartans. It was sort of muffled laughter, but one that still allowed them to stay ramrod straight. They'd probably enjoyed watching a religious group get themselves torn down by one of their old members like that. Catharsis and all that, honestly. It was Catharsis for Meetra, too, because she'd just been watching them slowly kill themselves.

"... That was uh..." Anakin was still a bit stunned someone had said he was in the right to form attachments. Master Surik had been one of, if not the first person that wielded a Lightsaber and openly stated that in front of everybody else. Obi-Wan didn't seem to object on it, so, maybe, he could talk with the two about himself and Padme. Provided Padme didn't disagree, obviously.

"That could certainly have gone better," Obi-Wan had been amused, to say the least. He was still smiling at the fact his own master's philosophy seemed to have been proven a little right. Still, he asked Meetra, "Are you well, master Surik?" while watching the girl slowly refocus herself and calm down. Ahsoka, too, stared at the Master with a small smile, though she was still worried she'd caused too much of a ruckus by bringing Meetra up.

"I'm okay... Just need to settle down a bit. Especially after facing someone like Windu," Meetra spoke, though she also gently gave Ahsoka another pat on the head. She whispered to herself, "The man was certainly just a reincarnation of Vrook," before looking out over the cityscape itself, watching as what seemed to be a trio of new Venators and an Acclamator moved in for landing at the nearby Republic base.

"It was a rather endearing sight for someone who barely comes around once every month," A female voice with a relatively light accent spoke, causing everyone to turn and face her, wide-eyed. How she snuck aboard, only she knew. She let out a chuckle, then stated, "Hehe. Greetings, all. It's certainly interesting to see this little makeshift group of people..."

"... I remember you. You were that Padawan from the RES Agathia. Fay..." Meetra spoke, then smiled at her, "You're a master now."

"Indeed. Hello, master Surik. It's certainly been a long few centuries since we've seen each-other and yet you look as good as back then," Fay nodded, smiling at the young-yet-old Jedi and at the others who stared, The Chosen One and his Master included. The Padawan seemed to be losing it again at the sight of another one of her possible idols. Fay felt a little honored about that.

"... Master Fay? I thought you..." Kenobi blanked.

"Ah, young master Kenobi. Apologies, but the healing from the wounds Ventress gave me and my missions have kept me away from the temple for a while," She clarified, then added, "Seems as though I came at the right time to give my monthly report, however. That was a glorious sight to behold... Master Surik. If you ever need help, speak into the Force and I will be glad to assist you."

"Thank you, master Fay..." Meetra smiled. The two women nodded to one-another and Fay got off a floor earlier than them, near a set of Archives. When they got to the bottom floor, she quipped, "That was interesting," when they exited the elevator. She paused, however, when she saw a pair of Senate Guards, clad in blue, walking over toward her and her group, blasters stowed, faces obscured by the intricate forms of their helmets and dark T-Shaped visors. They stopped the group just as they were about to leave for their Pelican, looking at her.

The Chancellor must've learned about her existence, too... Great...

Chapter Text

Honestly, she didn't know why she'd even agreed to come in the first place. The opulence of the Senate where Politicians continuously bickered was enough to make any sane person sick. The people in ivory towers deciding the fate of an entire Galaxy, not just their represented peoples, all while slavers and creatures like the Hutts still existed and operated openly. She honestly partially understood the CIS's message.

Now, if they weren't run by something darker than the shadows it was hiding in, she'd probably have never joined the UNSC. However, she needed to right a wrong. To her comrades and to the Galaxy at large. So, she probably accepted to come with the Senate Guards to meet the Chancellor simply because she figured she could change a thing or two, or at least tell him to his face that things needed to change, for all the good it'd do.

The two guards, clad in that royal blue, stopped at the door to the Chancellor's office, turned about and saluted Meetra, who saluted back. The door ahead slid open, revealing walls of red, beautiful tapestries, ornate furniture and a central, round desk with a communication system in the middle of an indent in the floor, back against the massive panoramic view window that showed a minuscule chunk of the ecumenopolis.

She paused upon her first step inside, however. A feeling of weight suddenly pressed down on her shoulders, as if the Force itself, though not on the best of terms with her, warned her of something. She felt a chill shoot up her spine as a female voice shew as all too familiar with whispered to her, "Be careful, Exile..." only to cause her to cock her head back. Kreia?

It was possible, though she hadn't heard as much as a peep from the Force Ghosts of her friends ever. Still, that weight never left her as she stepped inside, walking over toward the desk. She saw it empty, surprisingly enough. Great, so the man wanted to meet her and he wasn't even here. She swore, she was about to- "Greetings..." Spoke a male voice that sent a chill up her spine, taking her out of her thoughts.

She turned around to see an old man in front of her, wearing a terrifyingly calm smile as he approached, "You certainly arrived fast, Master Surik," all while ensuring his clothes, a red robe with puffy, darker sleeves and, were properly arranged. The man had short, silver, almost purely white hair really that was slicked back and he had a certain Aura that was all too familiar to Meetra...

"Chancellor Palpatine," Meetra bowed, trying to be friendly to her host, no matter her feelings. She spoke, "I'm sorry if I caught you at a bad time..."

"Not at all. I called for you the moment I heard of your presence, after all. I must say, it isn't every day that one gets to meet a woman whom many thought dead. Much less a Jedi," The Chancellor offered curtly, though Meetra felt a little uneasy. Almost like the man was hiding something. The Force felt weirdly present here, though it was more pressing than normal, she thought as she watched him walk by.

"Indeed," She replied slightly defensively, then turned the attention back unto him, "And it isn't every day a simple Jedi's summoned to speak to the Chancellor of the Republic..." as she crossed her arms to her chest. There was something hidden here. Something odd. She cast sideways glances at the various artifacts in the room, wondering if... No, no way.

"Oh, please, I'm a simple servant of the people, much like you," He replied, attempting to be as non-threatening as possible, though she could see the focus in his eyes. Focus on maintaining a charade, she wondered, or just trying to make sure the Jedi who doesn't really like the Republic doesn't do anything too harsh. He motioned to one of the chairs in front of his desk and offered, "Take a seat. We have a few things to talk about."

"Alright..." Meetra did as asked, while the Chancellor sat himself down in his chair. Meetra's gaze swept around the place, trying to find the exact source of the uneasiness she felt. Though she tried to be as covert about it as possible, she was sure the man could see her being less than calm about being here... If there was one thing she could say about the man, it was that he had good taste in decorations.

Palpatine cleared his throat, taking her attention toward him, then added, "Now that we're all comfortable... Refreshments, perhaps?" as he gently tapped his finger next to the PA system. Well, at least he was a nice host, too. Meetra took a moment to think about it and a moment extra to keep prodding around with the Force as covertly as she could...

She then nodded and replied, "... I could go for some. Thank you."

"Of course," The man answered kindly. He hit a couple of buttons on the PA system and, before long, a servant droid strolled inside, carrying a tray with two teacups and a teapot. The droid poured the tea into the cups and handed each over, then strolled out of the room, the door shutting behind it. Palpatine tapped his spoon against the side of his cup after stirring it, then said, "Onto the matters at hand, I'd like to confirm some rumors."

"Okay...?" Here we go, Meetra thought, then nodded, "Go ahead."

"Your alignment with our newfound allies, first of all," The man started, obviously with the most important bit. Why would a Jedi not rejoin the Republic's ranks and become an officer? He asked, "Did you join them for any particular reason?" before taking a sip from his tea. Meetra took a sip from her cup, too, pondering how to best answer this. She figured the truth would be fine. Or part of it, anyway.

"... Honestly, I just wanted to get off of Coruscant after years watching this place go to hell, pardon me saying so..." She replied, then, slightly guarded. She felt something poking her way through the Force and wondered if it was whatever she was feeling around her. Whatever artifacts were here didn't seem to emanate any form of Aura, but she could still feel something.

"Ah, so just to see the sights," Palpatine probed, then told her, "You could have rejoined the Republic's ranks as a soldier. We could use someone with so many years of experience leading the troops. Some of your exploits were quite legendary in the Grand Army's historical records. The Mandalorian Wars remain one of the most known formative periods of the Republic's military, even now."

"As much as I appreciate the thought, Chancellor, the Republic I served and the Republic today are two different beasts," She answered, maintaining her composure Centuries of stagnation after the High Republic Era led to the situation today. I'm... Not too fond of the idea of drawing my lightsaber for the government again. However, for my new allies and some of the new friends I've made here? Yes, I will fight."

"A noble and understandable reasoning, I suppose," He sighed deeply, then agreed, "Yes, the Republic has been facing a lot more crises in recent years, with this damnable war being the latest of them, but we've been trying to make changes and amends. I've only recently been elected as Chancellor and... Let me affirm your statement, yes, there is a lot wrong with this Republic... But, well, one can only do so much in a term, no?"

"Yeah... Maybe..." Meetra really wasn't gonna take the bait.

"Onto the second rumor... Which I presume is all but confirmed by the fact the Senate Guard had to bring you from the Temple. You spoke to the Jedi Council. Did they greet you coldly?" Palpatine inquired. She was surprised he wasn't asking about her being immortal, but, then again, he seemed to know a lot more than he let on. She kept probing and prodding, feeling as if... As if he was hiding his Force essence. Impossible? No. Unlikely? Hopefully.

"Not all of them," Meetra replied, then let out a derisive snort, remembering Windu. Regular old Vrookian, that son of a b-.

"I see. I guessed there'd be someone like that, at least," He offered, then put another bit of bait to the hook, seemingly testing the waters by stating, "Much like the Republic, the Jedi Order of today is steeped in dogma that means they seem to be stuck in their ways. I'd assume you coming in to speak the truth they didn't want to hear didn't help, either?"

"We'll see what they discuss at the next few meetings of theirs, not like I'm gonna attend. We've got a war to win," The General in her came out when she said that.

"Indeed. And that brings me neatly to our third point of discussion... What is a general without an army, General Surik?" Palpatine seemed to smile almost knowingly. Her heart paused for a quarter of a second as she stared at the man, wondering what this was implying. A general without an army was just a benchwarmer, she would've answered, but this felt like a trick question.

"... Chancellor, with all due respect, get to the point here..." She requested, concern filling her heart

"Of course. If you will have them, I am assigning you a newly-made Clone Legion directly arrived from Kamino," The man stated, causing Meetra to blank for a moment. He explained to her, "They are a little 'green' as our newfound allies would say, but, with someone competent, such as yourself, in the lead of their formation, I'm certain they can achieve great things." and he wore a genuinely weird smile at that last bit. She felt a small fluctuation in the Force again.

"... That's a surprise, alright," She nodded, blinking, then furrowed her brows and leaned forward, asking, "And why would I accept this kind of reinforcement? What's your caveat for this 'gift'?" before preparing to walk away. As much as she respected the Clones for fighting a war they were never given a choice not to fight. They were doing their duty proudly.

"My only caveat is that you assist the Republic in winning the war," The Chancellor replied, then handed her a tablet with the information, "As for why you should accept it, Casualties will start mounting for the United Nations Space Command..." And that felt almost like a threat to her. He clarified, noting the frown she now wore, "Nobody survives a war unscathed. These Clones would supplement their formations. They're also at an unusual size for a normal combat formation, numbering an experimental 12,137 troops."

"... Could be useful..." She murmured as she read the files. This still felt off.

"Indeed," The Chancellor nodded, seemingly happy.

"... I appreciate the gift. Should we go retrieve them from Kamino, or-" She wondered, then remembered she'd seen a bunch of new Starships come in for landing.

"They've already landed here, alongside your Venators and the Acclamator used to transport their equipment," The man offered, "You have a shuttle that will take you directly to them waiting for you on Landing Pad just outside," words which stuck a bit with Meetra. The man seemed prepared for the fact she'd accept the new reinforcements, but she still couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. She'd have to ask ONI to keep tabs on him. More-so than now.

"Oh... Well, I suppose I should go meet them, then. If that's okay with you..." She asked, standing up.

"Of course. Thank you for your time, General. To a speedy end to this war," He replied, then raised the teacup.

"Amen..." She sighed deeply. She quietly left the place, making sure to make it a point to tell Lasky about this. Palpatine felt off in more ways than one, genuinely almost like he was concealing his true self behind a veil of the Force. Though, how would someone like this exist and not be part of the Jedi Order? The more questions mounted, the more worried she felt in regards to what his ultimate end goal was.

It was why, while travelling toward the landed warships, she felt a bit off in regards to the Legion she was assigned. 12,000 troopers, armed to the teeth and with their support vehicles and elements already loaded. That feeling passed, however, when she saw the gathered battalions of troops down below, clad in the stark white Phase I Armors of the Grand Army of the Republic's new Clone Corps. The 337th Legion stood before her, a blank canvas, ready to be painted by their experience with their new general.

When the craft touched down in front of the assembled force and three landed Venators, Meetra stepped off, only to see the Commander of the force, a clone clad in white armor with yellow stripes and the four dots on the left side of his chest. He, alongside three clones clad in armors with red stripes, stopped in front of the General and snapped crisp salutes. The leading man spoke, his voice young, "General Surik, ma'am. I'm CT-543-3533, acting Commander of the 337th Legion. We are at your command."

Meetra saluted, then said, "At ease, Commander," before asking with an awkward smile, "Don't you have names? Aren't most clones coming out of Basic with nicknames nowadays?" as she looked at him. He and his officer cadre looked to one-another, before shaking their heads. She sighed deeply and murmured, "Guessing that goes only for the non-officer Clones..."

The rows upon rows of soldiers all seemed the same from here. Soldiers and officers, Troopers, Sergeants, Lieutenants, Captains, they all looked peculiarly same-ish, unlike Captain Rex, the 501st and Commander Cody and his men. She wondered jus how these men cooperating with her was going to change them, then hummed as she looked around. She probably should've radioed in, but she'd do that from aboard her lead Venator.

"Well... Guess it's time to give a short greeting..." She spoke, then stepped up in front of the troops and started, "Soldiers of the 337th!" only to hear boots clicking together in a thundering echo here, within the confines of the Republic Military Base on Coruscant. The HQ of the Republic Military glowed, the conning towers of the four docked vessels standing tall, almost part of the city skyline in the background.

... She was given command of her own troops again. While, yes, the UNSC trusted her to lead soldiers, too, those were still men and women under their command. Though she felt a weight unlike any previously felt and something tugged at the back of her mind regarding these troops, she still spoke, "My name is Meetra Surik and it seems that, henceforth, I shall be your General! It's going to be a bit interesting, since I haven't lead troops in a while, but I trust you men to be capable warriors and I hope you trust me to be a good General, despite being a lil' rusty," And she smiled awkwardly, before ordering, "First order of business. Let's get aboard and start preparations for launch. I need to contact our allies and let them know we're coming."

The troopers snapped a crisp salute, then began boarding. Meetra looked over to the Commander and said, "So, you don't have a name, right, Commander?" only to get a nod from the man. She hummed and asked, "What is your gene template? I never got to ask any of the other Clones we worked with, so I might as well ask you newcomers and 'shinies' as they call you."

"A Mandalorian, ma'am. By the name of Jango Fett..." He replied rather awkwardly, "Least that's what they told us. We never met the man."

"Mandalorian, huh?" Meetra smiled as memories came flooding back of a particularly grumpy comrade of hers. She could hear him cackling right now as if he read her thoughts through the Force, though it was rather obviously impossible, seeing as he, too, was dead. So, yes, she settled on a name, stating, "Then I can give you one, if you'll allow me..."

"It'd be an honor, General..." The Commander replied with a salute. She smiled and nodded.

Then she told him, "So it is, then. Commander Ordo."

On the RAS  Prosecutor

The Spartan and Clone Commando pushed down the missile tube they'd landed within, Cortana stating, "There should be a terminal nearby that'll allow you to open the torpedo bay doors so we can enter. Though I'm also detecting a multitude of shipboard warnings... Let's be careful, everyone," only to hear affirmative replies from just about every member of the joint team. While Boss was trying to make contact with the Adviser again, Chief scanned the area ahead, feeling his heart beat faster.

As they entered through a side passage into what seemed to be a maintenance area, Boss remarked, "She's certainly good at her job..." only for both of them to see a part of the maintenance corridor had collapsed in on itself, fires as oxygen spewing from the lines mixed with fuel that now burned. Beside the rubble, however, was a still functioning terminal that Boss approached as Chief covered his rear. The Spartan motioned for him to let him take his place, then pulled Cortana's chip from his helmet and let her connect to the system.

When the screen flashed from red to green, Chief pulled the Chip, slotted it back into his helmet and said, "There's a reason I and her work well together..." which got a short chuckle out of Cortana. The two and their AI comrade then passed through the same door they'd used to get in, only to watch the massive, circular vault-like door crack open, oxygen spewing from the side of it as the seal broke. It slid to their right and several alien avians flew out from the cover of the torpedo bay, revealing the massive warheads utilized by the Republic ship to protect itself.

"Blasted mynocks..." 38 spoke, then looked to Chief and said, "Stowaway animals. They're vermin, chewing through wire and causing damage to the vessel's internals. If we're gonna recover her, she'll need to be scrubbed clean from bow to stern," as he led the way in. Moving through, the two took a right, past the Torpedo loading ramps and onto an ascending stairwell that led up to an observation point. Trash and cuts and marks and sparking wires greeted them, Boss commenting, "Someone needs to teach these hijackers some proper Republic discipline."

"Place is a mess," Fixer agreed as they advanced.

Sev quipped, "Can't be any worse than the way Scorch tends to leave our rooms..." which got a couple laughs from everyone. The Spartan and Commando Team Leaders pushed up through the observation area, finding blood stains, but no corpses, worryingly enough. The Spartan's suit first blared with a few warnings about issues regarding atmospheric disturbances as they walked through and crawled into a maintenance crawlspace.

"This is eerie... Where is everyone?" Scorch whispered.

Kelly added, "We're not deep enough yet, I don't think... Was there even any mayday from this ship when she arrived here?" as their footsteps became audible. There was a negative hum from Fred and Fixer as the group pushed on through, with Chief and Boss crawling over a bunch of pipes within the confines of the maintenance space, then reaching a corridor that went across a chasm.

The air around them seemed a tinge green when Chief first saw it, but he figured that must have been due to his VISR system acting up. He helped Boss out of the Crawlspace and the two saw there was another one ahead, with Cortana adding, "... I'm detecting atmospheric changes. Oxygen levels are all over the place, almost like Life Support is malfunctioning. Keep your suits sealed."

A distant groan filled the ears of the two men as they marched forward on the catwalk, weapons at the ready. Boss spoke, "Have you ever been on board a derelict or an abandoned ship before, Master Chief...?"

"No," He replied, "Not in space, anyway..."

"Fair enough, I suppose..." He replied. The two stopped as they heard something get kicked off into the chasm to their right. Both swiveled and aimed their weapons, only to see a Clone Trooper emerge out of the darkness, his hands raised. He seemed to be trembling, almost afraid. He only calmed down when he saw the human forms of Boss and the Chief.

"I'll be... Commandoes..." Murmured the Trooper, seemingly happy, though his voice cracked, "Good to see you, sir! And with one of our allies to boot!"

"Trooper," Boss stated, "Report."

"I... We... I don't know what happened, sir. The ship went into Red Alert while we were transferring from that system where we picked up the strange shuttle," The Trooper replied, continuously looking into the darkness behind him on the corridor. He continued, "I started hearing blaster fire, so I retrieved my rifle and tried to... Help the others. Something went really, really wrong, though. There's something on board this ship now, it's... Hunting us."

"Hunting you?" Boss repeated, "What exactly is hunting you, Trooper?"

"I don't know, sir... I came here to try and fire a torpedo, maybe send a mayday to the Republic since Captain Martz shut down our com systems and Hyperspace drive. Firing controls are locked, too," He replied, then motioned to the control system to his left. He spoke, clearly afraid, "And now I'm stuck here. There's something still around, sirs. If you came here with a team, I'd warn them to be careful-" only to pause as a noise came from the darkness, a low, modulated grunt. He swiveled about and raised his blaster, before calling out, "Topcat! That ain't funny! C'mon out, we might have a chance at rescue!"

A moment of silence passed that sent chills up both Chief and Boss's spines, though neither would admit it to the other. The Trooper called out again, "Top! C'mon, this ain't the time to kid around!" before looking back at the Commando and Spartan and stating, "S-Sorry, sirs. That's my Pod Brother, a bit of a joker. He's trying to keep morale up. I'll go try and find him, bring him here with the others."

"Trooper-" The Commando was about to speak to him, but both men watched him running into the darkness, calling out his Brother's name.

"Top! Oh, thank the Force, you're here... Top? You okay? Where's... Oh, no, no, NO!" The Trooper's panic rose with each word he spoke. Blaster fire began to echo, followed by the Clone Trooper's scream and a guttural growl, only for silence to immediately settle. Chief's heart sank the moment he heard that noise. He looked to Boss as the man hit the window separating them from the chasm and the trooper.

"Trooper!" Boss called out, then swore, "Kriff it! All Delta and Blue elements, keep your eyes open. Unknown hostiles are in the area. This doesn't seem like Droids or a mutiny..." and turned to the Chief, "Chief, we should move," which got a nod out of the Spartan. The two continued down the corridor, propping open the door to the next crawlspace and moving through. This one was wider, the pipes less tightly packed together, allowing them room.

"Any idea what this could be, Spartan?" He then asked. Chief nodded. He had a feeling he knew, yes...

Chapter Text

Meetra walked onto the deck of the Infinity once more, this time under escort by a platoon of Clone Troopers from her own Legion. Doctor Halsey, who had wanted to see what the Clones were made of from the get-go, was present alongside a squad of Spartans and an escorting unit of Marines, plus Lasky. The Admiral, meanwhile, stared with a bit of surprise at the newly-reinstated Jedi General and her troops.

Beside her, Commander Ordo looked, confused, at the troops. Meetra told them, "These are the people I briefed you about, Commander. They're our allies..." only to hear boots immediately click together, the Clones snapping salutes at their new found brothers-in-arms. Lasky blinked, but saluted back, a little surprised they now had their own Legion milling about out there on four new ships that just reinforced their own fleet.

"General Surik. I take it these guys are the Clone Legion you got as a gift?" Admiral Lasky greeted her with a nod and a smile. The Clone Troopers were surprisingly focused on him and the others, not speaking much. Part of the Admiral wondered if the Chancellor didn't send them with Meetra because he wanted to keep a good eye on everything going on with the UNSC.

"Indeed," Meetra offered kindly, smiling as she began introductions, "Admiral Lasky, the man beside me is Commander Ordo, of the 337th Clone Legion," Then she looked at Ordo and smiled, telling him, "Commander, this is Admiral Lasky. Leader of the UNSC Forces currently located within our galaxy," before the Admiral gave a short nod of greeting to the Clone Trooper.

"Admiral, sir," Ordo nodded to Lasky, staring straight at the man. He spoke as calmly as a Spartan, terrifyingly enough, when he said to them, "The 337th stands ready to assist the UNSC on the General's orders," while the Clone troop present in escort of Meetra and him stood there, at attention, completely calm. It was both soothing and terrifying to see a Soldier act so much like an automaton, though they were used to it with the SPARTAN-II family.

Meetra, having noticed this herself, rubbed the back of her neck and laughed awkwardly as she explained, "They're all fairly new. Haven't gotten to their individual selves yet, but... Maybe after combat..." before looking at the Commander. The Clone nodded, keeping himself steady on his feet, ramrod straight, hands behind his back. His own DC-15 was slung over his shoulder.

"Any extra gun's welcome," Lasky nodded, noting some of the stares from their own Marines and ODSTs. He told her, "Plus, they'll learn we're all in the same boat and open up, heh," as he watched them. Halsey, meanwhile, seemed to have simply been taking the new development in behind them, the Spartans escorting the pair of UNSC commanding officers staring.

"Indeed..." The good doctor murmured, then tapped 'save' on her tablet after writing a paragraph, only to look up at Meetra and request, "Commander, General, if I may make a request, I would like to check the troops over in the medbay. I understand there's an issue regarding artificially enhanced aging that you and your brothers are plagued by."

"Indeed, ma'am," Ordo replied, still as calm as ever. He told her, "As for the medical checkup, it should be no problem."

"Yeah. I'd rather they all be in top shape," Meetra backed it up. She trusted Halsey, honestly, even if the woman and her experiments with Meetra's blood felt a bit 'mad scientist'-y. She gave a nod of approval to Halsey, however, knowing very well the Doctor would take good care of them. Hell, she didn't do anything invasive to Meetra when she easily could have.

The Doctor simply gave a calm nod, replying with, "Many thanks."

"The fact the Chancellor decided to gift you an entire Legion is impressive, ma'am," Lasky told Meetra, arms crossed to his chest. Though he felt a light pit in his stomach, he pushed aside any thoughts that could arouse issues in his mind about the gift, adding, "Honestly, it's also probably welcome, considering we just got a request for fast deployment to a planet called Nathema..."

"Where the next piece of the Map should be located," Halsey completed, offering Meetra the tablet with the decrypted coordinates.

"... That's going to be interesting..." Meetra mumbled, well aware of the Chorlian sector's significance. It was where one of the last major battles of the Mandalorian War had occurred. One she'd commanded herself... She hummed, then ordered her Clone Officer, "Commander, take a shuttle back to the lead Venator. I have something to talk about with our comrades."

"Sir!" The Trooper snapped a crisp salute, then motioned to his men to follow him back to the shuttle. Meetra cast a glance at the men as they strode back in a perfect, rhythmic march, before sighing deeply. Looking a gift horse in the mouth, as the UNSC saying went, was probably a bad idea, but she wanted to make sure all was well. Noting the concerns in her two fellow officers' eyes, she turned to face them.

Then, she requested, "... Admiral. If I can ask a favor," only to sigh deeply. Hard to explain, it would be. Yoda would've been laughing his little green behind off at that, though, so she continued, "I know this might sound insane, considering the Chancellor seemed more than open to befriend you all, but... Deploy any ONI Agents you have to spare to keep tabs on him. There's something about him that feels... Wrong. Dark. But he's concealing it incredibly well..."

"... I..." Lasky almost seemed blindsided by the request, eyes shooting wide open. Halsey herself, meanwhile, remained terrifically calm, cradling her tablet and staring straight at Meetra. The Admiral continued, "Those are some pretty hefty accusations to bring up against a man who just gave you a personal army, General... Mind you, I'm not trying to defend him, but it feels off."

"I know," The four millennia old Jedi replied awkwardly, then added, "I would've said nothing if I didn't feel something when I was called by him. I hope I'm wrong, but knowing the Republic's current track record, I wouldn't put it past anything for there to be something off about him beside the usual political backrooms items, like under-the-table deals or something. This feels far more personal, far more vile..."

Before Lasky could interject, Halsey, known de-facto leader of ONI for now, told her, "I will have any available ONI Agents play the double role of ambassadors and keep tabs on him, General," only to show her trust in Meetra as she added, "As much as I dislike giving credence to the almost magical properties of the Force, if your Jedi senses feel that there is something off, I don't think we can toss aside the possibility or ignore the risks."

"Thanks, doctor," The blonde beamed at the old woman. She had received the request for further examinations when she was coming up to orbit to meet the UNSC fleet, so she'd go later to talk to Halsey about her little display back in the Council Chambers. She hummed, then looked to Lasky and switched thoughts, telling him, "By the way, since we have Venators, small tip. They're not Battleships, they're more akin to your Carriers. Deploying fighters and supporting them. We also have bombers and a load of Gunships aboard."

"We'll keep that in mind," Lasky gave a nod of approval, then smiled, "Even more fighters are gonna be great to have. And if that's all, we'll get them following us."

"Good plan," Meetra smiled, "I'll contact the Commander, have him and the ships follow us..." and she quipped, "I haven't given any of them names yet, funnily enough. Their Captains are Clones and they expect me to do it, but I'll leave it to the UNSC to decide what we should name the girls. You're the admiralty under which they're serving now," to which Lasky nodded.

... It wasn't long after that Meetra had returned to her usual stomping grounds:The UNSC barracks and rooms of the Infinity. Namely, she'd decided to join the two adopted brother Spartans in the Mess Hall, bringing her own tray over to their table as she watched them talking rather openly about the idea of switching to blasters for lighter combat missions. She chuckled at that, then greeted them, "Hey, you two. Been busy while I was downstairs?"

"General," Both men greeted her with nods, their armors on. Their faces were visible, rather obviously, due to them having to eat and the helmets being rather obstructive of anything like that. It was nice, seeing the boys' faces, even for a little while like this, she thought. She sat herself down in front of the two as they ate, preparing to start her own lunch.

"We mostly stuck around, as usual," Six shrugged, nursing a coffee, from the looks of things. Must've been a busy day of doing nothing for him, she thought partially as a joke, all while staring right at him. The Spartan furrowed his brows, then looked at Richard as the boy started snickering at the sight. Meetra, meanwhile, avoided saying anything simply because she didn't want to stir up any issues...

Richard, however, ignored the glare the Lieutenant was giving him and simply doubled over and refocused, stating, "Blues are still not back, but I hear we'll be doing the next bit of the job without them," as he twirled his fork between his fingers like it was a pencil, making it dance while trying to make sure it wouldn't slip out of his fingers. Basically a floating knife game to him.

"Yeah, we're going planetside on an Agri-World that the CIS are also aiming for. Looks like we have combat coming up," Meetra nodded, starting to chow down on her own food. She did worry in regards to how her Troopers were gonna fare out there, considering they were probably about to deal with one of the worst situations:A trial by fire. Unlike local Jedi, though, Meetra had combat experience, even if the last time she'd properly led anyone in a war was a couple centuries ago.

"Testing the Clone Legion. Should be fun," Six quipped, taking her out of her momentary stupor. He stared straight at her, seemingly aware she was worried. Body language and all were apparently fairly easily readable for Spartans, meaning her fidgetty nature was something he could easily spot. He even had the look of 'we should probably talk about what happened'.

"They'll need DIs to learn how to work with the UNSC," The girl wasn't trying to avoid that discussion, but she did not really want to have it now. As she asked, "You two mind being that for them?" she saw the slightest nod from Six, who understood, and one quick one from Richard, who also seemed like he understood the request. Thankful for that, she let out a small sigh.

"We'll get other Spartans to help," Six nodded, arms crossed to his chest. He then continued, "Them or Johnson and his Marines," before picking up a surprisingly empty tray. The three had finished their food without even noticing and Meetra could barely taste the fettuccine alfredo she'd just had, as if she'd eaten without a thought. So, that was what worry did to people... She'd forgotten.

"Bet Sarge's gonna enjoy that," Richard joked, trying to somewhat lighten the mood as they walked to surrender the trays.

"Heh," Both Six and Meetra let out.

RAS  Prosecutor

The Chief and Boss crept forward through even more maintenance tunnels, past a multitude of ruptured pipes and damaged wiring. Strung wires, metal exploding outward and even the remnants of small, three-eyed drones with drills attached to their bellies that the Commando had called Scavenger Droids surrounded them in the maintenance tunnel, the Spartan and Clone Commando utilizing their suits' in-built Night Vision.

Pushing through, the pair came upon an exit, leaving the tunnels to the sole Mouse Droid that strolled on through, chirping fearfully. Entering one of the major hallways of the ship, the pair was greeted by faint lights, blaster damage to the walls and the various, strange containers poking out of the walls being perforated and clawed at from the looks of things.

Overhead wires hanged low, the panels up above torn and seemingly destroyed. On the floor lay more and more debris that the Spartan and Commando had to wade through, but, thankfully, the recessed lights in the ceilings and walls still worked, bathing the hallway ahead in a shimmering white light. The Spartan and Commando had swept the area with their rifles, assessing the damage while maintaining silence.

Both paused, however, when a trail of blood came into view below a flickering light, leading into an adjacent hallway hidden behind a broken door. The door itself had been dented inward and the plating, cracked. Sparks flew from the control console off to the side of the door and the locking mechanism seemed to be fused together as if by a plasma torch used to weld it in place.

Distantly, the two heard groans. Not the ship's own hull and superstructure, but what sounded almost like human voices. Almost. They couldn't quite make it out, pointing it out to be the ship itself. Cortana whispered to herself, "I don't like this one bit..." as she tried to enter the ship's central network and mainframe. She could recover bits and pieces from the ship's inner network, but everything was locked down tighter than the security systems in CASTLE during Rush Hour.

She was about to speak, but paused as two IFF tags, both friendly, flared up on the Motion Tracker, a few dozen meters ahead. She spoke, "Chief, Boss. Picking up Sev and Linda on the motion tracker. I'm gonna ping them and say hi," before doing just that. She connected to their armors and said, "Lin, Sev. Looks like we linked up, heh. How're you folks doing?"

"We're alright. Place is terrifyingly quiet, though. There's not even a hull groan or an engine hum..." Linda replied, though their movement was audible over the com, boots clanking against the metal floor. Sev hummed in agreement while Chief and Boss both looked to one-another, nodded, then started pushing forward, toward another door. Fixer, Fred, Scorch and Kelly all piped up, confirming that the place was dead silent.

"We're on our way to you, Linda," Chief voiced as he and Boss approached a locked door. The Commando attempted to open it, then let out a hum as a warning blared, written in the local alphabet, Aurebesh. Boss looked at the Chief, who was about to ask, but paused as his Motion Tracker flickered again. He could see himself, Boss, Sev and Linda... And a fifth contact, flickering in and out.

He put his hands between the door's seams while Boss asked, "What are you doing?" only to pause upon seeing the Spartan pull the door apart, forcing it open. When the magnetic locks detached, the door's lights glowed green and its two constituent parts slid aside, revealing an open hallway with even more blood splatters, one of the walls painted entirely red, as well as even more scattered debris.

"We should be to your left, Boss. Observation window'll give you line of sight," Sev commented. The leaders of the two elite squads nodded, pushing forward toward the open-view window. Down below lay a circular room, in the center of which resided what looked to be a massive server pylon of some kind. It glimmered with lights, wires poking out from above it and into the ceiling. Several wires seemed cut, but the console next to it worked.

The Snipers ascended the elevated platform and waved to Chief and Boss, the Spartan and Clone nodding in greeting. Sev spoke, "Should only be a sec, Boss," as he approached the terminal. Cortana hummed and began assisting Sev in terms of hacking, while Linda seemed to be keeping watch. Chief hummed, looking around the place while Boss kept an eye on their two snipers. There was an elevated point above and to their right that looked like a vent of some kind. To their left was another door, presumably descending down into the Data Core Sev was now accessing.

Another flicker appeared on Chief's Motion Tracker.

Then another.

Then a dozen more.

He radioed, "Spartans, Commandoes, contact!" as he aimed his rifle up at the ventilation shaft. It burst open, revealing creatures with sickly green skin, clad in strange yellow jumpsuits. Lizard-like faces greeted them, filled with what the Chief could really only describe as fear, their eyes wide, snake-like slit pupils dillated. They cradled weapons in their arms as they screamed, their voices hoarse, loud, filled with fear.

None got to raise blade or gun against the Spartans and clones. Bullets and blaster bolts tore into their skulls and bodies, the alien creatures collapsing onto the floor, bleeding from multiple entry wounds. Boss balked, spitting out, "Trandoshans..." with the same kind of tone one would use when looking at a bug. He told Chief, "Damnable Slavers and scavengers... What are they doing aboard a Republic ship?"

"Boss, Chief, you alive up there!?" Sev asked, both him and Linda training their weapons on the windows. Chief flashed his acknowledgement light green as he pushed toward the Trandoshan corpses, noting that the fat lizards' own uniforms were torn, marked by claws. He gave a chop of the hand to the right to Boss, who turned and aimed at the hole they came out of.

One Trandoshan, surprisingly alive despite the four bullet holes and two blaster marks on its chest, coughed blood and looked up at the Spartan. The barrel of Chief's rifle was pressed against its head as it spoke, "Do... It...! I don't... Want... To... To come back..." making Chief's heart momentarily stop before its right hand wrapped around the barrel and cowling of the weapon. It begged again, "Do it, Human...!" its voice a hiss filled with fear.

Chief demanded, "What do you mean 'come back'?" well aware of what it might mean.

It hissed, breathing raggedly, before pressing its forehead against the weapon's barrel. Chief squeezed the trigger, splattering its brain across the floor once he realized it wasn't going to answer. Green blood painted the floor as Boss approached, stating, "What did it mean by 'coming back'..." as he kept his weapon trained on it and its comrades. Chief, however...

Both men blanked as they heard the distant groans grow closer, Sev calling out over the com, "What was that...?" terrifyingly calm.

Chief waited a heartbeat as the noise drew closer, his motion tracker flickering, then radioed, "All BLUE and DELTA elements, this is Chief. Go to BIOHAZARD LEVEL ALPHA. Possible PROTOCOL UPSILON in effect! All previous mission objectives are superseded! Proceed to Rendezvous with your closest unit then come to us..." only for Boss to stare at the Chief with concern.

The Spartan told Boss, "These Trandoshans, they scavs?"

"Usually, yes..." Delta-38 replied, his voice unusually quiet, "Chief, what does PROTOCOL UPSILON mean?" then paused as the noise drew ever-closer. The lights around them dimmed, then went out, causing the entire group to tense before alarms began to blare, the shipboard PA warning of a 'Contaminant' in the area. Ahead of them, figures appeared in the darkness and flashing lights.

At first, they could faintly make out the helmets of Clone Troopers, Phase-1s with the crest on top. Blasters, too. DC-15s and DC-15A rifles. Then, they saw that the helmets weren't placed quite... Right. They weren't central to the body. Half the armor was missing on one trooper, replaced with a strange, purulent bulge of some kind that poked out where his left arm would've been.

They couldn't activate their Night Vision, but their helmets marked the incoming as friendlies. Those were not Friendlies at all. Chief barked, "FIRE! LINDA, SEV, RALLY UP ON US!" before he squeezed the trigger. Scarlet flashes and orange and blue light bathed the room in an incandescent dance of colors, the Spartans and Clone Commandos laying into the advancing hordes as muddled words escaped the mouths, altered by the helmets' speakers.

The Clones ahead were infected by something. Boss could barely make them out in the darkness as they pushed toward the door, but he could see them. Malformed, modified, ugly and emanating an aura of evil. They stumbled forward on broken legs, arms outstretched and aiming their blasters. Their other hand or arm had been modified, transformed into claws.

It was the first time in his life that Boss could say he was afraid. And going by the coms filtering in from Sev, Linda and the other members of the Joint Task Force, the others fared no better. As they descended into the core itself, they backed into Sev and Linda. Chief looked back to Linda and told her, "Prime frags and keep your pistols topped up. Troopers, stay close to us. We'll push us out of this."

"It's that bad, huh!?" Sev asked as he switched places with Chief, he and Boss covering the rear, "What the hell are these fierefeks?!"

"Something horrible from our world," Linda replied, terrifyingly calm. She and Chief primed and long-armed grenades into the Data Core, thumps echoing as they cleared a path forward. She called out, "Run!" before bursting into a sprint alongside them. Ensuring she covered both Chief and the Clones, sniping creatures that crawled on the walls. Creatures that looked like mutated Trandoshans, same as the ones Chief had just killed. They crawled, hissing as they held their vertical approach, being shot at, their thick hides like armor for the Infection Forms burrowed deep beneath.

Scorch called out, "We're seeing a kriffing nightmare, boss! All of these Regs are infected by something! Hell, I can make out some of the names in the distorted tags... Can't see the Captain anywhere among them, but..." He then stated almost hopefully. Boss huffed affirmatively over the com, while listening to Fixer and Fred exchanging fire quietly over the com, just proving they were still alive.

Boss said, "Damn everything else, Scorch. You, Kelly, Fixer and Fred get to us. We'll rendezvous, figure out a plan of action like Chief said!" then he looked to Chief as he fired his blaster into the Darkness, asking him, "Chief... How bad would it be if these things got away from here...?" as he turned and felt his hand get grabbed by one of them. Thankful for his armor, the man planted a vibro-blade gauntlet into the maw of the beast, sending it staggering back and screaming. He saw the tag. CT-4512, 'Cradle'. A maintenance Trooper...

"If the Captain hasn't been infected, they shouldn't be able to..." Chief, too, sounded hopeful. Hopeful for something not to repeat itself, Boss thought. He recognized that tone of voice. However, the drop in Chief's own voice when he added, "If they have and a Gravemind's under the process of forming... This ship has to be destroyed, with or without us on it."

"Suicide mission, then," Sev scoffed, "Had a bad feeling..."

"If this thing is as virulent as it seems to be, we're not taking any chances!" Boss barked, then rallied the team, telling Chief, "Follow me and Sev. We know our way around this ship... We'll make it to the RV point and prepare..." to which Chief nodded. The group surged forward through what seemed to be crowds of infected now pouring out of every hole in the ship.

The twisted forms of their Reg Brethren hunted them... Corrupted... Under control of something...

Delta would free the Prosecutor, blow it up if necessary.

Chapter Text

Nathema

CIS Space

The UNSC and Republic naval forces had managed to sweep aside a minuscule orbital defense force of Droid Ships with relative ease. The problem was, however, not the navy. Meetra pored over every inch of the holomap they had of their AO, pointing out various defensive emplacements and their possible blind spots to the COs of the armed forces. Clones and UNSC Marine officers, Sergeant Johnson and Noble Six included, loomed over the holographic display, eyes glued to targets.

"Enemy Air Defenses seem to be operational near the Capital of Nathema. We've got orbital superiority, but that doesn't mean they don't have air..." Meetra spoke, circled an area near the Capital itself and said, "Prowler-deployed Stealth Satellites said they spotted Vulture strike craft in this general AO, alongside a squadron of Hyenas. Tell our fighter pilots to expect heavy enemy resistance. I want CAS flying every waking hour we have until we've secured a beachhead."

"Any LZ you have in mind, ma'am?" Johnson asked. Meetra nodded and circled a central clearing within the sprawling forest. He nodded approvingly, then noted a couple of enemy defensive positions set up on rock outcroppings and in nearby villages. He hummed and said, "I and the Spartans could take a strike team the moment we land, displace the Droids from one of those hilltops, use it as overwatch. Maybe even spook the local Militia."

"Could work..." The Jedi replied, "I'll need SEAD from UNSC Air if possible, too."

"I'm sure Admiral Lasky'll be happy to provide ya with the airpower," Johnson grinned one of his usually pearly-white grins. She smiled back at that, then looked to Ordo, who was briefing their men via radio communication. They were within the Infinity's hangar while this briefing was ongoing. A dozen LAAT Gunships, maybe a battalion's worth of Clone infantry, one of Marines with Pelicans and armor and she and her command team were the first wave to hit the dirt.

She told everyone, "Our job's simple! We kick the door down and let the rest of the invasion force strike the place! Should give the Confeds a pretty good scare!" and she smirked, "Hit'em hard and fast! We'll see you all dirtside!" before motioning to her troops to load up. She and Ordo walked together toward the leading gunship, with the Jedi only turning to give a quick wave to Six and Richard, both of whom nodded to her as they boarded the leading Pelican. She murmured, "This should be interesting..." Her voice slightly shaky.

"You alright, General?" Ordo asked, surprisingly caring.

Meetra gave an awkward smile, rubbing the back of her neck, "The last time I commanded any major military action was four thousand years ago, Commander. I don't wanna mess this up..." Though, in truth, she had cooperated with and commanded UNSC troops. Nothing as wide-spread as an entire campaign to seize a planet. Last time she'd done that was probably Dxun.

Ugh, Dxun. She shuddered, remembering the damp, the mud, the beasts and jungle. She stowed the memory away for later as she boarded the gunship. Ordo himself replied to her, "I'm certain it's gonna be fine, ma'am..." as he grabbed onto one of the handles above. The rest of the platoon that was gonna be landing with this gunship boarded, loading up on rifles, thermal detonators and the like.

The Jedi replied, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Commander..." then radioed, "Infinity Actual, first wave, callsign EAGLE, ready. Second and third, stand-by on board Venators and the Acclamator," before grabbing onto the handle above, the large cloth sleeve of her hooded robe dropping to her shoulder to reveal the armor plate she wore. It was a pure silver, unlike that of a Clone's. Beneath the robe resided the rest, what looked to be specialty-made Mandalorian armor. As the doors of the Gunships shut and the atmosphere aboard pressurized, Meetra opened and closed her mouth, then swallowed and clicked her tongue. She checked the timer on her UNSC-standard TAC-Pad and ordered over com, "All strike units... Launch!"

The Gunship's repulsor-lift engines powered on with a reverberating hum. Before long, she felt the artificial gravity of the ship kick in, too, the aircraft streaming out of the hangar in rows. Radio communications among the aircraft and between them and supporting elements of the UNSC Fleet deployed to the area echoed in Meetra's ears. Behind her, a clone tapped his foot, gripping his DC-15 rifle and holding it close.

She looked at him and showed him to stay calm. Soon, however, the shaking and turbulence of a low-atmospheric insertion began to shake the craft, meaning the troopers and their General had to steady themselves. They could hear the distant drone of the Acclamator moving into the high atmosphere to provide any sort of support it could. When the shaking of the Gunships stopped, the side hatches opened, wind suddenly blowing through the hold.

Ahead, they saw UNSC and Republic-made fighters intercepting the enemy Vultures sent in to shoot them out of the sky. Down below was jungle and the clearing. Farther ahead, the thunder of enemy anti-air artillery rumbled, heavy turbolasers exploding around the allied vessels. She saw them in the distance:Quadrupedal, red-eyed droid artillery aiming at them, firing, bolts of red snapping by them.

She radioed to the pilot, "Hawker! Bring us in as low as you can, then orbit around us! You'll be providing us support the moment we hit the ground! Switching to general channel, this is General Surik, STRIKE ACTUAL! Deployment in thirty seconds! Hang tight!" before she watched a Vulture sweep past them, only to be cut in half by the focused beam cannon on the right side of the LAAT. She gave a thumbs up to the gunner in the ball turret. The man gave a thumbs up in return, then aimed again.

One gunship detonated from a lucky shot to the right. A UNSC Pelican followed suit, its engine struck by bolts from straggler Vultures. Meetra swore to herself, drew her lightsaber and felt the aircraft change pitch to come level with the ground. When it touched down, she called out, "MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! GET TO COVER ASAP!" before she jumped out first, deflecting the first volley of blaster bolts fired by an advancing Droid Garrison.

Two battalions of B1s, one of B2s, a few speeders. The UNSC was dropping them two Scorpions and a Sun Devil to deal with them, plus an AT-TE deployed by the Republic warships in orbit. She pushed forward with her men, toward the Treeline. Behind her, Commander Ordo and the rest of the platoons moved in staggered columns, firing their blasters at the enemy units as Meetra deflected the enemy's own shots back at them.

The Speeder bikes up above swooped in, firing their twin cannons at the advancing clones and Marines. The first pass cut down three clones and two Marines as they disgorged from their Pelicans, while the Gunships lifted off and began firing their own weaponry at the enemy. The top-mounted missile launchers of the LAATs spat out guided projectiles at the enemy's forces, while the front-mounted ball-turret blaster cannons swept the area ahead with green bolts. The ball turret cannons also opened up, beams cutting into the trees and into the formation of droids.

The hundred or so troops from the first wave had deployed. The General waved off the first few Gunships before the enemy's Triple-A readjusted, then charged toward a squad of Droids, her blade ignited. With flourish, she cut through the first three droids, grabbed a fourth with the Force and crushed him into a ball, then threw him at the fifth and sixth of his buddies.

She watched the B2s in the unit turn to face her, firing their hand-mounted twin blasters at her, which she began to deflect while charging at them. Another droid, a B2, tried zeroing in on her, but blue bolts of energy cut it down, penetrating its armor and shooting out its central eye. Ordo pushed up to cover and fired his blaster, stating, "One hell of a baptism by fire, ma'am!"

She grinned, "Keep pushing! We have the momentum!" Then she looked to their left, to watch the UNSC Marines, Six and Richard pushing forward, rifles barking as they scrapped droid after droid. Overhead, a couple of the Speeders that were trying to make another pass on them exploded in flames as the Sun Devil's own flak rounds lit the sky ablaze.

The two Scorpion tanks pushed forward into the line next, Meetra ordering, "Any soldier or Marine still out in the open, use the tanks as cover!" before turning about. She activated her comlink and ordered, "Gunships, hold position or RTB and stand by for orders! We'll take out the Triple-A closest to us, open you guys a path to rain hell onto the rest of their defenses!"

Her left hand then shot out, a burst of electricity coursing into a trio of droids. The overcharge burst the machines' internals due to excess electricity, then caused them to detonate. She smirked, looked at her hand and murmured, "Am I glad I kept that power around..." referring to the 'Ionize' Force Power, or 'mechu macture' in old language. A decently useful Force appliance meant to either stun or completely destroy droids. She'd used the lattermost variation of the power.

A B1 charged her from the right. She could've easily taken it out, but going by the fact Ordo's blaster barked first and she heard a crumpling tin can to her right, she only turned to her newfound XO and smiled, giving him a nod. He nodded back, then lifted his blaster and showed his men to follow them. As they pushed forward, the tanks began rolling on the main road through the jungle.

The AT-TE at the rear fired its anti-infantry blasters over the heads of the Scorpions, while infantry advanced behind them, firing their blasters and rifles. Six, Johnson, Ordo and Meetra met in the middle of the formation, Ordo commenting, "Fighters overhead reported they spotted incoming! More Droid battalions moving from those outposts to the right and left of this main road!"

"We'll secure the MSR. Sergeant, if you're taking the right, I and Richard will take the left," Six replied as he drew his DMR.

Johnson replied, "All yours, Spartan!"

Six looked over to Meetra and quipped, "Race you to the capital, General?"

She smirked, "Oh, you don't wanna race me, sonny..." before she rallied up her Troopers.

Johnson snorted, then looked to the confused Ordo and told him, "Don't worry, Commander. You'll get it over time," before patting him on the shoulder and rallying his Marines and a few Clone Troopers up to advance toward the hilltop. Meetra and ordo had decided to join them, while the Armor kept rolling forward to provide support, cannons thundering, MGs chattering.

Blue tracers flew in response to the scarlet beams coming from the forest. Overhead, the thunderclap of Longsword engines filled the air. Two Longswords opened their bomb bays and spat out four missiles each, their trackers causing them to engage separate targets. In the distance, enemy anti-air artillery exploded in flares of red and gold to the cheers of Marines and Clones alike.

Above, Y-Wings flew in next, firing their own missiles and bombs toward the enemy outpost on top of the hill as the troops pushed up. The Misfits brought up the rear of Johnson, Meetra and Ordo's unit, firing their weapons through the forest canopy as blasters singed leaves and grass around them. Taking cover behind thick-rooted trees, Meetra, her Clones and Marines looked over toward the enemy position.

Dug into trenches, local Militia clad in dark uniforms and armor fired blaster autocannons and light anti-air at the Furball above, trying to score a strike on UNSC and Republic air assets. Ordo knelt and pulled out a pair of macrobinoculars, peering through them and stating, "Counting two platoons of personnel, plus another battalion of droids inside!" then he peered left, "Second battalion has already engaged the armor column!" only to watch an HE shell strike the battalion's center and murmur, "Aaaand it's gone..."

Johnson laughed at that, then said, "Welcome to the Corps, Commander!" before he pushed forward and stopped in front of the gathered squads of Clones and Marines. He called out to them, "Troopers, Marines! We got a bunch of tin cans between us and the Home Run! BATTER UP AND LET'S SHOW'EM WHAT THE LADIES LIKE!" while racking the pump of his shotgun.

"RAH!" The Marines barked, then showed their Clone comrades how to do it, Victor pushing up to the front with his Machine Gun and setting up on a berm. He aimed up at the Outpost and let loose in bursts of five rounds, casings and links falling to the floor as he swept the area ahead. Beside him, Paul moved up to a tree and utilized a lower branch to stabilize his DMR, sniping at the gunner on the twin heavy blaster.

Vesna and her female comrades, Ayesha and Lita, rallied a few Clones up and looked to Meetra, who ordered, "The Flank! HIT IT!" before chopping her hand forward. The girls replied in Russian, grabbing the Clones and a couple more of their Marine buddies and pushing further right. The woman then barked, "Form a Front Line! Leapfrog from cover to cover and follow me!" as she drew her lightsaber. She motioned for Ordo to follow along as she deflected blaster bolts from the enemy's own weapons.

Behind her, Clones and Marines surged forward with Johnson and Ordo in the lead. Ordo hefted his DC-15a and fired up at the Droids, nailing one. He, however, caught one of his brothers' corpses after a blaster bolt drilled a hole through his helmet. Sighing, Ordo set the soldier down gently while a Marine Corpsman came up to check on him. He gave the all clear, then rejoined the push, distracting the enemy's force with the main forward line, firing his weapon.

It felt almost like second nature to him. Despite the fact his heart thumped like the drumroll of an artillery barrage in his chest and despite the fact their newfound Basic comrades were proving to be both terrifying and terrifyingly friendly, he couldn't help but feel at home in the midst of warfare. Even as blaster bolts zipped past his head and he shot back in return, he felt it, his boots slamming into and digging through mud and dirt and plants.

He slid into cover beside Meetra as the girl deflected more bolts back, then paused as he saw her charge forward through the use of an ability he recalled was named Force Speed. She moved like a blur, cutting down droid and human militia alike with her Lightsaber. It wasn't long before she rendezvoused with the UNSC Marines from the Misfits that had assaulted the flank.

An all-clear was given by both outposts soon after, with the troops soon peering out toward the walls of the capital. The place looked and felt familiar to Meetra. It felt like a shadow still loomed over this part of the Galaxy. Of course, with a certain superweapon's activation nearly four millennia ago, anyone would think so, seeing as that was what it was named after. But no.

Something else irked her. She looked back, however, then gasped as she saw a still-functioning droid lifting its blaster at Ordo. She drew her Lightsaber again, but paused as she watched Victor pounce on the Commander, drawing his pistol and firing at the droid while covering the Clone with his body. Vic sighed in relief, then stood to his feet and dusted himself off, before offering a hand to Ordo and stating, "You alright, sir?"

Ordo took his hand and replied, "Yes. Thank you, Marine..." before looking at the Droid and noting the oil dripping from its head, down its tan-colored body and onto the plastic flooring of the outpost. He sighed deeply, then took his helmet off and looked over at Vic. The Marine with the LMG smiled at the Commander, gave him a salute, then stepped off and set up his MG. Ordo sighed, rubbed his eyes and walked over to Meetra. Sliding his helmet back on and pulling his binoculars out to peer at the enemy's defenses, only to watch a missile slamming into one of the enemy's air defense systems and explode it, he asked, "Ma'am, is combat always like this?"

"Adrenaline-filled?" Chuckled the woman, "Yeah, usually."

"Hectic, ma'am... Nothing like the Simulations..." He asked, his voice a bit more low, quiet. He'd lost a few brothers in this fight, then got saved by a Marine of theirs. He looked over to the rear as the distant drone of engines filled his ears and saw the first UNSC Pelican landing in the clearing, followed by dozens more Drop Ships, both light and heavy, unloading troops and armor onto the battlefield.

When he turned back toward his General, he saw the girl staring at him with sympathy in her eyes. She sighed deeply, rubbing her face, then replied calmly, "War is not a kind mistress, Ordo. She is treacherous, vile and will make you look your worst self in the mirror many times," then she leaned against the edge of the barricade that made up the wall of the outpost, "However, that same War will bring out the best of you if you let it. You'll find friends, comrades and Brothers and sisters, even if they aren't bound by blood to you like your Clone siblings. We all have a role to play in it... You'll understand as you go, considering you're still relatively young for a Clone on the field, far as I know."

"Yes, ma'am..." he replied, sighing deeply and moving next to Vic. He peered through his binoculars, watching the enemy stirring about in the capital, a sprawling city with raised defensive walls, then murmured to himself, "That's gonna be one tough wall to crack..." as he saw the extra anti-air pieces being brought forward while extra defenses were being built. More outposts surrounded the city like a concentric ring. Outposts he felt they'd need to take out.

He paused and looked over to the rearmost mountain, stating, "General. Far Outpost, on that mountain face. Looks like an artillery battery manned by Droids. AAT tanks and a few Spiders..." then handed her the binoculars. She looked through it and hummed, while the Commander stated, "They have Triple-A there, too. Might be their fallback plan. If we take the capital, they just level it..."

"Probably," Meetra replied, "We'll take a Strike Team. Take it out," then she called, "All units, this is Actual. Enemy Artillery located at the far end of the Valley. Requesting a Strike Team to help me take it out. All others, hold position, fortify these outposts and be ready for any possible Droid Counter-attacks..." only to look up as a flash glowed in the blue sky. She spoke, "Admiral, status!?"

"... Contact with an enemy reinforcement fleet. Two Lucrehulks and several enemy transport ships are probably heading Planetside, General," Lasky replied, surprisingly calm even as alarms blared their loud wail over the comlink. He told her, "We'll hold the line up here. You take care of the enemy city, ma'am. All ships, prepare to engage, move to Red Alert. Godspeed."

"Likewise, Admiral..." she sighed, then switched back to the ground forces channel and told them, "That's our reinforcements cut off for now. Ready up, boys and girls," as she stared at the city ahead. The air battle above was still ongoing, Clone fighters engaged in a furball with the dozens of enemy strike craft, but meaningfully keeping the enemy's bombers grounded for now.

"This is gonna be a long day, isn't it?" A Clone with a thicker voice and slightly more bulk asked quietly as he cradled his Z-6. Meetra chuckled at that, then looked back at him, the man being the heavy gunner by the name of 'Warden'. Apparently, he'd been called as such because he was the guy who kept everyone safe in the middle of a battle. She had seen him in the corner of her eye, helping his brothers out.

"Seems like it, big man," Vic quipped in reply as Vesna set up next to him.

Chapter Text

Chief, Linda, Boss and Sev punched through the Maintenance section of the ship, a damp, dark side tunnel that led away from the main corridors. The two officers of the team fired their weapons back into the advancing crowd of mutant monstrosities that had taken over the ship, with Boss himself shooting the door's mechanism to lock it shut the moment all of them had gone through.

All four seemed to pause for a moment to gather their thoughts, with Sev quipping, "That was cutting it kriffin' close..." only to immediately swivel about and point his weapon at the door with the others as the beasts started smacking against it. He looked to Chief and asked, "Just what the hell are these things...? Give us a straight answer," with a lot of edge in his voice.

"Flood," Chief replied, checking his weapon over. He dropped the spent magazine and inserted a fresh one in three quick motions, then looked at the two Clone Commandoes and told them, "They're an ancient, smart parasite. Capable of adapting the strengths and abilities of its hosts to its advantage. Case in point-" and the entire team winced as blaster fire started hitting the door, heating it. The Spartan motioned wordlessly to the door.

"Great," Boss sighed in annoyance, then radioed, "Fixer, Scorch, status on getting to that rendezvous point?"

"Making our way right now, Boss, but this place crawls," Fixer replied. His com muffled it, but the group could hear the cracks of a rifle and his own blaster firing. There was a lot more of these alien rats between them and the bridge, too. Force only knew how many, Boss thought as he reloaded his own blaster and looked to Chief and Linda. The Spartans nodded and lead the way forward while the two Commandoes brought up the rear.

"Fixer ain't wrong... Force, it's like I'm looking at a body horror holo," Scorch added, though it was quiet on his and Kelly's end. Scant few emergency lights shined their way through the ship's corridors as they advanced. Scorch asked Kelly, "You ever seen this stuff up-close, Petty?" only to get a negative hum from the girl. The usual jokester laughed nervously and said, "Great, well, at least we'll both die a little stupid..."

"We'll make it, you nerfherder," Sev quipped as they advanced, scanning every nook and cranny for a sign of Flood infection. He continued to reassure his brother, "You still owe me that drink you stole after all," which got Kelly to chuckle over the com. Chief, meanwhile, linked to her helmet camera, watching the way they were moving through, only to pause as he saw the wall growths of Flood biomass starting to overtake that corridor.

"Ha," Scorch let out a singular vocalization of amusement at that, but it was clear it eased the tension a little bit.

Fred spoke over the com, "They're thinning out on my and Fixer's end, but be careful. They might be dividing to hit us all at the same time," his usually calm voice mixed with the crack of his DMR. Chief clicked his com once in acknowledgement, raising his rifle up to greet any oncoming threats. Still, as they marched down the dark corridors and took a right turn past some debris, they couldn't find any signs of the Flood.

Or anything else, really.

Chief pied the corner as they moved along the wall, all while keeping tabs on his Motion Tracker. Boss, meanwhile, scanned the ceiling and Sev, the ground, while Linda covered the rear now. The woman hit a door lock and watched the bulkhead seal shut behind them as the monsters screamed, their voices reverberating across the hull of the desolate Ghost Ship.

The door shit behind the Spartans and Commandoes. She slammed her fist clean through the computer mechanism, her shields flaring for a moment as electricity coursed through the armored gauntlet, then she retracted her hand and shook it. It felt slightly numb, like she'd stuck it in poison ivy, but the door was shut and locked and the bastards would need to spend time cutting through it.

Cortana spoke, "... Deeper we go, the more I can feel this place is in complete shutdown. The reactor is running on safety mode and, obviously, the Hyperspace Core is disabled, so that means it can't jump or move out of here. Now, if only we could find whatever's jamming our coms, we could call in a NOVA... Chief, slot on the left. Hold position and yank me."

The Spartans and Clones formed a perimeter near by a damaged console. Chief removed the Chip from his helmet and looked at it, watching the AI's avatar form ahead of him out of a flurry of blue pixels. She smiled at him and shrugged, to which he simply said, "Be careful..." only to slide the chip into the port and join the perimeter, rifle trained outward. Distant groans, yet again, human, clone or Trando, filled the halls.

"Any ideas on how we can trigger the ship's self-destruct?" Chief inquired, looking at Boss.

The man nodded, "One well-placed charge on the reactor core would've worked if it wasn't on Safe. Otherwise? Re-enabling controls and engaging self-destruct from the Bridge is our best bet, but we have a hundred corridors filled with those things between us and it," and he sounded particularly disgusted when he pressed on the word 'things'. Understandably. The infected aboard were all their brothers, regardless of if they were Regs or not.

"Nothing a little Blaster fire won't fix," Joked Sev, slamming the tibanna gas cell on his DC-17m to emphasize the idea. Linda gave a nod of approval, scanning the ceiling and floor, still. There were grates and loose panels the Flood could use as surprise ambush sites. She paused as the console behind them flickered to life, glowing green. Chief turned about, pulled the Chip and slotted it into his helmet.

Cortana told them, "I have updated schematics of this section's damaged interior. We're not far from one of the landing legs... Gonna have to cross it in order to reach the RV point," giving them a mark on their HUDs. A NAV Point. She said, "Be careful, though... What little remains of internal sensors has picked up quite a few contacts holed up in the landing leg area. Not sure if any are friendlies."

"Wish we carried a flamethrower for this op," Linda murmured. Chief and Boss took point again, marching them through the collapsed corridor, many parts of which looked like they'd been burnt through by fire. Was one to assume a clone trooper was quick enough to get to the Acclamator's armory and pick up one such flame weapon, that meant that some clones may have yet been alive.

A sliver of hope. The shipboard PA played a garbled, seemingly looping message as they walked past one of its broadcasting systems. The Spartan and Commandoes continued their advance, slowly creeping forward, each footstep reverberating in the deathly quiet of the ship. The hull rumbled in the distance, a metallic creak of armor pressing against armor and girders barely supporting the weight of some of the ship's inner structures.

The group reached a doorway and flanked each side. The Spartans looked at their Clone counterparts, both of which gave them nods. Motion trackers registered the possible contacts beyond the door, so the Spartans prepared to poke their heads out and, if need be, throw grenades. Chief hit the door-opening button and brighter light poured through the door-frame into the dark corridor. The two Spartans scanned the room ahead and paused.

Trandoshans gripped their shotguns, aiming them at the door. Two Trando mercs with assault weapons aimed their guns, while a third manned an autocannon on the far side of the chasm in which the massive landing leg of the Prosecutor resided. A Trandoshan hissed, "Come out and die, freakssss!" only for the soldiers to immediately lob their grenades in.

The Trandos gasped, then saw the blur that was Linda move in a split second, drawing her Sniper. She zeroed in on the head of the autocannon gunner and sniped it clean off, the shot reverberating through the hold, followed by the thumping detonations of the grenades. The Spartans and Clones breached next, moving forward and into cover behind crates and indents in the walls. Bullet holes marked the walls and sparkling wires hanged from above. A singular recessed light flickered above nearby the chasm, hanging loosely, swinging back and forth.

Another Trandoshan barked, "Leave this place!" as blades were audibly unsheathed. He poked his head out and a blaster bolt nailed him right between the eyes, sending the corpse falling to the floor. Linda hit the door button again, letting it close before slamming her fist into the panel again. She peered through her sniper and heard her clone counterpart beside her switch out his own weapon through a series of quick movements into the ion pulse sniper variant of the 17m.

He knelt beside her, breathed to steady his aim and domed the first Trando merc trying to go for the gun again. He and Linda nodded to one-another, then looked to Boss and Chief. The team leads replied with similar nods, then stood up and pushed forward, spreading out to avoid a possible enemy grenade throw down the corridor they were coming from. Chief peered left and Boss took right, but the rest of the Trando contacts soon emerged from the right.

Bullets zipped past the Chief and struck the Commando's Katarn shielding. He called out, "Twenty plus Trandoshans, moving up!" which made the Chief tense and aim his rifle. When the first sword-wielding trandoshan appeared, his head was turned into a yellowish bloody pulp by a burst of assault rifle fire, all while Boss continued to poke out and engage. Linda ran forward, sliding across to just within an inch of the chasm while firing her sniper rifle. She took cover behind another box and sniped three Trandos with one shot.

Sev was quick, too, running forward and throwing a grenade over the Trandos' heads, before aiming and sniping said grenade, which rained shrapnel down upon them and killed three Trandoshans as well. Chief and Boss exchanged a look that told both were thinking of the same thing:Their snipers were now in an unspoken competition. They ran out into cover, pressing their advantage and gunning down several more trandos on their own.

One rushed Boss, slamming into him and pinning him to the floor. It was a sword-wielding, armor-less trando. He lifted up both blades to try and come down on the Katarn-wearer, but the gauntlet-mounted vibro-knife punched a hole clean through his jaw and into his brainstem. Boss pushed the corpse off and sheathed the knife, drew his pistol and fired repeatedly at another advancign one while his fellow special forces laid waste to anything else that moved.

Sev ran to him and helped him to his feet, stating, "Nice kill, Boss."

"Thanks, Sev," The man replied, wiping some of the gooey blood of the Trandoshan off his chest. He grabbed his DC-17m and looked up just in time to see Chief surge forward, slamming into a pair of the lizards. One fell to the ground and had his head stomped in, while the other received an M6 Magnum round in his left eye, which tore his head in half.

The Delta Sniper quipped, "Starting to like them," as they walked back over to the Spartans. Boss let out a hum, then a nod of approval.

Chief wiped his boot on the dead Trando and asked, "They usually this viscous?" while looking at the remnants of the green lizard's head, plastered across the steel floor. Above, a hydraulic liquid pipe burst a tiny leak, droplets of the gunk dripping down, mixing with the blood of the alien bastard. Boss let out the first short laugh he'd ever let out this mission, then sighed and nodded.

All four looked back, hearing the noises of the Flood grow closer, then decided to take the ramp up to get across. Linda also noticed and pointed, "There's explosive charges on the supports. They were probably going to collapse the roof if the situation got bad enough," and they marched past the 'secondary' controls to the main doors below the landing leg.

"Lucky us, they didn't have time..." Sev replied, "Good eyes."

"Thanks," Linda replied, "Good aim."

Sev gave a a nod of approval back. The four-man team continued forward to the RV point, with Chief listening to Cortana as she mumbled something to herself. He hummed once, really quickly, but just slow enough for her to pick it up. She sighed and said, "Sorry... Remembering some not-so-pleasant memories back on High Charity. I'll be fine, though..."

"Okay," He replied. He fully trusted his partner.

Looking upon Boss, he realized that he was starting to properly trust the clones, too. Despite being a bit more talkative and zany than the average Spartan-II, almost on par with IIIs, in fact, they were professional, well-kept, well-trained and well-equipped. The four-man fireteam pushed forward like a more well-oiled machine now, eyes peeled for any possible breaches, until they reached the side of the chasm and the door opposite the way they came in.

Chief showed the group to halt, then pointed at the pillars on which bombs were placed, asking, "Those walls don't lead to the outside, correct?"

"No," Boss replied, "Closest point to the void is below the strut itself. The doors are reinforced enough for meager det charges like that not to do anything, though," before humming. He understood why the Chief asked and gave him a nod of approval while Sev got to work on cracking open the door. Linda drew her sniper at John's order, aimed and fired at the det charges. A daisy-chained explosion collapsed a chunk of the armored roof down onto the catwalk and dented even the landing strut, blocking the path of the Flood.

Sev gave a thumbs up as the door opened to another cramped corridor. The entire group paused, however, as they shined lights inside and started seeign the faint traces of biomass growing out of the walls, the lights flickering, dust and spores floating in the air. The four sealed their suits tightly, to make sure not even one supercell could breach their defenses, then marched forward. Boots first clanked against metal before they made contact with the gunk-covered portions of the fleshy floor.

"Status?" Boss inquired over com, only to pause as they turned a corner and saw the team already at the door. Both pairs, weapons ready and boots soiled by the biomass, worked to unlock the door. The Spartans pulled, tugging the locked metal gate to try and either rip it open or force it aside, but it was stuck due to flesh in the mechanism. Scorch gave a quick wave to them, Boss sighing deeply, "Nevermind. Chief, Petty Officer. If you don't mind..."

"On it," The Spartans replied, then walked over to help Fred and Kelly prop the door open, both sides pulling with all their might in the same general direction. The rejoined squad, however, paused as the rumble of the Flood grew louder behind them. The Commandoes drew their blasters and aimed them, Scorch and Fixer aiming through the slowly-expanding opening...

The teams prepared for a Droid counterattack, with Ordo coordinating their troops into position just in case the Seppies would decide to do anything a little more brash than their usual. Simulations could never really prepare him, however, as he glanced over his shoulder at the body bags being taken by Marines and fellow Clones down to the LZ. Overhead, in space, the UNSC Infinity and their fleet engaged an outpouring of CIS Reinforcements.

They must've not liked that the Republic had decided to land right in their backyard to look for something or other. He knew from briefings by the General that they were looking for some alien artifact, a chunk of a map of some kind. He cradled his DC-15 blaster as he sat himself down by a heat lamp, not wanting to concern himself with that for now.

He looked over to his right, to see the two UNSC Marines he and his command platoon had moved up this hill with sat by a similar heat lamp. Victor's Machine Gun was set up on a perch, ready to fire at incoming enemy units, while Vesna's rifle lay off to her side, the two of them laughing and reminiscing about something or other from their lives. He wondered what that felt like, to be in love, to feel normal stuff like a normal human being instead of continuously thinking about war.

He almost jumped when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw the Spartan-III, Richard, handing him a ration bar. He sat down by the officer and asked him, "You gonna go on Night Watch after your Sergeant, sir?" to which the Clone nodded. He handed the officer a can of some sort of energy drink, then told him, "Should help you stay awake during the Watch."

"Thank you," The Clone nodded, taking his helmet off and setting it aside. He sipped from the drink, then coughed hoarsely as he tasted what must've been the sweet'n'sour taste of battery acid. He shook his head and raised a brow, confused, before asking, "Why did you give me battery acid in a can...?" while a slow buzz started creeping up on him, his heart suddenly beating just that little bit faster.

Richard took his own helmet off, joking, "We don't drink Rip It for the taste, sir. Damn thing survived for five hundred years because it's the Marine's preferred poison when it comes to staying awake," before sighing. He looked back, watching as Six and Meetra were engaged in small-talk while checking the lines, then said, "Weird time, this is. Having to fight a war in another Galaxy..."

"Can't guess how you must feel," The Commander nodded, sighing and deciding to just stick with drinking the item he was given, "But imagine how we feel. I and my brothers were made to fight for the Republic in this war and now we hear we're under the command of a specialized, joint human-alien military force from an entire other Galaxy, not to mention working with a four thousand-year-old Jedi..." and he gave an awkward smile, "It's not exactly that easy for me or them to get used to this."

"Amen," Snorted Richard. He paused, however, his right ear twitching. He slid his helmet on. The last face Ordo had managed to see the boy wear was his combative poker-face. The Clone Commander put his own helmet on, grabbed the blaster from beside his seat and watched the boy walk toward the defensive perimeter. Six seemed to have noticed this, drawing his rifle while Meetra drew her saber's hilt, but didn't ignite it.

Victor and Vesna both soon stood to their feet, grabbing their weapons and shouldering them. Over the radio, Meetra's voice called out, "All units, prepare for contact..." in a low whisper. The Spartans tensed, while the Clone Troopers, roused from slumber or relaxation, joined the Marines. The thundering, distant steps of the supporting AT-TE and crack of the Scorpions' tracks filled their ears, while Gunships began to hover gently just behind the treeline.

The Commander watched Richard shoulder his rifle, aiming down the sights... Then he blinked as a burst of tracers lit the night sky. The Spartan's rifle coughed again and the Clone officer soon followed where the shots were going with his own. The two hilltops parallel to each-other and the road erupted in bursts of automatic fire as Commando Droids streamed through the treeline.

Some were shot down mid-sprint. Others managed to climb the hills, firing their own blasters with one hand while drawing their blades with the other. Vesna lifted her rifle and cut one down just as it was climbing to attack them, while the heavy weapon clone behind them also lit the area ahead up in a cone, his Z6 spitting blue bolts at the advancing Droids.

A pair of Clones attempted to fight off three enemy mechs beside Six. One of the Clones lost his head to a vibroblade before the Spartan intervened, punching clean through the first droid, drawing his pistol on the second and nailing it with two SAPHE rounds to the core and engaging the third in hand-to-hand, the agile machine's blade flashing off the shield-coated titanium as the Spartan drew his own knife and swept the legs out from under the droid before pummeling it to the floor and cutting its head off in one swipe.

Meetra ignited her lightsaber and slashed two more droids in half, then grabbed a third with Force Push and clenched her fist, crumpling it into a ball of scrap that she threw at her enemies. She spun the blade and stabbed behind her, cutting clean through a Droid's chest. Katja and Paul soon joined, with Paul's rifle ringing aloud while Katja threw grenades and droid poppers at the enemy units.

The other side reported casualties, too. Some clones, a pair of Marines. The second wave of Mechs washed over the line, Meetra cutting three more down in a brilliant display of swordfighting skill while Six simply relied on his tried and true method of shooting them. Vesna yelped audibly, causing Meetra to swivel about and watch as a droid pounced on her, readying to stab her through the chest.

Her husband grabbed the mech, slammed it against the wall and kicked its head clean off, before helping her up and handing her her rifle. The two smiled and nodded to one-another, before continuing to gun down the mechs. It made Meetra crack a small smile, too, though she focused on helping the Spartans defend against the onslaught, watching Richard manage to duel the Bots hand-to-hand like a pro, gutting several of them.

Six pushed up beside his adopted Brother, the two of them now switching back to firing their weapons while Ordo showed off his own CQC skills, dodging several swipes and slashes from the mechanoid trying to gut him. He parried a strike with his DC15, which was cut in half, but stopped the strike. He then twisted the weapon, disarming the mech and grabbing its sword for himself.

He vivisected the robot with its own blade, then grabbed a fallen M6 Magnum off the ground and utilized the two weapons in conjunction with each-other. His voice bellowed, "TROOPERS, GAMMA FORMATION!" which caused his brothers to form up into two ranks, first firing their blasters at the advancing assault while the second lobbed Droid Poppers over cover, defeating the advancing force.

The droid raiding party soon retreated, leaving behind two dozen destroyed Commando Droids and maybe a dozen dead from the UNSC's troops. General Surik sighed as she clipped the hilt to her belt, then crossed her arms, looking at the dead as they were put up in body bags again, then looked over to the enemy's last distant AAA position, before stating, "Might have to really accelerate the program..." to nobody in particular. The lights of the city they were gonna surround flickered in the corners of her peripheral vision, too...

Hell of a rough fight was waiting.

Chapter Text

The flank around the city was now proceeding. Marines and Clones advanced through the forest around Nathema’s capital, blasters and bullets zipping to and fro between the Republic-aligned troops and the Confederacy’s droid army, with battalions of droids unseen in the jungle. The Republic and UNSC troops were firing at the muzzle flashes themselves.

Meetra led the formation, performing a dance that could be equated to almost ritualistic behavior. With her blade, she deflected bolt after bolt back at the battalions of Droids hiding in the thicket, while the Scorpions and AT-TEs behind her advanced, firing their cannons at any enemy that dared poke their head out, or anything on thermals that seemed like a problem.

Beside her, Noble Six, Commander Ordo and Sergeant Johnson headed the formation, with the ‘Misfits’ and several other Marine and Clone platoons not far behind, taking cover behind trees and returning fire to the best of their abilities. Meetra slammed herself against a tree, too, deflected a shot off to the right and ordered, “Prime droid poppers!” before she threw her lightsaber forward.

Like a boomerang, it returned after the audible cries of several Droids being beheaded. She looked at Six, handed him one of the Droid Poppers and watched the Clones push on through. She grabbed the Commander with the Force and pulled him back into a proper covered position, then pushed up with Six next to the man, before telling him, “Keep your head down for a bit!”

“Sorry, ma’am! We’ve been ‘programmed’ with default aggressiveness in mind!” The man replied. He shouldered his blaster and fired as the rest of the team they’d picked out for the advance joined them, Victor’s SAW chattering, belts clinking together as the man and his Assistant Gunner backed him up. Beside them, the other Misfits surged forward, lobbing Droid Poppers in-synch with the Lieutenant.

Johnson himself shifted his aim and fired a slug right at a Commando droid that was trying to punch through the line. The shot clipped the automaton’s right shoulder joint, causing its arm to drop, limp. It glared at Johnson, drew its vibroblade, then charged forward. Johnson, however, showed his years of experience, expertly dodging through the blade swings before kicking the droid back.

He kicked it again, pinned it against a tree with the barrel of his shotgun, then pumped two shots into its torso, ripping through the thicker armor plating and spilling oil across the trunk. The bot collapsed the moment Johnson let it go, allowing the Sergeant-Major to quip, “You tin cans oughta learn we Marines ain’t easily spooked!”

Two of his Marine buddies pushed up, Battle Rifle and MA40 thundering while the Misfits moved up to flank. Meetra smiled, then looked to Six, who shouldered his DMR and sniped two Super-Battle Droids that were about to push through shrubbery in order to try and kill them. Meetra followed up the shots by utilizing Force Speed and cutting them in half with her Lightsaber.

She was a bit surprised to see the Spartan had kept up with her, while Ordo was running up to join them. All three paused as two Clones were gunned down on the spot by a trio of normal Battle Droids, which the Jedi quickly dispatched by using the Force to squash them into heaps of scrap. She ran forward and her hand shot out again, a burst of electrifying lightning arcing from her hand and wrapping around a platoon of around thirty Droids.

The devastating burst of energy overloaded the Machines’ processors, bursting their chests and internal wiring as short-circuits cascaded. She pushed past the droids and cut down three more with rapid swings of her lightsaber before the first of those she’d destroyed with that shot of lightning  fell to the floor.

She shifted her lightsaber in a flash, deflecting another pair of bolts toward a Droideka. Six was quick on the uptake, charging the machine and sliding right into its shield. The barrel of his rifle wound up pointed at its chin. The gun barked a second later and the shot burst circuitry and oil, the shield soon folding in on itself and vanishing.

Richard followed up by appearing behind the Destroyer’s bondmate as it was rolling in, grabbing it mid-roll and doing a quick pirouette before throwing it back at another group of Droids, which broke them and sent it flying into a tree. Two Clone troopers finished the Droid off with bursts from their blasters as the troops continued the advance, with Meetra gazing up at the sky from amidst the canopy.

A white flash, followed by a rippling explosion filled the sky. A second later, Roland reported over the com, “ Reinforcement deployment may resume at your order, General Surik. We’re all ready up here… ” while the cheers of the Infinity’s crews echoed over the communication system. She smiled at that, happy to finally be able to call down extra backup.

She looked at the city to their far left and ordered, “Negative on the Reinforcements yet, Roland. We have another enemy Anti-Air Battery situated farther behind the city that we’re working to take out. Keep them on the hot-seat though. Once it’s clear, we’ll send the request. Do feel free to send anything SEAD you might have so we can focus on just surrounding the city, though.”

“ Heh. Roger that, ma’am. Air Support’s en-route. ” 

“That solves one problem!” Richard quipped, ducking into cover and reloading his rifle. He shifted his aim and fired at a Sniper droid in a tree as the wail of fusion and ion engines filled their ears. Overhead, a pair of Longswords flew in low as the thunder of the planet’s anti-air flak gun echoed, explosions shaking the fighter-bomber of the UNSC Navy.

Its bomb bay opened, revealing what looked to be a cruise missile. It lowered and released, guided on its path by the signatures of the Droids and their anti-air battery as the fighter veered off. A distant thump filled the ears of the soldiers, muffled by the gunfire around them, followed by a pillar of smoke rising high into the sky.

Two Y-Wing bombers dived in next, dropping their own payloads at the target and turning that specific chunk of mountain into glass before banking up and powering their engines to the maximum. Meetra had watched the procession of aircraft sweeping over the area, their supporting starfighters doing a final sweep for enemy fighters…

Then, she felt the air knocked out of her lungs as one of her Clone Troopers pounced her. She felt the sizzling heat of a plasma bolt skim over her head and saw the interrupted scarlet beam strike and set a minor fire in a tree. She looked at the Clone as he stood to his feet and fired his blaster with one hand, then said, “Guess you missed that one, ma’am!”

“Was a bit busy watching the airshow!” And it wouldn’t have hurt me either , she first spoke, then thought to herself. She also thought, At least it saved me the necessity of fully explaining how I live yet , before her thoughts shifted to proper words, “Thanks, Trooper. You have a name or number I can call you by?”

“Sir, the boys call me Flattop! Mostly due to my haircut,” He quipped, before ducking into cover as a B1 shot at him. Meetra deflected one of the bolts right back at the droid, striking its head, then nodded to the clone, smiling. He saluted and said, “Just doin’ my job, ma’am!” before he poked out and fired again.

Six and Richard approached the woman while Johnson beat down another pair of Super-Battle Droids with his boys, with Six commenting, “Gotta keep your four-thousand-year-old head down, else we might be the reason the Jedi get pissed,” as a joke. In honesty, the Spartan’s heart had skipped a beat when the bolt had skimmed her hair and nearly killed her.

“Don’t worry, Six,” She grinned confidently, “I’ve faced worse.”

Richard added, “I don’t think we wanna know what you mean, ma’am…” then he looked to Ordo, who simply gave a nod of approval at that. None looked to know what a being four thousand years older than any of them would’ve seen to warrant such nonchalance when faced with the prospect of dying. She was truly a special case.

Meetra’s shoulders sagged, however. She told them, “Yeah, nevermind…” before radioing, “Thanks for the backup, Roland. Tell the troops they’re clear to proceed with deployment. We will mark spots on the BattleNet Tacmap as we see them. Be advised:Multiple hostile units are still fighting within the forest and many more may be active within the city.”

As the troops continued their advance to completely surround the capital, they were meeting stiffer and stiffer resistance, to the point Meetra wondered if they were nearing anything important. Gunships swept in low, firing missile pods and cannons through the trees, ahead of the troops as the sweep continued. CAS was back to standard duty.

“... Did we ever figure out where that Artifact might be, ma’am?” Ordo asked as they scanned the area ahead.

“Either within the capital itself, or in one of the nearby abandoned temples to the Sith…” Meetra spoke, though she wondered if it was a certain, familiar Super Weapon that they had hunted for back during the late days of the Old Republic. She shifted uneasily at the thought of encountering it again, but wondered. There was certainly a feeling of emptiness hidden behind the planet’s newly-flourishing life.

Ah, what being four millennia old did for one’s senses, Meetra thought as she walked forward through the trees. The group walked over the shattered forms of the Confederacy’s wardroids as Gunships overhead started disgorging troops at the spots they specifically selected. She could feel the weight of the world as she watched the troops land.

Vitiate’s touch still permeated this planet, as did the touch of the massive superweapons employed by the Zakuul. She’d never considered just how many Empires rose and fell over the years, but, alas, it was rather impossible to catalog them all from the beginning of the Galaxy. The Force alone knew just how many of them had existed and how tiny a speck Meetra and her friends were in the timeline.

And the Force was a fickle enough God not to tell anyone about it until after they passed into its embrace. She sighed deeply as they exited into a clearing, finding artillery positions being prepared by the Troops for a prolonged siege. Clones and Marines seemed to be getting along well enough, thankfully, with the newly-minted troops of her 337th already being inducted into the UNSC’s ranks with little ruckus.

She looked back and watched Victor and Ordo exchanging words. Vesna and the other Misfits walked at the back, talking with other Clones as well while preparing for what one would assume was going to be a protracted siege. Meetra, however, would be surprised by what came next. She watched a trio of men from the city emerge from the gates, hands raised. They were clad in formal wear, fairly fancy stuff, too, with gold and all.

She blinked, looked at Six and Ordo and asked, “Do people usually surrender…?” 

“... Ma’am, I’m literally new to this…” Ordo spoke, then looked to Noble Six for answers. The Spartan, just as confused as them, shrugged while Richard seemed to be bringing the Civvies and/or officers over now, decloaked beside them and reinforced by a platoon of Marines. Well, this just turned into quite an interesting outing.

The Jedi Exile walked over to them, lightsaber shut off, hilt clipped to her belt and coat over her armor as she approached, a sweat drop on her cheek as she raised a hand in greeting, “Hello, ladies and gentlemen… Don’t worry, we’re only here looking for an artifact of  sort, but we will accept your surrender…” before mumbling, “Should help shake the CIS up a little…”

The Prosecutor

The two teams, finally united under one banner for the next parts of this operation, pushed forward through the dark and damp corridors of the ship, with the others already seeing the effects of the Flood’s takeover of the vessel ahead of them. Flesh pulsed from the walls like the stuff of nightmares, stretching out onto the floor with pustules throbbing and ‘flora’, if whatever the fungal growths were could be called that, seeping pus from between its folds.

Sev spoke, “You weren’t kidding, Scorch. This place looks like hell’s just gone through and redecorated it…” As they walked over the terrifically meaty floor, made of uneven bumps and even worse-looking gashes and wounds. It was then that most of them realized that this stuff was growing all over the ship’s innards.

“This isn’t good,” Kelly mumbled as she scanned the walls, noting holes big enough for infector forms to squeeze through. The air ahead grew a little more heavy, strange, alien-looking protrusions emanating dark-green gas into the hallway. The deeper they walked, the more prevalent the fog grew, to the point where they couldn’t see two feet in front of them.

Chief and Boss both ordered, “Tighten formation…” and the six other members of the combined strike team formed up closely, with the Spartans keeping tabs on their Motion Trackers. Chief asked, “Do you know the way to the engine room, or to the Bridge?” while looking straight at Boss in the fog. Cortana, meanwhile, seemed focused on trying to at least access the ship’s BattleNet, going by how ‘hot’ he felt her processes run.

“Like the backs of our hands,” Boss replied, then said, “Engine room is closer,” before taking lead of the formation through the smog. They pushed forward, feet plopping onto the weird flesh-like substance below as they advanced, but there were weirdly no new contacts within the most occupied parts of the ship.

Fixer gagged as they advanced deeper, feeling his feet sinking into the muck, then mumbled, “Kriff, this is awful… Reminds me of the ship cook’s slop…” as they walked forward, trying to keep the lunch he’d had when they were aboard the transport ship down. He felt a hand pat him on the back, then turned to see Scorch on his HUD.

The man joked, “Keep it in, Fixer. I don’t think these helmets have evac ports…”

“You’d’ve thunk they’d include’em,” Kelly quipped, though her voice was monotone due to her razor focus on the matters at hand. She pied every corner while Fred took the other, with Linda at the back, weapons at the ready. Scorch did let out an awkward laugh, but also decided it’d be a good idea to keep his weapon ready.

They passed through a side corridor and managed to finally get out of the smog. Air filtration systems whirred around them as they entered said corridor and found it to be closer to the side of the hull, with a thick transparasteel window showing the outside world and the flickering stars speckling the area around the ship like a Dyson swarm.

Boss stopped the group in the room, sealed the door behind them with a blaster shot and looked at his feet, noting the muck that was covering the floor had embedded itself within the soles. He asked, “How does  this damned stuff spread? The ship has been missing for a while, yes, but that doesn’t mean it should…”

“Flood might already be in the process of forming a Gravemind,” Cortana stated rather bluntly, “Meaning the main thing stopping them from going Galactic is us. They’ll take over the ship, take its components and use the Captain to re-engage the Hyperdrive. Then, God knows where they’ll jump… Maybe aim for a populated planet. Maybe even Coruscant.”

“That’d be a problem,” Sev quipped, his voice rough, as he leaned against the wall, “Galaxy-ending according to you guys.”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Chief nodded, then looked toward a broken Terminal and asked Cortana, “Did you manage to decrypt anything from the Data you accessed beforehand?” while approaching it. He ran his hands over the glass of the interface, cracked and drilled by two blaster rounds, circuitry below probably melted and fused together.

“I did,” Cortana replied, then switched to a Blue Team-Only channel, “And I don’t think any of you are gonna like this… Based on what little I can collate from the corrupted database of the ship’s com system, they called up Republic High Command when they found whatever debris they found with the Flood on them… Palpatine answered.”

“The Chancellor?” Linda asked after having shut off her helmet’s external mics, “What does that mean for us?”

“Transcripts, or what little of them is left? They say he authorized the recovery of the Gunship, ordered it brought to a special area of Coruscant for ‘testing’...” Cortana offered, before bringing up the data on everyone’s screens. Scribbles of numbers and symbols replaced what would normally have been words, but what little of it was identifiable relayed exactly what the AI had told them.

“... He wanted to bring the Flood to Coruscant,” Fred mumbled, shifting his gaze to the Commandos, “Should we let them know?”

Chief sighed deeply, then told them, “Maybe when we’re off this boat,” before turning on his mic again and stating, “We should move. We have to destroy this ship before the Flood gains full control of it. Scorch, do you have enough det-packs to daisy-chain into a big enough blast? Destroying the hyperdrive should give us a pretty good window to leave. Even if it doesn’t destroy the ship, it will be dead in the water.”

Scorch sounded uncomfortably giddy at the prospect of getting to blast a hole in the Hyperdrive, answering with, “You bet your behind, Chief. I’ve got enough packs with me to blast a hole through the armor of the ship, so the Hyperdrive should be no biggie!” before pulling out one of said det-packs, probably wearing a dumb grin behind his helmet.

“Great, you got him worked up,” Sev joked, “Won’t hear the end of it when we manage to burn this place.”

“Shame…” Boss said, “If it wasn’t for these things, we could’ve preserved the ship and got it back to working order,” then he showed the team to follow. Opening and closing the next door, they shuttered it behind them with a blaster bolt. They pushed out into the corridor, finding more biomass growing, though in spots instead of across the whole corridor.

The team pushed forward, eyes on their Motion Trackers as they did so, weapons scanning each hole in the wall or loose panel in case the enemy made itself known, to try and grab them from behind or something. They kept on going until they reached yet another area of the ship where there were chunks of the Biomass. The four Commandos tensed, which caused the Spartans to grow a little more wary as well. 

Fixer mumbled audibly, “This isn’t good. We’re nearing the engine room…” as they pushed past what looked like human corpses embedded into the walls in grotesque mosaics of suffering. Added upon them were Trandos, soon enough visible as their distorted and twisted bodies greeted the group in the hallways, their bellies glowing as infectors gestated within.

Chief paused as a flicker of a UNSC IFF tag appeared on his HUD. Cortana let out an, “Uh-oh…” her voice low, but sharp. The Spartans all exchanged looks, then looked to the Commandos with concern. The Commandos nodded and already prepped their blasters, just in case whatever it was decided to swing high and hard.

When they got to the engine room, the group paused, however…

The sight of a thousand of those aliens, all clad in either Republic naval uniforms or otherwise, or turned Trandoshans stumbling in the darkness, various forms of grotesque transformation amidst them. They crowded around a central piece of technology, a large block of something dead ahead of them in the cavernous engine bay.

It and the engine ignition chambers were wrapped by the fleshy form of the Flood, tentacles dancing with purulent flowers at their tips, while the beasts below seemed to almost chitter in unison toward a central being coalescing into one monster. Chief blinked, noting the corpse of the ship’s captain, his dark grey uniform stained by his own blood and the virulent touch of the flood, his body entombed in the central mass, being absorbed…

“God…” Cortana murmured, her voice cracking, while the Clones themselves seemed to be trying to hold down their lunches. Kelly, Fred and Linda looked at their CO, then looked at the enemy and then at Scorch, who was quickly chaining together the explosives for one cohesive blast. Kelly herself handed him a pack of C12 for the extra kick.They could tell both Chief and Cortana were shaken by what they were seeing ahead.

A dark reminder of what they’d faced on Alpha Halo so many years ago…

Chapter Text

The Prosecutor’s aft exploded in a thunderous display of fiery violence. First, the reverberations rang across the insides of the vessel, shaking awake whatever surviving Trandoshans and Clone Troops there were aboard, before silence fell upon the engine room, a cratering hole dug by the mass of explosive charges thrown by the mixed Commando-Spartan team down below. A multitude of the Flood Forms present were sucked out as the atmosphere of the ship began to drain into the hole.

The Spartans and Commandos had rushed to the door before the bomb, set on a timer to detonate, had exploded amidst the Flood armada present on the deck. Those that didn’t get sucked out were the ones attached to the ship’s hull and, obviously, the Proto-Gravemind that lay in the middle, covering the now destroyed Hyperspace drive and heavily-damaged engines.

Sat atop the Gravemind was the form of the Captain, a skeletal humanoid frame, all nutrients, fat and muscle tissue added upon the Parasite’s sickening form. Martz’s corpse was the sickening jewel of the grotesque crown of the Infection aboard the former home of Delta Squad. His frame, mixed with a thousand others from Clones to human officers, screamed, voice muffled by the void. 

He sickeningly ripped himself off of the Flood’s massive Pre-Gravemind form, tearing pus-filled, necrotic flesh at the seams as he crawled out from amongst the consumed corpses of his crew, sharpened claws made of altered, putrid bone sprouting from each of his fingers, while what remained of his legs propelled him forward, dripping dried, infected blood onto the grating.

He charged the Spartans and Commandos with a deafening scream, his claws digging into the armored plate as he surged forward, then jumped onto the catwalk they’d thrown their improvised explosive from, his hand shooting out as something inside him screamed in both anger and agony. Shards of bone shot forth…

Delta squad slammed a button and the door shut, the atmosphere stabilizing within the hallway of the ship even as the razor-sharp bone fragments pierced the bulkhead durasteel. Scorch’s voice cracked as he asked, “Look, I’m not sure I actually wanna know, but is that similar to what you’ve seen…?” as he pointed at Chief. The Spartan nodded, unease in every mechanical move, from reloading his rifle to checking his data.

Cortana spoke, “Worse… That Proto-gravemind’s mobile and-” only for a muffled crack of steel to echo behind the door, in the ceiling. She blinked, told them over radio,  “And it just found the air vents, John, we should get moving to the Bridge ASAP, get me into the computer systems so we can trigger the self destruct…” 

“Lead the way,” Chief told Boss. He nodded, showed Cortana to display whatever may of the transport ship she could on the Spartans’ HUDs, then started moving forward, blaster rifle at the ready. It seemed, however, that whatever they’d done had royally pissed off the Flood in the area. Angered screams, changed into terrifying wails by their surroundings, soon flooded the entire vessel from bow to the aft.

“Internal ship sensors just picked up mass amounts of movement,” Fixer spoke, then clarified, “They really don’t like us…”

“It. It doesn’t like us,” Chief clarified, then took a left with Boss. The rest of the team followed to a series of maintenance hallways that, though they were still lined with biomass, were far less hard to traverse than elevator shafts, which Chief had soon assumed were overwhelmed by Flood. The team ran up the ship’s rear now, pretty much.

Doors sealed behind them, Cortana stating, “I and Fixer are working on keeping the Flood away from this specific stairwell. You guys, just keep moving ,” with the team wordlessly agreeing as they surged up the stairwell. Flood forms appeared from at the doors just as they were closing and trying to breach through them, but a blaster bolt or a shotgun blast kept them at bay.

“First time I’ve run this much since Basic,” Sev spoke, terrifyingly calm, though clearly eager for action. Linda hummed in agreement, keeping her dual at hand as they moved. The Clone commando snapped a shot off at an Infector form trying to sneak through a half-opened door, then watched Linda fill its bigger combat-oriented brother full of bullets just as the door shut.

Scorch, though clearly afraid, quipped, “First time I’ve run this much ever, here!”

“You’re the demo expert,” Sev joked, grinning obviously behind his helmet.

The explosives expert snorted and said, “Doesn’t involve that much running! Just walking away before Boss hits the det-” only to get cut off as the scream of the mobile Gravemind filled their ears, followed by the Commando disappearing down the flight of stairs as the monster emerged out of an air duct. Scorch’s blaster sang.

“Scorch!” Sev barked as he turned around, “Son of a Bantha-herdin’-”

Down below, a hard thump echoed, followed by the muffled screech of the monster. Scorch radioed, “ I’m alright ! Just at the base of the stairwell again… And going by the dents in the door, with a bunch of pissed-off Flood trying to get me ! Go ! I’ll catch up !” but his blaster chimed in down below, blue flashes filling the darkness.

“Like hell!” Sev spoke, drawing his sniper.

Kelly jumped down and called, “Scorch, check your twelve high! I’m coming down!” only to land with a hard clang as she locked her armor, her boots denting the floor. She drew her shotgun down below and the gun audibly roared. Sev watched the two fight down below, with Kelly calling, “ Like Scorch said, we’ll catch up !”

“We can wait,” Sev spoke as he sniped one of the monsters charging Kelly. He paused as the door on their level thumped, bone, sinew and flesh crashing hard against steel. He saw the Door on their level denting and murmured, “Kriff…” as he aimed and fired again, nailing another of the Undead clean through the infection form that kept him alive.

Boss and Chief had to make a hard decision now. Leave two of their own to fight their way out, or… They exchanged looks and both nodded at one-another. Chief pulled up his com and said, “Kelly, you and Scorch find us an Evac site. When we disable the coms blackout and activate the Self-Destruct, you call the Adviser and tell him we’ll need a ride.”

“ Roger ! See you guys at the nearest hole in the bulkheads !” Kelly replied as she fought down below. Scorch beside her gave a thumbs up at the team, before aiming his blaster and firing up and around them, keeping the Infectors that were crawling out of the vents away. He also started helping Kelly clear a path via judicious use of thermal dets.

“We’re leaving them behind!?” Sev demanded, angered.

“We’re not. Kelly and Scorch can handle themselves while they clear us a path,” Boss said as he walked over to Sev, hitting him on the shoulder gently, “We’ve still got a mission,” and he saw the door crack here and break on two floors above Scorch and Kelly as the two fought down below. Swarms of the creatures jumped down, while others advanced up the stairs.

Sev grit his teeth, then growled and switched his blaster to standard rifle config and fired away as they restarted their run up the stairwell. When they reached their intended floor, Boss hit the button to open it and blasted the first Infection form that appeared. Beside him, Sev knelt and squeezed the trigger at full auto, sweeping the entire white hallway.

The bolts boiled away the bodies of the parasitic lifeforms that were once their brothers in arms and the Trandos that must’ve attempted to raid them. The white, tech-covered walls behind them exploded with pus and fast-drying blood and black plasma scoring. Behind them, the three other Spartans and Fixer opened up.

The entire wall behind the formation of virulent creatures soon turned into scorch marks and bullet holes, purging whatever infection was bubbling up from amongst the Panels. Boss led the way with Chief again, firing their weapons from the lead, bolts and bullets cutting through mutated flesh and shearing off bone claws.

Behind them, Fred, Fixer, Linda and Sev pushed on, Sev still mildly angry that they’d split from Scorch. He trusted Kelly could do the job and keep him safe, however, and going by the whooping and cheering from Scorch as shotgun blasts filled their ears, they were doing it. Boss took a left turn and staggered as he saw a platoon of Droids… Engaging the enemy.

One of the Droids noticed them and  spoke, “Clones!” only to turn its blaster and fire… Past Boss’s head and into a monster that was about to pounce him. The Droid spoke again, “Programming priorities have changed! Command vessel has ordered the destruction of this ship! If you wanna help, we’ll clear a path!”

Two Super-Battle Droids armed with arm-mounted cannons pushed forward next, their thundering feet slamming into the floor as they fired the heavy weapons. Even so, the monsters advanced toward them, slashing and clawing at the bots. Though surprised, the team of special forces chose not to look a gift horse in the mouth, pushing past them to the bridge.

When they entered the cavernous windowed bridge, they were met by Flood-infected Crew. They quickly dispatched them with shot and shell before quickly advancing up to the second level. Cortana stated, “There should be a nearby access console I can hack! Watch out for the Captain, though… I’m seeing a lot of movement in the vents.”

The teams set up in defensive positions, weapons at the ready as Chief slotted Cortana into a connection port. He moved up beside Boss, took a knee and aimed his rifle at the door as the blasters in the distance grew quieter and quieter. Chief pulled his com up and said, “Kelly, we’re on the bridge and are about to trigger the Self Destruct. Status report?”

“ Bit busy, Chief, but we’re nearing the Hangar !” Kelly replied, angrily.

… With Kelly and Scorch, however, the show on display was amazing for the demolition specialist.

Kelly kicked high, spattering blood and pus all over the wall to the left, knelt and blasted the creature with the shotgun to shatter its upper body and pumped the pump, dumping the freshly-spent, still hot brass shell out before firing again. The buckshot rounds tore through the next creature and the one behind it, staggering the latter and eviscerating the former.

In the hallways filled with biomass, Scorch was now watching with muted awe as Kelly basically single-handedly cleared them a path. Standing to his feet, he joined her next, firing his blaster on full auto into the crowd of aliens while considering switching to the AT attachment. He paused when he saw Kelly kick down one of the Flood combat forms, stomp its chest in to collapse the Infector, then kicking it again to sever the spine.

“Kriff me,” The Demo expert mumbled as he fired, blue bolts being exchanged with infected Clones still wielding their firearms. He had shields, like Kelly, and they didn’t, though. Poor blasted bastards only had their broken plastoid armor and Kelly’s shotgun seemed to be doing a number on them as well.

“How much longer to the first Hangar!?” She demanded as she slung her now-empty shotgun onto her back and punched the first Flood she caught ahead. And punched through it, a sickening crunch denoting the cracking spine of the Clone trooper infected with the Parasite. She gasped as a much larger Trando charged her, ducking under the mutant infected lizard’s swings, pinning it to the wall and letting Scorch put three bolts into its chest cavity.

When it was dead, she let it fall, drew and reloaded her shotgun and heard Scorch reply, “Keep them off me! It’s just to our left!” before he pushed up to a door and started slicing through the wiring to a heavy bulkhead. When he managed to cut the right wire for the door to open… An infernal roar echoed through the place.

Kelly saw something flicker on her Heads-Up Display. A distorted display of a friendly IFF. When she peeked inside, she gasped, seeing a corrupted Pelican sat in the middle of the bay, a bunch of dead Clones being eaten by the Biomass, the walls being lined with said Biomass to the point even the gunships probably couldn’t take off…

… And a sole Spartan-IV, infected. It screamed aloud when it noticed them, causing the hull to shudder…

“... Chief. We’ve got a problem…”

Nathema

Meetra watched quietly as the occupation of the city began in earnest. Though temporary, making sure that the sole Space Port of the agrarian planet was under their control was important enough. Clones, Marines and a garrison of Army troops secured the places around, making sure no enemy force would either be able to land or flee.

With this intent in mind, Meetra checked her own equipment, making sure her armor was up to snuff for dealing with whatever lay in the thick forests around. There were Sith temples built in this place aeons ago, meaning possible traps, defenses from the Old Republic Era and maybe even one or two more ‘recent’ issues.

If they were unlucky. 

Last she’d heard, the Sith, though they still might’ve existed, were in hiding. No news, no hints at new arrivals. The only one she could so far sense was off and maybe close to a more master planner was the Chancellor, though, without straight-up evidence, she would just be pointing fingers. It was why she thanked the Force the UNSC was around.

Sure, she’d worked with Sith during the Eternal Alliance days and had pretty much also fought that psychotic cult dedicated to Nihilus to their very timely and very earned deaths during the High Republic Era. Hell of a damnable Crisis that had been. She felt like an old lady even during that time, but…

She jolted, feeling a tap on her shoulder, then looked back. She smiled when she saw Noble Six approaching, the Spartan-III having even removed his helmet to greet her. He snapped a salute and said, “Away team’s ready the moment you want to move out, ma’am,” and he looked back at the rest of the platoon of Clones and Marines. And Richard, obviously.

She looked ahead as Ordo marched up to her, clicked his heels and saluted, then stated, “We’ve secured the city, ma’am. There’s no visible hostile resistance in the area of operations, but I’ll be sending the platoon that supported us to verify that destroyed enemy position uphill with your approval.”

“Go ahead, Commander,” She saluted back, then said, “At ease.”

The Commander stepped off without another word, Six remarking, “He and his brothers are good soldiers…” before turning toward the General. She smiled at that, then showed him and the rest of the team to follow her into the woods. Approximately forty people moved into the trees, several humping com equipment.

One of the Misfits who did join the General was Paul, the guy who had helped the newly-minted 501st squad, ‘Domino’, defend Rishi Outpost and, more importantly, managed to warn the Republic that the enemy was targeting their supply routes. He was a tough old bastard from what Meetra had gathered, his service record stretching back to even before Reach by a little, though Reach was where he’d made his name.

Beside him was Katja, his old childhood friend from the former largest bastion of humanity in the Milky Way Galaxy. And, obviously, a few Clones and other Marines, as well as Richard, their forward scout. The young man was fairly keen on advanced scout duty, obviously. He was young, brash and rough around the edges, but he was a good guy.

Speaking of good guys… 

She cast a glance over at Noble Six and said, “You mind if we talk for a bit?” while the team formed into a staggered column, at least two meters apart from one-another in some cases. The Spartan hummed, carrying his signature DMR with its safety off as they stepped deep into the jungle. He nodded to his General to go on and she smiled, “Nice. I was gonna ask about… Well, your team…” and the smile faded a bit as she heard the clinking Dog Tags.

“... What do you want to know, ma’am?” The Spartan asked after a moment’s hesitation. He was already prepared for this kind of conversation, but it was still gonna be a pain to answer. Mainly because he did care about his team in the end, obviously enough. He cared about Noble, he thought, and wanted to keep their memory alive.

“I felt that hesitation, Lieutenant,” She smiled sadly, then sighed and continued, “Not much, just how you viewed them,” as she tied her messy ponytail better, then running her hand through her hair as she scanned the treeline around them. She noted their team’s positions, too, to make sure they wouldn’t get surprised.

“They were good people. All of them. Noble Team was the finest mixed Spartan unit I’ve ever met…” Six spoke rather melancholically, though it was almost perfectly concealed behind his usual stoicism. Said stoicism didn’t rival that of the Chief, however, with clear cracks showing the true self of the young male Spartan…

“Sounds like you really cared for them,” The woman spoke like it was fact. And it was, obviously. She could feel as much even from someone not touched by the Force. His body language, the way he revered his friends enough to carry their tags. There was something that must’ve flipped in that mind of his when he became part of NOBLE.

“I did,” The Spartan sighed deeply, then continued, “Even six weeks’ service with them was enough to form a bond. I’d also been part of the same company as the Second-In-Command, so that helped get me some leeway, even if she wasn’t the most welcoming at first,” before he felt for Kat’s tag exactly in the pouch, finding it even through the gauntlet glove and the fabric of the pouch.

“Heh. What, were you not as charming as you are now?” Meetra teased jokingly, garnering the laughter of a few of the Marines and even a couple of Clones. The rest of them managed to stow their laughter. Barely, Meetra and Six both noted. With Richard in the distance ably dodging this kind of awkward conversations.

“I was more of a loner,” Six had chosen to ignore the joke for now, simply keeping his eyes peeled and senses sharp as they stepped through the shrubs, leaves brushing against their armor, crunching underfoot and dry, fallen branches snapping as they walked over them. Ahead of them, the mountain drew closer with each step.

“Like I couldn’t tell that just by how much you hang out alone on board the Infinity ,” The General offered as she crossed her arms to her chest, hiding them beneath the sleeves of her robe, much like she hid her armor and lightsaber hilt currently. Seriously, he was very hard to find among the crowds, even when he was alone.

“You’ve adapted to our language surprisingly quickly,” Six ignored that joke as well as they walked, shifting his gaze left and watching a Marine launch a small flying drone that linked to the squad’s BattleNet, allowing them to view everything ahead, including their intended target of the cratered enemy AAA site. Well, that would be their campsite for the evening as they dived deeper into the lush areas covered by plant life.

“What’s English but less fancy Basic?” The General joked, smirking proudly. 

“I think you just collectively called the entire human race from the Milky Way dumb, ma’am,” The Spartan spoke with a slightly teasing voice. ‘Slightly’ here meant a barely audible amount of teasing. She really had to work on his ability to speak with emotion in his voice. It was still just enough to make her pout, though.

“Not fair,” She scoffed, then looked away and mumbled, “I was mostly joking anyway,”

“Were you this way before you became immortal, General?” The Spartan asked, surprised at just how easygoing a woman of her pedigree was right now. Especially considering the age. She was nice, though, so, the Spartan thought it couldn’t be that bad for her to be this relaxed. He knew she was hiding something deep down, however, like he was.

“For the most part. I got a little less fun as I aged…” She smiled at him, lowering her arms by her side, then added, “Mostly due to events outside of my control,” in a mumble as she looked away again, to hide the frown that formed on her face. The Spartan noticed it, of course, as did the other members of the Fireteam.

“I see. Guess I’m not the only one with baggage,” He joked as he thumbed the weapon’s fire selector to safe and back once, to make sure he had it properly set. Spartan fidget toys, Meetra thought to herself, kind of cute. And dangerous, obviously, considering these were lead-based weapons, meaning that if she ever pissed them off enough to get shot at, she wouldn’t have anywhere to run, really.

“Not by a country mile,” She replied instead, chuckling a little as they delved deeper into the forest and reached the base of the mountain and started climbing it on foot. Night began to set on this side of the planet, the sun slowly hiding in the distance, behind the rising peaks of other hills and mountains where their target might’ve been…

… Back in the capital of Nathema, Ordo was sat on a box, helmet off his head as he watched the UNSC Military Police do their job of policing, making sure the civilians were home for the curfew being put in place as they occupied the location. He sighed, checking his equipment over, then stood up, slid his helmet under his arm and gazed back at the local tavern where a squad of Marines was checking the place… He turned to walk away…

Only to get knocked off his feet as an explosion rocked the entire main road of the place. His ears rang loudly as tinnitus set in and he’d fallen flat onto his stomach, the shockwave having knocked the air out of his lungs. He turned his head back in a daze, watching a cloud of dust and debris rising into the night sky.

He felt a hand clasp at his arm and felt himself hefted to his feet by a Spartan-IV deployed in the latest wave of the occupation force. He looked ahead still, swallowed as the ringing grew to its loudest, then slowly faded out until all they could hear was cries for help. He blinked, shook his head to clear the shock, slid his helmet on and barked, “Get the Pararescue down onto the planet, NOW!” at a com officer.

He ran forward into the cloud of dust and debris, blaster in hand, and kicked the flimsy, broken door of the tavern out of its melting hinges. Inside, screams and cries for help became audible. He took a step forward, igniting the flashlight on his rifle, then gasped as he saw the epicenter of the explosion:the half-circle bar counter and bar themselves were gone, cratered. 

Three patrons lay dead to his right. Two more on the left. On the ground, writing in pain, civilians, Marines and even some of his brothers alike begged for help. Two of his brothers now lacked legs and an arm, or were horribly burned. He felt his heart begin to race, but forced his mind to settle as he called, “THERE’S SURVIVORS! GET ME A MEDIC IN HERE!” over com and loudly to anyone outside.

A Corpsman and two Clone medics jumped inside, too. The Commander told them, “Get the wounded out of here before this entire thing collapses! MOVE!” only to stow his rifle onto his back and switch on a helmet-mounted flashlight as he pushed through the smog. Fires still burned above from the spirits even as he helped drag corpses and the wounded out to be evacuated.

He helped with triage, checking the wounded himself and even saying a short word in Mando’a for his dead brothers and their comrades, then he froze as he heard screaming again. He looked to his right and saw a Marine, a wounded man that had survived the blast by sheer fortune of having walked out of the tavern at the right time, pointing a pistol at a family of locals.

He ran forward before any Spartan or MP could, pushed the gun of the Marine down and called out to him, “Marine! Calm down!” before looking at the MPs and stating, “Get the civilians to their homes and start asking questions! I want to know who the hell planted that bomb and set it off! If there’s still a Seppie presence in the city, I want them outed!”

The Marine trembled, lowering his pistol and falling to his knees. The Commander nodded at him, taking a knee in front of him and checking his injuries. A broken right orbital bone, shards of shrapnel in the right arm and one in his side. He sighed deeply, then looked back as the Misfits rushed in to help, too, with their medic, a redhead with blue eyes, gently laying the Marine down.

He held onto the Commander’s hand for a bit, leaving a coagulating red smudge on his glove and the armor pad on top. A smudge that soon congealed to a dark brownish color. The man held onto his fellow soldier’s hand as they transported him to arriving Pelicans, then saw the Marine off on the transport. 

He would find out later that night that that Marine hadn’t made it. There’d been another bit of shrapnel in his chest… His blood still stained the Commander’s gauntlet. Blood of the same color as his and his brothers’. There was no doubt that the Marines were comrades in arms, obviously, but… Something set in Ordo’s mind then.

He needed to get that Police action going…

Chapter Text

“What?!” Chief blanked. The single, sharp rise in his voice caused the entire rest of the mixed Spartan and Commando unit to freeze, chills shooting up their spines as they looked back at him. He clicked his tongue, then said, “We’re nearly done. Try and get rid of him. If you can’t find a route off this ship, hold him in place…”

Linda turned to face the man as their Motion Trackers began picking up a multitude of Flood forms approaching them. She raised a brow, to which the Chief stated, “Corrupter just hit a new level… Infected SIERRA,” as he racked the bolt of his rifle and supported it against one of the barricades. Cortana scoffed, while Linda and Fred paused.

Boss spoke, “You mean an infected Spartan ?” with the faintest hint of concern in his voice. Chief hesitated for a second, but gave a nod of approval, to which Sev and Fixer both balked. Fixer switched to the anti-tank attachment on his rifle, mumbling something, while Boss stated, “This is gonna get worse before it gets better, then. Deltas, pack it in. Tight formation. Cortana, how much longer on that bomb?”

“Two minutes,” The AI replied as she started pulling more data off the ship’s computer. She whispered to herself, “This is a mess… Connections to the reactor are a tad shot, but I’m working on sending the overload request. Gotta bypass a lot of safeties,” before mounting up an additional setting that would allow her to detonate all shipboard concussion missiles.

“We ever gonna get off this ship?” Sev asked as he checked his weapon, hearing the thumping of the door that Cortana had sealed behind them. He set up his rifle and aimed down the holographic lenses, focusing toward it, before seeing Linda shrug. Fred himself prepared a pair of plasma grenades, just in case the enemy broke through the defenses.

The thumping grew louder, while Sev scoffed and mumbled, “If we aren’t, I’m killing as many of these fierfeks as I can,” before steadying his breath. The team agreed quietly, forming up beside them and aiming right for the door. The rest of the bridge was pretty much surrounded by the void, with any attempt to breach it probably leading to being spaced if the Flood tried.

So, the team waited patiently, watching the door bend inward with every strike from the undead freaks waiting for them outside. They waited and waited, watching as pus and blood began to pour through the hole, followed by the tentacles and claw-arms of combat forms punching through, trying to rip it open.

When the first monster shoved its ugly, deformed maw through, revealing the cracked plastoid armor of a Clone, Sev didn’t hesitate. He put a bolt clean through the Infector form in the chest region, boiling it away and cauterizing the wound. The monster dropped, blaster falling to the floor. As the door cracked open under the weight of a larger form, the team opened fire.

A volley of high-caliber tracers and blaster bolts filled the dead air between them and the ground-floor door, bolts searing through the white metal plates on the walls and cutting through the forms of the beasts ahead, both the clone crew and the Trandoshan combat forms. The corrupted Trandos, green-skinned and covered by Flood tendrils as they were, ran on all fours toward the team.

Their faces had been morphed, split into four distinct jaws lined by sharp teeth that oozed with blood and pus. Their legs and hands had also been modified, giving them a more hound-like or quadrupedal lizard appearance. They died just the same, though, with Sev seeing that as he put a slug clean through the open maw of one of them. It tumbled forward, dead, and caused one of its siblings to scramble.

“Cortana,” Chief requested as he spent his bursts carefully, aiming for the exposed parts of the clone Combat Forms’ bodies and right for the open mouths of the Lizards, trying to avoid their thicker skin. He saw Linda drop to her knees and reload, while Fred, now bereft of the plasma grenades he’d spent to stop an advance on the left, fired his M392 DMR on the fully automatic setting, the kick of the weapon somehow slamming his shoulder hard enough to cause muzzle rise.

Cortana replied with a huff, flashing a timer on their displays. Apparently, getting a Republic ship to self-destruct was pretty tough, Chief thought. He watched the Combat Forms starting to stream up the ramps toward them. He, Boss and Sev took the right side, while Fred, Linda and Fixer took the left, with Fixer himself dumping two Anti-Armor rounds from his DC-17.

Linda sniped the larger beasts as they moved, stating, “Only exfil we have is jumping down and braving the horde,” as she switched to her SMGs, the enemy now close enough for her range advantage to be negated. Chief nodded, watching the timer tick down below thirty seconds. The teams continued firing into the formation, finally taking fire from the horde.

Blasters singed shields, causing them to dip just as the 10 second mark was reached, then passed. Chief took two steps back toward the Console, Boss calling out loudly, “GET READY TO JUMP!” and using his comlink to state, “Kelly, Scorch, we’re nearly done! If you haven’t found a ship yet, RV with us ASAP!”

“A BIT BUSY!” Scorch called out, the roar of the Infected Spartan echoing over the com, slightly muffled. Both Boss and Sev audibly swore in Mando’a before the team folded in around the Chief, firing their weapons into the swarm of alien zombies. Boss switched to his pistol and opened up into the horde, too, even as it drew closer.

Spatters of pus and blood started staining the armor of the team just as the clock hit zero. Cortana didn’t even get to call out to Chief when the Spartan retrieved her from the console, with Boss calling out, “DELTA, BLUE! ON YOUR FEET! WE! ARE! LEAVING!” before dropping a trio of thermal detonators right onto the catwalk. The Spartans and Commandos jumped, the blast shattering the Transparisteel windows just as the soldiers landed and locked their mag-boots to the ground.

A gust of wind dragged them back, causing their feet to skid across the ground, sparks flying as the monsters around them began to fly out into the void of space. The Spartans and Deltas threw a few more grenades their way just to make sure no corpse is ever picked up and prayed that would be enough. When the window shutters sealed and the alarms for the self-destruct began to ring, the team began to sprint.

“Tracking Kelly and Scorch a few levels below us,” Cortana told everyone, “Looks like they heard our request for an RV. We have about fifteen minutes before the entire ship goes up like a Fireworks show during the Survival Day celebrations,” and she paused, “Aaand I can track the Spartan that’s after them. DUCK!”

Before the team could bloody well react, the ground below them shattered and Kelly and Scorch flew through, followed by the Spartan. While they landed in front of Chief and Boss, the monster stumbled forward and growled, glaring at the Chief from behind its cracked helmet as it slowly staggered forward. Its HUD, broken as it was, registered their IFFs…

“Chief…” Boss asked as he aimed his blaster. The Spartan nodded and was the first to squeeze the trigger as the countdown timer on their helmets continued to tick down. Boss and Fred helped Kelly and Scorch to their feet, noticing mild battle damage on both of them. The teams loaded up and began peppering the monster ahead.

Its armor’s shields flared a burning red as it roared, then surged forward, toward the Chief, raising its armored claws and slashing at the Spartan. Chief barely dodged back as he kept pumping rounds into the alien, with Cortana stating, “Hang tight! I’m working to lock his armor, but the System’s screwed beyond recognition, even worse than the Ship!”

The other members of Blue dragged the monster back and threw it, but it stopped on its feet, charged and swung again, hitting Fred and slamming him against the wall. Kelly herself began pumping shells to the point she might’ve even managed to redline the monster’s shield. She yelped the moment it rammed into her and pinned her to the floor, starting to deliver hammerblows against her chest.

All of Delta formed up, opening fire on the monster with their blaster rifles and focusing it down. Its shields shattered and its armor began to heat as bolts of energy struck the Titanium and the underlayer of crystalline alloy, some rounds penetrating and drilling holes into the half-Spartan’s body. Sev barked, “Where the KRIFF IS HIS INFECTION FORM!?”

Chief appeared, grabbing the monster just as it lounged at Delta and slammed it against the floor, putting his Magnum up to its head and firing. Its helmet’s visor shattered, revealing the sole visible eye, yellowed and bulging, staring back at him. He put another slug into it, causing the monster to scream out in pain, before pulling both its legs back and kicking Chief into the ceiling, denting the metal. It almost broke the man’s shields.

It grabbed Kelly by the throat and pinned her against the wall just as the Infection Form’s feelers sprouted from the armor’s cracks like flowers. It tried choking the Spartan to death even as she blasted it in the chest once, then threw her weapon away and struck her again. Linda pounced on its back, grabbing it by its broken neck and pelting it with rounds from her SMGs.

“Almost…” Cortana spoke as Chief dropped down from the ceiling, bending the ground while Delta squad pushed past him, laying into the monster. The countdown had dropped by half at this point, leaving the team a measly seven minutes to escape the ship. Chief drew his pistol and he and Fred decided to close range.

Fred delivered the first punch, cracking the armor plate of the monster to make its chest visible. It turned around and roared in anger at the Spartans as Chief started firing rounds right at its chest. When it swung for the Spartan, trying to bring the hammer down on the man’s head, it froze, Cortana calling out, “KILL THE BASTARD!”

… And indeed, they did, Chief barking, “FOCUS FIRE!” while drawing both his weapons. The Spartans all grabbed theirs and Delta began putting shot and shell into it, emptying entire magazines as the armor overheated, cracked and broke, revealing the internal structure of the monster and the infection form in its chest. When the Chief’s weapons ran low and everyone stopped to reload, SIERRA-117 did the smartest thing he could think of.

He cocked his fist back and, in a flash of memory from almost a decade ago, he punched clean through the monster’s chest, feeling the infector explode after the hit, his hand punching out the nuclear microfusion reactor in the back. The creature collapsed, dead, thumping against the ground. Chief breathed a heavy sigh, while Scorch stated, “Force, Kriff that bastard…”

He agreed, wading over toward the microfusion reactor and kneeling in front of it, before stating, “I’m setting this thing for six minutes and thirty seconds, same as the current countdown… It’ll wipe everything left out,” before opening the rear of the system and typing out the detonation codes. He then stood up and said, “Delta. Escape Pods…”

“Follow u-” Boss spoke, staggering only as the ground began to shake. What was left of Captain Martz screamed a blood-curdling scream as his Proto-Gravemind form began chasing them down the halls like some sickening horror movie villain. Boss barked, “MOVE! NOW!” before firing his blaster. Chief fired his own gun after reloading and the teams began to move.

The static began to clear as the alarms continued to blare, the timer ticking ever lower. Cortana spoke, “I got the Coms working! Adviser, this is Cortana, Blue Team support AI! Requesting evacuation immediately! Will transmit coordinates! Additional:Get a cleanup crew over here, preferably one of our Phoenix-class support vessels! Priority CRIMSON!”

“ Copy your last, Cortana. Ship is on its way ,” The Adviser replied incredibly calmly. Delta kicked a door down and threw a fragmentation grenade and thermal det back, staggering the beast when they exploded. The wall of flesh stumbled forward, its appendages and tentacles trying to grab at the Spartans.

Kelly got her leg caught, but Scorch was quick on the draw, calling out, “LET HER GO, YOU SON OF A BANTHA HERDING KRIFFHEAD!” before firing his anti-armor attachment. The explosion sheared the appendage off via shrapnel and blasted Martz’s body apart, leaving only the all-encompassing mass of flesh as it charged toward them.

The team found the escape pods, ovoid-shaped escape vehicles with a reinforced transparisteel forward window and control panels. Boss made sure the entire Joint Task Force boarded their pods and, when the room proved empty, he hit the button. The monster behind them roared as the doors closed in its face, the ship beginning to violently shake as the core.

As the pods launched, their directional thrusters engaging, the Republic evac ship and its UNSC counterpart jumped into the area. And at the same time, the Adviser was able to watch the Prosecutor flash-boil, its hull breaking apart outward. It detonated into a short-lived second sun before a rippling shockwave spread out in a sphere.

As it hit the ship, the crew stumbled, the Adviser grabbing the com and barking, “All gunships, begin Search and Rescue!” then switching frequencies. He called out, “This is CC-01/425 on Emergency Channel! Delta Squad, Blue Team, respond!” only to hear static. He scoffed, then yelled again, “CC-01/425 to Delta and Blue, does anyone copy!? Don’t leave us hanging here…!” 

Another moment of static passed, the Adviser feeling his heart beating in his throat as he called out again, “Boss, Chief, answer!” 

… And the static cleared, Boss replying, “ ... No need to yell, Adviser. We’ve all made it off that sinking ship, ” in a surprisingly blase tone for someone who just nearly died, though a faint trace of sadness for the Prosecutor was felt. The Adviser took his helmet off and breathed a very, very audible sigh of relief while hearing Delta let out hearty laughs that sounded more like released adrenaline and stress. Three-Eight added, “ Transmitting pickup coordinates now. ”

… Force, they were gonna give him a heart attack…

Nathema

The climb up the mountain to the smoldering crater was somewhat grueling, but not horrific for the soldiers belonging to Meetra’s little expeditionary force. Six was telling her about his team as she’d asked. And he was speaking quite calmly, “And Jun, the shady bastard, is still alive. Hell, I’d be surprised if he isn’t on the Infinity, though I haven’t run into him…” but he was smiling. Meetra could feel it.

“At least one member lives, sir,” Richard quipped as he cradled his assault carbine. The man nodded, to which Richard hummed and listened to the com. They’d heard the blast as they were climbing the mountain and waited for a report. A report that Commander Ordo was now giving him. He looked at Meetra and said, “Casualties in the bombing, ma’am. Presumed to be Civilian Militia wanting to start a Guerrilla war.”

“Great,” Meetra breathed a deep sigh, “We’ll be out of here as soon as we seize what needs to be seized from that temple,” before she checked her equipment. She then said, “Tell the Commander he’s free to perform sweeps, but not to bother the locals too much. If we ever do a complete sweep to liberate Nathema, I’d rather they not be too pissed at us.”

“Understood. Relaying,” Richard stated as he began leading the way forward.

Paul said, “Least this is more open air than the tight quarters of that old OP on Rishi,” as he hefted his rifle. Katja laughed beside him, holding close her own MA40 as they advanced up-hill. She scoffed and said, “Christ, we should’ve brought Vic and Vesna. Those two are mountain goats…” before adding, “I hope they’re alright back in the town.”

“You and me both,” Paul quipped, then paused as he saw Richard disappear, his reflective panels activating as he climbed faster than them. He asked, “Kid alright, El-Tee?” while looking at Six. The Spartan nodded, then gave a chop of the hand and made a binocular sign with his hands. Paul smiled and nodded, glad it was just early scouting.

As they reached the burning wreck of the enemy’s Triple-A emplacement, they found the blown-out wreck of one of their quadrupedal anti-air guns, its barrel bent in a grotesque shape. Corpses of Battle Droids lay strewn about in the rubble, alongside bloodied local Militia corpses, those of soldiers clad in scarlet uniforms.

Meetra wrinkled her nose and narrowed her lips, then checked and re-activated her comlink, not remembering why she shut it off, before calling, “Commander, be advised:If hostile units are uniformed, they’ll be wearing bright red uniforms and…” she saw a modified blaster laying next to the corpse and completed, “... Possibly heavily modified blasters… Looks like those fancy ‘Nimbus’ Commandoes.”

“ Roger that, General. We’ll keep our eyes open down here, ” Ordo replied. She heard a slight shake in his voice, though it mixed in with the determination of a CO not to see more of his soldiers die next to him. She smiled a little sadly, then gave a single hum of approval. He said, “ Thanks, General… Garrison, out… ”

Six told her, “The Commander’s first combat engagement.”

She chuckled lightly, then replied, “He did say it’s nothing like the simulations,” before scratching her cheek. The two looked out toward the town, which was lit only by the lights of the road and those in the windows and from the Patrol Vehicles. Above, the stars shined brightly, the flickering dots of the joint UNSC-Republic fleet hovering overhead amidst the dome’s many pinpricks of light.

Six put a foot up on the parapet dug out of stone and activated his visor’s polarization function, allowing his helmet systems to zoom in down below, rangefinder putting them at almost a klick out from the town, uphill every way. He also saw a platoon of Clones marching toward them, their reinforcements. The bulky clone with the Z6 was among them.

He snapped a salute and said, “Commander’s orders are that we reinforce and relieve your position, General,” before setting his gun down and stating, “Alright, boys. Let’s triage and clean out the clankers and the Commandos and bury them,” while the Spartans, Marines and Meetra helped them. Within moments, the place was ‘spotless’, in the sense that it lacked corpses and much of the debris.

They’d also managed to move the destroyed anti-air gun somewhat, revealing the passage into the interior area:A small reinforced bunker where the Soldiers slept and the droids operating the gun could recharge. There was also an ammo canister stowage in the floor, covered by a thick blast door, so that was… Something.

“Don’t occupy this spot,” Meetra said in a murmur, “The tibanna cans that wreck used to fire packed enough punch to make me think they’re Turbolaser-standard ones, meaning ship killers. If one of’em goes off, the whole top of the mountain and whatever’s on it goes with…” and she looked at the bulky clone. The Z6 gunner nodded, rallied his team, then snapped a salute that Meetra quickly returned.

Six said, “We should get moving, ma’am. Cover of darkness keeps us hidden the best against possible enemy attacks. Plus, Richard’s gone on ahead,” and that last bit seemed to show the man’s worries. Meetra nodded and rallied her teams, beginning the march toward the temple and keeping them divided. She could feel Richard up ahead, scouting out a route for them, so she led them that way.

Paul looked back at the Z6 guy and asked, “How much does one of those rotaries cost? Might buy one as a gift for Vesna and Vic’s wedding anniversary,” to which the Clones, Katja and Meetra let out laughs of various intensities. The man hefted the gun and pat it, about to answer the question when they heard a twig snap, causing everyone to suddenly turn tense.

Richard spoke quietly, “ Contact… Marking four Commandos at the edge of our Motion Trackers, ” his voice muffled by the com. He pinged the spot with a NAV Point that showed up on Six, the Marines’ and the Clones Heads-Up Displays. Each member gently shifted their aim toward the spot as they moved to cover. 

“Take them out quietly if you can, Dick,” Meetra requested, watching the Commandos. She could feel them nearby and she could also see the distortion left behind by Dick as he advanced. The first Commando popped his head out gently, aiming his blaster rifle from the darkness toward the Clones and the Marines… Only to disappear in the shrubs, grabbed by the nothingness.

A second Commando stood up and opened fire where his old friend had been, with his buddies joining soon after. Bolts of energy singed the bark of a tree, though Richard wasn’t there anymore, having already moved out of the area to strike out at the next guy. Six lifted his DMR, scoped in one of the men and sniped the leading man, which gave the green light for the others to open up.

Bolts of blue plasma and bullets zipped through the air, searing through the sky and cutting down the two remaining men in a bloody volley. Dick appeared in front of them and gave a thumbs up, before walking back to the team. Meetra sighed deeply, then stated, “Alright, gents. Clones, set up on top of this hill to our left, provide overwatch. Everyone else, let’s move… Eyes open for movement and let’s hurry along.”

The enemy deployed their own commandos to Nathema, to really nobody’s surprise. The moment the Allied Fleet and militaries made landfall, the enemy must’ve known, considering Nathema was one of their most important farming and presumably mining worlds, Meetra thought. They’d deploy their best, meaning other units might’ve been around.

She told Kat and Paul, “You guys must’ve been having a rough one if the Elites and Covvies could actually cloak like Dick can.”

“It was way worse at times,” Paul murmured, partially angry at the subject being brought up. He slung his weapon over his shoulder and said, “Be glad we ain’t facing even a Covvie splinter, ma’am. They aren’t as merciful as Droids are,” while scanning their surroundings. If one was to assume that was true, that meant these Nimbus Commandos weren’t gonna be much better, being what Meetra thought would be the answer to the Republic’s own ARCs and other Commando units like Delta Squad.

As they advanced, Meetra could finally sense it. The Darkness of this place soon reached out to her, quiet whispers calling from her right, forcing her to alter course, with her team immediately behind her. None of them seemed to ask what bothered the Jedi. They only followed her instincts toward their ancient target.

And indeed, deep in the forests guarding the mountains, they saw it. Though it was faint and hidden by the canopy, black basalt pillars rose from among the leaves, carved by the weather rather than by the hands of sentient beings. Nathema had once been both a lush jungle world and a tomb world, only to return to its current status relatively recently in Galactic history. However, the secrets hidden by the Sith and, presumably, by what Meetra knew as the Eternal Alliance. The same group who helped defeat Vitiate in battle millennia ago. She recalled fighting by their side like it was yesterday. Brave warriors, the lot of them…

If they were still around, finding them to combat the coming Darkness was important…

Chapter Text

As the Spartans, marines and their Jedi general marched through the jungle in a scattered wedge, weapons ready just in case the enemy was to pop their heads out again. The tall basalt obelisk that acted as their guide remained clearly visible through the canopy. It was almost calling to her, like an old friend reaching out. Or an old foe, eager for a rematch.

She breathed a sigh, annoyed, as they kept walking. Shadows danced at the corners of her vision, a repeated nuisance. And it wasn’t the Dark Side emanating from the Tomb ahead. She asked Richard, “How many Commandos are there?” over the com in a whisper. The Spartan flashed his identification light three times her way, then three again. Three teams of three.

The audible creak of motors rippled through the shade as well, the thunderclap of armored feet following that of boots. She hummed and whispered, “Commando Droids…” before she switched channels and looked back at the troops she had arrayed on the mountaintop, telling them, “Warhead Squad, keep your eyes peeled. Possible Commando strike team incoming…”

The audible rev of the Z6’s barrel motor came as a reply. She smiled a bit, noting to herself, “Good to know you’re prepared already, Warden,” as she drew the hilt of her lightsaber off her belt. She gave a small flick of her wrist toward Six, who nodded and took half the team of Marines to the left, while she and the others continued advancing.

The enemy was encroaching on them, trying to see if she would open the tomb so they could get what she wanted. Guerrilla operations precluded an Ambush like this and the Mimban Commandos seemed quite capable in something like that, so she thought. She looked at Vesna and Victor, balled a fist and waved them to the front.

They joined her there, the young Romanian-born Machine Gunner quietly loading a belt of armor-piercing rounds while his wife loaded a grenade into her underbarrel launcher, both bearing stern faces. The rest of the team, seeing their TLs and General preparing, slowly did the same. As the noise drew closer, she heard Blaster rifle safeties switch off.

Casting a glance at the first of the shadows, the woman soon realized they’d reached the glade where the Obelisk stood. She arrayed her team calmly, approaching the Obelisk and trying to act as if she hadn’t noticed the enemy. Any perceptive enemy Commando would know their Ambush was done and engage now, while they still surrounded them…

And as she touched the Basalt, the Mimban rifleman behind her fired the first shot. The scarlet bolt was soon deflected back with a flick of Meetra’s wrist and the whoosh of her brandishing her lightsaber. The deflected bolt narrowly missed the man, who aimed and fired again, Meetra barking, “FIRE AT WILL!” 

She spun about and struck down a Commando droid that ran past its comrade, trying to kill her. Took its head clean off its shoulders before delivering a straight-up kick that sent the machine corpse flying back. She charged forward, utilizing the Force to give herself a burst of Speed, before lifting her blade and pointing it at the Mimban soldier.

Her blade pierced his heart and pinned him to the tree. She withdrew, leaving a burn in the tree and through the man, before spinning about and slashing down and to the left, then up and to the right in two parallel lines, cutting down two more men as bullets zinged past her and into the enemy’s forces. That was two Mimban infantrymen and another pair of Commando droids down.

She watched Dick emerge from his camouflage, blade drawn and thrusting down into the side of a Commando’s neck. Blood painted the silver steel as he withdrew it, letting the corpse fall and drawing his pistol. He put two slugs into the chest of a Commando droid, staggering it. A third round tore its processor out.

The General nodded in approval, watching the Marines and Six move up to outflank the other company of enemy units. She deflected three bolts meant for a pair of her Marines, kicked another man down and was inches short of striking him before she felt a vibroblade cut a gash across her back, her cloak tearing, armor singed.

She dropped the cloak, revealing her mix of UNSC and Clone body armor. A white ODST chest plate and back plate, white clone greaves and mixed shoulders, one of which bore the symbol of the Republic. She gasped as soon as she saw that same Commando sever the head of one of her Marines. She grit her teeth as something inside her snapped, spun about just as it was to decapitate a second and stabbed it through the chest, lifting it up with a rage-filled roar and tossing it aside like garbage.

Her free hand shot out next and a spear of lightning surged forth toward the Commando Droids and their remaining Commando of Mimban on this side. The droids took the brunt of the strike, electricity arcing off their bodies, internals visibly melting as the blue electrical arcs caused short-circuits across their bodies, their eyes flickering and going out.

Meetra charged the last terrified Commando on this side, swinging her lightsaber at his midsection and eviscerating him. She deflected several more blaster bolts next, while Six and Richard pushed up to her. To their right, the Romanian and Russian Marines fired their weapons, bursts from their autoguns ripping through the Droids’ armored bodies and  the Commandos’ armor.

The Mimban Commandos did not retreat, however, instead choosing to meet the Marines with blades drawn. Vic was forced to draw his own combat knife, dodging a swing from one of their enemy’s vibro-blades. He swung low, ducking under another attack and stabbing the Mimban commando through the side. He slammed himself into the man, throwing him to the floor before lifting the Knife and planting it clean into his heart, piercing the armored vest and letting blood gush from the wound

Vesna beside him laid waste to a trio of Commando Droids with her rifle, only drawing her own knife and her pistol when the Commando got close to her. She gasped as she saw Vic take two blaster bolts to the chest, but the plasma dissipation plates added beneath the armor helped stave off any damage. He stood to his feet and lifted his MG again.

Meetra redirected her team and struck the side of that platoon of Confederate Commandos, her first blade swing severing the head from a Mimban Commando’s shoulders, while her second, a low, sweeping swing, bisected a Commando droid at its thin, exposed midsection. The Spartans joined in, rifles barking.

The General lifted her hand as she watched a Mimbanese soldier appear from behind Vic, blade drawn and raised. With a flick, she snapped the man’s neck via the Force, causing the corpse to fall limp. The Marine saw the man dead, then looked to the General and gave her a nod of thanks, a bit surprised. When his machine gun ran dry, he grabbed one of the Vibroblades off the floor and engaged in CQC again.

Gunfire rippled from atop the Mountain, too. Meetra looked back at their old vantage point and saw scarlet and blue bolts being exchanged, the Clone Lieutenant in charge of the squad reporting, “ Confirming contact with local forces, ma’am ! Commando Droids and… It almost looks like some Local Militia !”

“We’ll be right back, Lieutenant! Hold!” Meetra barked.

“ Negative, ma’am ! Get into the temple and retrieve what we need ! We’ll distract the Seppies !” The Clone replied, only for the thunder of a grenade launcher’s 40mm round striking a target to rumble from above. She saw a pair of Hyena bombers dive on them, only for UNSC airpower and Republic Fighters to swarm and shoot them out of the sky.

Meetra grit her teeth, then commanded, “Any and all allied units who can, redirect to Grid 1305 to support squad assigned to hilltop… We’re almost done here, so I want as many of my men alive as possible,” before she marched over to the temple’s Obelisk. She put her hand up against it, feeling a slight chill as she did so. 

The whispers of the ancients echoed in her mind, Sith spirits wanting to drag her to the Darkness, she figured, only to soon realize rather violently that they weren’t to touch her, lest they wished to die a second time and forever. She put her hand up to the Obelisk fully, gently touching it with the Force. A flurry of symbols flashed around her hand before a rectangular frame formed around them and her hand.

The black stone basically disintegrated in front of her, atomizing. Six and Richard walked up to her, with Richard offering, “I can go reinforce the Clones, ma’am…” while they watched the silver metal poke out from behind the Tomb’s black basalt, Forerunner tech waiting in greeting for Meetra and thE Reclaimers.

“Go,” She nodded, “Take care of them.”

The Spartan nodded, then vanished behind his active camouflage. The General raised a balled fist and showed the others to follow her into the place, weapons ready. She kept her own lightsaber drawn while Six moved up beside her, rifle raised and flashlight on despite his VISR systems also being online. 

… Atop the Hill, Lieutenant ‘Savvy’ and his boys held the line, blaster rifles and gatling blasters laying down the hate on the enemy troops below. Advancing uphill, the enemy’s forces were a mix of Commandos, fast and agile droids meant for high-speed special ops warfare(which made it weird for them to charge uphill like this) and a dozen or so units of local Militia commanded by Mimban Commandos, the Seps’ own combat teams.

They could see firefights in the Capital of Nathema, too. The bastards had staged a massive assault across all sides as a final push to take them out, with their few remaining air assets attempting to bomb the Republic and UNSC out of the AO. Savvy barked, “Gold, Lowball, check the left! Warden, you, Punk and Mech take the right and lay’em low!”

“Sir!” The Clones replied, the platoon rearranging as ordered. The right side was the slope which also had the hole in the wall where the old ammo depot was. They’d tried clearing it out, but had only dumped enough rounds for it not to take the mountaintop with them should it blow. It was basically a directional mine at this point, though. One stray shot and whatever was even remotely close was dead…

Warden, the heavy gunner, hefted his Z6 over cover and started laying down bursts of plasma toward the enemy units. The heavy Clone spoke, “Must be hundreds of’em!” as he watched more and more local Militia armed with droid blasters appear out of the woodwork, bolts of energy skimming by them while the Mimbanese and Droid Commandos led the charge.

“Probably,” The Lieutenant replied, taking a knee beside the man and firing his own DC-15. He aimed his shots carefully, nailing the enemy with blasts straight to their foreheads or chests. The Commandos were proving to be quite painful to deal with though, due to the reinforced core armor. Still, focusing them down worked pretty well.

His blaster overheated, so, with a sign from his hand, he got Warden focusing fire before hitting the emergency cooling. Four gusts of steam exited from the weapon’s barrel as it began to cool. When it was done, he turned to fire, joining Warden. He primed a Thermal det, threw it down the slope and watched it land between four Locals. The blast wiped them all out.

A Commando sprung up ahead of them. The Droid kicked the Lieutenant down, knocking his helmet off of his head and shattering the visor. It pounced the Lieutenant and grabbed him by the throat, its metallic fingers digging into the flesh like claws, ripping the bodysuit. Warden quickly turned, wanting to engage and assist the Lieutenant.

A second later, the Mech was destroyed, its head ripped clean off, body kicked aside and shot to death as Richard materialized. He offered a hand to the Lieutenant, the barrel of his rifle still smoking, before stating, “I’ll be keeping you company, Lieutenant! Keep this hill secure! It’s the UNSC’s only route to reinforce the General and her troops down there!”

“Roger!” The man replied. He took the Spartan’s hand, grabbed his blaster and helmet, then went over to join his boys. Richard walked over to the edge, watching Tracers being exchanged in the city, Commander Ordo calling over the com as, overhead, more Droid starfighters, whatever was left of the local planetary contingent, presumably, engaged Allied airpower.

This was a clusterfuck…

UNSC Infinity

“Prep to deploy a counter-response force for the assault,” Admiral Lasky ordered as he looked upon the ever-changing battlefield on his holo-table. Updates of troop movements, positions held by allied forces and the range and broadness of the counterattack by local Militia and Droid remnant forces played in front of him in detail. Wombat drone footage showed the engagements in the Capital, an up-close, fierce firefight. Outside, Armor from both the 337th and the UNSC’s support divisions fought back a range of enemy forces armed with various weapons.

It was one hell of a trial by fire for the 337th, Lasky thought as he watched the fight. He then added, “Roland, get squadrons up from the 337th’s Venators, strike the forest around the capital and the defense points. Status on Johnson and Commander Ordo’s forces on my display,” before he scratched his chin.

Senator Amidala walked onto the bridge, surprised to see the sheer amount of activity. In the distance, she saw the flickering lights of Droid ships. Outside the window, however, were also the wrecks of a fleet of such ships. Stopping beside Admiral Lasky and watching the ongoing battle below, she asked, “Why aren’t we engaging the enemy fleet up ahead?”

“Sensors from the Venators picked up a second fleet at the edge of the system,” Lasky spoke, pulling up the transmitted sensor logs and showing them to her via the holo-display. He looked at the Senator and added, “Roland made the calculations. If we go chasing those wild geese, these guys will swing in and drop reinforcements for the Militias below.”

“How long has that fleet been there…?” Padmé asked with half a mouth.

“Half a day now,” The man replied as he watched the sun crest the eastern side of the planet. The unfiltered light caused the ship’s windows to turn opaque, filtering out the light. He told her, “You should be in your quarters, ma’am. If that fleet comes in anyway, you’re safest behind the armor layers…” only to pause as he heard a mayday call. He stated, “Gunships and bombers are coming in, Lieutenant. Hang tight.”

The external cameras showed the swarm of allied craft:Escorting fighters diving down to the surface of the planet alongside Longswords, Pelicans, Y-Wings and Broadswords, plus LAATs. The enemy ships launched their own fighters to try and intercept, it seemed, an airbattle beginning over the capital as the last of the Droid and CIS forces on Nathema attempted to retake the capital.

“Status on the rest of the fleet?” The Senator requested, shifting her gaze to Roland.

“Varying damage sustained across all ships. We have a couple Frigates in pretty bad shape that are limping back from patrol to board the Infinity. We’ll fix them at Kuat, though, so,” Roland replied as he pulled up several status reports from a multitude of UNSC ships undergoing damage control operations, their approach vectors and all information.

The Frigates looked like they’d been pounded with sledgehammers. Their outer hulls had taken severe damage and the shield emitters were flickering, while the reactor was running on emergency mode on one of the ships, due to a coolant line being struck. Crew casualties were thankfully minimal from what she was reading.

“You really should’ve stayed on Coruscant, ma’am,” The Admiral sighed deeply. He continued, “While General Skywalker and General Kenobi are busy fighting out there, you should probably be helping draft some new bill for when this war is inevitably gonna end…” and he watched the live feed of a Wombat drone as the Dropships arrived in the city’s spaceport. The LAATs dropped ropes on the main boulevard to allow platoons of 337th members to drop in hard and fast.

An AT-TE detonated with the impact of a bomb dropped by a now-destroyed Hyena. The Scorpions and the other AT-TEs gathered around it to allow the surviving crew to evacuate. Medical Saddlebacks and Warthogs rolled out, picking the wounded up and ferrying them inside the city. Inside said city, elements of the 337th still held onto all major objectives, to the point Lasky spoke, “The Three-Thirty-Seventh are damn fine siegebreakers.”

“Not a single objective lost,” Padmé smiled, “Clones are something else entirely when they’re deployed. Especially when people seem to give a damn about them,” before she scratched her chin and mumbled, “I’m surprised that you all got along so quickly, though,” before leaning onto the table to watch the fighting.

Lasky stated, “Marines know comrades in arms, ma’am,” and utilized the touch system on the holographic table to bring up some data he was interested in. He asked, “Roland, where’re General Surik and the Spartans?” while scanning the battle-map for any sign of their General and Noble Six himself.

“We lost contact with them here, sir,” Roland stated as he put a NAV Point on the map, next to a giant spire that almost looked like a holographic display glitch from the scanners. He stated, “It’s a basalt pillar of some kind, but we can’t make out the internal composition here… It’s not seemingly native to Nathema, though. HEADHUNTER is still in play, helping defend the hilltop here…” and another ping appeared.

Lasky hummed, then said, “Suppose they’ve found the Tomb with the map, then,” before adding, “Deploy a contingent to the-”

The alarm blared… Loud Claxons wailed.

The sensor officer called, “Sir, fleetwide warning from screening vessels. Droid Fleet at the edge of the system has mobilized. They’ll be here in approximately thirty minutes,” before sending the data over to the Holo-table. Indeed, the fleet, represented by a triangle, was fast-approaching the Planet of Nathema from the edge of the system. 

“Guess they got tired of waiting,” Lasky mumbled, then ordered, “All ships with minor damage are to deploy in diamond formation and cover both sides. If the larger fleet’s moving, the smaller one’s gonna encroach on us soon. Bolster CAP and put me on to the whole fleet,” before getting a nod from Roland. The man leaned forward and said, “All ships, we’re re-entering orbital combat operations. Remove weapon safeties and be ready to engage.”

“Guess I should go to my room now. Take care, Admiral…” The Senator spoke. She looked over the map one more time, watching the Droid vessels approach and the Confed defenders below engaging the occupation force in the capital. She breathed, concerned, then walked out. Lasky looked back at her, mumbled something about politicians with actual guts, then looked ahead again.

He asked, “ETA to the Arbiter’s arrival?”

“Ten minutes. They’ll be here before the CIS Fleet makes contact, sir…” Roland spoke, then paused and said, “Stand-by. New Slipspace jump overhead. Marking the Phoenix-class support ship and a Republic transport. Confirming ID tags aboard are BLUE Team and DELTA Squad, with BLUE requesting priority meeting, sir.”

“Send them to the bridge the moment they’re in the hangar,” the man replied calmly as he watched the Phoenix-class rejoin the formation and deploy her assault boats down to the planet to help reinforce it before joining the formation. He saw the Dropships touching down in the nearest hangar to the Infinity’s bridge, then turned around moments later as Blue Team marched onto the deck.

He turned to salute them, pausing as he saw them covered in muck. He blanked when Chief stated, “Sir… We might have a problem,” before pulling out Cortana’s chip and handing it to the man. He nodded, but the Spartan added, “If we can speak privately, sir. Worrying the crew ain’t gonna help the current situation.”

“... Alright,” He sighed, then stated, “XO, you have the conn. Tell the Arbiter to swing in and hit’em hard when he arrives,” before he showed Chief and the others to lead the way. Moving to an adjacent meeting room, the Spartans activated CLEAN ROOM protocols and ensured nobody was listening. Chief motioned to the hologram display in the middle of the room.

Lasky inserted Cortana’s chip, pausing only as he saw her glowing the same way she had during the recordings he saw of Chief’s mission on the first Halo. She looked up, stood to her feet from a cross-legged sitting position, then said, “Sir… I’m gonna be as blunt as my programming allows me. UPSILON and CORRUPTER were just triggered.”

The Admiral visibly paled, eyes shooting wide open. She told him, “We’ve encountered a Flood infection on board the RAS Prosecutor . We handled it and the Cleanup, sir, but the situation’s got a lot more layers than just a Republic ship running into a random Flood Spore…” before she looked back at the reports she must’ve written on the way over.

“Obvious by CORRUPTER…” Lasky mumbled, voice audibly shaken, “Go on.”

“The Prosecutor picked up a UNSC Condor-class starcraft with an exhausted FTL drive at these coordinates, sir,” She stated, displaying stellar coordinates taken from a combination of Republic data sent for ease of navigation and the UNSC’s own astro-nav scans. The coordinates were rough, but the Corbantis system, where the ship had been when it was found, was Light-Years away. She added, “Obviously, it contained one Spartan-IV, infected by the Flood after his Armor’s containment systems failed, and approximately half-a-dozen Combat Forms from an ONI action group. It’s apparently from Site-22, an ONI dig site, sir.”

“What the Hell was an infected Condor here? How did they even make it out? I can see they triggered CORRUPTER and UPSILON there, too,” Lasky demanded, looking over the Files displayed by the AI. Cortana shrugged, visibly annoyed she didn’t know the answer either. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, then asked, “The way you’re saying, it wasn’t a random pickup, was it?”

“Apparently not, sir,” The AI replied, her voice growing low. She pulled up a specific file and showed it to Lasky. She pointed at the signature and added, “It was a direct order from Chancellor Palpatine. Not a hint how he knew about it is in this letter, though. He just knew something ‘useful’ might’ve been aboard… And he wanted it brought to either Coruscant or some secret Republic RnD base… ” 

Lasky scoffed. To think General Surik asking them to deploy an ONI team to Coruscant to keep tabs on the Chancellor turned out to be a good idea. He said, “Maybe he was hoping to do what the crew of the Mona Lisa couldn’t,” in a mumble. The Mona Lisa incident had been one report for the ages. Classified by ONI and only accessed by Lasky with Lord Hood’s and Doctor Halsey’s help years later. To think they were trying to weaponize the Parasite.

“He’d be dumber than a box of nails if that’s what he was trying,” Cortana stated bluntly, then sighed deeply and added, “Good thing we’re keeping tabs on him, sir. Your orders?”

“Keep this quiet,” Lasky replied, “I’ll brief the Shipmaster and Arbiter when they get here, but, for now,” and he pointed down, “The planet below might need reinforcements as soon as we’re done clearing out the Orbit. Clean yourselves up and maintain combat readiness in case we need Spartans on the ground.”

“Sir,” Blue Team snapped salutes. The CLEAN ROOM protocol was disengaged and Chief retrieved Cortana’s chip. They walked out, only to see Delta waiting for them outside. While the Spartans briefed Delta on the fact they might deploy planetside to support the allied squads, Lasky walked back to the bridge, a little more apprehensive about their ‘ally’, the Chancellor. 

He’d check in with the Team on Coruscant later…

Chapter Text

Combat was ongoing above, the rippling thunder of artillery and the faint hum of antigravity engines filled their ears. Meetra and the others had finally arrived ‘at the bottom of the well’, so to speak. Six sat beside her, rifle drawn and flashlight on as they scanned the walls surrounding them. He sighed and said, “Black basalt.”

“Really eats up the light, doesn’t it?” She joked, though any sense of humor was lost as she held her lightsaber up, trying to provide them light, too. She could hear the faint whispers of the Ghosts buried here, wondering what minor or major Sith Lord had a foothold in, or was buried within, the confines of this place.

Regardless, as they marched, light began to glow more effervescently around them. The Forerunner Symbols that had allowed them a way in now glowed brightly, azure light slowly trickling in all around them, each black basalt brick inscribed with at least three symbols placed at similar distances. Six’s suit picked up and managed to translate some recognizable symbols, namely those who denoted the Librarian’s crest and presence.

They were in the right place, clearly. As they waded deeper into the tomb, though, they caught sight of more and more symbol-clad basalt. The tomb itself glowed  like a starlit dome, covered in ancient symbols and probably containing both technological marvels and corpses. Meetra, however, recognized a couple of other familiar symbols. 

She chuckled sadly, then mumbled, “Oh, this should be a fun one,” as they waded in. Large urns soon started appearing on the sides, lighting up with azure flames at their mouths that caused shadows to fall around them. Meetra stowed her lightsaber and Six turned off his VISR and flashlight, eyes glancing at each individual symbol with calm. 

Six mumbled, “This place sure feels a lot more serene than a Tomb of the Dark Lords would let on…”

“It’s because she wanted it that way,” Meetra replied as they soon found themselves at a spiral staircase, built around a pillar with visible bas-relief sculptures, many depicting battles of old against monsters and alien creatures the likes of which few had seen before. Meetra ran her hand over one of said sculptures, causing its outlines to glow a faint blue. She chuckled and said, “Oh, she kept a lot of memories here.”

“The Librarian?” The Spartan inquired as they continued their descent.

“Nope,” Meetra replied playfully as they continued their descent. “If I remember her antics correctly, you’re about to meet her. And I’m sure Doctor Halsey would enjoy meeting her, too,” she joked as they walked further down. A few more ‘flights’ of nothingness lead them to the bottom of the tomb. A sprawling space, wide open and about as tall as the staircase they’d come down through, opened ahead of them.

The ceiling was tall, the recessed lights within barely visible. Gold inlay danced on the walls of Ancient Forerunner scriptures, mixing with the azure and the reddish silver of another ancient language. In the center of it all, a pyramid with four stairs led up to a Forerunner artifact, not too different from the map they’d found in the Ossus Library.

As they strolled in, Six put a hand up and stopped her. When she looked at him, confused, he pointed at the floor. A few tiles looked loose and one stood slightly above the others. She nodded, offering a smirk, then showed him to wait a second before taking a step and tapping the trapped floor, triggering it. A burst of energy flared across the panel…

But no trap came. Instead, Meetra perked up. She laughed and said, “Oh, you sly Nerf herder,” as she turned to face an oncoming figure. Six swiveled on his feet and aimed his rifle. Meetra put a hand on the gun and pushed it down as the figure soon resolved. Though at first Six thought it was a shadow created by the dozens of blue-shining lights and flame pits, it soon resolved into a flickering form of a black-clad woman, her mask shielding her face.

Crossing her arms to her chest, the figure spoke, “It certainly took you a few millennia to come visit one of my old hidey-holes, Exile,” with a smooth voice. She looked at the Spartan and mumbled, “And you came with one of the Librarian’s favored creatures, too… How interesting,” as she cupped her own chin, looking the Spartan up and down.

“Nox. Back off,” Meetra warned, only partially joking, “I’m with him and his people,” and she crossed her arms, “And we’re fixing to reach that map up there… If none of your traps are gonna try and stop us, that is,” and she saw Six visibly tense, grip tightening on his rifle. Nox had seen that, too, then sighed.

“Considering what I can only presume you’ve fought up there,” ‘Nox’ spoke, before pausing just as the ground comedically shook thanks to the muffled thump of an explosion, dust falling from the ceiling and landing amidst the holographic emitters. The strange black-clad shade spoke, “You will hear no objections from me if you want to drag the Alliance back out of the darkness. Mind introducing me and this guy, at least?”

Meetra chuckled, then said, “Right…” and motioned to the shadow, stating, “Six, this is Darth Nox, or an Apparition thereof. Famed Sith researcher and a pain in my ass back when we were working together with the Eternal Alliance,” as she set her hand on her hip, quipping, “Real name Ru’Bee… She’s quirky if nothing else.”

“Mad Sith Scientist,” Six spoke, voice low, betraying the slightest hint of concern, “Noted.”

Nox snorted, to which Meetra spoke, “Nox, this is Noble Six. Spartan-B312. Human supersoldier under the command of the people I’ve been working with. They rely a lot on kinetic projectile weapons and their Supersoldiers’ armor also enhances their capabilities from what I’ve seen,” only to see ‘Ru’Bee’ perk up upon noticing the firearm and leaning forward to examine it.

She took her helmet off, grinning ear-to-ear as she looked up. She was as human as they came, though one eye was silver. Her hair was gradient, black to red like he’d expect out of a Sith. The other eye, however, was mechanical and scarlet, almost as if she was a Cyborg in origin. Flashing a grin at him, she requested, “Can I see this stuff up-close some day, Six?”

Six blinked, slightly taken aback, then tilted his head forward and awkwardly replied, “Call me when you’re no longer dead, ma’am…”  to which the girl smiled and nodded. Six looked to his General, asked, “On your marks, ma’am?” and tilted his head to the left, toward the pylon. Meetra nodded and walked over to retrieve it. Six looked at Nox, staring at her for a minute, before seeing she noticed and cracked a grin at him. He told her, “You look familiar.”

“Maybe we’ve seen each-other in some other life,” She shrugged. Six nodded, letting that theory sit in the back of his mind for now. She walked over to the pyramid in the center, climbing up the steps with the General to make sure nothing would jump out and surprise her. They approached the pedestal, with Nox appearing beside them to watch.

Meetra leaned a hand onto the device and watched it power on, flicker for a moment as the petals opened, gently floating up a similar map shard to the one they’d found on Ossus. She plucked it up and looked at it, then stowed it in one of the armor pouches and looked at Six. The Spartan nodded calmly, meaning Meetra could turn to Nox and say, “Was nice seeing you again, Ruu.”

“Likewise, Mee-Mee,” The girl smirked, Six audibly snorting behind her. Meetra glared at her, then at Six, before sighing. Nox told them, “You might want to move on and help your troops. It sounds like they’re having it rough out there. Ta-taa~!” and she gave a salute, sliding her helmet back onto her head and disappearing in the shadows, the lights fading out as they finally spotted the coffin, hanging above the platform they got the map shard from.

The two ran out toward the exit, finding themselves suddenly outside instead of having to climb the stairs. A blaster bolt struck hard basalt behind them, revealing that the ‘tomb’ had sealed itself shut, meaning they had no cover to retreat back to and their Fireteam of Marines engaged the enemy close-in. Vesna called out, “General! Lieutenant! We’ve got contact! Two battalions of Droids coming in with Militia and Mimbanese Commando reinforcements!”

“Status on the hilltop?” Meetra demanded as she drew her blade and deflected the next three red bolts toward the advancing enemy units. The rounds struck the machines that had fired them, sending them folding. Six aimed his rifle and sniped the head off of a Mimban Commando just as he was aiming a launcher at them, while Victor pelted the enemy with bullets from his MG.

His sister was not far behind, firing DMR shots at the enemy while Paul, Paula and now Katja had tagged in, blasting apart the enemy’s forces with extreme prejudice. Vic replied, “Savvy, the Spartan and their boys are holding the line up there, but they’re as surrounded as the rest of us! Nathema City’s also taking a shitload of fire and the Fleet called out heavy contact in Low Orbit!”

As if on cue, a flash of light bright as the sun lit the sky and the shards of the destroyed ship began re-entering.  Meetra’s gaze, however, locked onto the hilltop where scarlet and azure tracers exchanged, the latter going down the slopes of the Hill. Meetra pulled up her communicator as she deflected multiple bolts, then called, “Admiral Lasky! Status upstairs?”

“ We’re taking some damage, General, but we’re holding the line for the time being !” The Admiral replied as the audible wail of alarms filled her ears through the com. She sighed, to which the man said, “ We’re deploying teams to the planet to reinforce !” while the girl looked up. Indeed, she could spot the mark of ODST Drop Pods and Pelican Dropships moving in through the upper atmosphere.

“Roger,” The woman replied, “Stay safe, sir. We all need a home to come back to. Meetra, out,” then she looked to her Marines and Spartan and ordered, “Push through! We’re going to reinforce the El-Tee and Richard now!” as the first Drop Pods landed around them, deploying their contents. ODSTs appeared, some carrying heavy weapons.

… On the Hilltop itself, continuous combat occurred. Richard fired from his MA5K toward the advancing enemy forces below, catching two Mimbanese Commandos in the chest while Savvy and his boys aided. Warden hefted his Z6 and swept the area ahead of Richard with blaster bolts, stating, “If you have any plans, Spartan…!”

“Working on it!” Dick replied as he switched to semi and peered through the sights of his rifle, aiming for headshots to try and destroy enemy command and control. He looked at Savvy, then asked, “Did you manage to contact an air unit, sir!? The hill’s getting rather thick with bodies!” before he ducked as a bolt near-missed him. 

The Lieutenant replied, “I got a call through, but they’re engaged in Orbit! Kriffin’ bastards brought a whole new fleet over to support them!” before he poked over the edge and fired his blaster rifle, aiming for the platoons of Civvies. Richard nodded, then looked at the town as he ducked to reload his rifle, watching them and the armor there fighting a rather heavy deployment of enemy troops.

He saw an AT-TE fire its main cannon at an enemy AAT-1. The round punched through the enemy’s turret ring and exploded whatever ammunition was contained in the gun’s breech, causing the tank to drop to the floor as its antigrav systems failed. Clone troopers, including Commander Ordo, were engaged in some heavy fighting alongside UNSC Marines garrisoning the place.

The enemy was trying one last ditch attempt to take Nathema back. It was good. It meant they were taking the pressure off of other parts of the Front for now. The young man’s pondering, however, was interrupted by a Commando Droid jumping up the slope and swinging its vibroblade at him. As he deflected the strike with his rifle, which was split in half, he withdrew his own combat knife and planted it into the side of the Droid’s head, throwing it to the floor and grabbing its vibroblade.

He drew his pistol and wielded it alongside the vibroblade, firing the fifty caliber gun from right beside Warden. One of their Clone comrades took a bolt to the head as he stood up to fire, to which Savvy barked, “No! Dammit!” as the team’s medic moved over to check on him. Savvy sighed and said, “‘Like the Simulations’ my kriffin’ ass…!” 

“Keep up the fight, Lieutenant!” Richard called out, slicing down a droid as it crested their cover on the right. Warden kept laying into the enemy, the barrels of his Z6 starting to glow with each new bolt that was fired from them. He remained stoic and silent, only backing off when his brothers came to support him with long guns so he could cool the gun a bit.

A few of the Militia climbed the hill’s crests next, guns drawn. Richard was quick, using the vibroblade to sever legs and heads, causing the corpses to drop into the hole before he spun about and put two slugs into the heads of two separate individuals, painting the ground red with blood. A Mimbanese Commando pounced on his back, grabbing him by the throat.

The kid was quicker, though, doing a full one-eighty and sweeping the legs out from under the man before putting a bullet in his skull. Sliding his now-empty pistol onto the mag-lock on his thigh, the young man cut two more Mimbanese Commandos down with the vibrosword, before punching a third in the face hard enough to crack his helmet and skull open.

“They’re closin’ in!” Gold called out, switching his carbine to full-auto and sliding the folding stock out as he fired. 

“CLOSE RANKS!” Savvy barked, picking up one of their fallen comrades’ guns and dual-wielding them as they moved back, forming up with their backs to the rock wall. Richard remained in close-quarters as more and more enemies streamed up the hill, reloading his pistol mid fight and swinging high and low with the Vibrosword.

Warden barked, “Come on, you bastards!” as he laid down the hate, his helmet’s HUD flashing with warnings about the gun overheating. The other members of the team weren’t doing any better as the enemy’s formations approached. Commando Droids soon jumped over the edge, charging the men. Richard intercepted, deflected and fought off their attacks.

He struck one with the grip of his pistol, snapping its head off, sliced a second in half with the Vibrosword and kicked down a third with his boot, before parrying two blade strikes from a fourth and a fifth. When his pistol ran dry, he drew his own combat knife again and fought the enemy back in a brutal melee, staining the ground below the team and the team itself in blood and oil.

The Clones, to their credit, held the line, Gold even commenting, “Psychotic son of a nerfherder we got as a guardian, sir!” which got a few strained laughs from the surviving members. Gold shouldered his gun and kept firing, only to take a bolt to the head. Lowball barked something barely audible in the gunfight as he took his brother’s place, covering his corpse as he fired his DC-15. 

The enemy kept advancing, however. They could hear the hum of friendly gunships coming in, but they were surrounded, with Savvy stating, “Hell of a first combat deployment!” which Richard gave a nod to. The young man slid his knife into its sheath, grabbed a Droid blaster from the ground and continued firing, taking several bolts to his shields, then his armor. Camouflage-ready armor plates glowed under the volley as the men fought, but didn’t die, thank the maker for heat dissipation plates.

Warden’s gun glowed hot as he called out, “I’m nearly dry, but I’m gonna be lucky if this kriffing thing doesn’t explode, first!” while sweeping the area ahead. More and more corpses piled by the sides of their cover and on the hill’s slopes, both machine and humanoid. Mimban Commandos appeared over the cover, only to be shot in the head by Richard or other members of the team.

Taking a knee and letting his gun cool, Warden checked his belt, finding a couple of thermal dets. He then looked at the floor below them, realized something, then looked to Richard and asked, “Can you get’em off this hill, kid?” to which the Spartan stared at him. He lifted the two det charges and pointed at the floor, which the young man understood.

After a moment of hesitation, he nodded. The Clone took his helmet off, showing his grin, then said, “Alright…” before lifting the Z6 after it’d barely cooled to a dull red and began firing again, a walking fire as he said, “Sir! The Spartan’s gonna get you outta here! I’m gonna clear you a path!” before hearing Savvy actively protest, though he couldn’t make out the words.

Y-Wings and UNSC Bombers swung in nearby the capital, dropping high-yield payloads that  flattened multiple acres of treeline while the man pushed forward. Richard sighed and looked to Savvy, ordering, “On me, Lieutenant!” as he turned toward the direction of the tomb. He saw Meetra, Six and their team making slow progress through the deployed enemy reinforcements.

“What the kriff’s Warden about to do!?” Lowball asked as they started pushing to that side of the hill, seeing it more clear than the others. 

“He’s clearing a path for reinforcements,” Richard replied, his voice low as he watched the Clone push through. The man fired his Z6, dead quiet as he advanced, slamming the weapon against the enemy every once in a while. He climbed over the edge and kept firing even as blaster bolts struck his armor, ripping holes into it.

Before long, to the others, Warden disappeared behind the wall of enemy troops that they were fighting back. Warden, however, was still alive… Barely. He dropped his spent Z6, the barrels white hot, melting and warping under the stress. He punched his way through a pair of Mimbanese commandos, each hand holding a Thermal Detonator as he marched into the antechamber.

Several blaster bolts struck him across his back, causing him to fall to his knees. He thumbed the activation buttons on the charges, then looked back, throwing a weak punch toward a Commando Droid that caught it, breaking his wrist and causing him to drop the Thermal Det. The Clone grinned through bloody teeth and whispered, “For the Republic…” as he dropped the second charge.

The explosives clicked, charged… Then detonated.

The entire side of the hill blew out like a claymore, a directed blast ripping through a line of enemy droids and through hardened rock, shaking the very foundation of the hill and the troops atop it. It was just enough for Richard and the others to start a push down the hill, Drop Pods arriving in quick succession around Meetra’s fireteam.

Another massive explosion lit the sky, a CIS warship destroyed, the Militia visibly faltering. When Savvy saw this, he grit his teeth, stood up and barked, “COME ON, BOYS! FOR THE REPUBLIC! FOR WARDEN, GOLD AND PUNK !” which roused the men to move, Richard close by them. They pushed downhill, toward their General and the Lieutenant, bolts and bullets ripping through the disoriented fireteams. 

The teams met halfway to the tomb, Meetra basically dancing through the Droid battalions with her lightsaber. Her face was a mask, zero emotion slipping through as she cut down the droids around them, splitting them in half with high and low swings, vertical and horizontal. She took heads off, split their weapons and used Force Push to stagger and destroy them, then shot her hand up.

A storm of azure lightning ripped through the Droids’ lines, destroying dozens in one fell swoop. The former Jedi then turned back to using her blade, watching Richard and the other clones, stained red and black by their fight, join in, with Six not far behind her, asking, “You good, kid!?” only to get a thumbs up from Richard.

Savvy spoke, “We lost a few of our Platoon, ma’am…” to Meetra, his voice low.

“They’ll be remembered, Lieutenant,” She replied softly, a small frown now adorning her face. She put a hand on the Clone’s shoulder, to which he nodded, lifting his blaster and continuing to fire into the lines of Droids and retreating Militia. Bombers overhead laid precision munitions into the enemy, the force pushing through toward the Capital.

When they arrived at the Capital, they saw scenes of carnage. The city burned in parts, droid, Mimbanese Commando, UNSC Marine and Clone trooper corpses littering the ground, though the former two were a lot more numerous than the latter two, thankfully. Wounded Clones and Marines sat on boxes, staring as their reinforcements arrived overhead, with Meetra finally hearing Lasky speak over the com, “ ALCON, ALCON, ALCON, the CIS fleet is retreating. Casualties sustained… ”

They’d lost a couple of ships, Meetra thought bitterly, all for a piece of tech. She lifted it out of the pouch and looked at it, mumbling a silent apology to the men that died here as Johnson and Ordo stepped up, with the Sergeant, a cigar in his mouth and a few scratches on his armor, asking, “That the map piece, ma’am?”

“It is,” She replied, voice low, as she stowed it in her pocket. She asked, “Casualties?” while looking at the men. She noticed the hand print on Ordo’s helmet, now congealed, brownish orange, like rusted steel, then sighed deeply. 

Johnson spoke, “We’ll live, ma’am. We certainly took worse beatings before,” and he watched Swords of Sangheilios Phantoms deploy the Elite Special Ops teams meant to hunt any retreating enemy unit. He continued, “Not like a bunch of tin cans and some smarmy locals can kill either of us. Ain’t I right, Commander?”

“Yeah,” Ordo sighed, then took his helmet off, “It’s been a tough one, ma’am.”

“Hell of a baptism by fire,” Meetra smiled sadly, crossing her arms to her chest, “Thankfully, we accomplished both objectives we had on Nathema. We took a bunch of CIS ships from the Front Line to fight us and we got the map piece. Let’s pack our gear and prep to move out… I feel like the Locals don’t like us all that much after all.”

A few laughs echoed, but all else was silent after. They loaded bodies and the wounded into MEDEVAC Pelicans and LAATs, while the troops secured the perimeter for the evacuation from the Space Port. Meetra, Six and Richard were the last to board a Pelican home to the Infinity, with the woman seeing the heavily damaged, if not Mission-Killed UNSC Destroyers and Frigates. They’d lost a couple of each.

She knew no fighting force was invincible, but she’d hoped there’d at least be a while before they actually lost any vessels or troops in numbers. She sighed deeply as the vehicles touched down, then looked at Ordo, watching the man walk up to her. She raised a brow, noticing he was curious about something, to which he said, “... I have a color scheme for our troops, ma’am…” before showing her the blood stain.

A small smile formed on Meetra’s face. They’d learned their places, then. She spoke softly, “The color reminds me a lot of the Old Republic Troopers’ colors back during the Galactic Cold War, honestly,” as she ran a hand over the helmet, “It fits well, considering the armors,” and that seemingly gave the man her approval.

“Consider it an homage to our General, too, then, ma’am,” Ordo spoke, a small smile on his face. Her smile widened as she saluted and dismissed him so he could go do that. She then turned and watched Lasky approaching, face grave as if he was about to deliver some more bad news aside from the loss of their warships.

… And, indeed, what she heard about the Chancellor and Prosecutor concerned her…

Chapter Text

It hadn’t taken long for the boys of Domino Squad to get used to their new posting. As part of the 501st Legion under General Anakin Skywalker, the boys had been given some new combat training and were prepared for any upcoming combat mission, should it be required for them to deploy any time soon. For now, though, the men were on board the Resolute while their General had left for something.

Heavy himself didn’t know what. All he knew was that the bunks on board the Republic cruiser were certainly a lot more comfortable than the Cots back on the Rishi outpost. He yawned, stretching in his bed, then scratched the top of his head, mumbling something as he straightened up and jumped out of the bed.

The 501st was currently on QRF duty, meaning they’d answer to any site in the Galaxy within the reach of Republic naval forces to reinforce it. They’d gone through a bit of a blunder earlier with the disappearance of R2D2, General Skywalker’s own personal Astromech, but they’d managed to retrieve the little guy, not for lack of hoops to jump through.

He walked out of the barracks room of the Dominoes and watched the troops milling about around them, chatting each-other up. He sighed, leaning against the door frame and watching them do their thing. He looked quickly at his shoulder to make sure the Z6 emblem he’d drawn on was still there, plus the writing ‘For Rishi!’ above it.

He’d written the names of the dead on his left thigh plate, between two blue lines. His pectoral-shaped chest armor plates were colored the dark-blue of the Legion, while his helmet stripes were varied and wild as per his own request. He picked his helmet up off a rack from within his room, walked out again and immediately saw Fives and Echo approaching.

The former bore a number 5 tattoo on the side of his head and a stubble goatee, while the latter still had that blue handprint on the right side of his chest, but remained relatively samey-looking to their other brethren. The two smiled when they saw Hevy, with Fives even quipping, “Look who finally decided wake up.”

“Har-di-harr,” Heavy snorted, putting his free hand on his hip, “What were you two doin’?”

“Just patrolling per captain Rex’s orders,” Echo replied as he crossed his arms, “He said he wanted us to get used to the interior layout of a Jedi Cruiser because we’re gonna be spending a lot of Force-damn time in them,” to which his heavy weapons brother nodded understandingly. Echo then looked at Fives, before Hevy’s stomach audibly grumbled, causing the Trooper to sigh.

And Fives quipped, “As luck would have it, we were learning the way to the mess hall, if ya wanna tag along,” with a smirk. Hevy gave a thumbs up, then tilted his head, showing them to lead the way. The three men then began walking with the flow of soldiers, before Fives started up his and Echo’s chat again with, “... Anyways, Cutup and one of the UNSC Liaisons aboard got peeved at each-other because of Cutup’s accent.”

Echo snorted and asked, “What, it’s an accent back on their homeworld?”

“Not only that,” Fives snorted, shaking his head, “But said Liaison shared it. Apparently, it’s an ‘Irish’ accent from the country of Ireland. Earth Basics are real weird, apparently, what with having once been divided into countries,” which caused Hevy to stare for a moment. He continued, “But, yeah… Cutup has an accent that blatantly sounds like Irish.”

“And Droidbait didn’t help either. I think the Liaison’s a spook,” Echo added in a murmur as they turned left at a cross intersection, following a few of the other members of the 501st over. They paused as they saw a Clone with a checkerboard shoulder pad, with Echo stating, “Huh, that must be Check.”

“You know him?” Hevy asked, raising a brow.

“Not personally, but word of mouth is he was one of the first Clones to see the UNSC comin’ down,” Fives shot back. He walked over and called out, “Hey, Check!” which caused the man to turn around. He looked the same as them, though he did certainly seem a fair bit more upbeat than the others. He also had a small pendant clipped to his belt with a piece from a game the UNSC called ‘Chess’.

“Oh, hey, fellas. You must be the new guys from Domino,” He raised a hand, “Welcome aboard. You couldn’t’a landed with a better Legion if you want action… Though Rishi sounds like it was something else,” and that caused the men to snort and all nod in confirmation. The man showed them to follow him, stating, “Lunch is up if that’s what y’all need an escort for.”

“Cheers,” Fives nodded, “Was gonna ask about your work with the UNSC, though.”

“Ooh,” Check snorted, then crossed his arms and said, “Well, you could ask me, but Tup’s the guy who got a Basic girlfriend all of a sudden,” only to dodge a spoon that was thrown his way, narrowly missing the guys. He and the guys started laughing, while Tup glared at them from a table up ahead. They’d just entered the Mess.

As they went to the line to grab food, he told them, “I’m sure you guys figured by now, considering you were reinforced by a pack of’em on Rishi, but Marines are something else,” while he was leading them down the buffet line. He explained, “They started out a bit cold toward us, which… Y’know, I can get. We’re all same-faces to them…”

“Buuut, as is the case with the Misfits,” Fives completed, drawing out the ‘but’ a bit for some dramatic or comedic effect, “They opened up to us and all of a sudden we’re pals,” while his brothers nodded in approval. They saw Cutup and Droidbait also enter the mess and waved them over, then looked at Check and told him, “There must be a bunch who don’t look at us too favorably, though.”

“A couple,” Check nodded, “Call us slaves and stuff…”

The men had a momentary pause at that, before Echo said, “We’re only following orders and doing what we were bred for… I don’t see that as slavery,” and his brothers seemingly echoed that feeling, giving approving gestures. Check shrugged, somewhat agreeing, too, but for his own reasons. The Grand Army was the only thing they’d all known for their few years of life. Of course, they’d defend their ranks.

Check then told them, “You can tag in with me and Tup at the table if ya feel like it,” as he lifted his own tray off the line. They nodded, then Fives turned to Cutup and Droidbait and tilted his head to their table. They nodded, with Cutup raising his hand. Fives and Echo both also noticed that the man had crudely painted a strange set of colors on his chest. Green, white and orange.

As they approached the table and sat down with their filled trays, Tup smacked Check upside the head and berated him, “Don’t start spreading bantha poo-doo with the new guys, moron,” before looking forward at them and saying, “Dominos, right? I’m Tup, though I’m guessing my dumbass friend over here already told you that.”

“Yep,” Fives nodded, grinning.

Echo, however, furrowed his brows and asked, “‘Dumb ass’? How  does that work?” 

“It’s apparently an insult the Earth Basics use often when referring to specific people,” Tup clarified as he took a bite of fruit from his own plate. He saw the confusion and clarified, “It’s just another way of saying our dear brother to my right is an idiot,” and that caused the men of Domino to snort. Checkerboard gave him a punch in the shoulder, causing him to let out an ‘ouch’.

Fives, Echo and Hevy looked at one-another, grinning, then immediately and unanimously agreed to add that word to their vocabulary. Cutup walked over and greeted, “Aye, fellas, what’s the word?” with a wave. Droidbait, meanwhile, had a bit of a bruise on his cheek. When Cutup saw them staring at that, he told them, “He’s fine.”

“Fair enough,” All of them spoke, then made room for the boys. Hevy asked, “The hell’s with the color columns on your chest, though, Cut?” to which the man looked at the ‘symbol’. The man leaned forward and started speaking in an alien language, forcing everyone to look at Droidbait, who was rubbing his cheek.

“... It’s Irish. That’s the flag of Ireland,” The man replied in a mumble, “He befriended the ONI spook that he pissed off, somehow,” then he said, “Just eat, fellas,” before he turned to his food, cut into it and started chowing down. The men paused, then started laughing, while Cutup proudly continued eating.

The men did, too, exchanging small-talk every once in a while, before pausing as a burning blue flash appeared to their left. They looked to the left, watching the Infinity and her fleet arrive over their little staging area at Kuat, with some of their ships being towed by other vessels via tractor beams. Tup spoke, “Huh… Looks like they got hit.”

“They went out to Nathema, deep within Seppie space,” Cutup spoke calmly, leaning back into his chair and completing with, “They pro’lly got a few Seppie ships outta the way of some of our fleet, aye, but…” and part of him paused, wondering how many people got wounded and killed in that fight. He heard his com ping, looked at it, then said, “Huh… Misfits’re here, too.”

“Oh, nice,” Spoke Fives, “Glad to know they’re alright.”

“They’re about to board the ship. Admiral Yularen and Admiral Lasky are about to have a talk about our next job,” Echo stated as he listened in on the coms as well. The men nodded approvingly at that, then looked to the right, watching their new Commander, Ahsoka Tano, stepping in as well, carrying a tray while under Captain Rex’s watch.

Rex walked over to them and asked, “Domino Squad?” only to see them all stand up and salute. He quickly told them, “As you were…” and cast a glance toward Tup and Check, causing both men to shrink as if he was glaring at them. He asked the Domino Squad members, “Are you boys getting acclimated well enough here?” 

“Aye, sir,” Cutup smiled, “Perfectly fine.”

“Couldn’t have asked for a better post after Rishi, sir,” Fives replied jovially, leaning forward. He tapped Cutup on the forehead and said, “This specific dumbass immediately decided to piss off one of the ONI agents on the ship with his accent… And now they’re friends,” and he pointed at the Irish flag on the man’s chest.

Rex, having heard a UNSC/Basic term, sighed and hid a smile, then shook his head, telling them, “Take it easy on the Basics. Their spooks mean business. One of the main reasons we have intel for a multitude of fronts is their Prowler stealth craft fleet,” all while he hummed and scratched his chin, watching the damaged ships being towed to the Shipyards for repairs. He added, “Guess Nathema gave them a bloody nose,” in a murmur.

“Was bound to happen at some point,” Check told him, mild annoyance in his voice, “Just hopin’ Tup’s girlfriend’s fine,” and that caused Rex to crack a small, amused smile and snort. Ahsoka, who was also there, actually let out a short laugh, arms crossed, while Tup grumbled to himself and finished his tray of food. The others bumped fists with Check.

Echo sighed, rubbing his eyes, then asked, “General Kenobi and General Skywalker are still on that Operation to nab Dooku, right?” to which Rex nodded.

Their Captain told them, “It should be a cakewalk for two Jedi, though Pirates are known to be a shrewd bunch,” watching as the UNSC ships docked in full for repair and resupply. He sighed and said, “Keep yourselves ready. If we need to go save the Generals, I’d like all hands on deck. Gonna see if I can’t requisition some troops from Lasky, too.”

“Get the Misfits!” Fives called out, “They matched our energy.”

Rex nodded, smirk on his face, then walked off. Ahsoka, meanwhile, sat herself down with the boys and said, “You fellas don’t mind if we share a table, right? Figured since lunch is almost over, I might as well tag in and listen in on the gossip,” before she set her tray down. Tup, Cutup, Check and Droidbait scooted over a little and nodded.

… On the Kuat ring station, some time later, Admiral Lasky had descended from his ship with his escorting officer cadre. He watched Blue Team and Delta’s discussion, however, before he’d go any further to meet Admiral Yularen, just because he wanted to see what the talk would sound like. He watched Chief approach 38, calm and relaxed.

“Delta Lead,” The tall man began to speak, watching the Clone turn on his heels toward him. The two men stared for a moment, with the other members of both teams locking eyes, before the very little tension there was vanished with Chief extending a hand and stating, “We’re looking forward to working with Delta Squad again on another op. Seeing how calm you all are under pressure made sure of that.”

38, slightly surprised, nodded and took the Spartan’s hand, shaking it firmly as he said to him, “The feeling is mutual, Master Chief. Blue Team performed admirably and we appreciate the experience you all shared while dealing with the Flood, not to mention your men protecting mine like they did,” before giving a nod to Kelly, who snapped a quick salute. Scorch nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

“Bring the kid next time,” Sev quipped, tilting his head toward Richard, who’d just now disembarked from the Infinity, too. He perked up at that, staring with hopeful eyes hidden behind a veneer of professionalism and stoicism he was trying to replicate from the Chief. Sev continued, “The Stealth Suit he’s wearin’ might’ve actually helped us in flanking those freaks.”

“Next time,” Chief nodded, then looked at Richard and gave him a nod of approval. He’d overheard what the young man had done to keep the route open for supplies to General Surik and her escort. The two commanders of the special forces squads met each-other’s gaze again, then snapped quick salutes and departed.

Scorch commented, “Man, I like Kelly,” as they walked away.

Sev snorted, “Course you do. She’s your type. Meanwhile, Linda’s a damn fine shot…”

“I didn’t mean it like that, Sev… Wait, what type?” The bomberman suddenly perked up, with Boss shaking his head and letting out a quiet, muted laugh. Sev snorted loudly, however, giving his brother a hard slap on the back while they walked toward their transport ship and Adviser, knowing full-well they were gonna deploy again soon.

Fixer told them, “Cut the Chatter, Deltas…” though he, too, was hiding a bit of amusement. 

Kelly crossed her arms and said to the Chief, “Put a few more of them on special operations and the War’s gonna end soon,” to which the Chief nodded in agreement. All four of them looked over to Richard, with Kelly directly telling him, “Kiddo, I’m gonna be honest… Delta’s right. We could’a probably used your skills in there.”

Chief told him, “We also read the post-operational report Crimson Actual and General Surik wrote on you,” and he approached the boy. He told him, “Well done. You kept their avenue of escape open should our fleets not have been able to send reinforcements,” then gave him a salute. Richard tried really hard not to crack a smile, snapping a salute while maintaining his own serious mask.

“He’s one hell of a tough kid, sir,” Six told him as they approached, “Keep him close. Crimson might like the extra member, but I believe he’s still Blue Team by your own orders,” before he lifted a balled fist toward Richard, one which the boy bumped with his own. Meetra, who was not far behind him, smiled, hands together and hidden by her robe.

“Hey, Buckethead!” The young man heard a voice call out to him. Turning his head, he saw Ahsoka, to which the other Spartans simply retreated as she ran toward him. With a grin on her face, she spoke, “I just managed to read the reports about the stuff you pulled on Nathema. Also heard things got extremely rough. You good?”

“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” He answered, sliding his helmet under his arm, “And I hear General Skywalker and General Kenobi are off on a quest to nab the Seppies’ leader. Gonna end the war so soon, are we?” to which the girl’s grin grew, as did her pride. He said, “We’ll be on call if they need backup. Y’know, as Jedi apparently tend to do.”

Meetra snorted at that quip, while Ahsoka’s grin visibly disappeared, replaced by a pout. She told him, “C’mon, smart-mouth… Lunchtime,” before grabbing him by the collar and dragging him off, much to the others’ delight. Meetra burst into laughter at that, while Six shook his head and the Blues all seemed to stare.

While that was happening, the Misfits that had been on both Rishi and Nathema met with their comrades, some of which had only seen Rishi, while the others didn’t see much combat beyond Christophsis. The squad Lieutenant, Samantha Lee, greeted Victor, Vesna, Paul and Katja with, “And there’s our resident deployment experts. How did Nathema go?”

“Rough,” Vic quipped as they sat down with the team nearby some boxes, “Could’a gone a hell of a lot worse. Thank God it didn’t…”

The resident Bulgarian-born young man of the squad, Alexi Stoyanov, asked, “Just how bad did it go? I mean, the reports are fresh, but according to Sam, we lost a few boys and girls down there, Clone Troopers included,” as he leaned his back against a bulkhead wall. Vic nodded, to which Alexi sighed and said, “Remind me to go with all of y’all next time.”

“Sure thing, big man,” Joked Paul, handing him a food item from his own MRE, “Look, it really wasn’t that bad… Casualties notwithstanding, we won and apparently did get a decently-sized fleet away from Republic fleet movements in an adjacent sector, so that’s a win in my book,” and he took a bite from the taco he had in his hand. He stuck his tongue out and nearly spat, stating, “Yikes…”

“‘Real Mexican food’,” joked the somewhat light-skinned Latino member of the squad, Jim Asher, as he ate from his own salsa, stating, “This is an insult to my grandma, man…” in a mumble, which got everyone to laugh.

Sam chuckled and shook her head, stating, “Don’t get me started on the ethnic menus, JJ,” as she took a spoonful of canned and re-heated Chili con Carne. She scrunched up her nose, then mumbled, “Still tastes better than that abomination they try to pass off as Fuqi Feipian in Menu Number 40,” as she ate begrudgingly.

Vic and Paul snorted at that, while Katja shook her head, chuckling and chowing down on a burrito of some kind. She told them, “Thank fuck they can’t ruin any of our dishes, or the stuff the Brits make,” which garnered yet more laughter from the others. She paused as she saw white armor with blue stripes in the corner of her eye. She grinned, then waved and said, “AY! DOMINOS! KURWA, WHERE’VE YOU BEEN!?”

“Hah! Holy kriff, there they are!” Fives greeted them with a wave of the hand, while the rest of the Misfits turned and smiled. They motioned the squad of Clone misfits over and showed them to sit down as they began to share their food. Though the boys had already eaten, they were perfectly fine with eating with them.

Cutup spoke, “Aye, we almost thought ye kriffheads were dead after all the data we got from Nathema,” as they sat themselves down. He got handed some sort of food and said, “Thank ya,” as he went on to try it. He scrunched his nose up, furrowing his brows and coughing. The Misfits all laughed at that.

“Thankfully, we’re still here,” Vic quipped as he leaned forward, all while Vesna sat herself down next to him and hugged him. He smiled at that, hugging her back, then offered her some food which she giggled to and promptly refused. She knew their MREs too well, Vic thought. He turned to the troopers and asked them, “So, you fellas here on standby?”

“Yep,” Echo nodded, “Apparently, the War might be really over soon if they got Dooku.”

Sammy spoke, “I learned to expect that no matter how nice and simple a solution might be, Murphy’s always gonna find some way to fuck us,” before turning to face them and extending her hand. A dainty-looking, petite young woman with jet-black hair, emerald eyes and the features of a Chinese mainlander, she spoke to them, “Lieutenant Sam Lee. Commander of this crazy platoon, which is still not at full strength even now.”

And, obviously, while introductions were underway for the Misfits, Rex, as requested by Admiral Lasky and Admiral Yularen, waited to meet the Commander of the 337th Legion under General Surik. He watched their Acclamators and Venators dock and disgorge their respective troop complements, then paused as he saw the freshly-painted armors. Dark-orange, almost brown stripes, clear-cut the sign of a new Legion of troops.

Some armors looked worn and battered, though, clearly touched by combat. A platoon of Clones led by one Lieutenant, whom Rex was soon able to identify as Savvy, the man who held the Hilltop alongside that one Spartan, Richard, passed by them, snapping a salute to the Captain. He saluted back, watching him pass, before hearing one of his brothers call out, “Captain Rex?”

“Yes?” He asked, turning to face the man and seeing the relatively young face of the soldier. Though same as his, it bore a few scars and marks, while his helmet had the blood palmed onto its side as a mark of differentiation. Commander Ordo stood before him, meaning Rex quickly snapped a salute out of respect to the otherwise plain-looking Clone and said to him, “Welcome aboard, Commander.”

Ordo saluted back and said, “Glad to be here, Captain. I apologize for it being on such short notice, but I feel I should… Ask a couple of favors from someone who’s been active for much longer than me or my Legion,” to which Rex nodded and showed him to go on. The Commander breathed in, then sighed and said, “... Teach me what you know, sir. Unorthodox tactics, combat skills, armor setups… Even how to dual-wield pistols since that seems so common among officers.”

That took Rex slightly by surprise. He asked, “Are you sure? I mean, I can certainly  teach you a few of the tricks I learned while working with General Skywalker, but would they work for you and your Legion? Take into account how your Jedi General is before you decide on your course of action, Commander…” then he saw the man pause to ponder what he’d just been told. He added, “I can teach you to gunsling, though,” and put a hand on his hip, “That’s the easy part.”

“I’d like to know that, Captain,” The Commander nodded, then looked to his left, watching the Admirals and General talk. He spoke, “As for learning about our General… Guess that’s gonna take a while longer than being taught how to dual-wield pistols properly,” in a murmur. Rex and him looked at each-other, then stepped off, following Ordo’s troops to the nearby areas to help them rearm and resupply, plus to help Ordo train with twin pistols.

Meetra, who’d seen this with the corner of her eye, cracked a smile. Ordo was proactive. That meant he’d make for a fine commander.

Chapter Text

Kuat Drive Yards

It’d been some hours since Generals Skywalker and Kenobi had last reported in and the 501st and their UNSC allies were getting tense, with the winds blowing every which way about what could possibly have happened to the two men. It was supposed to be an easy mission:Exchange some credits with some pirates for Dooku so they could end the war.

So, why was it suddenly so quiet? That question was on everyone’s minds, from the Admiralty to the ground pounders and Troopers that fought. Meetra herself sat in a private room on the concourse of the KDY Dockyards, watching various fleet tender vessels working on repairing the damage done to the UNSC fleet during the battle of Nathema.

The casualties still hurt. There were a lot of good men and women that were irreplaceable and had gone down with some of their ships in the fighting over the Confederacy-controlled world, but the sacrifice was hopefully worth it. She looked over the two pieces of the map they’d retrieved so far, noticing the line being traced across the ‘North-Eastern’ section of the Galaxy. Their next target would be nearby...

She wondered partially if their next pickup point would be Drommund Kaas. The dead Capital of the Sith Empire, an ancient place of dark side power where the Emperor himself had once resided. It was probably as haunted by the Sith as Korriban’s ruins were. She didn’t want to imagine walking that hellscape again, not after Vitiate.

She felt a presence approach, then turned as the sound of hooves hitting steel filled her ears. She smiled upon seeing the golden armor’s glint, then stood up and said, “Arbiter ‘Vadam,” in a most jovial and welcoming tone. The Sangheili official and commander of the Swords’ presence in this galaxy bowed his head in greeting.

“Apologies if I disturbed your time alone, General Surik, but I believe we’ve to have a talk about the search we are aiding in,” The Arbiter then explained as he approached, fully intent on understanding what they were searching for with this little ‘treasure hunt’. The Eternal Alliance, from what few records he had had time to access, was a strange formation. One he wanted to know more of.

The General smiled, then bowed back and replied, “Of course,” as she approached. She showed him to lead the way out of this little observation room. The Elite turned about, letting the woman walk to his side before they started walking together. They marched into the main concourse, past dozens of Kuat Drive Yards workers and Clone security forces guarding the place. 337th members and UNSC troops stood guard in the UNSC’s sector of the massive shipyard ring, protecting their own ships’ secrets…

“My thanks…” Thel then replied as they moved, then began, “My first question would relate to the faction we seek. The ‘Eternal Alliance’... Do you believe they still exist?” which caused Meetra to pause for a second.

She thought about it, then answered, “Honestly?” as she looked the alien in his reptilian eyes, hands together beneath her robe. She told him, “The last time I saw them was millennia ago. I have some hope they’re still around, but even if we don’t find them specifically, we’ll discover a cache of ancient technology or two that’ll help our current war.”

“I understand. If the Forerunners were involved in this matter, however… I am concerned,” The Arbiter then admitted. An understandable sentiment, Meetra thought, especially considering their own history with the ancient aliens. The Librarian was nice, though…

“I getcha. The weapons you guys found mid-Human-Covenant War are terrifying. Neutron pulse weapons that can wipe out all sentient life many hundreds of light-years around it, alien shield worlds meant to protect against that so a future generation might be reseeded  into the Galaxy, Slipspace weirdness…” She recounted, however, and thought more about it. Yes, all of that was meant to combat the Flood, but still.

“And the Flood…” The Elite commented as if he’d read the Jedi’s mind, though his voice was low, more guttural, angry. He’d fought them before, too. The images taken by the Spartans’ helmet cameras still stuck to her mind like a bad rash. She wasn’t sure if it was some sort of fungus or just a necrotic infection, but its abilities and the reports made it out to be one of, if not the single most dangerous entity they could have found from the Milky Way.

“Ugh…” Her reaction was visible:Disgust mixed with concern. “I read Blue and Delta’s reports on the damn things. And Chief’s previous encounters with them. Not something I want us to meet or have to deal with again...”

“Indeed,” The Elite replied calmly, then said to her, “Even if we do, it will be destroyed… Are you concerned over the Chancellor asking for it to be researched?”

“A little? Not to mention I don’t really feel comfortable around him… There’s a feeling there that is way too familiar,” Meetra confirmed.

“I understand. The Office of Naval Intelligence team deployed to the Senate has yet to report anything strange and my own ambassadorial staff have found no issues either. Not yet,” The Alien male stated, hands behind his back as they approached the area where the Infinity was docked. UNSC Naval personnel were busying themselves there, but many found time to wave to the two. Some held back, frowning at the Arbiter, but the Elite didn’t seem to mind.

“I pray to the Force that I’m wrong… Not like it listens to me, though,” Meetra murmured the last part of that little statement to herself.

“Hm?” Thel inquired, one of his eyelids rising higher in what felt like an attempt to replicate the human facial expression of raising a brow.

“Nothing,” She waved it off, then noticed a few more nasty stares from the Marines, aimed right at Thel. She looked at the alien again and asked, “How are you and your people getting acclimatized to our Galaxy? I haven’t heard anyone here say they were going off-duty for anything… I mean, yeah, I get the Infinity has basically all it needs and KDY’s concourse is wide and spacious, but not even wanting to visit other planets?”

“I believe I can quote Sergeant-Major Johnson when I say, ‘we’re gonna be seeing the damn things anyways when we’re off liberatin’em’,” He joked with some pride in his voice. Seeing Meetra chuckle reassured him that his attempts at human humor were being received well, though he never fully understood the good Sergeant-Major’s own brand of boisterous bluster.

“Yep. That sounds like the Sergeant-Major,” The girl answered amusedly, then asked him, “You two know each-other well?” 

“I, the Sergeant and the Master Chief cooperated in the final battle of the Human-Covenant War. No longer enemies, but brothers in arms. I would even consider them friends,” Thel replied warmly. Two Marines nearby immediately softened, one of them even cracking a small smile upon hearing that, before he returned to helping his compatriot carry boxes.

“That’s wonderful. Glad to know you could all put your differences aside,” Meetra offered affectionately.

“Not all of us. Humans still view us with hatred. Something that will not disappear in a single generation… Not after what we have done,” Thel spoke more quietly now, yet again lowering his voice and his head, though it was with shame. All of the Elites serving the Swords, or at least all of them that she had had the pleasure of meeting, seemed genuinely remorseful for the murders they’d committed under the Prophets’ dogmatic leadership. That must’ve counted for something.

“I’m sure seeing you guys so willing to try and repent helps, though,” She voiced, arms crossed to her chest.

“Somewhat, though I cannot fault any human who looks upon an Elite with hate. We were the same before our eyes were opened,” Thel replied, ever the forgiving Sangheili male. He was a sage among his people and a veteran, too. His own campaign against humanity had ended the moment he’d truly become the Arbiter.

“I can and will if it helps,” She smirked, looking at the Elite. His mandibles shifted slightly into what seemed to be the form of an attempted mimic of a human smile. He bowed his head, but didn’t respond verbally, instead watching as a few of his Special Ops Elites marched out toward a green-colored Phantom. They gently floated up and into the craft with the help of the gravity lift.

“Regardless. Back to our discussion on what we seek,” He then told her, moving his gaze away from the ship as it took off for the Shadow of Intent.  

“Right…” The Jedi Exile replied with a nod, then tapped her chin as she tried to remember where she was. She smiled as soon as it came to her and continued the explanation, “The Alliance was something else when it came to attempting to keep the peace. We fought against a former Sith Emperor, Vitiate. The tales about him are long and winding and so is much of the history surrounding this. To note I’m not a good orator. I prefer action to words,” before shrugging.

“Are you working on a data packet for the fleet officers, then?” He inquired, only to see her expression shift for a moment to confusion. He gave a gentle, horizontal wave of his hand, then explained, “Perhaps a digital briefing might be of more use than attempting to speak of what occurred four millennia prior. You might even remember it more easily.”

“... Yeah, now that you mention it,” She hummed, then told him, “I’ll probably write up a full report of my escapades with the Alliance to hand over to UNSC Command and you. I’ll try not to make it too long, though…” mostly because she hated reading and writing long-winded reports back during the ‘good old days’, too. No reason to put someone through a novella’s worth of words just to understand historical context.

“It is appreciated,” He replied with a nod.

“... Hey, by the way, where is Johnson?” She blinked, suddenly worried as she saw the man’s platoon of Marines, Chips Dubbo and Stacker included, but no sign of the man himself, which was concerning. She also noticed that members of the 337th finally started to appear among the crowds of troops embarking onto dropships. In the distance, her personal Venator floated by the side of the KDY Defense Fleet, under the guard of an escort task group of Frigates. 

“I believe he is assisting the UNSC’s Drill Instructors on teaching the Clones of your 337th Legion the UNSC’s ways of war,” The Arbiter replied, causing the General to visibly wince. 

“... Oh, boy. I think I’m gonna go to the training areas and try and find them. Thanks for the talk, Arbiter,” Meetra said, then bowed to the alien male. He bowed his head back in return, allowing her to depart with a wordless goodbye. He went to one of their Phantoms and boarded it with an escort of SpecOps Elites and Grunts before ordering them to head for the CAS-class Carrier.

The General had quickly rushed to board the UNSC’s flagship, taken the elevators and various tram cars over to where she knew the training areas were and found herself face-to-face with Lasky and Palmer, the latter of which was out of armor, watching a training exercise in the War Games Rooms, a hologram deck where ‘live-fire’ training exercises between teams could be played out in simulated environments, very much like the special training rooms that Kamino had for their Armies.

She walked over to the window, completely ignored by the two officers of the UNSC Navy and Spartan branch respectively, then watched the fighting. Armed with blasters that were set for stun and guns with ‘lockdown paint’, also known as the UNSC’s version of stun rounds, two teams went head-to-head, each a combination of UNSC Marines and Clone Troopers. Though one was 501st and was being led by what seemed to be the Misfits, while the 337th was with Johnson and a platoon of his own elected Marines. Blues versus Reds in a game of ‘Capture the Flag’.

“Alright, Troopers, keep the pace up! Corps ain’t payin’ us by the hour!” Johnson’s voice echoed over the com, followed by the thunder of shotgun shells and plasma rounds as the teams moved up and down the ‘play area’, a simulated gulch with no exit where two round bases stood on opposite sides. Cover was lacking in the middle area, but the firefights were distant enough for it not to matter.

“I see what the Arbiter meant when he said ‘teaching them the ways of war’...” Meetra murmured, causing both Lasky and Palmer to jump. She cracked a smirk, then winced as she saw a 337th Trooper take a burst of lockdown paint rounds from one of the Marines, collapsing in a heap and violently shaking from the electrical currents flowing through the conductive viscous material.

“Ah, General. Welcome,” Lasky greeted, trying not to show she’d caused him to jump.

She smiled, then leaned onto the console ahead, watching the troopers go about exchanging fire, performing flanking maneuvers and utilizing the high ground alongside their snipers. She told them, “I suppose I should’ve expected you guys would wanna teach the troopers UNSC-standard squad tactics,” then let out a quiet laugh before commenting, “Could’ve called me in for the fun, too,” whilst looking at the Admiral.

“Apologies, but we figured we shouldn’t disturb you after Nathema,” The good man replied, then looked at Palmer, who shrugged and nodded in confirmation as soon as the Jedi General turned toward her. 

“Any time’s fine. Keeping my skills sharp and training to work properly within the confines of your command structure should be something I continuously work on, considering the casualties we experienced down there. I’m a Jedi General from a War four millennia passed,” She offered, her voice just that little bit lower and quiet enough. Lasky and Palmer understood.

“Fair enough, I suppose. Apologies,” Lasky replied, arms crossed to his chest.

She smiled at the two, then looked down, “Don’t worry about it,” only to wince as she saw a Marine get hit by a stun blast and immediately tumble over. She asked awkwardly, “So, how’s it going?” before broadly sweeping her hand at the mock battle going on below. A few of the Marines pushed forward, reinforcing a wounded and understrength unit of clones while they were looking.

“Nathema was kind of a proving ground already. We’re just  cementing what we’ve learned with them down there,” Palmer commented, looking at the boys go about a flanking maneuver to gain the advantage again. She smirked.

“Good to know…” Meetra squinted, then said, “I don’t see Commander Ordo anywhere among the ranks, though,”

“He’s with Captain Rex and Commander Cody, I believe. Rex is training him,” The Admiral answered.

“Makes sense. They’re stuck here until Generals Kenobi and Skywalker return, so. Hey, speaking of, have we gotten word back from the two intrepid warriors about their little acquisition of Count Dooku?” The Jedi General belonging to the UNSC’s ranks raised a brow. One would think they’d gotten some sort of report by now…

“Nothing yet, but I’ve had my com staff keep us in the loop if they call,” The man replied next, while Palmer mumbled something with a smirk on her face. The two officers in the room above her rank looked at her inquisitively, preparing to hear what she had to say while another short ‘firefight’ occurred below.

“Given how Chief and Gunny Buck say they’ve fought on Christophsis, I don’t think they’ll have much trouble if they had to break out,” Palmer clarified her words, looking at the two with a smirk. 

Meetra thought for a moment. Yes, she’d also read the reports of the battle of Christophsis, so she knew they were capable. Regardless, she told Palmer and Lasky, “... Let’s not jinx it. Jedi have a proclivity for getting stuck in stupid situation,” which caused a Clone trooper from General Kenobi’s 212th, who was just passing by, to snort.

“Fair enough… Lots of weird things have happened already, like us getting thrown here, allying with the Republic and an ancient, immortal Jedi getting us into a quest to find some ancient super-Alliance. Wouldn’t want more, would we?” Palmer quipped, slightly leaning her head forward, causing the General and Admiral to laugh.

“Heh. I believe your people would say ‘Amen’,” The female Jedi replied amusedly, crossing her arms to her chest. She heard a ping from up ahead and looked down, noticing Johnson walking out of his team’s base with a smile on his face. The 337th Clones cheered, while the Misfits and the Dominoes seemed to be taking the loss relatively well.

“And there goes Johnson, scoring another one for Red Team,” Lasky chuckled.

“Y’know what they say, Admiral,” Palmer grinned, “Beware an old man in a profession where they die young. Johnson’s probably the single most vet Marine we have on board this boat,” then she looked at the man as he rallied up his team for the next round. She continued, “God knows what the world would’ve done without him.”

“Sounds like the boys are having fun,” Meetra immediately recognized the intonation as that of Captain Rex. Looking back, she cracked a small smile as she saw the 501st officer marching side-by-side with Commander Ordo. Ordo himself had a new armor color scheme, a brownish-red, almost like the congealed and dried blood of the hand print he had on his helmet after Nathema. Said handprint was seemingly repainted onto the helmet after a thorough cleaning, but using actual paint instead of blood.

“Commander, Captain. I see training’s been going well?” The General smiled, noticing the twin blaster pistols on the Commander’s hips, clipped to his belt. Not just that, but Rex had seemingly gifted the man a black leather ‘Kama’, a traditional Mandalorian, kilt-like item meant to shield the wearer’s legs from shrapnel and concussive blasts.

“He’s a decently fast learner, to nobody’s surprise. He’s one of my brothers after all,” Rex said, clapping a hand on the Commander’s shoulder.

Ordo hummed, then nodded and said, “Thanks for the encouragement, Captain, but I think I could do a lot better. Especially after that ground op…” and his mind seemed to wander back to their fallen comrades, including Warden. The Clone Gunner had become somewhat of a battle cry for his brothers in the 337th, a Legion whose Nathema op had just made them into an Assault unit. Shock troopers of the UNSC’s and Republic’s joint efforts. Still, the deaths there had clearly left a bitter taste in his and the General’s mouths.

“It was your first operation, sir. Don’t be too hard on yourself,” The Captain assured him, arms crossed. He still respected the chain of command, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be friendly with his newer, younger brothers, Rex thought. They were his siblings, after all. Taking his hand off of the Commander’s shoulder, Rex looked over at the battleground.

“Aw. I appreciate the kind words, Captain,” Meetra offered kindly.

“We were all new and shiny months ago, General,” The Captain returned with a friendly, but serious tone, trying to stay professional with the General here. Meetra, meanwhile, looked over the whole slew of new gear attached to her personal Clone officer, then nodded approvingly. The colors fit the Legion surprisingly well.

“I lost my shine when we went on Nathema. So did a lot of the boys,” Ordo replied to Rex, looking at the man. 

“And that’s why I agreed to train you on how to dual-wield. If there’s a skill to pass down from someone like Captain Fordo, it’s probably that and his sheer lack of fear. Provided we do good enough, you might even get ARC Training, Commander,” as he laid his hands on his hips. He wondered if the Dominoes were still looking to be ARC, too.

“Thank you, Captain,” Ordo bowed his head.

“Don’t mention it,” He answered, then hummed and looked at Meetra, warning her, “Also, General, beware, Cody might’ve been teaching him basic protocol. Things might get a bit boring,” and thus causing her, Lasky and Palmer to laugh, though the Admiral attempted to stifle it. The humoristics of a Clone Captain under General Skywalker, the good General thought.

“Noted. Thank you, Captain,” She smiled at him.

“Who’s training down there, by the way?” Ordo asked, peering over the edge and at the screens. He saw his own boys going toe-to-toe with the 501st’s newest squad. Falx Squad and Domino Squad. The former had no markings on their armor. It was still white, though a somewhat dirtier white than normal, with specks and splotches of mud and black carbon scoring. 

“We’ve got MISFIT Squad and DOMINO Squad training against Johnson and the 337th’s own FALX Squad,” Lasky offered, tapping one of the holographic display buttons to shift to a ground perspective, just as a pair of the Clones approached each-other, cyan-shining stun blaster bolts and purple tracers of lockdown paint flying through the air.

“Oh, that’s gonna go well. The Dominoes have been looking for action ever since we got’em out of Rishi…” Rex quipped, taking a thinker’s pose as he watched the two clones, namely Fives and one of the 337th’s boys, approach each-other and square off. Fives, however, didn’t even bother to wait, rushing the man and slamming into him, before pinning him to the floor.

“And there’s Fives pinning Beaker in CQC,” Ordo mumbled, crossing his arms to his chest.

“Beaker, eh?” Rex raised a brow. That name felt familiar enough to where Rex had a momentary melancholy-fueled flashback to the days of their training back on Kamino. The 337th had trained alongside the 501st as younger Cadets early on, too, so that only made sense, but… It still felt odd for him to feel melancholy.

“He knocked over some lab equipment during a routine checkup back on Kamino. Name stuck,” Ordo explained.

“Pffff…” Meetra covered her mouth, then shook her head. She hummed, figuring now was a good time to mention the new clothes. She asked, “Oh, by the way, Commander?” and fully turned to face him. He slightly jumped when the woman addressed him, straightening his posture up like a good soldier would when faced with officers. She showed him to relax and his shoulders, stiff due to the posture, relaxed.

“Yes, General?” He asked after a momentary hesitation.

“New paintjob?” She asked, half-joking with her soldier. The man looked at himself and was glad the General finally asked. He wasn’t gonna bring it up first, though. His CO had to address him and kriff it if he wasn’t gonna hang on to at least a modicum of military respect, even for a woman out of her own time.

“... Yes, ma’am. My idea, with some help from the Captain…” Ordo replied, motioning to Rex with both hands and a degree of awkwardness she only thought she’d see in teenagers. The woman smiled, looking at the ‘bloody handprint’ mark on his helmet. She approved the little changes. A start to the man making his own identity. 

“... The hand print really brings it all together,” She said proudly.

“Thanks…” He nodded, relieved. Rex didn’t show it, but he cracked a smile behind the helmet.

“It also reminds me of the old Republic Army gear from both the Mandalorian Wars and Galactic Cold War, so you get bonus points for the little nostalgia bit,” The General then joked, earning a short laugh from Commander Palmer. Lasky shook his head, mildly amused, but didn’t say no to the changes, or Meetra’s references, simply watching the battle end down below.

“Glad to hear you approve, General. I’ll let the boys know,” The Clone Commander replied, a hint more warm.

“Good,” The girl smiled back.

Down below, in the meanwhile, the two Clone Troopers that had collided were recovering just after the bell rang for the end of this round of CTF. Beaker, one of the 337th Clones still clad in his base white uniform, shook his head and mumbled, “Damn… Dirty shot, Trooper,” before looking up. He watched Fives outstretch his hand.

“Heh. Sorry, but you’ve got to admit it was a nice sideswipe,” Fives chuckled, helping the man up the moment he took his hand. CT-5555 had already  modified his armor with quite a few different markings, including a helmet mark that matched the tattoo on the side of his head. It was also placed in the same location, right on the temple, an Aurebesh number 5.

“Not going to deny it…” The Clone wiped the mud off his visor, then crossed his arms and asked, “What’s your name?” as the break between rounds started properly, each ‘wounded’ or ‘killed’ being recovered and woken up for the next run. A couple of the Misfits watched the interaction between the two clones from afar alongside the rest of Domino.

“CT fifty-five fifty-five. The boys call me Fives. You?” The 501st trooper replied, helping the 337th Shiny dust off his armor.

“CT six-three-six-seven. Beaker,” Came his answer. He had a light, but familiar accent from a different part of Mandalore, probably courtesy of his Cuy’val Dar training officers under Kal Skirata and Jango Fett. Kal’buir was still running around, training the next generations of Commandos, going by the messages some of the local ARC Troopers were receiving.

“Hah. Lab equipment name?” Fives chuckled.

“Yeah. That a problem?” Beaker replied with slight warning in his voice.

“Nope. I think we know you,” Hevy, Domino’s Z6 rotary operator, replied as he approached, too. Beaker blinked as the rest of his squad formed up in the middle with’em, too. Falx squad was kind of a run-of-the-mill unit, if for nothing else than being actively trained to be the Republic’s and now UNSC’s shock troops.

“Fair enough… Guess everyone’s heard of that lab incident, eh?” Beaker snorted.

“Spilling salicylic acid dust on the hand of one of the Kaminoan eggheads sounds like a bit more than just an incident,” Cutup spoke, his accent surprising the members of Falx. 

“... Where in the Force’s name did he get an accent from?” Beaker then inquired, looking at his 501st brethren. His same-unit brothers began to laugh, while the Dominoes themselves tried to keep it down. It wasn’t nice to laugh at your brothers, or so they were told when they were being trained by their DIs.

“We don’t know,” The entire Domino squad then replied in unison, save obviously for the butt of the joke, who crossed his arms and rolled his eyes before tapping the Irish flag on his chest. The rest of the 337th boys gave thumbs up to the Irish Clone, then noticed Johnson and his platoon were watching. The Sergeant-Major waved one of the other clones, a Lieutenant from the looks of things, over to the team.

“Ha…! Fair,” Beaker snorted.

“We done here, Beaks?” Asked the officer that Johnson had sent forward, sounding a fair bit more gruff than the others. The first signs of his individuality were the pack of UNSC-standard cigarettes clipped to his belt and an artisanal lighter of some kind, sold to him by a local civilian contractor. Otherwise, he had the same colors.

“Yeah, boss, just exchanging some small-talk with the boys here. Turns out they know about me,” The Clone replied jokingly, shifting his blaster onto his back. The members of Domino snapped salutes toward the Lieutenant, who saluted back in kind, looking them over as he took his helmet off. He’d buzz cut the sides of his hair into claw-like patterns, while the top of his head remained a flat, military regulation cut.

“Every clone from Kamino to Geonosis probably knows ya. C’mon, we’re resetting for the last round,” The Officer then replied to his own trooper, tilting his head toward Johnson.

“Who’re you?” Echo asked, crossing his arms to his chest.

“Tomcat. I’m Falx’s officer. You’re the Dominoes, right?” He replied, lowering his arms by his side. A few of the other Clone Troopers formed up with them in the middle, taking their helmets off to show the fight was paused. Honestly, the fact that a Clone tackling another gathered so much attention was kind of surprising.

The same brother he’d just spoken to replied, “That’s us, alright.”

“I saw your training records before we left,” The man offered, then noticed them wince. With a proud grin, he complimented them, “Glad you boys are finally getting a chance to prove that training’s bogus compared to the real thing. Save us a few Clankers,” and that was enough to get the members of Dominoes to turn from worried to happy.  

“Cheers, Tomcat,” Fives replied, then slid his helmet onto his head and said, “Now, let’s get back to the fun, eh?”

“Less chatter, more prep work, boys! Move!” Johnson barked.

“Sir!” They all replied, snapping salutes. The teams then separated, each moving to their respective base of operations. The Dominoes were talking to one-another about possible strategies to take down the 337th’s boys and the Sergeant-Major. The man was nothing if he wasn’t a badass when it came to fighting. No wonder he survived the Human-Covenant War, they thought.

As they approached the base, Lieutenant Lee greeted them with a smile, then gave a pat on the shoulder to Fives and complimented him with, “Nice work with that tackle, Fives. You should play professional rugby,” as she pushed her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose. She was glad the Clones were on their side.

“Thanks, El-Tee. We still lost, though,” Fives shrugged, then grabbed his blaster.

“Eh, Johnson’s basically a cheat code for the 337th,” Victor quipped as he prepared his GPMG. The purple-tipped lockdown paint rounds hanged nicely on the belt, clinking together as the Marine who bore several hits from said paint on his chest plate, leaned the gun onto his shoulder. His wife beside him racked the bolt of her MA40, then shouldered it.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Paul mumbled, rubbing his chest. His armor plate had been slightly dented by a dropkick from the Sergeant-Major himself mere minutes before the last round had ended. He hadn’t cracked any ribs, but damned if his pride wasn’t hurt. His partner, Katja, gave him a gentle shoulder nudge with her elbow and showed him to calm down.

After a moment’s pause, however, Cutup asked rather worriedly, “... The kriffin’ fuck’s rugby?” which immediately caused the entire team to burst into laughter, Misfits included. Not long after, however, the bell rang for the start of the next and supposedly final round, all while Meetra and the others continued to watch from above.

“At least we all seem to be working well together,” Meetra mumbled to herself, arms crossed.

Lasky was about to reply to that with something positive, as he usually did, only for his com bead to ping. He put his hand up to his ear and blinked, then said, “Oh. Update from the Generals…” and a beat passed. He sighed deeply, then said, “They managed to send a mayday. Planet Florrum. They got captured, too…”

“I’ll get Blue Team on the line…” Palmer let out a deeper sigh, much more annoyed. She did not want to believe the reports about them at first, but here they were. She touched a few buttons on the keyboard and linked her com system to Blue Team’s ship. Moments later, she knew they were underway with all the necessary data.

Florrum, Ohnaka Gang’s encampment

“I don’t think we’ve got much of a choice on the matter,” Count Dooku, one of the heads of the Separatist chimera, spoke rather bluntly. The former Jedi, now turned Sith, held his hands together thanks to the Stuncuffs the Weequay Pirates had stuck on his hands. Not only that, but he was bound together via a larger stuncuff ring around his waist to the two Jedi that had landed to take him.

Anakin Skywalker replied, “I’m really not looking to surrender to a bunch of Pirates, Count. All due respect to you and the other Seppies, surrender’s more your thing,” in his usually snide way. Obi-Wan hummed, peering over the low wall they were using as cover, watching as the Weequay, aliens with stone-like skin and sharp protrusions that looked like spikes on their lower jaws, but still humanoid in appearance, went about.

Each man wore a different piece of clothing or armor, most looking raggedy due to being pirates. Their weapons were an assortment of blaster rifles and pistols stolen from all sides of the war. Their leader, an older Weequay with braids, looked around, speaking with a heavy accent, “Hurry! Hurry! Our pay’s trying to escape us!”

Hondo Ohnaka. A relatively small-time pirate that still had a fleet of ships at his disposal. He was a Spice runner and a swashbuckler, as Obi-Wan was sure he’d call himself. And he was dumb enough to keep all three of their Lightsabers with him. If only they could get to him and use the Force to grab them…

“What’s on your mind, Master?” Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan looked at the two people he was bound to, then said, “He has our Lightsabers on his belt, right beside his blaster. Quite confident for a pirate who has three Force Users on the loose in his little compound,” then he turned around. They were on Florrum, a barren, arid planet. Sprawling deserts, sandy dunes and flat-topped plateaus as far as the eye could see, cast in a bright golden light by the sun of the planet and its dusty atmosphere.

The Ohnaka Gang’s compound was spread out, built out of old ship parts and various material they’d probably acquired through raiding. Their spaceport was to the right, where several saucer-shaped vessels stood. Some of them had lifted off and were probably searching for them, or preparing to intercept any rescue attempt.

“We are bound together as if we’re one,” Dooku replied, peering over the cover to see his Lightsaber, the curved-hilt scarlet blade he’d used since he left the Jedi, next to Kenobi’s and Skywalker’s. He looked at the wire binding him to them, then said, “Do either of you have any plan as to how we will free ourselves?”

“We’re thinking,” Anakin replied.

“It would help if you didn’t berate us continuously,” Obi-Wan murmured, looking around. He showed the two to follow, moving as quickly as possible toward a different hiding spot as more and more of Hondo’s men ran around. He looked back at Dooku, then peered into the building before pushing the door open and entering.

“Will we hide forever, then, Master Kenobi?” Dooku asked, a mix of respect and vitriol in his voice, “Perhaps your newfound allies can help rescue us. This is a Republic-owned system, after all. Or are they also stretched thin, attempting to make up for the Republic’s military shortcomings?” all while Obi-Wan was rifling through the contents of this house to try and see what 

“Well, about that,” Anakin grinned. Dooku glared at him. Of course, they’d managed to send a mayday, the man thought. He needed to get away from them as soon as it was humanly possible to escape. Anakin continued, “You look a little distraught, count. Kath got your tongue or something?” before he paused.

“Your Padawan remains as insolent as ever,” Dooku spoke, glaring at Kenobi.

Obi-Wan smiled and said, “As long as it stays directed at you? I’m fine with it,” only for Dooku to prepare to respond. The old Sith paused, however, when he heard the door open. All three Force-wielding men turned toward the door. A Pirate stood there, stunned. He immediately tried to lift his blaster, calling out to Hondo, only for Dooku to immediately lift his hands up and, with a single flick of his wrists, snap the man’s neck.

The two Jedi looked back at him, Anakin mildly approving that action mentally, before Obi-Wan barked, “GO!” as he stood up. The three men bolted outside and tried to go for the dropships, only to immediately be surrounded by Hondo’s pirates, all of them with blasters drawn. Obi-Wan sighed deeply, then said, “Anakin, next time, watch the door, please…”

“Hey, it ain’t my fault the Count decided to complain,” Anakin said, hands raised. Hondo, meanwhile, seemed to be having the time of his life, laughing heartily at the little attempted escape of the Jedi and Sith. With his hands on his hips, shielding the three Lightsabers from being taken, the Pirate Lord approached.

He watched Dooku raise his hands and wagged his finger at him, then berated him like a father, “Ah, ah, ah! My dear count, you will get turned into carbon dust if you do to me what you did to poor Pinto,” before his eyes locked onto the dead Pirate being dragged away by his comrades. The Kowakian Monkey Lizard on his shoulder laughed, while Hondo said, “Now, why don’t you and the Jedi be gentlemanly and return to your cells? I’m sure we can arrange some sort of business with either the Confederacy or Republic for all three of you.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Obi-Wan replied knowingly. Anakin and Dooku looked at their fellow cellmate with confusion, before Anakin immediately picked up the distant sound and smirked.

Hondo blinked, then started laughing again, hand on his stomach. He said to him, “Oh, Kenobi, you’re killing me! How, pray-tell, do you have the advantage, eh?” only to immediately freeze as he heard the telltale thunder of a Sonic Boom. He looked above them, going bug-eyed the moment he saw the OD-Green hull of a gunship swinging in.

Three automated turrets emerged from its frame as it slowed down, targeting lasers tracking Hondo’s men and the Pirate King himself. Moments later, two more Dropships swiveled in. Two platoons of troops jumped out of them, powering jetpacks and touching down around Hondo’s pirates. Following them in, a five-man team and one Jedi dropped in.

The Spartans of Blue Team trained their rifles on Hondo, with Ahsoka calling out to them, “Alright, boys! Drop your weapons!” and brandishing her own lightsaber, a grin on her face. Hondo looked around, then locked eyes with a smug Obi-Wan, feigning a look of betrayal before scoffing and throwing his blaster away.

“You were saying about our allies, Count?” Obi-Wan teased. The three men approached the Chief and Ahsoka, Anakin and Obi-Wan more-so dragging Dooku along for his prison sentence. Obi-Wan then said, “Your timing is impeccable, Ahsoka. You and the Master Chief might have just given us a way to end this war quickly.”

“Condors are a lot faster than you’d expect,” Ahsoka chuckled, then shut off her lightsaber. She chopped a hand forward and the Marines around them moved in to arrest Hondo’s gang, putting cuffs on them. Chief lowered his rifle, then looked at Dooku before pulling out an extra cuff set, slapping them onto the man’s hands.

“Don’t think this war will end quickly, Master Kenobi,” Dooku warned, “We will see each-other again…” as Kelly grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to one of the dropships. Anakin snorted and shook his head. Dooku was one cocky bastard, thought the Jedi ‘Chosen One’ and General of the 501st. He looked at Ahsoka.

“I’m honestly kind of surprised you tagged along, Snips,” He said to her, arms crossed, “Thought you’d be asking Master Surik questions up and down.”

“Heh,” Ahsoka chuckled, “Chalk one more for the ‘rescuing Skyguy’s behind’ fund for me,” causing his master to raise a brow. Obi-Wan snorted, then looked back at Hondo. Richard approached him and grabbed him by the arm, escorting him with a pair of Marines as he struggled to get out of his restraints. 

“Hey, hey, watch the clothing!” The man barked at the Spartan.

“Yeah, yeah,” Richard pushed him forward, nearly causing him to trip. He told the man, “Save it for someone who cares, wrinkles,” before pushing him again, all until they were aboard Blue Team’s Condor. The Marines slowly lined up and processed Hondo’s pirates, with Ahsoka helping cut loose her master and her master’s master, then handing them their lightsabers back.

As night fell upon this part of Florrum, the three Slipspace-capable dropships lifted off, with Blue Team and the Jedi surrounding a bound and gagged Dooku. They had a means to achieve a quicker peace than originally anticipated. The UNSC might’ve just given them the wind, all things considered. Had they attempted to escape with Dooku without sending a request for backup and rescue, the Count might have gotten away in the ensuing chaos.

Even so, there was a reason for jubilation aboard the ships. It was wary, it was cautious, but it was hope, hope that the UNSC could help end a Galactic War not many months after it had originally started with the fateful Battle of Geonosis and stop the possible death toll from rising any higher than it was currently.

Despite this, however, Count Dooku knew better. There had always been something behind the beginnings of the Clone Wars that even the Jedi were blind to. He wouldn’t be stuck in a Coruscanti prison for long, nor would he be able to escape the punishment that came from falling into the hands of these strange Extragalactic allies of the Republic.

His master would see to him being properly ‘motivated’ to escape from the clutches of their enemies. He was sure of it. And then, the War would continue on and on and on until the Republic was firmly ready for the New Order that was set to come. Even so, Dooku felt strange. Almost as if these new arrivals, these odd, careless people who knew nothing of the Force but what they’d seen, would be a change too great.

A threat to their future plans…

Chapter Text

Orto Plutonia, Pantora System

“Thank you for accepting to assist us here, Generals,” Spoke a posh-accented gentleman with blue skin and yellow facial tattoos as the starcraft they were using for transport began its descent. Strong winds buffeted the ship and its escorting formation of LAAT Gunships, plus the two Pelicans deployed by the UNSC to assist.

“It’s our pleasure to assist, Chairman Chi Cho,” Obi-Wan replied, arranging the furry collar of his special cold-weather outfit, a padded uniform with thick layers of insulating material meant to keep body warmth trapped within. He, Anakin and Meetra, who was here on behalf of the UNSC staff, all wore similar clothes, though the former Exile had donned armor plates over it to protect herself.

Senator Riyo Chuchi, another near-human Pantoran dignitary that represented her home planet in the Galactic Senate, stepped away from the corner after finishing her discussion with Senator Amidala. Anakin asked, “How’s Pad-” then paused and corrected himself, “Senator Amidala doing?” though the care in his voice never faded.

Riyo smiled and said, “According to her, the UNSC’s hospitality is only equal to that of Naboo whenever she goes to visit,” before looking at General Surik and saying, “I have to ask, however, how a Jedi wound up working with them and as part of their own command structure? Usually, the Republic wouldn’t allow that…”

“I’m not under Republic jurisdiction anymore… Personal reasons,” She replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. She noticed Chairman Cho staring at her weirdly, before turning toward Obi-Wan and Anakin and leaning over. She whispered, “Is it just me, or does it look like he doesn’t like me much?”

Obi-Wan replied, “Any unknown factor always seems to worry the Pantorans. Their history has been one of battling Pirates and Raiders, so trust may be in short supply.”

“Oh,” Meetra blinked, “And he doesn’t like me because…?” then waited for a single heartbeat.

Anakin told her, “I think what master Kenobi’s trying to say is Chairman Cho probably doesn’t trust you or the UNSC yet… ” pressing on that last word. He paused as he saw Meetra get slightly offended and told her, “Relax, they’ll see you’re all cool…” before a slight gust sent the ship slightly left, knocking them off balance. He snorted and said, “Pun not intended.”

Meetra rolled her eyes, then activated her com and again and listened in to discussions between their LAATs and the Pelicans. Chairman Cho hummed, then asked, “General Surik. How has your service with this ‘UNSC’ been so far? What is their policy on encounters like this?” as he held onto a hand rail on board the transport ship. Meetra also noticed the two Pantoran guards armed with DC-15s to her right, wearing fancy blue uniforms and blue fezes, plus capes over their left shoulders.

“Overly cautious, but friendly otherwise,” Meetra nodded, “If the Pantorans require help, I have no doubt they’re willing to provide it,” then she motioned broadly to herself and to the distant drone of the UNSC’s hydrogen fusion engines roaring behind them, adding, “Case in point,” with a smile. Noticing, however, that that didn't warm the man’s heart to their allies, she continued, “... They’re an extragalactic group with no ties to anyone save the Republic now. I’m sure that was in the briefings.”

“... It was,” Cho replied with mild concern, crossing his arms, “Do they have no interest in forming their own polity?”

Anakin answered that one, “They have their own Polity in their home Galaxy. We don’t have contact with them yet, but I highly doubt they’d want to conquer their own swath of land here… Least Admiral Lasky didn’t give off the first impression of a conquering madman,” eyes locked onto the Pantoran official. The man hummed, wrinkled his nose confusedly, then fully processed what was said. He gave a nod of approval.

“Thanks for the help, General,” Meetra spoke, “Quite eloquent.”

“Eh. Master Kenobi here taught me how to speak,” Anakin grinned, “I like to be more proactive, though.”

“Understood,” The Pantoran man replied with a nod of his head, then seemed to settle down. An odd shift in the ship’s gravity and a mild tilt on its axis told the group they were approaching the landing zone. The craft dipped back, engaging its landing engines, then gently touched down onto the snow. The main hatch opened and the Jedi lifted their masks and donned their goggles as they stepped outside.

Seeing ten meters in front of oneself was a miracle in the weather of Orto Plutonia. The raging snowstorms that blanketed the area they’d landed in had dropped visibility to below five by the time the Pelicans, also painted a stark, matte white to fit with the environment, touched down and disgorged their platoons of heavily-armed Marine infantry, all of them also wearing protective winter gear.

The Misfits had obviously deployed alongside Sergeant-Major Johnson and his Marine platoon. Lieutenant Lee spoke, “This is worse than Tibet!” as she lifted a hand in front of her goggled face. She spoke, “Everyone, stick together! Victor, Vesna, up front! You two are our resident snow people in a sense! Lead the way!”

“On it!” Vic replied, marching forward with large steps through the knee-high snow. The Clone Troopers beside them, both from the 337th and the 501st and clad in heavy duty winter gear that included insulated helmets, longer kamas with padding and slightly thicker armor, marched forward. They looked like ghosts with colored stripes as they waded through the snow.

Ordo spoke, “This is blinding!”

“I know!” Rex replied, blasters drawn. He paused, however, when he saw General Surik stop in front of them, crouch down, grab a handful of snow and shove it in her mouth. Blinking, he asked, “Does she normally do that?!” as he watched Noble Six approaching, too, rifle at the ready. He shrugged, sidestepping the clones and walking through the snowfall like it was nothing.

Spartans. Scary bastards… The team continued through the snow, approaching a massive rock formation that protruded from the ground and was covered by snow and ice. It was not a natural formation, unlike the surrounding walls of rock, ice and snow that jutted out irregularly, or the plateaus and valleys around them.

A snow-covered ramp led down to a reinforced bulkhead door with visible red warning lights, denoting the fact it was on emergency power. One key insertion into the slot on the console sat to the right and the door slid open, revealing a darkened interior that was soon lit by the flashlights of the Clones and Marines. Vesna pushed up first, with Victor, his sister and their comrades not far behind.

The Jedi and Pantorans entered between the groups, with the Clone Troopers pulling up the rear. The hangar ahead of them was wide, a gaping maw that could easily fit all of the dropships outside within it, not to mention the support vehicles the Pelicans and Gunships had come with. As they marched in, Anakin commented, “No wonder the place went dark…”

“Do you like making puns often, General?” Meetra joked as her eyes slowly adjusted to the low-light environment. There were still vehicles inside this bay, namely BARC Speeders and CK-6 Swoop Bikes. The former were aggressive reconnaissance speeder bikes, vehicles armed with twin cannons at the front, attached to the air intake, and heavy repulsorlift tech that showed as a larger rear. The CK-6es were more lightly armed with laser guns at the front, but unlike the BARCs, they had full-visibility glass canopies.

Anakin quipped, “Not usually…”

“He would’ve been insufferable if he was,” Obi-Wan joked, too, causing his former Padawan and good friend to scoff, but grin. Meetra chuckled teasingly, then looked at Six, who was examining one of the BARC Speeders. She approached him, then paused as she saw a blood stain on the bike’s forward air intake. Some parts of the ice and stone that made up the walls, though smoothed over, had chinks and cut marks.

Meetra raised her right hand, palm fully open, then gave a quick chop forward. The Marines and Clones of Falx Platoon immediately understood the assignment, pushing down the hallway ahead, lights on, while the Jedi and 501st Troopers followed close behind. They moved past an empty barracks, the armory and the familiar side and maintenance rooms, only to come upon a gruesome scene in the Command Center.

The faint light of the Pantoran system’s sun peered through the triangular, honeycomb-like structure of the reinforced transparisteel windows that made up the observation level and into the main command center itself. The computers themselves were mostly fine, save a few screens being smashed and some of the keyboards having been ripped apart. Blaster bolts had marred the walls with carbon scoring, a frantic, erratic volley fired by a surprised squad.

The Clones? 

A dozen men lay dead in the midst of the Command post, congealed and freezing blood pooling on the floor below them. Their armors were broken in places by blunt force, spiderweb cracks showing the point of impact. Joints were slashed, or outright split in half, with missing limbs strewn across the place. Some troopers missed their heads, which were unceremoniously and horrifyingly put on what looked like bone pikes with their helmets still on. 

It was a bloody massacre. The smell of blood mixed with the cold air and the muffled howl of the outside winds to create a sickening tapestry of scent, sound and sight. Crouching beside one of the less eviscerated troopers, Ordo looked him over, then took his helmet off. Rigor mortis had set in with the biting cold, his face still morphed into fear. Shards of black glass were embedded in his face from his shattered visor and blood foamed at the corners of his mouth, eyes rolled back into his skull.

Six looked back at Cho, then asked, “Wasn’t this moon supposed to be uninhabited, sir?” as he saw the horrified expression on the man’s face. He nodded, to which the Spartan looked at the corpse of a clone on the raised observation platform with a spear sticking out of his midsection, blood dripping down the grate. He commented, “Sure doesn’t look like it…”

“Whoever they are,” Cho mumbled, “They are under Pantoran protection, just like the rest of Orto Plutonia. This is our territory and has been since we’ve become spacefaring.”

“That’ll be up for the Republic Senate to decide,” Obi-Wan mumbled, then sighed and looked at Victor, asking him, “Sergeant, do you mind assisting our men with burying these troopers?” before watching the young man, without even questioning it, slide his rifle onto his back and walk over to one of the dead troopers. With some degree of reverence, respect, or both, the young man hefted the corpse over his shoulder, hearing the crack of his joints as Rigor Mortis worked its magic, then walked over to Captain Rex.

The man nodded and tilted his head to a nearby door, saying, “We’ll get body bags for them and evacuate them in a Gunship, Sergeant. Thanks,” only to look at Ordo. The Clones here were meant to protect Pantora from possible CIS Incursion. It was an early warning site, with both men of the Clone Army quickly making out the various observation stations and sensor suite computers. The latter looked damaged, but operable.

Meetra hummed, lifting a spear that had broken in half and looking at it. The sharp, porous material was, in fact, bone. She said to everyone, “Some sort of tribals. This stuff’s bone, clearly from local animals…” before tossing it to Cho. The man barely caught the item and stared at it was Meetra walked over to the observation level and peered out. Nothing but snow and snowfall as far as the eye could see… What could even survive subzero temps like this?

“Something the matter, ma’am?” Vesna asked as she approached. 

The General continued to stare out, reaching out with the Force to see if she could feel anything. The faint traces of life never hid themselves, even in the desolate worlds. She felt life beneath the frost, obviously, microbial life and algae below Orto Plutonia’s frozen landscape. She breathed a sigh, then paused.

She felt them. A faint trace of intelligent life. She replied, “Nothing… Just checking something. There may be sentients here.”

“That’s preposterous…” Cho replied gravely, annoyed at the suggestion. He motioned broadly to the dead troopers, then demanded, “Does this look like the work of sentient beings? Savages did this, General, not sentients.”

“Mankind was all loincloths and bone and wood spears some hundreds of thousands of years ago, too,” Six replied before Meetra could. He continued, “And I’m sure the Pantorans were, too. None of us were born spoon fed by some God or something to be highly-advanced,” and watched the man glare at him, despite that not being a jab at the Pantorans. Six sighed, then said, “Generals, we should bring the transports inside before their engines freeze.”

“I’ll get Dushman and Alexi on the Electrics,” Lee added, “Might as well get power and heating back on,” before she looked at her two selected companions and waved them over to what seemed like the electrical area. They nodded and marched off, rifles on their backs, while the quiet hum of the repulsors and engines of the craft outside caused a mild vibration.

“Y’know, I wonder how Aayla feels after getting rescued by the UNSC. I heard rumors they nearly got blasted out of the sky in the middle of a combat operation,” Anakin spoke to Obi-Wan, arms crossed as they walked through the place toward the holo-table. 

The 212th’s General snorted and said, “She and Commander Bly affirmed that the prompt arrival of the UNSC Pass Me The Ammo and their deployment of the UNSC’s ‘Bullfrogs’ certainly helped a great deal in the rapid evacuation of all survivors from her Cruiser,” then he shrugged, “They only complimented the tenacity of the squads.”

“Must’ve been nice,” Anakin snorted.

“I heard a Prowler recently intercepted information about some Separatist weapon. Codenamed a ‘Defoliator,” Rex stated as he and Ordo joined them, all while Meetra was guiding the Marines and other Clones with Six. Johnson followed behind the Captain as the man said, “It hasn’t been deployed anywhere… Not yet.”

“I heard about that,” Johnson spoke, “Bastards are plannin’ to use it to wipe out organic matter. Wherever it’s getting deployed, it’s gonna be priority one for ONI’s away teams.”

“Speaking of ONI,” Meetra, who was listening from afar as the group talked, started. She looked at Six and asked him quietly, “What have we got on the Flood? Do we have any idea where they came from? And do we have Away Teams searching for any other pockets of the Infection before it starts spreading out?”

Six nodded, listening to the howling winds outside as he replied, “ONI has deployed several of our active-duty Prowlers and the Arbiter sent out his own stealth craft to search the Galaxy, as big as it is. We’re monitoring the HoloNet for news of sightings, too…” all while he kept his eyes on the area ahead. He continued, “Obviously… It’s basically like looking for a needle in one particularly massive haystack…”

“Or several needles,” Meetra whispered, though deep down she hoped she was wrong. Six, however, nodded, not even bothering to deny it. The two then looked over at Senator Chuchi as she was examining some of the Clone Corpses and obviously helping the people assigned to corpse policing duties.

Motors whirred and engines roared to life as the Station’s power came back. Recessed lights flickered to life and the computers began to sing their weird binary cacophony. Meetra hummed, then paused as she heard Ordo say, “Ma’am, sirs, we’ve got something,” and waved them to the holo-table. The command force nodded, then approached it.

As they did, a map of the area that had been made through the use of the station’s sensors, flared up into view. From the plateaus, crevices and valleys around them, to the other rising stone and ice spires that surrounded the wider ice waste they were in and to even distant, but less clearly visible landmarks, the map showed just about everything of interest. That was to say, there was nothing-

The groups paused the moment the hologram pinged with a red dot. Meetra blinked, then mumbled, “That’s an old blip. Sensor detected something landing there, but couldn’t identify it. Probably happened before whatever hit this place hit it,” only to check quickly. She said, “And that thing still has power, whatever it is.”

“It must be a Separatist ship,” Cho voiced, “General, if you don’t mind?” and he looked at Meetra expectantly.

The General nodded without hesitation, then said, “Six, on me. Tomcat, line Falx up. Commander, Lieutenant Lee, pack your kit. We’re taking Speeders over,” before straightening up and looking at Anakin and Obi-Wan. She lifted her comlink and said, “We’ll keep in touch to the best of our abilities, but with how bad the snowstorm outside is, expect delays in comms.”

“We understand,” Obi-Wan replied.

Anakin said, “We’ll hold down the fort ‘till you come back, Master Surik.”

She smiled, then led the way down with her team. Anakin looked at the map, then at Obi-Wan and asked, “D’you think she saw the other energy marker on the map…?” before pointing at a red dot placed somewhat farther away, in a ravine they had no idea of. Obi-Wan hummed, then nodded, wanting to compliment his Padawan.

The Pantorans watched the interactions, with Cho being mildly concerned over their own territorial demands over this place. Senator Chuchi, meanwhile, seemed more interested in examining the weapons of whatever creatures had committed this kind of atrocious murder. Unlike the Chairman, though, Riyo was wondering if this hadn’t been murder, but self defense. Against possible trespassing. She wondered about the state of that CIS base, however, eagerly waiting for General Surik’s report on the matter.

It was an intriguing possibility… And a terrifying one. Another thought to add to the pile alongside questions about Count Dooku’s current whereabouts…

Republic Military Headquarters Holding Cells, Coruscant 

Some time since Dooku’s capture…

His wrists ached slightly, bound tightly by both Stuncuffs and additional restraints meant to stop him from using the Force to attempt an escape. Separating him from the outside world were several layers of Ray Shields and an entire battalion of the Republic’s finest security detail:The Coruscant Guard, also known as the Shock Troopers. 

An embarrassing display on his part. Getting captured twice displeased him. Not just because he had fallen prey to Pirates and thus wound up in this situation, but also because he knew his master would not let this go easily. The Jedi and the agents of the Military Intelligence sent to interrogate him had attempted to force him to sign a peace deal.

This war was not going to end at the whims of the Jedi. No. Only when his master deemed it worthy to end the conflict, when the Population of the Republic was fatigued and demoralized enough by the failures of their corrupt ‘democracy’, an oligarchy ruled by the Elite, would he strike and create that which the Jedi had denied them thousands of years ago.

He snapped up as a metal rod hit the wall. The Commander of the Coruscant Guard, one Fox, spoke to him flatly, “You’re still alive. Good ,” before stowing the baton on the belt of his armor and crossing his arms. He said, “You’ve got more visitors slated for today. And they’re not MIL-INT,” before adding, “Maybe you oughta cooperate. Let us end this war.”

Dooku didn’t deign to respond to a Clone. For a Puppetmaster, there were many puppets… And these brazen little concoctions were nothing more than that:Toys for a greater purpose. The Commander said, “Suit yourself…” before walking away. The guards positioned by the door stood poised, like a coiled spring, checking over every layer of the defenses to ensure that they were airtight. 

Dooku once again scanned for escape options, curled up with his legs crossed as he sat down, hands in his lap. He tried not to make it too obvious, however. It was less of an attempt to escape and more to keep his mind occupied in the midst of all of this. No forms of mind stimulation beside meditation worked to stave off boredom. Even a Sith had to find some way to keep their mental faculties sharp.

Regardless of that, however, what came next sent a chill up his spine. Two of the Clone Troopers spoke to one-another, “... You’d think they want the war over quickly, too. Do you think it might be pride or something keeping him from signing that peace treaty? Or at least agreeing to call the other Seppies and tell them it’s over.”

“Honestly?” The other Clone spoke as he was dealing the cards, “I think it’s just the pomp of actually being a Count. They say the Republic’s corrupt and they’ve got Lightsaber-toting Royalty with Force-knows how much wealth behind them in charge of their Separatist Confederacy-” only to pause as his com pinged. He activated it and said, “Glaive here. Go ahead, sir…” then he cocked his head, confused, “... Sir? You sure?” then he froze, standing up ramrod straight, stiff as an arrow, “Yessir! Right away, sir!” before jumping to his feet and saying, “C’mon, Pike. The Chancellor’s here…”

“Kriff me, today of all days…” The other replied annoyedly, grabbing his DC-15 and leaning it at parade rest. The two Clones then marched out of the room, only for one of the ray-shields and doors to open and peel apart. A voice echoed from outside as the two men snapped at attention, a kind elderly gentleman greeting them and ordering them to not mention this to anyone.

… The Force presence that Dooku felt immediately caused him to stand up, ramrod straight, staring at the Rayshield door separating him from the outside world. A shadow stepped into view, light peering through the open door behind them, a human, clearly. He lifted a hood over his head, then marched forward. 

When he turned the corner, his bright-burning auburn eyes locked onto Dooku, a smile, formed of pearly white, straight teeth, peered from beneath the shadow of the Hood as he approached. His hands were hidden beneath his black robe and Dooku could make out a Lightsaber hilt below the sleeves, not just his bony hands.

The Sith Lord before him stepped forth and the Rayshield peeled apart, opening with a hiss. Dooku knelt immediately, bowing his head and speaking, “It is an honor to see you in person once more… My master…” a mix of reverence, fear and ire in his voice. The Sith Lord that stood before him stared for a moment at him, then hummed.

A tense heartbeat passed in which Dooku had noticed the security cameras were offline. He felt his heart race and suddenly reach his throat. He tried to swallow, but nearly choked on his own spit. And when the first words echoed from his Master’s mouth, he felt his world momentarily freeze with how cold he was. “You disappoint me… Darth Tyrannus. You were captured by Pirates, then fell into the Republic’s hands so easily.”

“... It was a mistake, Master…” Dooku whispered, “A failure that shall not happen again…”

“Indeed…” The elderly Sith’s voice grew low, turning into a growl. Darth Tyrannus… Dooku knew he hadn’t appeased his master whatsoever. He knew because he felt the rising anger like a tidal wave of nausea. Then, a searing pain, a white hot pain that stabbed at his nerves and surged through his entire body, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, rippling like a wave, struck him. The hiss of discharging Force Lightning echoed in the room, the bolts piercing through Dooku’s skin.

He clenched his teeth, only the lightest of groans escaping his mouth as the electric fire burned his insides and seared his mind. He was accustomed to the Lightning, for he used it himself on his apprentices when they failed and because he was trained with the metaphorical whip of each failure. When the first volley of lightning halted, he hunched over, coughing hoarsely as Darth Sidious spoke to him, “Your punishment, however, remains necessary…” 

A second volley of electricity coursed from the Sith Lord’s fingertips, singing the man’s very psyche, not just his body. Smouldering steam flowed out of the man’s body as he felt his own blood boil within him, all while Lord Sidious laughed a vile, maleficent laugh. This lightning burst, however, was shorter. Dooku slumped forward, leaning on his shielded hands and gasping for air.

Sidious knelt beside him, waiting for him to lift his head so they looked at each-other. Still, his Master’s face stood above his, never on even ground or eye-to-eye. He spoke, “Your shame for this failure will stay with you for the rest of your life, Darth Tyrannus. Let it build upon what I have already taught you…”

“... What is thy bidding, my Master,” Dooku replied, stifling his own anger at his inability to defend himself.

“Your rescue will come,” Sidious spoke to him, “You will languish a few more days in this prison, of course, so that shame may not be forgotten so easily,” and stood to his feet, sliding his arms beneath his robe again, “And then, one of your own creations will come and you will continue this war with renewed vigor.”

“Yes, my master,” Dooku bowed his head, “As you wish.”

Sidious hummed, feeling the faint traces of defiance behind submission. He sighed, then told him, “Not all of those who will walk through those doors next will be Republic Intelligence. These ‘new players’ on the Galactic Stage are a setback… I expect you to find a way to deal with them as soon as you are back on Raxus Secundus.”

“Of course,” Dooku replied, slowly regaining his composure. Though he hated being humiliated like this, his Master’s word was final, absolute. 

“I will continue my work here,” His Master then said, “Farewell, Count Dooku,” with a slightly louder, more kind voice that matched his personality as chancellor. His form returned to the old man he had seen before as he took the hood off of his head and approached the door, knocking on it and saying, “I am quite done, ladies and gentlemen. You may come in.”

The door hissed open and the Sith Lord bowed, before turning his gaze to Dooku one last time, his eyes flickering that amber of the Sith. He stepped out of the room, only for his own footsteps to be muffled by thundering boots. A trio of heavily-armored soldiers very similar to those that had taken him into custody marched in, with one of them, clad in black armor, commenting, “So, this is Dooku?” as he approached, “Looks like we’ll be spending some time together, sir. ”

Dooku noticed the other staff behind them, clad in grey overalls with a Pyramid symbol on their shoulders, a wide open Eye in the middle staring at him. They pulled out their tools and prepared to begin their version of an interrogation.

Chapter Text

Winter Mongoose bikes and speeders roared through the snowy landscape toward their target, followed by at least three winterized Warthogs, two bearing MGs while a third acted as a troop carrier. Its troop bay was covered by armor, however, a lesson learned the hard way from some of the later campaigns against the Insurrection post-Human-Covenant War era. Driving the truck was Vesna, while, beside her, Victor sat with his SAW pointed outward, scanning the surrounding area for hostiles.

Six rode one of the Mongooses, leading the formation from beside Commander Ordo. The two men nodded to one-another then looked back at a laughing Meetra as she rode her own speeder through the thick snowfall of the storm. The swarm of vehicles kicked up clouds of white behind them, firmly signalling their location to whatever inhabited this place.

Vic commented, “Do you think there’s people actually living in this!?” as he looked toward his wife. She shrugged, gently turning the wheel to follow the others into the crevasse where the supposed energy signature was present. He told her, “Ves, honey, I know you’re from a cold climate, but you can’t tell me you’d be able to live here!”

“No, no I wouldn’t!” She chuckled, “Not without you!”

Vic coughed, then snorted underneath his own mask, replying, “Love you, too, moya lyubimaya,” before he looked back down the sights of his gun. The others laughed while she simply beamed beneath her own balaclava, the pair of them keeping their eyes peeled as the vehicles dived down the deep crack in the earth and snow. 

It wasn’t long after, then, that they caught sight of what had landed. Just like Cho and the others had thought, it was a Separatist vessel. A transport craft, from the looks of things. It was lightly armed and poorly armored, though it did seem capable of housing a large contingent of Battle Droids, probably meant to provide provocation or be part of the Seppies’ own listening post in the area.

The teams halted in front of the ship, dismounting from their vehicles and drawing their weapons. Lieutenant Lee pushed up next to Ordo and Six, scanning the vehicle itself. She commented, “It’s about as dead as the Clone outpost!” as she balled her fist. The rest of the Misfits halted behind them, with Ordo nodding.

Meetra drew her Lightsaber, igniting it with some flourish before she walked forward, stating, “Well, c’mon. Can’t let the Clankers hang around, can we?”

“No, ma’am,” Ordo replied, drawing his blaster pistols. The team of Clones, Marines, Spartan and Jedi marched inside, flashlights on and weapons up. Climbing up the off-loading ramp, they were only greeted by darkness. Shadows traced forms upon the walls of the ship, all of which bore damage from the obvious usage of melee weapons against the troops inside.

Six commented, “Well, this already looks familiar,” in a murmur, only stopping the moment he felt his boot bend metal. Looking down, he saw a destroyed droid with chunks torn out of its body. Bone shards remained impaled in the cracks as black oil and hydraulic liquid pooled on the ground and froze. Dozens of droids around them had suffered the same fate, many of them missing their heads.

It wasn’t too long after that the heads were found, too, impaled on the same kind of sticks as the Clones’. Meetra spoke, “Well, we know for a fact this is how the Tribals do warnings…” then hummed and looked around, “Six, you and the Misfits check the ship’s systems. Maybe something recorded the attack and attackers,” and got a nod from the Spartan and Lieutenant Lee. She looked at her clone, then said, “Ordo, prep a com beacon. We’re gonna call back and report.”

“Aye, ma’am,” Ordo replied, then waved one of the com specialists of Falx forward. Tomcat joined them in the middle, noting the various marks on the walls. Ordo nodded at his fellow Clone officer, then watched their com specialist set up the beacon in the middle of the room. It activated and a connection was made with the Outpost.

Meetra watched the forms of Anakin and Obi-Wan materialize ahead of them. Chairman Cho stood in the background, seemingly talking(or more-so arguing) with Senator Chuchi while the two men looked on, apologetic. Anakin turned around and said, “ Master Surik, ” slyly, “ Just in time to witness the argument of the hour. They’re talking about the ‘attackers’ being Seppies, ” and he jabbed a thumb back. Obi-Wan looked at him disapprovingly, frown and all, before shaking his head and turning toward Meetra as well.

The woman chuckled, then replied, “I’m suddenly glad we got voluntold to do this mission,” as she eyed Chairman Cho. The man suddenly perked up as he heard her voice, then swiveled about and marched up to the com, his form now fully visible. She raised a hand to show him to hold, then said, “We’ve found the power signature. It’s a Droid vessel, alright. And it’s just as ravaged as the Outpost. Same damage, too. Whatever attacked really doesn’t want either side here.”

“ They do not have much of a choice on the matter, ” Cho mumbled, then looked at the General. He told her, “ Have you found anything to help identify them ?”

“I have my troops scouring through the ship now, looking for any sort of signs,” She shrugged, “Aside from the obvious bone spears and the damage sustained by the droids matching the piercing weapons used on our troopers, there’s nothing-” only to pause as the ship’s holoprojector suddenly powered on. An image played, showing droids holding off unseen attackers and firing their blasters wildly before shadowy blurs pounced on them, ripping them apart just as the video ended. She mumbled, “Nevermind…”

“ We saw the Holo, too, ” Anakin spoke, crossing his arms. He then quipped, “ Not a lot to go off of beside them looking furry, ” while looking at his master. Obi-Wan nodded, though he seemed to disagree with the verbiage used to describe them. Ordo looked over the image, setting it to loop while Six and the Misfits rejoined them. He paused the frames whenever he could catch a glimpse of the unseen assailant, but only saw that same white blur.

“ And the fact that they are obviously territorial, ” Chuchi spoke as she entered the frame fully, too, “ Has anyone mentioned the second energy signature to the General ?” 

The woman and her escort all cocked their heads at the same time toward the speaker. Chuchi’s expression softened. She sighed deeply while Cho replied, “ We didn’t have the time, senator, ” with a mild, hidden venom in his voice. He continued, “ The sensor suite picked up a second energy source moments after you departed with your scout team. Perhaps that is where our enigmatic trespassers are hiding. ”

“Perhaps,” Meetra hummed, scratching her chin. She spoke, “If that’s the case, Lieutenants, Commander. We’re returning to base… Grab a copy of that recording and keep examining it. General Skywalker, Master Kenobi. I want you two prepared to go with me to see what that energy source might be…”

“ Alone? ” Cho barked, “ General, take your strike team with you and deal with them if they’re there !”

Meetra’s expression darkened visibly. She sighed, lowering her arms by her side, then said, “Chairman. As much as I respect the authority of the Pantoran government on matters pertaining to their own systems, I am not going to risk taking an armed response force over for what could very well just be peace talks.”

“ Peace?! General, they’ve slaughtered Republic forces sent to guard us from- ”

“ And they dismantled a Droid force, too,” She cut him off, stunning him and Chuchi as she opened her arms, motioning broadly at the destroyed units around them. She continued, “As Senator Chuchi espoused, they’re territorial… And if they’re sentient, perhaps they can be reasoned with so this doesn’t turn into an unnecessary slaughter,” and when she saw him about to countermand that, she continued, “... I know how you feel about Pantoran territorial integrity. I’ve seen enough similar cases in my long life. I’m begging one of you for once to let Jedi do what we were supposed to do from the start: Be keepers of the peace. ”

That seemed to shut the man up for a moment, causing him to blank. Both human Jedi males in front of her cracked smiles, while Meetra continued, “All I’m asking for is the chance to try. If they are hostile to us, three Jedi should be more than enough to handle a group of primitives armed with weapons made out of whatever animals they raise here. If not, well…” she smirked proudly, as if that was gonna be the outcome no matter what, “We avoid unnecessary bloodshed and you get to go home with your head held high that you have another group of subjects to tend to.”

That seemed to soothe the man’s ego for a moment. He sighed and waved it off, “ By all means, then. Waste your time on a frivolous attempt at negotiating peace with savages, ” and that caused Meetra’s eyebrow to twitch. She was about to reply, when Senator Chuchi stepped up, smiled and raised her hand. The simmering rage she felt in that moment, one that had nearly turned her skin a slightly wrong shade of pale, settled. Senator Chuchi was offering up as a volunteer representative of the Pantoran Government.

Sighing, her shoulders slightly sagged, she smiled and nodded back. Then, she noticed all the eyes on her, both from her present troops and the two Jedi ahead. She told them, “Alright. Pack up our gear and let’s move it back to the Outpost. I wanna get to that possible energy source before the already-distant sun sets and it becomes unbearably cold.”

The troops snapped-to and the com system clicked off. The com trooper packed it up, sliding it into his rucksack, then walked out. Ordo and Six stopped the General, however, with the Clone telling her, “I and the Lieutenant agree. You have us as QRF. If the situation turns sour out there, ma’am, you call us-”

She smiled, cutting him off, then told him, “I appreciate the thought, Commander, but I’m sure we’ll be fine. Keep your ears on the com, though, both of you…”

“Ma’am,” They both replied, snapping salutes before leading the way out. Meetra hummed, pausing for a second at the ramp to look back at the damaged ship. Blaster marks, damaged circuitry, broken Droids. Dead Clones, a heavily damaged Outpost and yet no corpses. It all lined up with an odd people defending themselves from incursion. As she descended down the ramp, she also noticed a fading paw print heading in a specific direction.

Making sure to make a mental note of that(And to get Six to record it and its direction before snowfall would cover it), she climbed onto her own personal speeder bike and took the lead of the formation again, cheering quietly, but happily, as she got to ride a speeder after so long. She also listened in on the open mic of the Misfits, chuckling a little while hearing the Reach-born Hungarian and his Polish childhood friend chatting in the back of the truck. 

She also noticed the shadows of mounts and beings on the edges of the cliffs, looking down at them through the snowfall. The storm seemed to finally wane as they rode out, though the sun was also beginning to set, darkness slowly enveloping the valleys and the snowy wastelands around them, leaving nothing except for the lights of the vehicles and the beacons on the Outpost to guide themselves by.

Reaching their home base moments later, Meetra gently pulled around, letting the other vehicles enter the place and their occupants, dismount, before looking back at the other two Jedi and the Senator. She told Chuchi, “There’s no need to risk your life out there, Senator…” before leaning forward and whispering, “How ‘bout I take Cho and ‘forget’ him there?” which caused the girl to laugh a quiet, short laugh.

She shook her head, then said, “I represent my people in the Republic Senate… I don’t see why I shouldn’t be able to represent them here, in a talk with our unknown neighbors,” before putting on her goggles and climbing onto the bike. She looked back at Cho, the man seemingly glaring at them. The Jedi female could feel the intent of the man, so she gave a silent order to her Clones:Keep tabs on the man and his troops. Ordo, Six and the Misfits all nodded.

As they drove through the snow, the storm subsided, revealing the beautiful sight of the Galaxy and stars above them. The lack of light pollution made them appreciate Orto Plutonia’s natural beauty a bit more than most other items normally would have. The three Speeders formed up into a wedge, each of the three Jedi already prepared for any hostile contact, though.

Beauty hid much darkness beneath at times, Meetra thought to herself. She then asked, “What do you two think this power source is gonna be!?” 

“If I were to hazard a guess!” Obi-Wan began, “Probably technological items related to the UNSC!”

“You already expect it might be related, master Kenobi?” Meetra chuckled as she slowly turned her bike, following the path set by both the marks she’d seen in the snow and the energy signature. She continued, “... I suppose it makes sense!” after a minute of thinking, “Their arrival here must’ve occurred because of the alien technology of the Forerunners!”

Anakin hummed, then asked, “Do you think that’s what brought the inhabitants of Orto Plutonia here, too?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think they’re gonna be humans!” Meetra replied as she banked right. The two men synced up their movement, with Senator Chuchi holding onto the man in front of her for dear life. They tracked the beacon all the way to the other side of a deep, narrowing valley where the winds and snowfall barely reached.

Stopping their vehicles and dismounting, the three Jedi and their Senatorial ward had to walk now, all of them feeling the eyes that were on them. Above, as below, creatures snarled and glared at them, their masters sat by their sides, hulking shadows in the darkness. Pairs of eyes glowed in the darkness, locked onto the group.

Meetra mumbled, “I have a bad feeling about this,” as they marched forward. She held a hand close to her lightsaber’s hilt, feeling the tension around them grow. Anakin and Obi-Wan both felt that tension spike and suddenly felt mildly annoyed at their fellow Jedi for spouting that specific line. It was like a magnet for trouble in this Galaxy.

As they advanced, the sight of a shimmering blue light at the very end of the dead-end valley caused them to pause. Huts made of bone and pelts emerged into view, alongside dozens of lifeforms with white fur. These creatures stood several heads above the trio of Jedi and the Pantoran present. They had long snouts and glowing eyes of varied, aggressive colors. Their manes and fur were long, dirty and sometimes covered by tribalwear made out of the fur of the giant catlike creatures they rode into battle.

It was now that Meetra realized just how big the Spears they wielded were, when they were in the hands of these creatures. She blinked, looking them up and down, then noticed one with a very ornate fur coat staring them down, his eyes scarlet, face scarred, mouth lined with jagged-sharp teeth. He looked like the alpha primate in this formation.

… “Jiralhanae…” Meetra mumbled as the realization struck like a hammer blow, all color momentarily draining from her face, “ Brutes .”

“Sorry, what?” Anakin looked back at her as the Chieftain of the Tribe approached them. He towered even over his peers, the white tuft on top of his head caught in a weird ponytail. He wielded a giant bone-blade ax of some kind, which he leaned against his shoulder, gazing down upon the two women and their compatriots.

He huffed, his breath steaming in the cold weather and the light of several smaller fires made of burning fat and old, worn and flammable hides. He leaned forward, baring his teeth in a dangerous grin as he stared Meetra down. She glared right back, gaze locked onto him. Jiralhanae respected strength, if what she’d read from the ONI reports was correct. She explained to Obi-Wan, Riyo and Anakin, “... These guys are Jiralhanae. Brutes from the UNSC’s Galaxy… I read about them in the reports from their War…”

She didn’t peel her gaze away from the Chieftain for even a second. He scoffed, however, then nodded and waved off his warriors, those which the three Jedi and senator had quickly realized had them surrounded. Anakin spoke, “Wait… They’re from the UNSC’s Galaxy? The Milky Way, you mean?” and got a nod from Meetra. Completely dumbfound, Skywalker asked, “How’d they get here!?”

The Brute Chieftain sized all four of them up after he noticed they weren’t here for a fight. Not yet. He tilted his head toward the center of the village, to which Meetra replied, “... I think we’re about to find out. Follow me. Keep your lightsabers close… And Senator Chuchi? Don’t leave our side,” as a warning. She put her hands on her belt, right as close as possible to her Lightsaber, then led the way forward past some jeering and sneering Jiralhanae young.

The women of the tribe weren’t as bulky, looking even closer to humanoid mammals than normal. Many cradled young Brutes at their teats, babies in soft blankets that held onto their own mothers’ furs to keep themselves warm. One such woman, wearing very ornate items on her person, greeted the Chieftain and the four guests with a bow, before looking them over.

What could only be described as a tiny smile appeared on her face. She stopped the Chieftain, seemingly her husband, then spoke to him in whisper. He huffed, looking back at the Jedi, then urged them forward and out of the village’s sights. Meetra whispered, “How did you all adapt to this place? Weren’t you basically much angrier Wookies…?” to nobody in particular.

As they moved into the center of the village, the Chieftain pointed forward. Rising tall, poking out from the rock and ice, a silver pedestal rose, gleaming with Forerunner symbols etched unto its surface, holograms dancing around its form. Beside it, carvings and paintings on the rock wall depicted what seemed to be a nigh-magical emergence of this offshoot of the Jiralhanae onto this planet from said Pedestal. 

Meetra then understood. Of course, the Librarian had had something to do with this. She looked upon the Chieftain, stepping forward to the Pedestal while the other three stared quietly, before telling the Chieftain in Basic, “... I don’t know if you understand me, but this is a piece of technology from an old friend. If it brought you here, she must’ve made it do so for a reason…”

He huffed, staring at her with a mix of confusion and contained aggression. She nodded, “Fair enough…” before humming. She looked down, noticing that the ice below hid the rest of what seemed to be an ancient ship of some kind. Perhaps not to the size of the Dreadnought she’d seen in the reports about the Battle for Earth, but big enough that it could house a people with enough genetic diversity for reseeding somewhere else.

… Now, the simple question was why ? 

Back at the Clone Outpost, the Misfits, Commander Ordo, Captain Rex and Chairman Cho were pretty much forced to sit with their thumbs up their butts(A weird expression, Rex thought) and wait for word from their Generals about how to proceed. Noble Six remained steadfast, however, always on guard duty and always keeping his eyes peeled.

Victor and Paul were playing cards while Vesna, Katja and several of the other Misfits including the Lieutenant had taken it upon themselves to warm the base up a little for their Habitation here, regardless of how long it’d be. Vic commented, “What do you think the Power Source is, by the way?” as he grabbed another card.

Paul shrugged, his bionic hand’s motors whirring slightly as he did the same motions as his friend, before replying, “Considering all the Alien tech we’ve seen so far in this Galaxy? Probably something Forerunner again…” as he hummed and added, “Call,” and maintained a straight poker face. Vic sighed, then shook his head.

“Fold,” he replied, skipping this turn before setting his cards down. He watched Paul do the same, mildly disappointed, then snorted and said, “Yeah, you would’ve had me there,” as he set both sets of Cards aside and started shuffling them again. He mumbled, “Like every goddamn time for some reason…”

Ordo walked up to them and asked, “Are you boys gambling?”

“No, sir,” Vic replied, straight-faced as ever, “We aren’t betting on anything. This is just a game to pass the time. Wanna tag in? We can explain the rules,” and he looked up. Ordo shook his head, then simply sat down to watch, keeping an ear on his comlink in the meanwhile. The Romanian-born Marine chuckled and said, “Good choice, sir… Paul wins most of the time.”

“Cuz he cheats,” Another Misfit joked, getting a few laughs from Falx Squad’s members. Paul flipped the bird without even sparing a glance toward Alexi Stoyanov, who grinned and did the same back before hauling the box he was carrying over to the Outpost’s medical bay. Toma chuckled, while his wife and their female comrades walked back inside, caked in snow.

The Romanian looked back at his wife and waved, smiling. She waved back with a similar smile before moving out toward the kitchen. Ordo hummed, straightening up his seat, then asked, “Do people who are married usually go to war together, or are you and her an exception?” while watching the two men start to play again, after Victor had spread five cards to himself and five to Paul.

Vic replied, “We’re rare… I and her have been together for a long while. Hell, our entire friend group’s been,” then he pointed at Paul and said, “Several of us were born on Reach or planets in the Inner Colonies. Joined up specifically to fight the Covvies when we heard what was happening from survivors, be they family members from the Outer Colonies that survived, or just refugees… Some of us saw our homeworlds burn, too.”

Paul’s face turned a little grim. All of the scars he had and his missings limbs had been from the defense of Reach. Ordo looked the man over, then nodded in understanding. Rex wasn’t far behind them, doing the same thing again. He and Cody had been with the core Misfits at the Rishi Outpost when they pushed the Droids back. They knew part of the story from Fives, Echo, Cutup, Hevy and Droidbait. How the Misfits had fought together and all.

Six hummed, having been on Reach, too. He was about to speak when his com system pinged to life. Cho had wanted to tag in and say something, too, but the Spartan put a hand up to his ear, then said, “Linking you to central com now, ma’am,” before he approached the main console, tapping a few buttons to activate the hologram.

The whole base perked up, quickly gathering as Meetra appeared. She said, “ Well, everyone ! We’ve made contact with the local Tribals and we’ve got an explanation as to why they brutalized everything !” before wincing, which caused everyone else to visibly tense. She told them, “ The UNSC might not like this… It’s Jiralhanae ! Brutes !”

… The entire room had suddenly frozen several dozen degrees. Ordo saw and felt the shift in the demeanors of the UNSC Marines present. Hell, he even heard Paul’s fists clench, mechanical hand whirring with stress while his gloved left scrunched up and crackled. Smiles were replaced by stone masks, cold, emotionless. 

Their eyes, however, told the sole emotion spread throughout the unit. Anger . And suddenly, Ordo felt like he saw Cho realize he got his Casus Belli.

Chapter Text

Orto Plutonia

Meetra felt like she’d just lit the fuse underneath the powderkeg. She knew the UNSC hated the Jiralhanae based on a multitude of issues. She also knew at least a couple of the Misfits viewed the Brutes as nightmarishly dangerous creatures for their own personal reasons, which added a new layer to their hate. A layer that would presumably prove detrimental to any kind of chat with the Brutes.

The Speeders and swoop bikes whooshed through the snow, kicking up small clouds of not-yet-settled flakes as they aimed to return to base. The bikes shifted into a loose formation at Anakin’s wave of the hand, before Meetra finally felt them around. Jiralhanae scouts kept tabs on the three Jedi and their ward as they got out of their territory.

Anakin called out, “Why’re you looking so worried, Master!?”

Meetra looked at him, then at Obi-Wan, then at Chuchi. She exhaled, steam clouds forming in front of her face, then replied to Anakin, “Simple, really! The UNSC has a history with this species! It isn’t a pretty one!” as she saw them staring. Che calmly continued, “The Covenant had them as part of their military! Jiralhanae are savage and brutal fighters that take pleasure in torturing their victims when they can!”

“Are you sure that isn’t just a biased review the UNSC has after having to fight them?” Senator Chuchi asked with all the innocence of a young child. Meetra confirmed that she was sure through a mild nod, her grip tightening on the vehicle’s handlebars. She felt more of them staring at the group, trailing them. Probably hunting them. 

The Brutes were trailing them back to their drop zone, back to the Headquarters. She sighed and mumbled, “Guess they don’t wanna be friends either,” before lifting her com and stating, “Best be ready for a fight, boys and girls… We got trailing behind us,” before preparing herself. She could swear she felt the UNSC troops get giddy…

“This is awful…” Chuchi murmured, holding onto Meetra as they rode forward. 

Meetra sighed deeply, “Sadly, it is,” before casting a glance back at the trailing forces, all of them armed with weapons ranging from massive bows and arrows to those throwing spears she’d seen them use. She looked at Anakin and Obi-Wan, then told them, “Boost! NOW!” before slamming the speed to ludicrous to get the hell out of range.

As they finally passed through into the much wider snow wastes and saw the pillars that rose high from them, Meetra finally made out the sight of their allies. Makeshift fortifications had sprung up in front of the hangar door of the base. She saw the barrels of blasters and slug-throwers poke out from amidst boxes and other vehicles.

… A massive arrow whizzed by her and Senator Chuchi’s ear. She scoffed, shaking her head, then drew her lightsaber and barked, “HANG ON!” as she ignited it. Using the hand she had on the bike to turn right and brake hard, she kicked up a slew of snow and ice against the barricades before jumping off of her mount. She barked, “LIEUTENANT, COMMANDER, GET THE SENATOR BEHIND THE LINE AND INTO THE BUILDING!”

Sam nodded as the first arrows flew into the Barricades, embedding themselves with enough force to nearly pierce through both sides of the metal boxes. Vesna scoffed, watching Sam jump over the cover and grab Chuchi by the arm. The two other Jedi soon drew  their Lightsabers while Six and Richard opened up next, accurate snapshots disturbing the snow as the wave of Brute Warriors charged at them.

Ordo sighed, then stood up and opened fire, too. Rex was right beside him, the two of them finally able to test if Ordo had truly caught onto how to utilize his dual-wielding training.

Dick was far too calm. Meetra could feel him despite the lack of the Force in the UNSC. Even calmer than Six, she thought to herself as she jumped back behind cover and utilized her Force Powers to hold the enemy at bay. Electric bolts arced from her fingers, striking the mounts of riders attempting to close the distance and fire their bows more accurately, arrows flying alongside spears that arced high toward the Clones and Marines.

She swung her blade left to deflect one such item, splitting it in two and stopping it mid-flight. It fell harmlessly into the snow beside them. Meanwhile, return fire came quickly, Victor laying down the hate with his SAW as he swept the area ahead, shifting fire between targets of opportunity. His sister beside him snapped off shots from her own rifle while Katja and Paul’s rifles chattered repeatedly and angrily.

The two Spartans pushed up, too, DMR and MA5k echoing with single-shots instead of bursts now. Richard commented, “It’s a Turkey Shoot…”

“Least the fuckers don’t have those grenade launchers anymore!” Sam replied as she ran forward, grabbing her rifle and opening up. She looked at Anakin, Obi-Wan and Meetra and told them, “Generals! Senator Chuchi and Chairman Cho are safe behind the blast doors! Our gunship pilots are performing scouts around the place to make sure the Apes aren’t trying to outflank us!”

“Good!” Obi-Wan replied, then gasped as he saw a Brute surge toward him. Rex snapped his left pistol toward the monster and shot down its mount, sending it tumbling into the snow. It sprung back up with fury in its scarlet eyes and raised high a two-handed bone and rock hammer that he swung down at Kenobi. The General of the 212th took a step back, dodging the slam that send specks of snow flying, before he swung low with his lightsaber and removed the hammer head. He then surged forth and slammed his open palm into the monster’s chest, sending a burst of the Force through his open hand.

It staggered the beast, but it grabbed his hand and lifted him up until he was face-to-face with it. Its jaws opened, revealing rows of long, jagged teeth stained by old blood as it chomped at him, attempting to take a bite from his side, but the Jedi Master swung his Lightsaber into the monster’s face, removing its lower jaw before using his legs as leverage to kick away the moment it let go. 

Three Clones from the 337th and two more from the 501st focused fire on the beast. Plasma bolts singed and white mane, drilling into thick hide muscle. Flesh burned and holes grew in the beast’s chest as it attempted to grab General Kenobi again, roaring in anger… Before the Jedi swung his blade right for the base of the monster’s neck.

It collapsed, dead, before the Jedi Master swung in for another attack, killing one of the other’s mounts and causing it to fall over before he swung for its spine, severing it and killing the beast. He turned his head, watching Anakin move to try and avoid the enemy’s attacks as he swung back at them. Meetra followed behind him, taking the leg off of one beast. Paul shot it in the face with an AP round, spraying hard bone shards and brain matter onto the floor.

The man then moved up beside Anakin and said, “Aim for the eyes!” with a surprising amount of restrained anger behind his words. He had a personal hatred for the beasts, one that both Anakin and Meetra figured they’d ask about later. The Jedi nodded, then swung exactly where he was told, his blade catching one of the Brute warriors in his two scarlet beads. It staggered, roaring in pain and swinging wildly before the UNSC Marine punched it hard enough for its ribs to audibly crack. The Servos in his arm groaned from the hit, but the beast fell backward, blood spewing from its mouth as its lungs collapsed.

Vic’s bullets cut down several more of the monsters advancing toward them, bursts punching through thick hide to hit vitals, causing the monsters to drop off of their war mounts. One mount, now riderless, ran scared toward the formation, lips peeling off its saber-like teeth as it tried to bite at Meetra.

She jumped, spun through the air and swung down, splitting the creature in half while she was mid-flight. Its remains collided with her bike, breaking it in half. She followed up with a burst of lightning toward the Brutes themselves, mumbling to herself, “I was ready to talk Cho out of trying to control this place…” While staring down the Chieftain.

Anakin jumped over a beast just as it swung its strange bladed weapon toward him before he used his Force to push himself into it, pummeling it into the ground with his feet before stabbing his lightsaber clean through its chin. He gasped, watching an arrow zip past him and strike one of the Clones clean through the battle plate of his armor.

A second arrow struck Vesna in the shoulder, causing her to yelp and fall backward, grabbing onto the injury. Vic gasped, then barked, “VES!” as he cut down the one who shot the arrow. He looked over to one of the members of Falx and waved him over. The soldier fired his blaster as he advanced, then paused as he was handed the MG. Vic then told him, “Hold it down! Alex! Help me get Ves inside!”

“Covering fire!” Sam barked, rifles ringing louder in response.

The two Clone Officers held position behind cover, now firmly crouched behind it and guiding shots from their troops. Falx Squad’s own heavy gunner laid down the hate with his Z6 Rotary, calling out, “FOR WARDEN!” as azure flashed alongside the gold of firearm muzzle flashes. The three Jedi fought hand-to-hand against the enemy, blades singing leathery flesh and white manes as they cut down the beasts.

Vic stormed out of the building and grabbed his MG from the hands of the Clone, nodding approvingly to him before he began firing again, yet more arrows zipping by their ears. Paul asked him, “HOW IS SHE?!” to which the Romanian-born gunner gave a quick, simple nod. The Prosthetic-wearing Reach native sighed in relief, then grit his teeth and punched another Jiralhanae’s jaw shut.

Beside him, Six and Richard jumped out of their cover, watching as some of the Brutes staggered and began to stumble back. A Clone got nailed through the visor with a spear in response, however, with the two Spartans soon moving up over the cover and engaging the Brutes whose morale began to break. Both Spartans drew their blades and, with might behind their strikes given unto them by the boosts provided by GEN 2 MJOLNIR, slit throats, severed hands and cut off heads.

Paul, meanwhile, focused fire on the bastards’ heads and eyes. He snapped off teeth with punches from his prosthetic limb, reloaded his rifle multiple times and engaged the enemy hard and fast. Noticing this, Meetra barked to the others, “PRESS THE ADVANTAGE!” as the drone of allied engines echoed overhead. The rest of the team stood up and engaged in walking fire maneuvers, shooting volley upon volley as the Brutes began to scramble back.

Their Chieftain roared loudly, ordering a withdrawal of his forces. He glared at the group, then huffed, steam coming out of his nose in the cold weather before he turned around and withdrew, too. Though most of the group save the Spartans breathed heavily, exhaustion setting in, Paul commented, “Knew those sons of bitches were gonna be trouble…”

“It’s Brutes,” Katja mumbled, “They’re always trouble.”

“Get inside and have our gunships keep overwatch,” Meetra ordered, then looked at the other two Jedi, “Maybe we can call in someone to help translate, talk to these things, avoid anymore needless bloodshed… So if we’re gonna do this ,let’s make it quick,” as she looked back at some of the dead Clone Troopers laying on the floor and the trail of blood left by Vesna.  They entered the outpost’s hangar, where Cho was angrily yelling into a comlink to the Pantoran government while Chuchi helped Victor and Alex Ryan tend to Ves. The General asked, “How’s she?”

“The arrow didn’t do a lot of damage, thank the maker,” The Romanian mumbled, holding his wife’s hand as her shoulder was being bandaged. She sighed deeply, then walked over to Cho while Anakin seemed to get onto calling someone to help translate. Whatever his plans, most of the people here hoped it’d work…

… Meetra had also seen Paul take teeth as trophies. For a necklace he already had.

Yeah, that hate ran deeper than she thought…

Aboard ONI Prowler Red Herring

Though the room was damp and surprisingly cold, Hondo found it somewhat relaxing. The quiet hum of the Stealth Ship’s engines reverberated across the ship’s frame, reaching his little interrogation room while he waited to hear what the Office of Naval Intelligence was gonna pry out from him this time. He scratched his cheek, feeling the rough Weequay skin underneath the pads of his fingers, then hummed.

The room was soundproofed and separated from the rest of the world by an armored bulkhead that would’ve been tough to breach without a blaster. Opposite that, a reinforced one-way mirror of some kind. Over his head, recessed lights buzzed as electricity coursed through the main lamp rods, flickering every so often as to annoy him.

He sighed, looking at the half-drunk bottle of ‘UNSC’ alcohol made by some Human named Jack Daniels. It was a tasty drink, though he preferred their other one, of which three bottles had already been emptied and thrown away in a bin beside him. The chair opposite him remained empty. It had been empty for the past hour.

He sighed, leaning back, feet up on the table. He couldn’t really complain. He was in an air-conditioned room, sipping on fine alcohol from a world he’d never heard of and talking to new people. Part of the Pirate’s life was figuring out new deals, new money, new business partners. He looked over at the two-way mirror and cracked a sly smile, hoping to spook a couple of the spooks.

Moments later, he nearly lost ballance, scrambling forward as the blast door ahead hissed open, revealing an armored gentleman carrying three items on his person:A large, secured briefcase with a code lock, one of their slug-thrower pistols on his hip in a black leather holster and a tablet in his otherwise free other hand.

He managed to stabilize himself, then smiled and said, “Welcome! A new face this time, eh? Last one to come in here was that beautiful human woman… Huh, what was her name?” as he recalled the beautiful, but dead-serious green-eyed redhead that had stepped into the room first, trying to pull his tongue so she could pry words from his mouth about their other operations. He knew some of his boys had probably cracked already, but he wasn’t the type.

“Agent Sharpe,” The ONI interrogator replied coldly, face a stone mask bearing no emotion as he stared at the Weequay pirate. He sat down in front of him, placing the locked black briefcase by his side and his tablet on the table. It was then that Hondo had noticed that he was wearing the undersuit of some kind of combat armor that these people employed, not too different from the one the people who’d taken him prisoner were wearing. He spoke, “I’m afraid she’s asked me to take over…” before pouring himself a glass of water from an untouched pitcher on the table. Without taking his eyes off the glass, he asked, “Tell me, mister Ohnaka, do you know the concept of harassment?”

“Oh, I meant no harm to the Agent,” He replied with a faux-sad voice, then smiled again and said, “I simply was admiring her beauty.”

“Cute,” He shot back, frowning slightly as he glared ice-cold daggers at the man. He took a sip of his drink, then lifted up his tablet and started reading aloud, “Hondo Ohnaka. Leader of the Ohnaka pirate gang, obviously not a particularly humble man,” and Hondo was about to reply, but the glare cut him off. The man continued, “Wanted on charges of illegal drug trading, sentient trafficking, non-sentient trafficking, petty theft, piracy… List goes on.”

“Yes, miss Sharpe was quite inquisitive about my past, too, my friend,” Hondo replied, swirling his half-full glass of Whiskey as he stared the man down from behind his goggles. He asked, “Is there any particular reason you’re recounting my adventures in broad strokes to me? Because I’d be able to give you some wonderful stories! Some, true, some… Heh,” and he grinned.

“I wouldn’t call these adventures ,” Replied the agent, setting the tablet aside and interlacing his fingers, “What I’d call them are crimes , though… Anything more you want to confess to me before we move on to the reason I’m here?” and he looked almost like he was staring through the Pirate. Hondo shook his head, flicking one of his dreadlocks off his shoulder. The Agent remained cool, adding, “The UNSC and Republic have an offer for you.”

“Oh?” Hondo raised a brow, leaning forward. A slight flicker in the ONI Agent’s eye betrayed a little hint to the Pirate that he was about to either fall into a trap, or make the best business decision of his life. And Hondo never denied possible business! He looked at the man, trying to feign a lack of interest just in case, “You already know I have a few lucrative businesses. What do you think you can offer me?”

The ONI agent appreciated the cockyness, but he didn’t show it. He simply replied with, “Actually being free to do those businesses for one,” which caught the Pirate like a mouse in a trap. The Agent continued, “Additionally… Some extra incentive,” before he lifted the briefcase and popped it open with several audible clicks. He then turned it around, causing Hondo’s eyes to go wide as he said, “For doing business with us, too.”

Rows upon rows of credits stacked as high as the edge of what was a really thick armored briefcase greeted the eyes of the pirate. He blinked, reaching out with one hand to try and grab an item before having to retract it quickly as the case slammed shut and locked. The Agent narrowed his eyes, to which Hondo asked, “... What kind of business are you looking for, my friend?”

“A mole,” The man replied, very straightforward. No Bantha poo-doo. He told the Alien, “We need you to be our eyes and ears in the Underworld. You and your little pirate gang seem to be capable enough…”

Hondo’s grin grew wide. He started laughing a belly laugh that made the man before him actually take pause. He then asked, “Is that it? You want me to be your little pal? Your little Sith Lord on the shoulder to tell you how things are going in the Spice Trade?” before he slowly started to calm down. He sighed, content, then sipped from his Whiskey before offering his hand, “I’d be more than glad to help,” only to slightly pull his hand back before the Agent could shake it, “ If… There’s a case like that waiting for me at the end of every month of faithful service to you, Office of Naval Intelligence Man.”

The Agent put his hand up to his ear, then nodded and replied, “You have a deal. Don’t make us regret it,” a slight edge to his tone as he offered his hand.

Hondo laughed again, gripping and shaking the man’s hand as he said, “This will be a wonderful partnership! I can already smell the Credits we’ll be making together!” clearly ignoring what was basically a death/assassination threat from them. Not long after, Hondo and his crew were allowed to depart from the Red Herring, which was located deep in uncharted space. They left quite a few Credits richer…

Coruscant. En-Route to Jedi Temple for Prisoner Delivery

Aboard prisoner transport vessel

… Fireteam OSIRIS, a Spartan-IV Squad made up of three Office of Naval Intelligence Agents, stood guard in front of the cell of Count Dooku, the rather infamous leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Their commander, Spartan Jameson Locke, a dark-skinned man clad in jet-black ONI-standard Spartan armor, cradled his BR-85 Battle Rifle as he looked at the bound and cuffed Sith. He commented to his comrades, “I didn’t expect the interrogation staff to be that ‘lively’ with the Old Man…”

He was saying that due to the marks and bruises on the man’s body. They’d done a few things to him to try and drag out the Seppies’ War Plans. Vale, another member of the team clad in dark-red and very alien-looking armor, commented, “An old man, in charge of an entire rebellion against the government of the Republic,” quietly. She slapped a fresh magazine into her own M7, then looked at Locke and told him, “Makes it all feel off.”

“Don’t underestimate him,” Tanaka commented, her white armor glistening in the recessed lights. She held close her MA5D AR as she sat on a box full of supplies. She saw a squad of Clones that were part of Commander Fox’s own Coruscanti Guard walk by, weapons held close. She waved at them, but they ignored her, causing her to say, “Makes me miss Buck…”

“Did we ever get word of when he and his guys are gonna be joining us again?” Tanaka asked, leaning against a support pillar. 

Locke replied, “Their team’s still waiting on the Spartan-IV Augmentations to join us, so it’ll be a long while…” only to look back over at Dooku. He stated, “And Tanaka, you’re right. He’s apparently one of the best Lightsaber Duelists. A Former Jedi, too…” before mumbling, “No wonder most of’em feel wrong.”

“Hmph…” Dooku let out, mildly amused. He saw Locke turn toward him, then told the man, “Perhaps your people are more wise to this Galaxy than I thought…” before looking at him dead in the eyes, or into his visor, “The Jedi, like the rotting carcass of the Republic you’re helping defend, are corrupt, blind to reality. Willingly blind. It was why the Confederacy seceded.”

“We heard General Surik said the same things to them when she walked into the Council Chambers. Obviously, we weren’t there, but…” Tanaka quipped, then saw Dooku’s face imperceptibly shift into concern. She raised the metaphorical brow, face invisible behind her helmet, “Oh, what? I’m surprised you didn’t actually get to meet her yet. She’s been part of our military for a while now.”

“... You speak of Meetra Surik,” He asked with half a mouth. All three ONI assets nodded and the count frowned at them, “That is… Impossible. She has been dead for four millennia.”

“So we’ve heard,” Shrugged Locke, dismissive of their prisoner, “Maybe she hid herself in Cryostasis for a while. Only participated in major events,” before he approached the door, “I take it you know her?”

“I read through the old Jedi Holocrons. Information was lost during and after the Cold War those four thousand years ago,” Dooku answered, looking up at them. Perhaps he could pry a bit more information out of them before his rescue came, “But enough Holocrons remained intact for me to know that she, alongside her redeemed Jedi comrades, reformed the Order from its broken remnants after the Mandalorian Wars… Then she disappeared.”

Tanaka hummed, then slung her rifle onto her back and asked him, “Any idea why she’d be back? Or how?”

“No…” Dooku replied with half-a-mouth, a somewhat bold-faced lie, “But if she has chosen to serve in your rank and file, even as a General,” and he looked up, “Perhaps my forces really should not underestimate you,” all while thoughts were swimming in his mind about asking Lord Sidious why he had failed to tell him about the Jedi Exile being alive. “How did she react to the current goings of the Order?”

“If reports are to be believed?” Vale shrugged, “She wasn’t exactly happy with’em.”

A small, genuine smile crossed the old man’s face, “Someone told them the truth to their face, I suppose. Someone who knew what she rebuilt the Order for,” before his mask of stoicism slipped back on, “And I believe they didn’t take too kindly to it. My peers never did like having their eyes opened… They prefer to live in their little bubble.”

“An order of laser sword wielding magic monks doesn’t wanna be bothered by Galactic Goings-On,” Locke snorted derisively, shaking his head, “It does sound like a recipe for disaster to have them running things in any way shape or form beyond some spiritual guidance,” before he paused, ears perking up. Dooku shifted, feeling the drive core of the vessel boost its power as they were flying over one of the less populated areas of Coruscant.

Vale and Tanaka saw their officer visibly tense, then drew their weapons and thumbed the safeties off. Locke put his hand up to his ear and asked, “CT-6612. Report…” as he felt the vessel shift slightly to the right again. Obviously, not everyone liked Clones, the same way Clones didn’t like everyone either. Locke hadn’t had the best rapport with the troops belonging to the Coruscanti Guard.

The Clone’s voice replied over the com, “ Escorts are currently moving to intercept a tail. We’ll be taking an alternate route to the Temple… ” but his voice was eerily cold. The three Spartans looked at each-other, before a single thought crossed their minds. Something was going on here. Whether it had to do with the previous visitor to Dooku, or it was something else entirely…

The ship rocked, causing the three to stumble slightly. Lights flickered and dimmed as the Clone reported, “ We’ve been boarded !” and alarms began to blare. OSIRIS immediately went into combat mode, tracking contacts on their Motion Trackers. About two dozen red dots appeared amidst the crowd of a dozen gold ones. Then, the yellow dots began to wink out.

Blaster fire and swinging blades sang loudly from behind the bulkhead separating the cell and cargo area from the rest of the ship. The lights went out as the ship audibly lost engine power and dipped slightly. The shields separating them from Dooku flickered, but remained online despite the lights going. Locke ordered, “VISR systems on. Loosen the formation,” as he aimed for the door and any possible access point.

The sound of blaster fire and swinging blades drew closer to the door. Clone IFF tags winked off on their HUDs as Tanaka aimed her gun, mumbling, “Oh, this is gonna go well. Anyone try to radio for backup?”  while the thumping of metal feet drew closer and closer, side-by-side with the screams of their comrades dying.

“I did,” Vale replied, “Jammed…”

“Damn…” Locke mumbled. As the fighting drew closer and closer, the team wondered just how the Seppies had slipped through the defense nets and gotten into Coruscant itself, the single most secure planet in the Galaxy.  Someone must’ve been feeding them insider information, meaning someone out there was a traitor.

The shooting stopped moments later, causing the team to tense. Silence fell upon the hold, only the flicker and hum of the engines acting as a background noise while the team waited for the inevitable breach and clear. They waited, listening to something heavy being dragged forward. A plasma torch hissed to life and started cutting into the durasteel ahead of them, heating the metal to a boiling orange, then to a blinding white.

The locks failed, the door slid open and the first skeletal, beak-faced frame and pair of white eyes stepped into the room. Locke didn’t even bother to yell, his team all firing in sync at the machine, rounds peppering its frame, cutting through the thicker central processor armor on its chest and sending it tumbling down.

Its sibling streamed into the room, maybe half-a-dozen B-X Commando Droids, colored jet black. Their blades shone scarlet in the gunfire, blood still shaking off of their vibroblade. Blasters echoed, shots tearing through the cover of Osiris as they returned fire as accurately as possible. One machine pounced on Locke, forcing him to grab it, slam it into the floor and snap its head off with a kick from his boot. A second tried to rush him, but he drew his Magnum and pumped all six shots into it before a third swung its blade at his hand, splitting the Magnum in half.

It surged forward and swung at Locke, forcing him on the defensive. Tanaka, however, came in clutch, doming the machine with a burst from her MA5 while Vale basically danced around the bastards, utilizing her thrusters. Blaster bolts and bullets struck the mixed ray-shield/normal energy shield type protecting Dooku’s cell, causing the Sith Lord to ever so slightly flinch as he watched the walz of death between the Spartans and the BX-series Commandos.

Before long, the entire Platoon was scrapped, laying destroyed on the floor while the Spartans had only taken damage whenever their shields failed. Vale had two blaster bolt marks on her armor and the deep gash of a vibroblade left in her pauldron and chest, but she was still standing, shields flickering back to life. Locke had taken more severe  hits, several bursts of blaster fire having peppered his chest plate and one having skimmed his helmet.

The room ahead of them glowed in the smoke of gunfire and blasters boiling away the artificial atmosphere in the room. Dooku was impressed. He’d counted the time between when the Commandos had entered and started their close-quarters battle with OSIRIS and now, having seen approximately two minutes of direct CQC engagement. Spartans were very clearly proficient fighters.

Though as he heard the thump of clawed feet, he soon thought to himself ‘not quite proficient enough’. Locke had heard the noise, too, dropping the spent magazine of his rifle onto the grated floor and slamming in a fresh one. He saw a silhouette appear from the smoke at the door, a hunchback monster. He fired a burst.

The rounds ricocheted off of what looked like a massive, skeletal arm with long, bony fingers. The monster was wearing a cape that shielded its body from view. Said cape soon dropped, revealing a massive skeletal frame about the size of the Spartans, layered in plates of bone-white armor. Two burning amber eyes with slits like those of a lizard stared at them as it emerged from the smoke. A cyborg abomination of some kind stared down the three-man Spartan team fearlessly, several hilts clipped to its strange midsection.

Crosshairs settled on the machine and shots rang loud throughout the ship’s bloodied corridors. The three Spartans opened up on the alien machine-monster. It folded in on itself, like a turtle pulling back into its carapace. Bullets struck and punctured thinner parts of the armor, but the monster was well shielded and armored as it took two steps forward…

Then ran toward the closest target:Locke. The Spartan gasped, dodged out of the way and watched as its arms outstretched again from its carapace, now holding two of those hilts. Two blades, one blue, one green, emerged from them. Lightsabers. The monster swung forward toward Tanaka, forcing her to dodge as she shot at it.

It swung again, cutting in half a box filled with medical supplies before it swept its other hand from right to left, causing the shields on Locke’s chest to flare, the heat boiling so hot he could feel it through the armor plate and the crystalline layer beneath. Small warnings blared and vanished seconds apart as he moved back, firing his rifle and ordering, “FLANK IT!” 

Tanaka did as ordered, the trio focusing the Alien down. Rounds did puncture armor, but some ricocheted. Others still embedded themselves into the plate, but it kept moving, unabated by the shots, only shielding its chest. Tanaka moved to its left, peppering it with rounds from her rifle before slinging it onto her back and drawing her pistol.

She tried to shoot it, but the barrel got cut off by one of the swings. The monster then swiveled about full tilt toward her, blade slashing across her armor’s chest, searing through the shields and disabling them, then melting through the breastplate and crystalline layer underneath. It then kicked high with its clawed foot, sending her flying into a wall hard enough to leave an indent.

“TANAKA!” Vale called out. Locke scoffed, watching the woman’s TEAMBIO screen turn red, a flatline echoing, the HUD marking her dead. He sighed and had no time to decide, simply using the standard method of placing Spartans in the MIA List before nodding to Vale and taking the left. The red-clad woman with an SMG took the right, both of them moving to distract the bastard, keep it dizzy.

It didn’t care, swinging for the much faster Vale and forcing her to slide under one of his swings. She dumped a full magazine into its chest plate, then tossed the SMG and sprang up from the slide, punching it in the chest with both fists and denting it, which caused it to cough hoarsely. It growled and its right hand split in two, revealing a second appendage connected to the one wielding the Lightsaber.

He grabbed her by the throat, slammed her into the ground hard, then thrust the blue lightsaber into her chest, causing her to gasp for breath, finding none. Locke yelled something out, but took a step back and composed himself, trying to figure out how to deal with this monster. He kept firing, moving about, dodging and weaving through the blade swings, then raised his rifle to attempt and parry a strike.

The lightsaber cut it in half, forcing the man to switch to his combat knife. He drew it, charged forward and dodged more swings, sliding beneath the blades and jumping over low swings before slamming the tip of the blade through a small opening. He wrenched the blade in, feeling electrical current flow through it, with the monster letting out an angered roar.

He yanked the blade out, watching hydraulic oil and electricity spill out of the wound… Only to immediately feel himself grabbed by the throat and a searing pain burning in his chest. Looking down, he saw the glowing flame of the green saber piercing his gut, then looked up, eye-to-eye with the monster before him, its weird, alien mask glowing in the light. It squinted, seemingly mirthful, then dropped him to the floor, shutting off the blade.

Covering himself in his cape, General Grievous approached his former master, clenching his fist and punching clean through the control surface that held the shields and the Sith Lord’s cuffs active. He bowed his head as Dooku rose, then spoke for the first time, his voice gruff and harsh, “My Lord…” as the Sith approached.

Dooku patted down his clothes and felt his wrist, stating, “You did well, General Grievous. Rise,” only to pause as he saw his Apprentice offer him his curved lightsaber back. The Sith Lord took it, clipping it to his belt and walking forward through the damaged area with Grievous. He spoke, “I would have expected Ventress to attempt a rescue… This was a bold move.”

“Nobody will know,” Grievous assured the man, stalking behind him, his entire body now obscured by his own bullet-riddled cloak. Two Magnaguards waited for them by the airlock, standing at attention when Dooku exited out into the hall. The Sith Lord looked around at the dead Clones, then looked out through the cockpit, past several rows of cells, and saw they were in Space. Grievous continued, “We seized the ship using Tractor Beams… Dragged it to a spot where we knew Republic Sensors weren’t looking.”

“Another gift from my master,” Mumbled Dooku, “Let us leave. We’ve got to prepare to deal with the UNSC.”

Grievous huffed. He almost seemed amused as he said, “They don’t seem that tough…” looking back at the corpses of the Spartans, “If those were their best…”

“Those three were merely security agents for their intelligence agency…” Dooku remarked, “Even if they were their ‘Spartans’, their elite forces… They do not hold a candle to the ones you briefly encountered on the Malevolence, ” and walked over to the airlock, watching it open calmly. They boarded the ship, whatever model or make it was, then let the Republic transport go after shutting the doors. 

“Our Reserve Fleets are being built…” The Cyborg replied as the starship departed from the orbit of Coruscant, narrowly avoiding the first patrols. He added, “We’ll be ready whenever you need us to strike at these newcomers… And all of them will fall, no matter who or what they are,” before waving the rest of his Droids out.

Dooku hummed, “We shall see…” before walking over toward the Bridge…

Chapter Text

Orto Plutonia

The situation and confrontations between the Republic and UNSC and the native Jiralhanae had unsurprisingly escalated. Meetra, Senator Chuchi and the other Pantoran representative, plus their guards, watched the Misfits visibly loading their weapons. Extra armor-piercing ammunition, flame grenades, even a flamethrower was being pulled out of the base’s storage by Paul.

Noble Six, AKA Crimson Actual, AKA Meetra’s close friend, was already sharpening the edges of his knives on his armor. He noticed the stare as he and Richard were working on their weapons, then he told their Jedi General, “We hope you understand if we’d like to be a little cautious about fighting these bastards.”

“You’ll hear no comment from me,” Master Surik replied, arms crossed. She noticed Chuchi’s concern, then said to her, “It’ll be alright.”

“I’d like not to participate in or witness a mass Genocide, master Jedi,” The woman replied, rubbing her arms as elements of the 337th assembled E-WHB 10 cannons and even a series of automatic machine guns from the UNSC’s arsenal. She saw the other two Jedi present, namely General Kenobi and General Skywalker, seemingly colluding with their Clone officers to figure out how to solve this.

“Don’t worry, ma’am,” Victor replied as he lifted his GPMG and racked back the bolt, sending a round into the chamber. He set the safety on and made sure the muzzle pointed down as he carried it and a bag of ammo toward the door. All the while, he continued, “We’re not planning on murdering them entirely. Maybe they’ll fucking listen to reason when enough of’em are dead and gone, though.”

Paul mumbled something, sending his own rifle’s bolt home and walking out toward the defenses as he said, “Doubt it, honestly. Brutes don’t know the definition of fuckin’ reason,” his voice mired in hatred for an entire species…

“Jesus, guys, lighten up, wouldja?” Mumbled Meetra, having caught her own little use of their invocations. She’d read up on Earthly religions while on the Infinity and saw no problem in calling that name. She wasn’t religious, obviously–what immortal would be–but she figured she might as well… Maybe He would bless them with something, even so many years after that Religion came to being.

“We will,” Vesna answered flatly as she followed the boys out. Meetra blinked and sighed, resigning herself to the fact that the fight ahead was about to get that much more bloody.

She walked up to Anakin, Rex and Obi-Wan, then asked them, “I presume you also see the deathly glares our comrades bear?” 

“Indeed,” Obi-Wan sighed, rubbing his beard. He motioned to Meetra next, then asked, “You’re the most well-versed in their history since you’re working with them, Master. Any nuggets of wisdom or information you can give us to further our own understanding?” while he also looked at Captain Rex. The man shrugged.

Meetra replied, “Though I’ve worked with the Misfits often and with Six and Richard even more so… I’m afraid I’m as blind to their personal history with this specific species as you are,” sounding mildly disappointed. 

Six marched up to her, stowing his pistol, then told her, “Suggest you inquire after the matter, ma’am,” which basically told her he was tactfully trying to tell her not to bother right now. Understanding the statement, she nodded and began her own final preparations for the fight that was coming. They needed to evacuate the Pantorans off the planet.

Outside, the Misfits had set up layers of sandbags, defensive positions and even Warthogs aligned to greet the possibly-oncoming horde of Brutes and their Chieftain. They were beyond firing range, mounted up and watching them from the distant cliffs and hills of snow. They’d brought up archers, armed with thick longbows.

Ordo mumbled worriedly, “They’re already zeroing us in…”

“Yessir,” Tomcat answered, cradling his DC-15 as he watched them, “... We got any chance for Reinforcements?”

“I think the Generals might send for it,” He replied, drawing his blaster pistols. He paused as he heard snow crunch under Clone boots and looked back, watching Rex step out with his part of the platoon. He told the man, “How many d’you reckon you can take in CQC, Captain?” to which Rex shrugged, staring at the Brutes.

Rex breathed a sigh, then replied, “Never jinx it, Commander,” as he watched the Generals finally step out, Lightsabers drawn. The Clones snapped-to, guns raised at combat readiness. Rex inquired, “Sorry, generals, but are we getting any reinforcements?” as he approached them. The Snowstorm once more began to die down, revealing the sprawling fields of ice around the compound.

Anakin nodded, “We’re getting a few more platoons soon. Marines and our boys, plus an ambassador of some kind,” but he stared down the Chieftain and his ‘honor guard’. He continued, “... UNSC Command thinks that if we kill a few more of them, they’ll drop their attacks and listen. They respect strength. Hope you’re ready to show’em some, Rex.”

“Ready as we’ll ever be, sir,” The Captain replied, raising his blaster pistols as if to make a point.

The teams took cover and finished preparations. Paul manned one of the rotary guns on the backs of the Warthogs, having turned it about to face the oncoming horde. He told Vic, “We focus fire on the mounts, through the bastards to the ground and gun’em down that way…” as he checked the feed chute for the gun.

“Sounds like a plan,” Vic answered from behind a mongoose he was using as both cover and a stabilization point for his machine gun to rest on. Vesna was right beside him, her wound tended to. Ayesha, Lita and Sam all prepared their own guns, while Alexi, Alex and Vicky had set up Antipersonnel mines in the snow.

Meetra walked up to them, brandishing her lightsaber as she saw the beasts of the enemy start shifting and moving about, growls and snarls reaching them. She told the team of Marines, “Sergeant-Major Johnson’s guarding Senators Chuchi and Cho with his team. If you guys want to go inside and provide cover…”

“We’re good, ma’am,” Sam replied while gazing down the scope of her BR55HB. She looked at Meetra for a second as she saw the woman shift her weight slightly onto her backfoot, then told her, “Those two are under the best security detail available in there. If we botch this, Johnson isn’t gonna,” and looked back down the scope.

The roar of a horn cut off Meetra before she could reply. She stared ahead at the beasts as they seemed to divide their forces, attempting to go for the flanks. The leading formation surged forward, Chieftain at the front with his weird mace raised. Sam barked, “HOLD YOUR FIRE ‘TILL YOU SEE THE RED IN THEIR EYES!”

The beasts charged, waves of arrows flying that the Jedi Generals began to deflect via using their Force abilities. Force Push helped halt them, sending them falling into the snow. More volleys followed, tracing a web of arcs through the frozen skies of the planet. The Jedi deflected them again. Some struck the snow around them, a bit too close for comfort, while others still landed in the ice covering the Outpost.

Their hordes drew closer. Divided into three distinct tendrils, each formation of riders came at the defensive position from a different angle, though some looked to be trying to bypass them and go straight for the Outpost itself. Meetra wondered if there were any secondary entrances they might’ve missed on a first sweep…

She activated her Comlink and said, “Sergeant-Major, expect incoming breaches,” as she saw the first of the northern and southern charges disappear behind the Ice Walls. The central thrust soon formed into a wedge, a surprisingly coordinated formation of sabretooth cats and gigantic, ape-like bipedals. How the hell the Misfits had set up a minefield, Meetra did not know.

But she watched as the first antipersonnel mine, a small, tubular explosive device with a pressure sensor, triggered. A blast of melting snow, shrapnel and sheer concussive force shot up from below the leading beast, sending it tumbling over. A dozen more followed, blasts rippling across the field and causing casualties to the Brutes.

The General looked at Sam, who smirked and said, “APERS mine launchers!” as she tilted her head toward a series of devices that lay very close to the Minefield itself. A series of small, multi-tube mortar dispensers that had been expended, each tube big enough to carry one of these grenade-sized anti-personnel explosives.

A thick mist of melting snow set on the former minefield as more and more of the explosives were detonated. It was obviously still not enough, the Horde rushing forward to try and wipe them out. The Marines tensed now, while the Clones and Jedi prepared to enter close combat with the enemy. She saw Obi-Wan and Anakin line up beside her, brandishing their energy blades in readiness.

When the first enemy appeared through the mist of explosions, Samantha barked, “OPEN FIRE!”

“FIRE AT WILL!” Rex and Ordo added at the same time, each man crouching and opening up with their blaster pistols. They aimed as the Misfits had planned, shooting the mounts of the alien creatures while the Jedi threw them off of said mounts. High-caliber Gatling cannons, machine guns, rifles, grenades and blasters pelted the killzone ahead, spraying blood and boiling the snow away.

Bodies of both mount and rider piled as the Troopers double-tapped the Brutes themselves, but many more of the enemy’s troops managed to clamber over their dead. A bow-toting Brute aimed and shot a massive arrow right toward Paul, but the shot went and struck the gun shield, the bone killing implement bouncing off.

The Brute bowman was shot in the head by a clone while Paul swept the area ahead with the fifty. Victor didn’t waste any ammo, either, dumping burst after burst at advancing enemy creatures as they clambered over the growing wall of their dead. The three Jedi finally came into contact with the enemy, dodging a swing from one of the Brute warriors. Meetra swung from below, splitting its whole head in half with her Lightsaber, then swung for the midsection diagonally, bisecting the creature from shoulder to hip somehow.

Anakin followed up, taking down a second and third one by removing their heads with some flourish to his movement. With a thrust of his hand forward, he sent one of  the Jiralhanae warriors to the floor and spun his saber around, thrusting it down into its chest. The snow sizzled below the beast as he retrieved his blade from its chest, only to feel the full brunt of one of their fists connecting with his face.

Obi-Wan cut the monster’s hand off, then spun and delivered a sudden onset decapitation to it while Anakin recovered from the hit. The two men nodded to one-another, then gasped audibly as they saw bolts of lightning arc from the tips of Meetra’s fingers, singing the fur off of several of the beastly creatures.

General Skywalker soon cleared the concussion and scoffed, thrusting his blade into another beast’s heart. He withdrew it, swung left and cut the weapon of the Brute charging him in half, then swung upward to the right, cutting the jaw off another. Meetra finished that one off by slicing at its midsection.

Blaster bolts rained on the bastards as Rex, Ordo and their troops fought close-in with them, too. At this range, they couldn’t really miss vitals, but they had to put multiple bolts into the creatures if they were shooting center mass. The issue with being at this range was that the enemy couldn’t exactly miss, either, however.

Some of the mounted cavalry managed to break through. A swing took out one of Tomcat’s men, but he put the monster down by focusing on it with his blaster. Rex and Ordo aimed for headshots now, bolts of plasma melting through the foreheads of Brute and mount alike, but the noose was tightening. Meetra also heard Johnson call out, ”We got some of the monkeys inside!” while gunfire echoed from Johnson’s rifle team.

Meetra scoffed, swung and cut down another monster, then gasped as the Chieftain himself, bulky and angered, surged toward her, slamming the edge of his weapon onto her shoulder and sending her flying. She landed on her feet, grunting in pain as she held her dominant arm with her left hand. Six and Richard moved up to her side, each of them taking out Brute after Brute with well-placed bursts of automatic fire.

Six knelt beside her and looked at her arm, then said, “It severed a tendon. You’ll need sur-” only to freeze as he saw the wound heal. The General’s eyes were closed shut, wrinkles forming as she seemed to focus. Obi-Wan and Anakin, both of whom retreated with the others to cover them as the enemy bulldozed over their lines, gasped.

“Force Heal,” Obi-Wan whispered, stunned, “I thought that Power was lost when the Telos repository was destroyed.”

Meetra grunted, then spoke through grit teeth, ”The current Order has lost much of its history, master Kenobi… And they maintain that ignorance willingly,” before the tendon visibly reconnected in front of them, skin reforming over the damaged area. She ripped off the bloodied cloak, revealing her winterized armor as she stood up. Her hand shot out and electricity arced from her fingers once more, causing the Chieftain’s mount to stumble, its nervous system frying beneath the relentless attack. She barked, “FALL BACK TO THE INTERIOR! WE CAN FUNNEL THEM EASIER!” 

“AYE!” The Misfits and 337th Troops barked in reply. Sam fired her rifle as she and the others joined the group, moving back into the hangar and firing their weapons all the while. Paul slammed his metallic fist into the door controls, shutting them off while he still fired his own marksman weapon, while Victor and Vesna operated the former’s GPMG until the barrel started to turn a steaming red in the cold air.

Even as the doors shut behind them, the Brutes piled inside. Rex and Ordo continued their dual-wielding combat prowess, Rex saying, “Good! Keep up the pressure and remember-”

“One eye on one gun! I know!” Ordo replied quickly as he shot three shots from the right pistol. Two nailed the mount and one staggered the Brute riding it as he fell off it. Rex finished it off with a full burst from both pistols, while Six and Richard had switched to their pistols inside, muzzle flashes lighting the ice.

The teams pulled back toward the Hallways, leapfrogging and covering each-other as the Jedi Generals, the melee team, maintained the font line, stabbing and slashing away to keep the creatures back. Both Anakin and Obi-Wan sent their hands forward, a wave of the Force slamming into and sending several Brute Cavalrymen that were climbing on top of their Speeders and vehicles flying into a wall, cracking the ice and denting the steel.

The hallways narrowed, giving them space for only two normal people at a time. Richard took up the rear, lifting his MA5 and reloading it before opening up, while Six took lead in the front of the formation. As they turned corners, they swept the path toward the command center, finding the corpses of the Brute bastards piled high beside makeshift barricades, not to mention a few dead 337th and 501st members, helmets smashed in and arrows in their chests.

Brute Warriors streamed into the hallways behind them. Dick called out, “CONTACTS IN THE REAR!” as he opened up. He crouched, letting Victor heft his MG and open up with him as they moved back at a walking pace, casings falling on the ground, clinking against frozen ice and blood. The Brutes advanced, almost unfettered and unaffected by body-shots. Some stumbled and fell when bullets pierced their skulls. Others still lost joints to the semi-accurate gunfire of the Spartan.

The teams finally piled out into the main command center, where Chuchi, Cho and their guards were taking cover behind the consoles as one of the clones, who was manning an E-WHB 10, opened up. Bursts of heavy blaster fire turned the tunnel the gun was aimed down toward into a killbox, splattering Brutes that scrambled over each-other to get inside.

“How the FUCK do these things have so many troops!?” Paul barked, firing his rifle as they pulled back to a set of boxes being used as cover. Behind them, an E-WHB 10 and a UNSC fifty-caliber MG fired in unison toward the swarms of Brutes. Katja laughed worriedly as she dropped a spent magazine, then gasped as she saw the first Brutes march out from their tunnel.

Six ran up first, grabbing one of the Brutes by its underbite and slamming into it with his shoulder, sending it staggering back. It tried to raise its weapon and strike the Spartan, but a Clone rifleman sniped the hand, nailing the wrist directly with a lucky shot. Six then drew his knife and lodged it right below the ribs. The Jiralhanae spat out blood  as its heart was pierced, with the Spartan twisting the blade and yanking it out before hefting and throwing the corpse into the advancing line of Brutes. He drew his gun again and opened up on them.

As Vic crouched behind a console, he looked at Chuchi and Cho and demanded, “When the Hell is that ambassador of yours coming!? What even is he!?”

“Someone who was apparently researching these creatures!” Cho replied, pistol drawn. He gasped as an arrow flew over his head. One of his guards lifted his DC-15 to try and deal with the bowman, but took an arrow to the throat, dying as he choked on his own blood. Cho stood up and fired back in return, barking, “YOU CREATURES SHOULD’VE JUST SUBMITTED! IT WOULD’VE MADE THINGS SO MUCH EASIE-” only to immediately get three arrows in his chest, too.

“Convenient that that person researched them, then,” Vic grumbled, then barked, “ALEX! CHO’S DOWN! START FIRST AID!” before he stood up and opened up with his GPMG. 

The Medic rushed out from behind cover, supported by his Finnish counterparts. They crouched beside Cho and looked over his injuries as he beckoned Chuchi forward. She crawled toward him, taking his hand as bullets and arrows zipped overhead. His voice was rough, quiet and resigned as he spoke, “Senator… It is up to you now… End this.”

“I am,” She replied, gripping his hand tightly. He nodded in approval, but seemed to take a moment to register that Chuchi wasn’t referring to a complete and total destruction. Behind her, Jedi swung their lightsabers as Meetra ran toward Cho to try and heal him. Chuchi gasped, however, feeling the man’s hand go limp in her own before Meetra could get there.

The General scoffed, slamming her fist into a console and grumbling, “Might not have liked the bastard, but he was still a citizen of the Republic and the Chairman of Pantora. Lot of political BS is gonna be coming, Senator,” before she put a hand on Chuchi’s shoulder, reassuring her with, “We’ll have your back.”

Chuchi nodded and smiled, then froze as she heard the drone of engines overhead, both of Republic LAATs and of the UNSC’s Pelicans. The Brute Chieftain, who’d just breached into the main area and squared up with Noble Six and Richarc, paused, sniffing the air. He barked something in their alien language and all arrows and attacks seemed to cease.

Meetra didn’t even need to complete it. The Spartans, Marines and Clones all ceased fire as well, surprised as they saw the Chieftain sniff the air, looking around. He turned, then barked again and waved his right hand. The Brutes parted in the hallway, leaving just enough space for a single person to pass through.

The Chieftain huffed, then looked back at Meetra and the others and grinned, baring its teeth, but surprisingly friendly. He stowed his mace, watching as a petite Pantoran marched in under the escort of the 501st. She stared down at the corpses of both Clone and Brute, then sighed and looked up at the Chieftain before her.

He looked down, bowed his head in greeting and huffed, taking a knee. The troop tensed, some staring in shock while others yet stared in surprise. Said surprise only grew when the woman gave a pat on the head of the creature and said soothingly, “... I haven’t seen you in ages, my boy. What have you done?”

He puffed this time as the woman said, “Oh. Greetings… I suppose you’re with Chairman Cho. That man never read my reports about Orto Plutonia and previous explorations of it…” with slight indignation, “Where is he? I’d like to give him a piece of my…” her eyes shot wide open the moment she saw his corpse, “... Mind… Oh… I see.”

“His own hubris got him killed,” Meetra mumbled, “You are…?”

“Doctor Chatika, Pantoran Institute of Xenobiology and Xenofauna,” She bowed her head, “I’ve studied the Jiralhanae before. Even befriended the young pack leader who has become a most aggressive Chieftain, it seems,” before she sighed and told them, “I apologize, but I was never able to secure funding for a second study of their presence. I did repeatedly petition the Government of Pantora not to expand in any way here because this might happen.”

“... Alright,” Meetra sighed deeply, rubbing her eyes, “So this was all a big misunderstanding. We just killed a slew of’em because we overstepped a boundary that the Pantorans never wanted to enforce.”

“That sums it up, yes,” The woman nodded, “Either for resources, or for military outposts like this one… I also suggested that if they were so worried about a potential Confederate invasion, they build an outpost in orbit, not here.”

“Politicians,” Anakin spoke, “... Guess that means we should leave?”

“Yes?” Chatika replied, then furrowed her brows as she looked at Paul, “Uhm… Dare I ask why you have a necklace made of Jiralhanae canines?” 

He looked at it, then told her, “Let’s just say we met the Brutes before… IT went about as well as it went here.”

“What do you-” The woman paused, furrowing her brows, then gasped, “Oh, my! You’re those extragalactic folk that Senator Chuchi has written to me about! I have several dozen questions to ask all of you!” which caused the Marines, already uneasy with all the Brutes staring them down, to take pause. 

Well… No more killing, at least, thought Meetra.

Aboard the Infinity

Lasky watched quietly as three body-bags were brought aboard his ship. Fireteam OSIRIS’s signal had flatlined hours ago, coinciding with the escape of their HVI back to Confederate lines. The bastard was presumed to have had inside help, going by the fact the enemy raiders knew when and where to hit the Prisoner transport.

He could hear Palmer’s teeth grinding against each-other as she stared at them. She whispered, “All three of them are gone. What the hell would manage to take down an ONI Headhunter team like that?” as she watched the armor being retrieved next. Each bore the markings of the attacks, high-yield energy blade slashes not too different from the Lightsabers of Jedi.

“Helmet camera footage shows some sort of Cyborg engaging them. I think the Republic calls him General Grievous,” Lasky mumbled, rubbing his chin, “And as far as I know, Crimson and Blue Team both faced the monster before on the Malevolence. He was in command of it…”

“I’ll talk to ONI… Start tracking the fucker,” Palmer growled.

He nodded and told her, “Tell Blue and Crimson to be ready the moment our former Sixth Noble and his protege Gamma Spartan are back… I’m gonna go talk to the Republic so we can cross-reference intel.”

“Alright,” Palmer replied with a nod. They were gonna hunt Grievous to the ends of this Galaxy and their own if they had to, she thought as she watched what might as well have been an impromptu Funeral Procession. She sighed deeply, leaned forward and activated the com system, speaking, “Chief, Crimsons. Report to S-DECK. We’ve got a new job to hash out.”

Chapter Text

Orbit of Ord Mantell, Bright Jewel System

A task group of UNSC Frigates and Destroyers Slipped in alongside General Surik’s formation of Venator-class Star Destroyers and Acclamator support ships. General Surik had intended to land on this place while the Infinity, Shadow of Intent and rest of the wider Allied Fleet was working on support operations in other Theaters of War, all while seeking out any information they could find on Grievous’s whereabouts. Meanwhile, Meetra was here because of rumors of another ‘map piece’ to the Alliance.

Sadly, someone must’ve tipped off the Confeds, considering she was sat on the bridge of her Flagship Venator, the Harbinger–a fairly ironic name to Meetra, considering her history—watching a CIS Fleet numbering half-a-dozen ships, including maybe six Munificent-classes hovering over the planet. She looked at the Captain of the starship and ordered him, “Rally Ord Mantell’s planetary defense ships around us… No need to waste good men and gunboats.”

“Ma’am,” The man replied, then looked back and gave the order to Comms to relay the information.

Meetra then activated her own com console and said, “Action Group Roberts, link up with us where we are and be ready to engage. Pelt them with missiles until we can sync up, then take a claw formation in front of us,” then she flicked the com off and walked over toward the ship’s observation windows. Through the inches-thick transparisteel, she watched the CIS fleet burn for them, full steam.

She asked the Captain, “Combat Air Patrol?”

“Deployed, ma’am, and already engaged with several Vultures and Hyenas,” He replied just as a small explosion, like a pinprick of light, flashed into view ahead. He continued, “Are we keeping our bombers in reserve for a reason, ma’am? They could be used on a flanking maneuver to hit the lead enemy vessel, cutting off their command and control.”

Meetra nodded and replied, “Good idea,” then she turned and said to him with a slight pride in her voice, “We’ll wait for the UNSC to deploy their Longswords and hit them then. Those things double as pretty capable fighters, so we’ll minimize the risk of losing the Y-Wings. The SHIVA Nuclear missiles should also emit an EM pulse that might cause some damage to the CIS’s electronics.”

“We got a sound plan. I’ll tell the boys in the Hangars to get ready,” The Captain spoke, smiling and giving a quick nod and salute to the General. He turned back toward the holographic table and com consoles and walked away. She saw the dozen or so light vessels moving in to support them. Multiple Stalwart-class light frigates immediately lit up the void with tracers from their tracking auto-cannons, while the 337th’s fighter craft seemed to increase the distance between themselves and the enemy’s Vultures.

A pair of Hyena bombers slipped out from the furball in front of the slowly-advancing Fleet and dived toward a Stalwart. Its multiple PDGs tracked the leading bomber and met it with high-speed kinetic projectiles. A full volley, like a dotted line of light, rippled and formed an arc as it cut the bird down. The second managed to drop its payload and attempted to ditch before two Broadsword-class Fighters and a Longsword put their own magnetic autocannons on it and turned it to scrap.

The bomb struck and exploded harmlessly off of the blanket of energy that protected the Stalwart, causing it to ripple like a golden ribbon in the wind. She then activated her com again and ordered, “Fire intermittent missile barrages at the Fleet. All ships:Claw formation. Heavies and Carriers in the rear, Frigates and Destroyers at the front. Halberd Group, detach two of your assets and slingshot around Ord Mantell, then engage from the rear… Everyone else, full steam ahead.”

“Yes, General!” Chorused the voices of every Republic and UNSC Officer. In truth, most were UNSC-affiliated crew now, not Republic, due to her own desire to serve beside them instead of with the corrupt mess that caused this entire war. Notably, she was still not a Separatist. She disliked them as much as she did parts of the Republic, but the Republic was still her home.

She shifted on her feet, watching the enemy vessels draw closer while the Furball between them and the enemy resolved, several Broadswords flying out as their shields had failed. One of them was trailed closely by a bird, its pilot calling mayday for anyone to help him. The Stalwart that’d taken the bomb swiveled one of its Ramparts and opened up.

Flashes of light filled the dark, both scarlets and golds. The Vulture, however, was much quicker on the draw, scoring a direct hit with its cannons on the left-most engine of the Broadsword. The craft’s drive exploded as fuel lines melted and ignited, before it careened left with the pilot screaming for help. Moments later, she tracked an ejection of the canopy. Seconds after, the ship exploded.

And the Vulture was pockmarked by three 50-mil holes in its frame that stopped it dead in its tracks. No explosion followed, even as the Tibanna gas from within the vehicle leaked out into the void. The captain in charge of the UNSC Action Group called out, “This is UNSC Samuel B. Roberts, hostile targets are in MAC range. Weapons keyed, targeting solutions achieved.”

Volleys of Turbolaser fire denoted their proximity to the enemy fleet indeed. Meetra ordered, “Intensify forward shielding and turn all batteries to engage. Have all Acclamators cycle and fire Concussion missiles. Battle Group Roberts, you are clear. Fire at will, all guns. Save the Nukes for the Providence in command of the Task Group.”

Affirmative replies flowed in as the ships moved forward. The bay doors of the Harbinger and her sister ships, the Summoner and Rubicon spread open as a dozen dark-grey-colored Y-Wing attack bombers flew out of each in a line formation before spreading out into their squadrons’ respective wedges. Following them out, a reserve of Broadswords and Torrent Starfighters followed them out, joining the Longsword bombers that moved to the right on the flanking maneuver.

The first ships to fire in the formation were the Paris-class Heavy Frigates, half the composite force of the UNSC’s group. The light coil MACs roared and struck the leading Munificent, tearing through the front armor of one of them while the second lost several smaller turrets. The second’s main twin battery opened up in reply, a volley of scarlet striking one of the leading Frigates and battering her shields.

The Destroyers’ dual MAC batteries followed up in the assault, however. Multiple 1107 millimeter projectiles and just as many smaller rounds left the maws of the dagger-like Halberds while their PDGs. Two of them activated their directional thrusters afterward, burning hard and low toward the southern hemisphere of the planet. Shipboard AIs calculated the Slingshot maneuver which would take them around the planet’s lower surface area, just below the equator before coming out behind the command ship.

Their MAC rounds struck the leading Munificent, the CIS Congrave, dead in its main battery. The detonation that followed set off secondary blasts across its midsection while its smaller defense turrets opened up, volley upon volley of turbolaser fire striking the UNSC ships’ shields. A second and third MAC hit the two armor bumps on the left and right of the bridge, while a fourth nailed the ‘neck’ of the Bridge, ripping out the deck.

Missiles followed, hundreds of them. The UNSC ships fired a full swarm of ARCHERs, contrails drawing spiderwebs in the void that separated them from their targets while the Acclamators’ own concussion missiles trailed not far behind. Turbolasers mixed in with the blasts, the shipboard artillery of the Venators firing from a distance. 

Meetra’s voice echoed over the com, “All bomber squadrons, redirect to the Providence and get it to run. Fleet will blast the remaining escort ships,” and, indeed, another Recusant exploded just before it could fire its main cannons. 

The Bomber squadrons and their escorting fighters swept in just as the Munificents in the lead of the formation were hammered, multiple explosions blossoming like fiery geysers across the hulls of the Frigates and overwhelming enemy point-defenses. The Y-Wing pilot in charge of the squadrons called out, “This is RED-1 to all RED, SILVER and BLUE squadron elements! On me!” as he turned right and pulled up on the stick, turning toward the Providence.

The Longsword Squadron Lead replied over the com, ”RED-1, this is SILVER. Request target reacquisition. What’re we hitting?”

“Exactly what we were ordered, SILVER!” The man replied as they powered their engines to the maximum, the whine of the inner ion engine systems filling the cockpit. His ball turret gunner tracked remnant enemy starfighters that weren’t engaged in either protecting the main fleet or harassing their own ships.

More MAC rounds flashed overhead, a Recusant-class, which was a skeletal-looking vessel with multiple wider portions and a narrow stern that contained the engine nacelles, taking one straight in the maw, clean through the central portion of the main bay. The round careened out through the other side, significantly slowed down by the impact.

RED-1 mumbled to himself, “Thank the Force the Seppies have yet to figure out how to counter MACs,” before he turned a hard right, diving below the wreckage of the Recusant as it began to ripple with explosions, tearing itself apart from within. Ahead of him, Turbolaser rounds began to pepper the void with the puffing clouds of explosions. 

The craft dived, dodged, turned and used their directional thrusters to avoid getting themselves shot. One Longsword took the brunt of a hit, its cockpit shattering upon impact. It banked left, gutted by the turbolaser blast before it exploded. One Broadsword pilot called out, “Fighters, left!” before turning and maxing out his thrust. 

Multiple enemy fighters swept down toward them as the exchange of tracers began. Reserve fighters from aboard the Providence, the bomber pilot thought. He looked down at his payload selection screen and selected the ammo type:Ion bombs, for a permanent EM Fixture that would take down that ship’s shields.

RED and SILVER dived beneath the heavy fire the Providence dreadnought let out, before they all banked up in synch and released their projectiles. Two-and-a-half-dozen missiles of various types roared forward. Several of the fighters that were engaging their Escort and CAP peeled away in what looked like the droid version of a panic, turning to engage what must’ve been the radiological warnings of a lifetime.

RED Leader barked, “All Squadrons, fall back and let the Fighters mop up!” before he turned a full 180 degrees on a dime, feeling the blood rush to the back of his head even with the inertial dampeners on. He scoffed and shook away the blurring vision as the first missiles impacted. Ion blasts shook the ship, lightning arcing off of the Providence’s shields and weakening them.

The energy shields began to flicker, causing the pilot and gunner pair of RED-1(Or Red Leader) to realize that that ship had Ray Shields turned on. RED LEADER spoke, “Well, that’s gonna be a fun one,” before polarizing his helmet’s visor glass to the maximum. He traced several of the surviving Nukes’ paths…

Then he saw one impact in a short lived, but bright-burning second sun. Then another. And another. Three out of maybe seven missiles had made it, but the explosions had rocked the Providence hard enough that, when the Pilot looked back, he saw the massive damage sustained across its bow as it turned to run. Most of the armor plate was melting and multiple compartments were missing while shield emitters had physically burned out. The EM blast had darkened half the ship, too.

A Munificent overcharged its engines and power generators, enhancing its weapons fire to a near-ludicrous level and opening up. One of the UNSC Frigates ahead was caught in the volley as the main battery roared to life. It hammered her shields, stripping them away slowly as the heavily damaged Trade Federation Frigate worked to take at least one enemy ship with it.

The Frigate fired her MAC in reply, followed by a Harpoon nuclear missile before her shields broke and the armor plate began to boil away. The Munificent’s surviving underslung turbolaser batteries peppered the ship, trailing across the bow, down the middle and clean through one of the engine nacelles’ armor plates. The twin-linked main turbolaser battery scored one on the bridge, drilling a shimmering hole into the metal and creating a violent decompression.

… Meetra heard the screams of the UNSC Eye In The Sky just before the com-line went dead. The ship’s left engine, the one filled with blast marks and holes that had been drilled clean through the armor plate, exploded, the ship shattering thanks to the blast. Before her death, however, the crew jettisoned her Slipspace drive, a visible dot that came out of the rear of the vessel.

Meanwhile, she watched the MAC and Harpoon strike the Munificent-class warship Golden Chalice dead center. The MAC ripped off the bridge, while the nuclear explosion that damn-near blinded her took the rest. She whispered a quiet prayer to herself, then ordered, “Deploy Search and Rescue and send a support vessel to recover the Shaw-Fujikawa drive. I want ground teams ready  to deploy in five, because I’m pretty sure I saw at least a few shuttles of Droids dropped on the planet below.”

“Aye, ma’am!” The crew barked, voices solemn. Admiral Lasky probably wouldn’t like the fact she lost a ship. Of the forty or so vessels they’d come with, they’d had quite a few that were damaged in the fighting beforehand. She hadn’t had time to check the rosters, but she was pretty sure the Eye was the first one they’d actually lost properly.

To calm herself, she tracked the flicker of two UNSC Destroyers emerging from behind Ord Mantell’s dark side, followed by the flashes of MAC batteries and missiles. A brighter blast painted the void, giving an early morning to Ord Mantell’s cities on the dark side. Nodding approvingly, she turned the com to Ord Mantell’s channel and called out, “Ord Mantell Command, Ord Mantell Command, this is the Jedi Cruiser Harbinger, in orbit with the 337th Assault Legion. Acting officer General Meetra Surik calling. Status report?”

”General,” Replied a cool, collected female voice, ”Good to know someone was out here to kick these Clankers out. This is Commander Jayna Carsen, Republic Supply Corps. We’ve got about two Battalions of Droids and support equipment that’ve landed near the Supply Depot at mark 312-416-616. Not to mention a few unhappy Locals, ma’am.”

“Carsen, eh?” Whispered Meetra to nobody in particular, a smile on her face as she remembered the tough girl Kira from the Alliance’s days. She replied with a more firm and calm voice, “Roger that, Commander. I’ll be deploying planetside with my Legion and a unit of UNSC Orbital Drop Shock Troopers to assist. Stand by,” before she flicked the com system back over to the UNSC fleet and ordered, “Action Group, deploy SOEIVs at the coordinates my com officer is sending your way now,” then she nodded to her com man. He gave a salute and began the information transfer, to which Meetra turned back to the com and said, “We’ll rendezvous down there. Harbinger, over and out.”

As the UNSC vessels, those that survived the engagement, powered their engines to deploy the company-sized contingent of ODSTs planetside, one of the 337th’s Acclamators, the Palatine, descended into the atmosphere to deploy. As it broke through the cloud layer above the given coordinates, drop-pods screamed beside her and her Gunships roared out of her hangars.

Blaster fire raced into the sky, scarlet bolts flashing by the hulls of the dropships and drop pods. The Drop Pods struck the ground first, disgorging the ODSTs into the thick of combat. Their rifles barked, machine guns and shotguns thundering. Two LAATs swung in overhead and opened fire with their anti-infantry cannons while the 337th’s Command Squads rappelled down.

Ordo barked, “All troops, on me! We’re moving to the Outpost to reinforce it!” before he opened up with his twin blaster pistols, blue ionized tibanna tearing apart one of the droids as they formed up. Commander Tarkov, the leader of the ODST force, was clad in a standard ODST BDU and Armor set, but his armor had faded yellow stripes and colors.

He drew his M6G Pistol and fired at the Droids, realizing they’d all landed in the middle of a Battalion of B1s that were turning on their heels to try and engage them. The Battalion of B2s was farther behind with the AATs and even a slew of Spider Droids. He radioed, “Command, Tarkov. We’re in need of armor down here.”

Ordo and him formed up, firing as they moved toward the walled-off Republic compound up ahead. Tarkov then said, “Have your men cover the rear!” as he watched the LAATs swing in again, missiles screaming out of the upper tubes and blasting apart the remains of the first B1 Battalion in a volley. They continued moving up, weapons at the ready as they streamed into the compound, with Falx’s squad pulling rear security.

The local planetary defenders, Human troopers armed and armored in standard gear, joined them outside, blaster bolts tearing through the Droids as they did so. 

A Pelican formation swept in next, high-explosive and AP rounds from the chainguns on their chins stitching a cordon on the ground that most of the Droids seemed to stop at. Two of the UNSC’s transports fired Anti-Tank missiles toward the enemy AATs, ripping one open like a can struck by a bullet while the other lost its hover capability even as its turret traversed and angled to return fire.

General Surik dropped in next, lightsaber ignited as more ODSTs, part of the Bullfrog battalion, jumped right next to her using Jetpacks. She cut down three droids in three rapid swings, then she outstretched her hand and moved it left, causing the AAT Turret to traverse left just as it fired, narrowly missing the Pelican. The gunship returned fire in kind, ripping apart the vehicle with a long burst from its cannon.

The aircraft then peeled back to drop off the rest of their cargo inside the Republic base:Three Grizzly MBTs, though with single 125mm cannons in their turrets and multiple new Machine Guns and smoke launchers, and ammunition and food supplies. Meetra and the Bullfrogs slowly moved back inside, the woman carelessly deflecting multiple volleys of blaster bolts as they did so.

Upon full retreat, Meetra used the Force to hit the button for the energy shield door, activating a barrier of flaring, electrified scarlet light to separate them from the Droids. She sighed, deactivated her lightsaber and clipped it to her belt, walking over to help Falx squad carry some of their wounded over to a triage point.

She then stood up, looking around for the commander of the base. When she saw a gentle-looking woman who wore a dark-grey uniform with a chest plate, she smiled. The girl even had Kira’s face, eyes and hair. Force, she almost looked like her down to a Tee. She approached the Jedi General, snapped a salute and said, “Welcome to Ord Mantell, General. Sorry, but the welcomes are usually less hot than this.”

“No problem,” The woman replied, “What are we looking at? Why do you think the Confederacy would attack a Core World like this?”

“Hell of it is, ma’am, I don’t know,” The Commander answered, shrugging. She waved her forward, toward the central section of the compound, where the command building was, and continued, “Ord Mantell is a core world. Fiercely independent one at that. Before that, though, ancient history tells it was an Ordnance Depot. Hence ‘Ord’.”

“During the very early days of the Republic’s expansion,” Meetra nodded. She waved Ordo and Tarkov over. 

Commander Carsen shrugged, then said, “And that’s how I got stuck with this job. I’m a Supply Officer. Got ordered to comb through old bases to see what else we have left that can be useful against the Seppies,” before she pulled out a datapad and looked around at the ODSTs and Clones. She added, “I almost didn’t believe the idea of an alien force helping us, either,” in a murmur. 

Meetra chuckled, “Yeah.”

“Oooor,” Jayna looked back at her with a smirk, “That you’re still alive… You look good for someone who’s been dead for 4,000 years, ma’am,” and that caused Meetra to pause. Jayna smirked that classic Carsen smirk, then turned and lifted a necklace out from under her uniform. One bearing the symbol of the Alliance, same as it was in the Library, or in the Tomb left by Nox. She continued, “One of my ancestors a while back left this in the family. Said it should never be sold, given away or gifted to anyone not in the know… That’s to say, Many Times Great Auntie Kira said she’d like you to have it if you ever came back, basically.”

“About three thousand years old and yet still looks brand new,” She mumbled, looking at the necklace. It had tiny seams through which the faintest of blue lights traced the shape of the Mantle of Responsibility, the Forerunner Ecumene’s coat of arms, for lack of a better term. She then said, “Doubt this is what the Seppies are here for, but it’s good news…”

Jayna shrugged, “I’m only here to provide supplies, ma’am…” then she eyed the two men:The Clone and the ODST. She looked over the clone’s paintjob, including the reproduction handprint on his helmet’s face, then told them, “If you don’t mind helping us hold the Droids back, I can give you the necklace, ma’am.”

“Fine by me,” Meetra replied, “We spot where their craft landed? How many there are?” 

“One single enemy Landing Ship according to orbital and the Palatine,” Ordo answered, “It landed just beyond the hills there,” and he pointed back a ways. He then added, “I can have Recon see what we’re looking at in terms of extra reinforcements for the Droids we already blew to hell, but I’d suggest we do it fast, ma’am. If their MTTs and AATs get into formation, we might have a problem…”

“Alright,” She spoke, then activated her comlink, “All units, prepare for combat…” 

“New report. New Confed weapon spotted by Wombat UCAVs,” A Marine called out as she looked at her tablet, “... Looks like some sort of artillery piece, ma’am,” then she turned it around. A pair of Wombats, the UNSC Air Force’s unmanned, easily mass-producible fighters, screamed overhead, cameras tracking.

The woman rolled back the footage and showed them the artillery piece. Mounted on one of their Hovertank hulls, it bore a yellow coloration and resembled a rail cannon of some kind, an artillery piece with a magnetic propellant system. Jayna paused, eyes wide, then zoomed in on it and said, “... Oh, Sithspit. That’s a Defoliator Tank.”

“Care to give us a better overview?” Tarkov inquired.

She gave a quick nod, then zoomed in on the tank’s main weapon and said, “It’s a terror weapon. It doesn’t damage droids, but the flames from the main projectile burn out all organic matter in the area of effect. Generals Skywalker, Kenobi and Secura reportedly faced one a few weeks ago on a remote planet before they got rescued. It’s a nasty piece of work…”

“Where’s the nearest settlement and can it be evacuated in time?” Meetra inquired, glaring at the weapon itself.

Commander Carsen replied, “We’re fairly close to the Capital… And no, it can’t. Though I doubt they’ll be using it there. They might aim for us, take this base to have a foothold for whenever a Fleet might need it… Or they’ll steal the supplies. Batteries, fuel, ammo, we have everything in this Outpost and the depots surrounding it.”

“Then we take it out. Fast,” Tarkov spoke. Meetra nodded. They’d need the Bullfrogs and Air Support.

SOS Shadow of Intent, orbiting Muunilinst

Muunilinst had been secured relatively recently by the Republic Military, meaning the Shadow of Intent and her Fleet would face no real hostility in the area beside maybe certain protester groups. The UNSC had divided the Fleets, allowing each section to pursue individual leads as provided by the Strategic Information Service and their ONI counterparts.

The Arbiter stared at the glittering orb on their holo-screens, arms crossed to his chest. Rtas, the Shipmaster, was not far behind him, sat in the captain’s chair and examining the planet’s form. Footage taken by away teams below already showed the heavy damage sustained by certain parts of the planet’s cities during the hard fighting. 

“Reports that are coming in note the lack of presence of Grievous’s personal army,” Rtas spoke as he stood up, “It seems as though this is a dead-end planet. What shall we do?”

“Engage with one of the other Leads,” Thel replied, then took a step away from the holo-screens, marching down toward the lower crew area. Elites, Unggoy loyal to the cause and several Huragok worked there to maintain the ship’s systems. He told Rtas, “We should prepare ourselves to jump deeper past Muunilinst.”

“I agree,” The Shipmaster hummed, hesitant, “This will mean we are far away from support for the duration of our search, however.”

“The Civil War has taught us a great deal about how to be self-sufficient, my friend,” His Arbiter answered proudly, “Our Allies’ help was constricted by their rebuilding efforts and our enemies often allied themselves against us, so, we made do.”

“As we will now,” Rtas replied firmly, “Very well,” then he turned and ordered, “Communications, hail our escorts and tell them to prepare to jump. Navigation, bring us about and prepare to jump to the next system. We guide ourselves by the Hyperspace lane maps given unto us by the Republic and engage as we see fit.”

Thel stepped off of the bridge after bidding goodbye to Rtas. He felt the slight shift of the ship’s gravity-based propulsion systems as they took them out of Muunilinst’s orbit, all while he waded down the wide, purple-hued corridors of the formerly-Covenant-owned vessel. They’d refurbished her interior a few times since the War.

As he entered one of the main, greenery-filled atriums of the ship, where alien birds chirped and the wafting scent of the alien flora collected from across the former Empire mixed to form one of the more peaceful parts of the massive warship. He descended utilizing a gravity lift, right down to the central part of the Garden, then walked over toward a central statue.

Carved out of chiseled stone by the hands of a human artist that had been commissioned by ‘Vadam Keep, the statue of an important Arbiter stood ahead of him. His predecessor’s form was odd, blade arm outstretched forward while his free hand held it up just behind the elbow, one hoofed foot forward and one back, perpendicular to the other’s axis.

“Fal ‘Chavamee,” Thel spoke, putting his balled right fist up to the left side of his chest and bowing his head. He felt the phantom pain of the Mark of the Heretic that had been seared into his chest as he spoke, “The First Heretic…”  before he lifted his gaze toward the statue again. “If only we had listened to you years ago.”

“Better late than never,” Spoke a familiar voice. The Arbiter turned his head to the source of the noise and, for a moment, he smiled as he saw the Master Chief approach. The two men nodded to one-another, then both turned toward the statue. Chief told him, “General Kenobi’s assignment here has him oddly excited.”

“And General Skywalker has been following our progress through reports from the Red Horse and other Prowlers,” The Elite replied. He looked at the Spartan and told him, “We will breach through Separatist defenses and strike at a nearby planet. I’d assume it should be enough to draw the General out, if not give us a clue as to where he is… You have my condolences for Agent Locke. We may not have seen eye to eye on certain items, but his death and the death of Spartans Tanaka and Vale are regrettable losses…”

Chief thanked him silently, simply giving him a nod, then looked up at the Statue and said, “I’ve read up on him while we were waiting for our deployment order.”

“Do you believe he’d be proud of us?” The Arbiter asked, a stunning little question for someone like the Chief. Cortana, who was in his helmet, was about to pipe up and say something nice about Fal, too, but that caught her off her footing. Thel turned his head toward his old friend and asked, “... The First Arbiter. The mightiest Duelist of his time. And one of the few who had the unbridled courage to speak out against the Covenant’s beliefs, centuries before we fought you… Do you think he would be proud his people woke up?”

John pondered that question, looking up at the determination carved into the face of the statue and the wrinkles and details in the blade, an arrow pointed to whatever enemy he had faced at the time. The Covenant’s own mightiest duelist, if he recalled correctly. After enough time, Chief nodded and said, his voice oddly solemn, “Yes. I think he would be proud.”

“Awww…” Cortana’s voice echoed over the com. Chief gave a light tap to his helmet which made her chuckle as she said, “Sorry. But yeah…”

“... He should be honored,” The Arbiter spoke, then sighed and said, “And I will,” as he thought back to that duel with the Assassin, Ventress. He would win the next time she attempted to take them on. End her before she could do anything to anyone from their own ranks, like the General had. And if he could help it, he would deliver Grievous to the UNSC.

Chapter Text

Blasters rippled in the darkness. Scarlet and azure bolts criss-crossed in the air, shots being exchanged between the Clone Troopers on top of the palisades and a battalion of B1 Battle Droids that had developed a new tactic:Actually dividing their forces and taking cover where it was available. They were still firing their standard-issue blaster rifles ‘from the hip’, but their targeting sensors seemed slightly updated.

A bolt zipped right over Tarkov’s head while he reloaded his Battle Rifle. Standing up and eyeing the target through his VISR-enhanced SmartScope link, he squeezed the trigger. The rifle was on single-shot, allowing him to deliver an accurate headshot to the machine, ripping through its bug-like head and destroying one of the optical sensors.

He switched targets to the next Droid, snapping off a shot while a pair of Clones beside him utilized what looked like a general purpose machine gun version of a blaster to lay down the hate. The weapon had a slim barrel, its radiators fanning out around it, while the rear, action and ionization chamber looked like the standard form of a historical firearm, namely an MG34. It also had its bipod, which the Clones were using while laying down the blue hate.

He ordered, “Shift fire right!” and watched one of the Gunners immediately sweep right, bolts stitching the stones and destroyed CIS vehicles used for cover by the Droids, leaving deep, glowing gashes of melting metal. Two Droids went down, one missing a head while the other had its central chest piece drilled by the bolt.

The gunner gave a thumbs up to the ODST Officer, who nodded simply in return before going back to taking out targets via aimed shots. Another Clone beside him took a bolt to the helmet which pierced straight down the center of the visor. He collapsed, dead, with another quickly moving up to take his place while a Clone Medic checked the corpse and then dragged it away carefully.

He sighed, dropped another empty magazine to the floor and pulled out a fresh one. He heard the antigrav engines of a LAAT whirr to life and watched one of the Gunships lift off. The pilot positioned them parallel to the road where the Droids were advancing from, then opened up with its forward-mounted ball turret laser cannons, rippling emerald bolts cutting down several more droids in a flurry of fury.

The subsequent rapid-fire burst of unguided rockets from one of the Pelicans that had joined the Gunship in the air turned the night slightly brighter, levelling multiple squads of Droids and exposing several of the survivors to allied gunfire. Multiple Droids were now missing limbs from the bombardment. Others still stumbled back, with one falling off of a cliff and letting out a shrill, modulated scream.

Tarkov watched Commander Ordo snipe several of the survivors with a blaster long rifle, lowering it the moment he saw most were gone, while the gunships swept the perimeter. The two men locked eyes from behind their helmets for a moment and the first to look away was Tarkov. He couldn’t bear to look these ‘men’ in the eye, truthfully…

They rotated out the units guarding the top, with Ordo and Tarkov walking down together. Ordo questioned, “... Why not send that damned tank already? They’d make our jobs a lot easier.”

“These tin cans seem a bit smarter than previous encounters,” Tarkov spoke with half a mouth, cradling his Battle Rifle. He continued, “They know we have Air Support and weapons systems to combat whatever they send, so they’re staying safe under the AA Curtain of their landing ship, deploying their troops…”

“They have no airpower to deploy, though, so it looks like this might wind up being a Stalemate unless we make the push,” Ordo spoke, “But that’d entail risking a frontal assault down the same road they’re using… Clearing the debris-”

“Let the General think about it, Commander,” The man spoke as they approached the main building of the Fort. Ordo paused for half-a-second mid-stride, then sighed and nodded as they continued their march over to the command center. They entered the building where the stores of supplies and gear had been placed. Rows upon rows of MREs, supply packs, medpacks, detpacks and so on, all neatly organized, placed within their specific warehouse-sized rooms and, in the case of the detpacks and explosives, nestled firmly behind reinforced doors and layers and layers of protection.

Entering the command center, a place with walls lined with computers and a central, round holo-table, all of which mirrored the CIC of a warship, the men found themselves looking at Meetra while she spoke to one of the locals in Commander Carsen’s stead. Ordo stowed his rifle over his shoulder while the worried local spoke to the General, “... Droid speeders were spotted flying near the city suburbs, scouting. The defense force is on high alert… We’re too deep in the Core for this to make sense.”

“A single small task group slipped through the Front Lines,” General Surik spoke, her voice firm and calm. She reassured the woman, “I, Commander Carsen and our forces have already locked down where the sole surviving enemy Landing Ship touched down. We will deal with the enemy before they can touch your homes, but I’d ask that you listen to the warnings and stay as far away from possible combat hotspots.”

“Can we trust the Republic to stop them from repeating that?” The woman asked. She looked over to the right when two pairs of footsteps echoed, then paused. She mumbled, “Well, that’s a new Clone…”

“I’m not a clone, ma’am,” Tarkov replied in a low voice, “Is something the matter, General?”

“Just comforting the locals,” The girl replied, raising a brow. She could sense something was wrong with Tarkov, though the man couldn’t put a finger on it at first. She sighed deeply, however, when she realized the man’s issue was with the other man beside him. Looking at the local woman, she bowed and said, “We assure you and the people of Ord Mantell, we will keep the CIS forces as far away from you as possible, but we will need to formulate a plan to defeat them, so, if you don’t mind?”

“Of course,” The woman sighed, bowed her head and told Meetra with palpable concern, “We’ll stay behind the city walls… Take care, Master Jedi. May the Force be with you and your troops,” then she turned, bowed to the men as they took their helmets off and walked away. Meetra sighed, putting her hands on her hips, then shook her head and wiped her nose.

“This is gonna be problematic,” She mumbled, then looked at Tarkov and Ordo and told them, “Gentlemen. I assume you have at least some form of idea for how we’re going to proceed? Because I can’t for the life of me figure out how we’re gonna approach an entire Battalion of Droids whose aim seems to have improved somehow, plus a dozen tanks and an air defense system.”

“Commander Carsen?” Ordo inquired the moment he noticed the woman shift her attention to the holotable. She walked up to it, activating it and switching to a 3D wire-frame display of the exterior hills and mountains. She tapped a button and spoke quietly, “... I remember seeing a footpath one night while walking the walls on patrol… Used by the local Defense Forces.”

“Smuggling route?” Meetra inquired as she watched the woman trace the hologram’s path with her fingers. 

“Nope,” The woman answered, “Just a footpath…” then she panned toward it. She sighed deeply, grumbling, “Damn. It stops just before the Forest. Could be a perfect vantage point for sniping, but then comes the issue of dragging hundreds of pissed-off droids in your direction…” then she stopped, staring at it.

Ordo completed her thoughts with his own line, stating simply, “Just enough of a distraction for someone to sneak a beacon in, give a targeting solution to a ship in orbit…” as he walked over, too. Tarkov tilted his head, raising a brow while the General cracked a smile. The Commander continued, “We could take a couple of gunships on a long flank, a platoon of my men and a few AT weapons.”

“And a fireteam can fight from the footpath. High ground advantage means they’re less likely to be sniped, fact proven by the defensive walls we have here,” Meetra added rather proudly. She gave a nod of approval to the Commanders of the Republic side, then looked at Tarkov and asked him, “Think you can spare a couple of platoons, Commander?”

“I can,” He replied, “Railguns and anti-tank launchers. Heavy weapons teams,” and he pointed at the top of the ridge, “They’ll take cover by the rocks, hit the tanks and ring the bell. Maybe we can even get Gunships with ATGMs to fire…”

“Still gonna be a lot of Triple-A considering the top turrets of that Landing Ship, but it could be worth a try,” Ordo spoke, looking at the General. She gave her approval quickly, allowing the man a few more seconds to think of what else they could do to prepare. 

The (former) Jedi waved Tarkov over as soon as she saw him stare at Ordo with furrowed brows, then asked quietly, her voice stern like a disciplining parent, “Is there a problem between you and Commander Ordo, Commander Tarkov?” as she put her hands behind her back, pulling her cloak back and revealing her own battered combat armor.

“... None with the man specifically, ma’am,” The ODST replied, standing at attention, “... But rather with the concept of a Clone Army. They’re enslaved to the will of their commanding officers and that doesn’t sit right with me or any of my men. We follow the laws set by our own government despite operating in a different Galaxy all-together…” 

“They have their own free will,” Meetra answered as she furrowed her brows. She understood fully why Tarkov viewed it that way. The Mortal Dictata had some quote about the idea of utilizing cloning if she recalled correctly. The UNSC had achieved the technology of ‘flash-cloning’, meaning the ability to quickly grow new tissue, organs and even living beings, but were restrained from using it to make their own armies.

He shook his head, “Doesn’t feel like it’s ‘free will’ when they’re trained from creation to be military.”

“Keep that stowed, would you?” Meetra requested with a slight edge to her voice, a warning as far as Tarkov figured. She told him,, “They’re with us, they’re under my command and they’ve done perfectly fine in the battles they’ve engaged with so far… We’ll be fine here, too,” then she crossed her arms. The man nodded, wordlessly putting his helmet on his head and rallying his strike team. They began handing out heavy weapons while Ordo approached the General.

He asked, “Was it something I said?” with clear intention of it being a joke, but he had overheard part of the conversation. Meetra stared at the ODST, concern painted across her face like a very worrying artpiece. He sighed, took his helmet off and said to her, “Look, General… I get the man’s apprehension. The UNSC’s been relying on naturally-born human infantry for the entire war and they have some sort of moral code in there that makes us seem off… I’m sure he’ll learn to trust us like most other Marines have.”

Meetra sighed, then nodded and said, “I know… C’mon. I gotta figure out what kind of support I can call down onto the planet that won’t crack a tectonic plate or irradiate it. Maybe a Longsword strike…” 

… The plan they’d elected was simple:Tarkov’s heavy attack group would strike from atop the mountain footpath with missile launchers, Spartan Lasers, Railguns and small-arms, providing a distraction that’d allow General Surik, Commander Ordo and a strike battalion of mixed Clones, ODSTs and local Militia to push down the MSR toward the enemy defenses with some light armor that’d just been deployed in the form of several Oryx IFVs with ATGMs.

Tarkov watched the Clones set up the Jackhammer launchers they were handed by the armorers. They were quick learners, loading those weapons with a degree of professionalism and skill. He watched one of the men of FALX, Beaker, slam down the top of the launcher’s frame onto the twin tubes, heft it and set it to rotate. The first tube of the two shifted into place as he shouldered it and flipped out what looked to be the standard-issue ‘we have no SmartScope system so we use iron sights’ iron sights. 

He looked over his own weapon next. The Asymmetric Recoilless Carbine Model 920, or simply the Rail Gun to all of its users, really didn’t earn that ‘Carbine’ moniker. The weapon resembled the standard shape of a UNSC Frigate. Two prongs extended out from the thumbhole stock, with the top one bearing a ‘ready to fire’ sign that glowed blue. Between the two prongs, the weapon’s magnetic rails resided, with the projectile, which was breech-loaded from the top, sitting snugly between them and waiting to be fired. 

It was a light anti-armor implement with multiple uses and had a very familiar manual of arms due to being very similar to the standard UNSC Bullpups. His rifle was painted in a camo pattern meant to mimic forestry and greens, meaning it was semi-adequate for the environment they were currently in. He saw two more ODSTs rocking similar railguns beside him, while a third wielded the patented, tried, tested and terrifying Spartan Laser, one of the UNSC’s few handheld energy weapons.

He shifted uneasily in his seated position, right beside one of the dozens of larger boulders jutting out from among the top of this little hill. He poked his head over the cover and squinted, his visor immediately adjusting and allowing him to zoom in toward the position where the enemy ship had landed. Massive as it was, the CIS’s Landing Ship had two domed turrets, each with two barrels jutting out of it and other very light armaments. It was also camouflaged with netting to match their surroundings.

The Droid encampment surrounding it, however, was large and heavily-armed enough that the gun turrets would be the least of the problems for such a lightly-equipped force to assault it. He sighed, shifted up his railgun and thanked his lucky stars he had his BR75 on his back for this one. He aimed for and tracked one of the AAT hovertanks as it rolled about with its commander out of the hatch.

“Now, where’d the Republic troopers say to shoot…? Below the gun’s vertical traverse…?” He mumbled to himself, zeroing the Crosshair in on the flat spot just below the gun mantlet. He added, “The Defoliator looks like it’s hidden inside the main ship for now. Be ready for anything, boys and girls,” as he kept his aim on the tank.

He looked at the Laser-wielder and said, “Aim for one of the ship’s cannons. Maybe we can ease the job of our pilots by doing SEAD ourselves,” before he looked down at his selected target again. The laser-toting man let out a short, rough laugh as he switched the weapon’s SmartScope system on and locked onto one of the defensive turrets.

The two platoons of troops went quiet next, settling into that professional silence Tarkov had gotten so used to whenever his ODST unit went into battle. Their breathing almost seemed to synchronize while they prepared like a well-oiled machine. When the last man sent a round into the chamber of his railgun, General Surik’s word echoed over the com.

”Execute!”

The Railgun team fired in unison, like a musket regiment being given the order. A full volley of magnetically-accelerated slugs struck the enemy lines first, rounds ripping through the durasteel plate of the tanks they were aimed at and leaving boiling holes in the metal. The hiss and roar of the Spartan Laser echoed, followed by the whip-like thundercrack of the beam. One of the two defense turrets on the ship was sliced across the frame, plate burning away and melting to reveal innards that soon detonated.

“Aim for the second! Fast!” The Commander of the ODSTs barked, then watched as a Clone Trooper hefted his launcher. He and three other men armed with Spankers let loose both tubes toward enemy armor, the rockets flying straight like arrows and striking the leading squadron of enemy AATs before they could turn their cannons toward them. Some struck the ammo, others still struck the repulsorlift pads of the tanks, igniting missiles in the launchers.

A few of the rockets missed, exploding around the vehicles and destroying chunks of the battalions of B1 and B2s that were in the area. Said units immediately diverted their attention toward the ODSTs and opened fire, volley upon volley of scarlet lasers hissing overhead. The Railgun fireteam opened up on them, too, with Tarkov ordering, “Fire until you’re dry on railgun rounds, then switch to rifles!”

He watched the Clones drop the spent launchers, drawing their Blasters and opening up toward the Droids in reply. The railguns roared again, resembling old Napoleonic battle lines in how they fired, before they set aside the spent and overheated weapons and withdrew their primaries off their backs. The Spartan Laser hissed, then screamed again as the second heavy turret swiveled toward them, gutting it and causing it to explode.

The Commander radioed, “General, enemy Air Defense is down,” sounding incredibly calm despite more and more droid guns turning to face them, all while he replied with his own BR on semi. He then told her, “Might want to bring in a couple of gunships…” then he ducked as a round singed the top of his helmet. He looked at the wingtips of the landing ship and scoffed, “And a lot of cover. The ship has lasers mounted on the wings!”

”Multiple gunships are already underway and we’re advancing. We’re gonna get some of the pressure off of you and your boys, but I want you to move down the hill to position two once you’re sure all enemy tanks are destroyed,” Meetra ordered, the whirr and hum of her swinging her lightsaber filtering through her words alongside the muffled battle cries of Republic and UNSC troops. 

Tarkov answered quickly, “Roger that, ma’am!” before he reloaded his rifle and said, “Alright, boys! You heard the lady! Reposition, fast!” 

His ODSTs jumped over their cover, the laser-toting man firing another beam right at a surviving tank. That set off the ammunition on board and the explosion that followed flattened about half the Droids around the tank. The other half was B2s, most of which had their twin blaster arms focused on keeping the Troopers suppressed.

A Clone took a volley of rounds to his chest, collapsing onto the floor as his armor visibly ruptured across the dotted line left by the shots. One of his brothers stopped, shoulders sagging, then turned toward the droid and fired at it from this distance. Two bolts missed, but a third nailed the machine in its chest plate, staggering it and causing the rest of its shots to go wide.

The more advantageous position was a set of thicker rocks and on the rock face. The troops melded better with their environment here, rather than skylining themselves. They opened fire, watching the Droids quickly adjust their aim, shots forming uneven patterns as they struck and boiled the ground around the troopers.

Another Clone took a round in the shoulder while the Spartan Laser-toting ODST fired another blast, cutting in half a squadron of B1s and four B2s that were attempting to push up the hill. He slung the spent weapon onto his back, withdrawing his MA40 with an underbarrel grenade launcher and opening fire on full-auto from behind cover.

The man watched one of his own try to traverse across to the Clones and guide their fire, only to take two bolts in the side. A Clone that he could only assume stood up to help the man over to cover also took several hits, collapsing onto the floor beside him while a Clone medic stood up. Tarkov barked, “MY GUY NEEDS MEDICAL!”

“I KNOW, SIR! HOLD ON!” The Medic replied as he tended to his brother, slotting in a painkiller while Tarkov watched. The Commander scoffed, then poked out and fired, grumbling something about treating someone with less chances of survival. He sighed, shook his head then reminded himself that these men were actively put into this position by their creation and they cared for their brothers the same way he cared for his men.

He paused, watching a second Clone move in to help drag the ODST behind cover. He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked back, watching their Corpsman prep to bolt. He nodded to the man and bellowed, “COVERING FIRE!” as he popped up and engaged. Down below, he watched Meetra and her Strike Team advancing toward the target just as the Gunships swiveled in.

Two LAATs and two Pelicans roared overhead, firing their cannons in unison and filling the forests ahead full of lead and blaster fire. The Landing Ship took several glancing blows from missiles while the General led the way forward. To her credit, Meetra led from way in the front, using her Lightsaber to deflect incoming bolts with a speed and precision the Commander hadn’t seen anywhere.

She danced through the first few droid lines, energy blade cutting in twain multiple B1s and B2s, then she used the Force to squash four more Droids, throwing their remnants at their comrades and destroying several more. Beside her, Ordo pushed up, twin blasters roaring. He paused, watching the AAT with the Defoliator weapon roll out, then barked, “THE TANK’S COMING OUT!” 

“As good a time as any, then,” Meetra replied, pulling out the beacon. She primed it, clicked the deployment button and long-armed it. She watched the Beacon arc above the Droid units, all of whom were none-the-wiser about it, then land right on the ramp of the Landing Ship. She grinned, pumped her fist, then said, “Strike Package, this is Ground Team! Beacon’s on and target’s yours-”

… Only to stagger as she saw a swarm of Commando droids surge out from behind the tank, moving around in that uncanny way most people knew them for. The ODSTs and Clones were quick to catch onto them, firing their blasters while Meetra deflected their shots. She watched one charge her, draw its vibroblade and swing toward her. She took a step back, deflected a second blow aimed for her head, then thrust her lightsaber clean through its chest. 

Two of her Clones were gutted on the left by the bastards, but she managed to grab one of the Droids, throw it into the other, then pounce on it and slice its head clean off. Beside her, though, an ODST engaged in Close Quarters with the Droid, taking a vibroblade swing to the shoulder pad and surviving. He kicked it, kicked it again, then punched it hard enough for her to hear bones crack.

The mech fell and had its chest ripped open by the man putting seven slugs from his pistol into it. The two nodded to one-another, only for Meetra to pause again as she watched Commander Tarkov get pinned down while his boys were fighting off more of the bastards. The Commando Droid raised its blade to try and decapitate him with one swing, but two blaster bolts from a heavy pistol pierced and melted the Droid’s side.

Both Meetra and Tarkov, the latter of which was trying to stand up, saw Ordo with his left arm raised. The two Commanders, Clone and Human, acknowledged each-other with a nod, then rallied their men as the drone of jet engines filled the air. Two of the delta-shaped Longswords opened their bomb bays, emerging from the overhead cloud layer like angered dragons.

Their missiles left the revolving bays, launching out at transonic speeds toward the enemy landing craft while the men managed to retreat. The impact that followed ripped several of the remaining trees out of their roots and flattened the Droid units inside. Secondary explosions, half as powerful as the warheads of the missiles, followed up as the inner munitions and fuel storage of the ship went up, sending a mushroom cloud into the sky.

… Returning to the fort where the rest of the Republic Troops were, the two Commanders followed their General inside, with Tarkov commenting, “Your men are fine soldiers, Commander… My apologies for my initial reaction to them.”

“It’s understandable,” Ordo replied with a nod, “I read the UEG’s constitution, too… Mortal Dictata must be nice.”

“It is,” Tarkov admitted quietly, “But…”

“Don’t worry about it, commander,” Ordo cut him off for both of them, “We’re all doing a job here. We’ll figure out what comes next if we make it there,” then he turned his head toward the general. She smiled and gave them a quick thumbs-up, then walked off to meet with the Commander of the base. Crossing his arms to his chest, the Clone mumbled, “I swear, this whole Krayt Chase isn’t making sense…”

“You think the Alliance doesn’t exist?” Tarkov inquired.

He shook his head, “No, I know it exists, considering all the crap we’ve seen so far… I’m just wondering if they’ll even be a thing some four thousand years after the fact,” before he hummed and asked, “Speaking of, has Doctor Halsey figured out how…?” and he gestured to the General as she and Commander Carsen got to chatting.

Tarkov shrugged, raising his brows. Ordo sighed and mumbled, “Fair enough…” before he looked at the markings on his armor, at the slightly dirtied Kama and the carbon-scored Pauldron he had on the left shoulder. He said, “You know, she said the colors we picked for our Legion match Republic Military colors from the Cold War days.”

“I’m gonna have to read up on this place’s history before I get any of that,” Tarkov admitted.

Commander Carsen took off her pendant and handed it to Meetra, then the two women exchanged a quick salute. The woman then walked up to the Troopers, one eye on the Triage Center where wounded and dead troopers, both ODST and Clone alike, were being tended to, then lifted the slightly-glowing pendant and said, “Well, bad news. No map chunk here. Good news, pendant’s a key. Extra bad news, I don’t know to what, so I’ll talk to doc Halsey the moment our Strike Group forms up with the Infinity.”

“Alright, so… Evacuation order it is?” Ordo asked. Meetra nodded, then walked into the Courtyard as more Pelicans and LAATs landed to retrieve their troops and deliver them up to their fleet. The two Commanders exchanged one quick look, nodded to one-another, then walked off for their respective air transports.

At least, it wasn’t a total waste of time…