Chapter One: Battle of Jabiim
0400 hrs, July 14th 2557 (Military Calendar)/
Firebase Alpha, 405th UNSCDF Marine Corp
Muster Point Alpha, Merdon River,
Jabiimi Theater of Operations
Yes, this is my first time working with them. All I've heard are rumors that they had just won a war four years ago by the skin of their teeth. It is cruel of the CIS to drag them into another war by attacking their colonies when they're still dealing with trillions of casualties. I only hope that, when this war is over, the vicious cycle of violence will stop.
General Tur-Mukan to General Camas.
General Etain Tur-Mukan stared out at the rain-drenched plains. Her mind was elsewhere; her baby boy was somewhere out there in the galaxy, under the wing of Kal Skirata. There was never a moment when she didn't think of her son…or his father. Yet here she was, fighting on a planet that had been taken by the Separatists. The Republic had wanted to abandon it. Their allies, the UNSC, had other ideas. Apart from being extremely experienced, the UNSC had survived a thirty year war against their present allies the Covenant and had a reputation for coming up with unorthodox but extremely effective tactics, despite their continued use of technology that was, by galactic standards, very primitive.
It was Etain's first time fighting with them. Commander Gett, Improcco Company and several other companies of the 41st Elite Legion, had hooked up with the United Nations Space Command Defense Force's 405th Marines to perform an amphibious assault on the Jabiimi capital city of Choal, across the Merdon River.
A Marine wearing glasses ducked into the command tent. His shoulder pauldron was dabbed with blue, and although blue meant 'lieutenant' in the GAR, in the UNSC it meant 'major'. This was Major Allen Bradshaw. He wiped his glasses off and saluted. "You asked for me, ma'am?" His accent sounded Coruscanti, but thicker and more deep. Another Marine had informed her that Bradshaw was 'British', whatever that meant.
"Yes," said Etain, trying to slip into officer mode. "I did." She felt him through the Force. Although he appeared young, this man had seen more war than she had in a lifetime. The Force revealed deep pains and sorrows underneath his apparently relaxed façade. "I wanted to know the latest on the enemy positions."
"Uh, yes ma'am." He called up a holo map. "There are anti-air batteries here, here and here, covering most of the airspace above the city and the beaches. The 105th ODSTs will drop in an hour ahead to neutralize those batteries, as well as the heavy mortars that are covering the beach head. If those triple-A's are neutralized, Hornet attack craft will provide air cover. Our first objective is to clear a path for the tanks; get rid of the beach obstructions. Then we neutralize the pillboxes covering the beach, or else they'll piss some bloody bad news on our heads. After that, we secure the beach head, fortify our positions, and set up a supply train."
"You make it sound easy."
The man seemed to smile. "It always does sound like that, doesn't it? Never talks about what a bleeding mess it is. Oh: all of the defenders are natives, by the way. No bloody annoying robots—"
"Droids."
"Droids, then. If you need frigate support, the Iwo Jima is ready to respond with MAC support."
"MAC?" Etain had to ask.
"Magnetic Accelerator Cannon," said Bradshaw. "Packs one hell of a punch."
Etain shook her head. "It sounds like a lot of destruction to me."
Bradshaw's smile disappeared. "It is. But its nothing compared to what I've seen in my lifetime." He looked at his chrono. "Gear up, ma'am. If you'd take my advice, I'd leave that heavy weapon you keep lugging around, and take something else."
"Someone I admire very much persuaded me to keep a Trandoshan LJ-50. I haven't regretted it."
Bradshaw scrutinized the conc rifle leaning against a table in the back. "Maybe, but it'll just slow you down and make you a lovely target for a sniper. And my orders are to keep you alive, so I have a problem with that."
"Alright," sighed Etain. "What do you suggest I take?"
Bradshaw shrugged. "I'd give you my BR55, but since you're not familiar with UNSC weapons, I'd suggest you take one of your Republic DC-15S carbines. Compact and effective."
Etain smiled. "I wonder, what would you use if I took your rifle?"
The Major smiled and, reaching over his shoulder, produced a large weapon with a distinctive muzzle shroud and an electric ammo counter. "This baby. Its called the MA5C. Can't tell you how many times she's saved my a…uh, life."
"Do you always talk about kit, Major?"
Bradshaw's smile vanished once again. "It keeps my mind off…other things." He turned to exit the tent.
"Major!" said Etain. "Major, where will I be during the assault?"
"No more than three yards from me," said Bradshaw, "and that's not negotiable."
000
0412 hrs, July 14th 2557 (Military Calendar)/
Unknown System (Location Classified—ONI X-ray directive)
Niner crept through the undergrowth, silent and deadly. Although his HUD had their positions tagged, he didn't need to know that Fi was on point, Darman was on his right or that Atin was guarding his six. Omega Squad had done this so many times, it was as natural to them as blinking.
Their objective was to find the crashed aft section of a UNSC frigate. Niner had no idea why they needed to find it, only that the UNSC's black ops branch, the Office of Naval Intelligence, had leaned on the Grand Army of the Republic to find it. And with the help of the Null ARC Kom'rk, they had. ONI had immediately recorded and erased every record pertaining to the planet in GAR databases and sent the Venator-Class vessel RSD Dauntless on a preset course, navigated by one of their AI. The AI's name was Morgana, and her chosen form appeared to be a human woman in simple dress. Niner had thought she was a person contacting them via holo link, but then he had noticed the lines of code running along her entire surface.
"How much farther?" Niner asked.
"Not too far," whispered Morgana. "The signal is weak—to be expected, I guess—but it's still clear enough. It should be in visual range now."
Right then, Fi said, "Hey Sarge! I think we've found our wreck."
Niner ran up to join Fi. He found himself standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking a small valley. The forest below had a large black gash torn into it, and at the end of that gash was a chunk of metal. Niner zoomed in and made out six characters in white on the tortured surface:
FFG-201
Morgana, it appeared, was watching through Niner's HUD feed. "Forward Unto Dawn, Hull Classification: FFG-201. We've found our missing ship. Well done, Omega. Your next objective is to enter the ship and find the cryo chamber. Be advised that RSD Dauntless has detected signals matching those of Loyalist Remnant vessels. Be quick about it."
"Affirmative, ma'am," replied Niner. "Omega lead out."
"What's up, Sarge?" asked Atin.
"We've got to get in that wreck and find a cryo chamber before hostiles arrive."
"A cryo chamber?" said Darman. "I thought this was a vital equipment retrieval op."
"Who said it isn't?" said Morgana. "Get a move on; my calculations indicate that you'll need at least an hour to reach the wreck, and we don't have that much time before the Loyalist Remnant gets here."
"You heard the fake lady," said Niner. "Let's move out."
000
0515 hrs, July 14th 2557 (Military Calendar)/
Able Company 1st Platoon Amphibious Lander, 405th UNSCDF Marine Corp,
Enroute to primary landing site (CODENAME: HARVEST)
Jabiimi Theater of Operations
Etain was glad she was wearing body armor under her Jedi robes, although it didn't make her waterproof. The landing craft bounced up and down in the choppy water, and many of the Marines in the boat were already green in the face. Major Bradshaw stood on her left, clutching his Battle Rifle. It wasn't usual for such a high ranking officer to accompany the main assault. In fact, it was against every rule in the book. But Bradshaw had insisted that, by that logic, Etain shouldn't be going either, so she bent to his request.
To her right stood her good friend from Improcco Company, Sergeant Clanky, and his squad of four elite clone troopers. The other troopers under her command were spread across the assault boats behind them and on either side. There were hundreds of them, and they were rather large targets. The Mammoth-Class Amphibious Lander was a water-borne variant of the huge 'Behemoth' recovery vehicle. The once Etain was on contained twenty UNSC Marines and six clone troopers, not including herself and the Major. Everyone was carrying a lot of kit, like extra rockets, heavy machine guns, flamethrowers and even some Covenant tech like deployable cover and ONI equipment like the Bubble Shield, not to mention extra ammo and their own weapons. There was barely enough room to move.
She heard distant pops. The Major looked at her and said, "The ODSTs are engaging. We're close now. We'll have to prepare for artillery fire."
"Artillery?" said Etain, shouting over the roar of the water. "I thought you said those guns would be neutralized."
"Always prepare for the worst," Bradshaw replied. His suspicions were confirmed as something whistled past their boat and exploded in the water behind them, creating a huge plume of water that splashed over Etain.
"It seems the worst has happened," said Etain.
Bradshaw seemed unperturbed. "And we're going to 'happen' right back." He clicked his COM on and shouted, "Prepare for landing!"
000
0517 hrs, July 14th 2557 (Military Calendar)/
Unknown System (Location Classified—ONI X-ray directive)
Niner shoved the piece of paneling out of the way, revealing another sign in peeling paint:
CRYO
"This is it," he said. "Darman, set a charge on that door. Minimal force only."
"Yes Sarge." Darman tinkered with the pressure door for a while, and them motioned everyone to get back. The thermite burned through the metal, and Fi kicked the door open.
This room had the only working computers that Niner had seen so far, something he thought remarkable considering that this was half a ship. They indicated only one occupied cryo tube, and Niner wasted no time. He spotted it immediately, covered in a thin layer of frost. He wiped it off, and Omega gazed at the occupant.
"Fierfek," said Fi. Niner had to agree.
It was at least two meters tall, clad in scarred, battered, bulky green armor that seemed even more advanced than their own Mk III Katarn armor. A golden visor covered his face, and he seemed almost…peaceful. He looked like a demi-god.
"Morgana," said Niner, "what…who is this?"
"That," said Morgana triumphantly, "is a Spartan."
00000