Chapter Two
0010 hrs, October 9th, 2561 (Military Calendar)/
NOBLE Team/Wookiee Resistance
Kachirho, Kashyyyk
Lieutenant Commander Daniel B-170 had never expected to encounter any alien that would even come close to being as tall as a Brute and have it be friendly. And while the Wookiees of Kashyyyk were on average shorter than the average Brute, they were still amazingly strong. Even better, they were hardly the near-feral animals that the Brutes were; they were fully capable of applying their rage to appropriate situations only, and could actually pull off stealth missions.
The leader of the Wookiee Resistance here was a being named Tarfful, an altogether sensible Wookiee who was invaluable because of his intimate knowledge of the city of Kachirho. It was no surprise, seeing that he was once the ruler of the city before the Empire came. Although the giant wroshyr tree that had made up most of the city was still severely damaged from the Imperial invasion, many sections had been repaired enough for it to act as a functioning spaceport. It was, in fact, the only spaceport allowed to operate by the Empire, and the Empire was in full control of it.
That would change tonight.
Aside from being the only spaceport in operation on the entire planet, Kachirho was also the one place where slaves could be brought, either for purchase by delighted Trandoshans or for labor purposes by the Empire. Recently however, the Empire had suspended sales to the Trandoshans… and tempered the latter's anger at this with the threat of orbital bombardment. For now, any Wookiee slaves were for Imperial use only. That meant that there were only Imperials and Wookiee slaves in Kachirho at the moment, which suited UNSC HIGHCOM and the UN Government just fine; they didn't need to accidentally kill any Trandoshans and drag the reptilian race into the war.
The Empire would move its slaving operation to the almost-completed skyhook nearly a hundred miles away within a month, or so intel said. The skyhook was heavily protected and the Wookiees knew little about the defenses there. This was their only shot at finding out what exactly was going on.
"NOBLE One in position," Daniel said softly. NOBLE One, he repeated silently to himself, smiling slightly. Ever since Lieutenant Commander… no, Commander Julian Grey had become the new NOBLE Actual (the previous NOBLE Actual, now-Rear Admiral Miles Stanley, had become head of Section Three, his uncle Adm. Marcus Stanley's previous post), Daniel had been chosen to lead NOBLE in the field.
Still, NOBLE wasn't at full strength; it hadn't been since Reach. Even with Rosenda B-344 in the team, only three Spartans were with NOBLE Team… not including Grey, an "Original Spartan" from the SPARTAN Project's predecessor, ORION. Both Daniel and Grey had made it clear to RADM Stanley that they did not want any Gamma Company Spartans in their team. While they were Spartan-IIIs like Daniel. Jun and Rosenda, the Gamma-series commandos were prone to extreme aggression thanks to illegal drugs used in their augmentations. Even though Daniel would always be loyal to LCDR Kurt Ambrose, he didn't think that Gamma-Series Spartans would be useful for spec-ops. If anything, they were useful as shock troops. Some didn't share his opinions, he knew. But NOBLE was his team now.
"NOBLE Two, in position and holding," Chief Warrant Officer Jun A-266 whispered, breaking Daniel's chain of thought. An original member of NOBLE Team, Jun was the only survivor of the debacle at Reach, and to this day he refused to discuss how he had survived. His psych evaluations showed that whatever he did to survive, the experience was quite traumatic. However, it hadn't affected his performance in the field. He was the team sniper, as always, and one of the best in UNSC service.
"NOBLE Three here," said the final member of NOBLE, Warrant Officer Rosenda B-344. A level-headed, sometimes cheeky commando, Rosenda was the team's SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) gunner, wielding an M250 Light Machine Gun. She knew how to stay quiet too, packing an M7S SMG as backup. "We've got increased activity. Looks like they're prepping to load another group of Wookiees onto the slave ship."
The slave ship was actually a stripped-down Acclamator-Class Assault Ship from one of the first batch of frigate/transports given to the Republic Navy at the start of the Clone Wars. With the Empire using the updated Acclamator II-Class, these older Acclamators were used for transport only, and had minimal defenses. They carried anything from troops and supplies to—in this particular case—boatloads of slaves.
"When I hit the detonators, smoke the first group of guards. Then fire at will."
"Copy." The group of guards and Wookiee prisoners filed out into the open, and they had to cross a 900 meter expanse of loading dock between the main trunk of the Kachirho Tree and the loading ramp of the Acclamator. The guards knew this, and began taking longer steps to cover the distance quickly.
Daniel waited, then hit the detonator.
The stormtrooper barracks was abruptly transformed from a duracrete-durasteel structure into a mammoth fireball as the M168 Demolition Charges exploded, sending chunks of building and stormtrooper parts into the sky to finally rain down on the stunned group of guards and Wookiees. Again, Daniel hit the detonator, and the beams holding up the gunship pad blew apart. The pad dropped free—with three LAAT/i gunships—and came crashing down on a guard house just as the lights in the latter came on. Daniel twisted the dial to the third frequency, giving just enough time for the automated defenses to come online, then hit the detonator a final time. The auto-turrets blew apart. He knew that he could've blown them all simultaneously, but he wanted to maximize confusion in the enemies' ranks.
During all these explosions, the guards on the loading dock found themselves being cut down by 6.8mm rounds from Rosenda's M250. Those seeking cover from her fire discovered they weren't safe, either; Jun, from an adjacent perch almost a mile away, put them down with precise fire from his SRS99 AM sniper rifle.
The Wookiee prisoners weren't standing idle. When everything became chaos, they saw the opportunity and took it, tearing apart the guards that Rosenda and Jun hadn't gotten. One found the lead guard—cut in half by Rosenda's LMG—and found the button to release all the shackles. Everything was bathed in a fiery glow, and Daniel thought it was almost like they'd dropped the Imperials into hell, complete with hellfire and raging monsters.
Suddenly, white searchlights illuminated the dock. An LAAT/i from a neighboring base had arrived, and it began firing on anything that moved. Wookiees began falling. But Daniel had prepared for this eventuality, too.
From somewhere to his right, a PLEX missile soared through the air, slamming into the gunship's cockpit. It dropped like a rock, slamming into the tree before its crumpled remains rolled down towards the giant roots. The Wookiee who had fired the "liberated" Imperial ordnance roared in triumph.
"NOBLE One, on the move," Daniel said. He motioned to the Wookiees, and zip-lined down towards the main building's observation platform. He crashed through the window, firing as he did. There were few Imperials in Observation, and few returned fire. Those who did immediately tried to flee as Daniel was joined by Tarfful and his Wookiees, but they didn't get far. "Observation's secure, Rebel One's got it covered. Noble Two, remain in place. Three, RV at the dock." He didn't have to say that they barely had two hours for NOBLE to break into the ship, retrieve the necessary navigational data and get out while Tarfful's rebels freed the rest of the slaves and retrieved any intel from the Imperial base. "You'll take over here?" he asked the chieftain.
"Wharrrooooooo," Tarfful rumbled. Thankfully for Daniel, the MJOLNIR's language software translated this to: "Affirmative." A few more rumbles, growls, a bark: "You should move quickly. They'll come with reinforcements soon."
"Got it." He ran out the door, MA4A SOPMOD Carbine gripped tightly in his hands.
The Wookiees were taking over quickly, he saw. Many were securing weapons and supplies, or freeing other slaves. Others were mopping up remaining Imperial resistance. There were few of the latter; seeing an enraged Wookiee tearing a hapless officer's arms off usually ensured complete cooperation. What few stormtroopers remained did put up a spirited resistance here and there. Many of these had fought against the Wookiees during the initial subjugation years before, and had experience in dealing with them. They did not have experience dealing with Spartans, however, and Daniel dealt with them quickly and efficiently.
The dock was just as Daniel had seen it from above, a nightmare tableau of flames, dead Wookiees and guards and burning crates. Rosenda was there, waiting for him behind a crate. "Took you long enough, Boss," she said. "Sightseeing?"
"While I can," Daniel replied. "Any of the ship's crew come out?"
"No. I'm guessing they're scared that the big, hairy monsters are coming to get 'em. But they haven't closed their ramps and flown off."
"That's because they think the cavalry's gonna ride in and save the day… and they don't want to face Vader's wrath if they cut and run. They're still prepped to receive slaves." He put a hand to his ear, a purely reflexive action that he still did whenever he commed someone. "NOBLE Two, you still with me?"
"Affirmative, Boss."
"See any Imp reinforcements?"
"I see gunships, but they're keeping their distance. I guess losing one made them nervous. Best part is that the slave ship can't open fire with its big guns, or it'll risk collapsing the entire tree on itself."
"Good. Make sure the gunships stay that way. Direct the Wookiee launchers to optimal positions and keep an eye out."
"Affirmative. Two out."
"Let's move out," Daniel muttered. Without waiting for Rosenda's reply, he got up, vaulted over the crate and broke into a run. Rosenda was wise enough to keep her cursing off the com channels, but it still amused the Lieutenant Commander enough.
He had just placed an armored boot onto the loading ramp when red needles of deadly energy lanced toward him, courtesy of E-Web guns placed by the ship's crew. He didn't slow down, knowing that it was better to be a moving target than a static one, dimly aware that his shields were dropping at an alarming rate. He bent forward as far as he could without falling, dashing from side to side while Rosenda sent covering fire over his head. He charged the nearest E-Web, vaulting over the gun and its surprised operator, twisted in midair and fired a burst. The wild shot was far from accurate, but one of the three bullets neatly transited the gunner's head, splitting it open like a melon. Before the others could bring their E-Webs to bear, they began falling, their lives snuffed by SAW and carbine rounds. It seemed like an hour later that everything fell silent save the echoes of gunfire reverberating through the cargo bay. In reality, it was just a few minutes.
"You know how to show a lady a good time, don't ya, Boss?" Rosenda said, nudging a body with her boot.
"I thought you'd like it," Daniel replied in mock seriousness. "Besides, you're not really the chocolates-and-flowers kinda gal anyway."
"Hard to argue with that…"
He looked at the bodies. "Prison guards, all of them." He bent down to examine a patch. "Imperial Corrections. Not one single regular or stormtrooper."
"Complaining, Boss?"
Daniel shook his head. "You know as well as I do that something's off."
"You think that if there's important intel on board this tin-can, they'd have had a bigger welcome party?" Rosenda said, voicing Daniel's thoughts. "We haven't gotten to the bridge yet. Night's still young," she added with a grin.
Daniel slapped a new magazine into the MA4A's receiver. "Yes it is."
000
The slave ship had no traditional name in Imperial records, although the crew liked to call it the Dustpan, in reference to how they scooped up the trash of the galaxy. Officially, it was the 14T, one of several stripped-down and repurposed Acclamators meant to carry slaves and other galactic refuse to penal colonies across the Empire. Today, the 14T was carrying a special cargo. The nature of that cargo was such that the commander of the vessel was now wishing he had simply gone straight to his destination instead of stopping to pick up his regular cargo of Wookiee slaves. But orders were orders, and his superiors felt that the UNSC would know that something was up if they noticed that the 14T hadn't picked up its usual cargo—as if they could tell the difference between one Acclamator and another, the commander had grumped, especially now that they were all uniformly gray, the new color of the Imperial Navy. Red was no longer the official color, it being a reference to the defunct Galactic Republic.
Despite this, a good part of the vessel was now covered in red. Specifically, human blood, seeping from bullet holed punched through the dead crewmen who were trying in vain to stop the two UNSC supersoldiers from progressing further into the ship.
"Incompetents!" Commander Sarkli shouted into the intercom. "There's only two of them. Two!"
"But, they're Spartans," said a nervous Imperial Corrections Officer, staring back at a security cam. "We can't—"
Sarkli watched, dumbfounded, as an armored figure walked into the view of the camera and casually shot it, changing the view to a grainy blue feed just as the now-dead ICO collapsed from a head shot. "Damn you…" he trailed off as another figure entered the bridge. His blood went cold.
The Royal Guard was the Emperor's personal guard unit, tasked with his protection and devoted completely to him, body and soul. Highly skilled, exceedingly dangerous, even they had individuals among them that were deadlier than the others. Unlike their red-robed brethren, these men were dressed entirely in black, armed with a lightsaber pike and an assortment of other weapons. Some said they were once Jedi, tortured and brainwashed by the Emperor himself. Others had darker rumors. But all agreed that the Emperor's Shadow Guard was to be feared, by friend and foe alike. "They must not discover the prisoner," the Guard said in a hoarse voice. Just hearing it made Sarkli think of Death itself. "Your men have failed. I will deal with this nuiscance."
Sarkli wasn't foolish enough to object. "Very well. Shall I send reinforcements with you?"
"Unnecessary," the Shadow Guard replied shortly. Without another word, he walked off, leaving behind a very frightened and confused commander.
000
"Dammit," Rosenda muttered almost ten minutes later. "All these fucking blast doors are slowing us down, even with the Master Key." The latter was a device that was designed to crack the codes on most Imperial blast doors. She looked at him. "Cut through the cell blocks?"
"A lotta felons down there," Daniel reminded her. "Not just Rebels."
"Then you better not drop the soap, Boss." She looked around and spotted a grate. "This garbage chute should lead us down there."
"Should?"
"Unless they changed up the layout of an Acclamator since I was last on one, yeah." She kicked the grate, sending it hurtling down the chute. "After you, Boss?"
"Ladies first, Warrant Officer." He looked around, hearing boots thundering down the adjacent hallway. "Double time." He gave her ten seconds head start, then followed her down… after leaving a farewell gift in the form of an M9 High-Explosive-Dual-Purpose grenade. He heard the thunderous boom as he landed in knee-deep sewage, balancing out his satisfaction at killing a few more Imperials with the knowledge that he was wading through their accumulated filth.
"Don't say anything, Boss," Rosenda said. "I know what we're walking through."
"Ok," Daniel said. "How about instead I point out that door that's shut tight and probably magnetically sealed?"
Rosenda turned to look at said door. "Goddamnit." She kicked at it, getting nothing more than a loud clanging sound for her efforts. "Hey," she said suddenly. "You think that plasma grenades can short the magnetic seals? It has to be electromagnets."
"Right," Daniel said. "But we don't have plasma grenades."
Rosenda shook her head. "Correction, Boss. You don't have plasma grenades." She pulled one of the shiny blue Covenant explosives out of her belt, tossing it up in the air and catching it.
"That's contraband, you know," Daniel said weakly.
Rosenda gave a short laugh. "You can throw me in the brig when we get back, then. Stand back."
000
The Jedi managed to raise her head. The sounds of battle had barely stirred her from her drug-induced stupor, but something had caught her attention. As the dark whirlwind of energy made its way toward her, she recognized the source: the Imperial Shadow Guard that had been her captor for almost three weeks.
"So, Jedi, they come for you," the Shadow Guard hissed. "I wonder, will they be as surprised to see you alive as Vader was?"
The Jedi managed a smile. "Don't you mean, 'Lord Vader'?"
"I answer to His Imperial Majesty, not Vader," he said harshly. "And I caught you… Barriss Offee." He smiled. "It is a wonder, really, that you survived. Almost point blank, was it? And from the main guns of a walker, no less." He pulled back her hood, revealing a burned scalp. "But not entirely unscathed. What a shame. You were quite… striking."
Barriss did not say anything, but remembered the explosion on Felucia. She had come to almost four hours later, heavily burned and in extreme pain. The locals had helped her at first, hiding her from the Empire and treating her injuries. She had healed to the point where she could call upon the Force to assist the process, and when she was able to walk she left the planet. During her convalescence she learned of the Purge, how she was one of very few Jedi to survive. She also learned of recent events, the Imperial-Colonial War, and the refuge on Harvest. She had attempted to flee there, only to be discovered by Vader. She barely escaped his clutches. A day later, the Shadow Guard caught her. Why she was still alive, she didn't know. But she could guess. The Shadow Guard had to have been a fallen Jedi, a man who had embraced the dark side of the Force and become a thrall of the Emperor. If that was what the Emperor had in mind for her, death seemed like a much more attractive option.
There was another explosion, closer and louder. The Shadow Guard's head snapped around. "Excuse me," he said. "I have guests to entertain." With that he left, being sure to reengage the ray shields, an altogether unnecessary measure since she was thoroughly shackled.
He didn't have to tell her. Even before he had said it, she felt the other two in the Force. In the sea of depressed, angry and mostly psychotic thoughts emanating from her fellow prisoners, these newcomers and their unwavering confidence were like a beacon in the darkness. They weren't here for her, she knew; it was likely they didn't even know she was here. They did not expect the Shadow Guard. But even shackled and drugged, she could help them. She closed her eyes, and opened herself up to the living Force.
000
Daniel stopped in his tracks. Ever since they had escaped the garbage disposal, he had felt like there was another presence in his head, something cold and dark. He didn't like it. Perhaps it was the inmates, many of whom were hooting and hollering at Rosenda's obviously female figure. Perhaps it was the cell blocks themselves, designed to be as depressing as possible. The noise was incredibly disturbing.
"'!"
"Who's going to be my girlfriend tonight? Someone's gonna be my girlfriend at showertime!"
"Killmekillmekillme…"
"You just wait, when I get out of here—"
"Hey baby, why dontcha take off that armor and take a ride on—"
"How can they even tell that I'm a woman in this armor?" Rosenda wondered.
"The way you walk and run," Daniel replied. "Variation in the hip-sagittal plane."
"I'm in full armor," Rosenda said in clear disgust at the leering prisoners. "I don't usually get this reaction even if I'm naked."
"That's because we're military," Daniel replied. "Go through cryo procedure together and all that. These idiots probably haven't had any since… ever."
"You're one to talk, Boss."
"Says the involuntary lust object of the Galaxy's Most Wanted." He frowned. "There it is again. Whatever it is."
"Yeah," Rosenda said, aiming a kick at a bony hand groping for her ankle. "I thought so too. Not just the prisoners, or this place. It's… something else."
Behind you! Something shouted in Daniel's head. There was no time to think, so he dove for the deck. There was a red glow and the tell-tale buzz of an energy blade. He completed the roll, turned and brought his weapon up. The mysterious attacker was dressed entirely in black, armed with a pike with a red lightsaber blade at the end. His mind went into overdrive, sifting through all the intel reports he'd read even as he brought his weapon to bear. Shadow Guard, he realized. Elite sub-unit of the Royal Guard. Daniel had barely gotten the Shadow Guard in his sights when the guard extended an open hand, as if to signal him to halt. Then, it felt like he was hit by a truck; he flew back several meters, crashing into a cell. He has Force powers, he realized.
Two hands in orange prison garb grabbed his throat. In one hand was a crude stabbing instrument. "Time to die, sonny boy," a voice hissed.
"I don't have time for your shit," Daniel replied evenly, grabbing both hands and crushing them. Without pause, he got up, picked up his rifle and dashed back into the fight, trailed by the con's screams of pain.
Rosenda had dropped her SMG, being fully occupied with grabbing the lightsaber pike to prevent herself from being sliced in half. She was surprised; a normal human wouldn't be able to match her in strength, especially with the added benefit of the MJOLNIR armor. But it was all she could do to slow the pike's descent. The red glow of the blade filled her vision.
Suddenly, the Shadow Guard looked behind him, startled. Then he stumbled as a burst of 6.8mm rounds struck him in the back. He lost his grip on the pike. Rosenda didn't waste the opportunity, wrenching the weapon from him. He raised his hand again, and Rosenda flew back into Daniel. But even as she was flying through the air, she threw the pike like a javelin, sending the weapon whistling towards the Shadow Guard.
The Guard simply caught it nonchalantly.
The two Spartans got up slowly. "This is annoying," Daniel said.
"You are no match for the power of the dark side," the Guard said. "It would be easier if you submit and accept your death."
Daniel laughed as stepped forward, fully aware that his carbine had fallen from his grasp and was currently at the Guard's feet. "Maybe. But, power of the dark side and all that aside, that pike's not very effective in closed spaces, is it?" The Guard was about to reply when he realized his mistake: he had been focused on the advancing Spartan when he should have been looking at the other one.
Rosenda had brought her M250 to bear. At a rate of 950 rounds per minute, she sent a series of armor-piercing rounds into the Guard. In the narrow space, he couldn't dodge, and he couldn't bring his Force powers to bear in time. He shuddered with multiple impacts and fell on his back. As he did, Daniel dashed forward, picked up his carbine and planted his boot on the Guard's chest. "The Force isn't as useful as you think it is, is it?" Rosenda said.
"That witch…" the Guard coughed. "You have not won today. The Emperor is forever. You will die. You will all die."
"Didn't you know?" Daniel smiled. "Spartans never die." He emptied his magazine, sending the remaining rounds into the unarmored neck area. The Guard shuddered, then went completely still. "Hostile neutralized. That was a nasty surprise. Bit underwhelming though. No wonder the Jedi went down quick during the Purge."
"Speaking of, Boss," Rosenda said, reloading the LMG, "he mentioned 'that witch'. You think there's a Jedi here?"
"Probably, considering the presence of Mister Spanky here, but it's not our problem and we've got other things to worry about."
"Still," Rosenda pressed. "A Jedi. They're high-value, right? Now that we know that there's one here, we can't just leave her."
"I—"
"Noble Two to Noble One, we've got Imperial ground forces on the approach," said Jun. "They've got armor, and they're advancing on the beachhead. The Wookiees are setting up a perimeter, but we won't have enough launchers to take on both the tanks and the gunships."
"Understood, Two," Daniel responded. "Wait one." He looked up. "The guns on this crate aren't good enough to tango with other warships, but they can blow those larties out of the air. Worse comes to worse, shut 'em down completely. You think you can handle that, Three?"
Rosenda nodded. "Absolutely, Boss. But what'll you do?"
"I'm going to rescue a damsel in distress, of course."
000
Jun shifted aim slightly. At this distance—about two miles—his ability to hit moving targets was significantly reduced. And there were so many targets; the Imperials were going the sea route, riding in on speeders, speeder bikes and fighter tanks. They were clever, weaving back and forth to evade the Wookiee gunners. The Wookiees had appropriated all the Imperial ordnance they could find, using E-Webs and other heavy guns to take on the Imperials. Sadly, there wasn't enough anti-armor ordnance to take out the tanks, and whatever launchers they had were to be used against the gunships unless there was no other option. Jun knew that, if worse came to worse, he could have his forces block off access routes for the enemy's armor units, at least temporarily. But if the gunships came into play, the battle would be measured in minutes.
There. One of the tanks—a 2-M hovertank with antennae associated with a commander's vehicle—had stopped weaving. The commander was perched on top, his torso out of the top hatch, and though he couldn't hear him at this distance Jun could see that the man was yelling orders, pointing at the beachhead. He gave the target enough lead, compensated for bullet-drop, exhaled and fired.
The 14.5mm x 114mm Armor Piercing round flew true, hitting the enemy commander center-mass and slicing him in half. The gory aftermath was quite impressive, but more importantly it brought the armor column to a sudden halt. The speeders continued on, unaware that their heavy weaponry was not with them. When they came within range of the Wookiee defenses, the results were predictable.
"The counter-attack has been halted," Tarfful said over the com. He sounded surprised.
"They'll be back," Jun replied. "Did your forces get anything useful from their databanks?"
"No," the Wookiee chieftain replied, voicing his disappointment with a growl. "Only records of their transactions with the accursed Trandoshans."
"Very well. We'll retreat once my comrades leave their slave ship." He frowned. Someone else was pinging him, tagged with an ONI ID. "This is NOBLE Two."
"NOBLE Two, this is the Oberon. Where's NOBLE One?"
"He's busy at the moment, Oberon," Jun replied. The UNSC Oberon, he remembered, was a UNSC stealth frigate.
"You'll need to wrap up whatever it is you're doing and get the hell out of there, ASAP."
"Easier said than done, Oberon." He relayed the situation briefly.
There was an extended pause on the other end. "NOBLE Two, we can enter atmosphere briefly and give you and the rebels time to retreat. But it means destroying Kachirho."
"Rebel One won't like that."
"It's that, or you get out while he and his people die."
Jun resisted the urge to sigh. "Understood, Oberon. Stand by." He closed the link, and wondered how to break this news to an enraged Wookiee chieftain
000
UNSC Oberon (FFG/S-448) was one of the newer stealth-oriented Raven-Class frigates, based on the Stalwart-Class light frigates. Oberon was built in 2558, with Project SAKURA—otherwise known as the Navy Commando Initiative—in mind. It was meant to be an operating platform for the Navy Commandos and their predecessors, the Spartans. So far, it had performed eighteen missions, all successes, all without firing a single shot. This would be its first time in battle, and Commander Jeremy Summers was slightly nervous.
"It'll work, sir."
Summers turned to see his executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Lira Whitcomb. Whitcomb was from an extended military family that included legendary war hero Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb. LCDR Whitcomb rarely ever mentioned her distant uncle, but her face always shone with pride whenever he was mentioned. "You know the Imps will have us on scanners once we hit atmo."
"That's a risk we can take, sir. NOBLE Two halted a whole battalion with one round. Think how they'll react when a frigate comes barreling out of nowhere. And we'll be gone before they can get to us."
Summers walked over to the Tactical screens. On TAC1, it showed Kashyyyk, with Oberon in blue and the local Imperial task force in red. The Imperial task force, a small group of three Acclamator II-Class Frigates centered on a Venator-Class Star Destroyer, was on the opposite side of the planet in geosynchronous orbit. One of the enemy frigates had broken away from the formation, and it was plain to see that its goal was to reinforce the Imperial forces near Kachirho. It was laden with enough troops and aircraft to make mincemeat out of the Wookiees, and the latter certainly didn't have the ordnance to take on fighter-bombers.
On TAC2, the positions of the Rebel and Imperial ground forces was shown. The Imperials greatly outnumbered the Rebels, but the Rebels were in a superior position and had the ability to deny the air to the Imp gunships. However, Summers knew that once the Imperial armor got back into gear the tide would be turned.
Next, Summers turned to the Weapons station (WEP). Being a new vessel designed in the closing days of the Covenant War, the Oberon had state-of-the-art weaponry for a frigate, including a MAC cannon capable of firing three rounds per charge, twenty Longbow missile pods with thirty missiles per pod, three Shiva-class nuclear warhead-tipped Longbows, eight 50mm point-defense cannons and four Mk2 Directed Energy Weapon emplacements, known as DEW guns. The DEW guns were new weapons, designed as the capital-ship-size version of the hand-held M6 DEW, commonly known as the Spartan Laser. They could be configured for several kinds of energy output, from a disabling blow to a destructive blast. Adding the DEW guns came at a cost; they ran off their own generator, and the room required for this new generator forced Navy designers to reduce the number of missiles usually used by a frigate by half. Another drawback was that charging the guns took longer as firepower was increased.
"We're going in," Summers declared. "All hands, battle stations. WEP, arm two Shivas. Disable the proximity fuse on the first warhead and set it for remote detonation upon encoded transmission."
The WEP officer, a recent academy graduate, looked at his screen and understood immediately. "Aye, sir."
"Helm, plot a sling-shot orbit."
"Aye, sir," NAV replied.
Whitcomb looked at her commander. "Your take on the Keyes Loop, sir?"
"Inspired by it, yes," Summers acknowledged. "But Keyes was commanding a destroyer that couldn't enter atmosphere, whereas we'll have to. And I don't plan on ramming any of those Imp ships if I can help it." He didn't have to say that the Oberon, having less armor than a destroyer, wouldn't survive the sort of impact that the Iroquois did. One advantage that Summers had was Oberon's top-of-the-line reactor, which could push the frigate to extreme speeds. It was a necessary thing for a stealth frigate that needed to get out of trouble quickly.
The Navigation (NAV) officer turned to Summers. "Sir, we just got pinged. It was very brief, but the enemy frigate might have a piece of us."
"Duly noted. Maintain course and speed."
"Aye, sir."
The Acclamator II shifted course slightly in Oberon's general direction. Even with the latter's stealth technology, it was likely that the UNSC vessel had been detected. Still, Summers didn't want to make any drastic moves until he was sure the cat was out of the bag.
He looked at the TAC screens. "Weapons, fire the first Shiva, course mark zero zero one. Full burn for twenty seconds."
"Firing, aye. Missile away." The Shiva-tipped Longbow erupted from its silo, soaring away and in front of Oberon. Kashyyyk's gravitational pull yanked it closer to the planet as it raced into orbit.
"Sir," TAC reported, "Enemy Frigate One just changed course and increased speed. It's moving to intercept."
"Arm the second Shiva."
"Aye sir," WEP reported. "Shiva is armed."
"Target Enemy Frigate One and fire."
"Firing, aye. Missile away. The first Shiva should be reaching the Imperial formation in thirty seconds, sir," he reminded Summers.
"Bring the MAC up to full charge."
"Aye, sir." He turned to another screen. "Splash one. EF One has been hit. Their shields are down."
"Arm Longbow pods A through J and fire on EF One."
"Firing, aye. Missiles away."
Three hundred Longbow missiles launched from their silos, turned sharply and veered towards the Acclamator. Green composite beam lasers flashed, incinerating almost a quarter of them. However, the Imperials' comp beam cannons were not as fast or accurate as Covenant pulse lasers and a vast majority of the missiles made contact with their target. The hardened nose-cones of conventional Longbows were specifically designed to punch through thick armor, and they performed as advertised, burying themselves deep inside the Acclamator before exploding with tremendous force. The Acclamator listed to port as explosions chained up and down its length.
"Good effect on target," WEP said. He turned to another screen. "First Shiva has reached the Imperial formation."
At almost the same time, NAV nearly yelled, "Imperial formation in visual range!"
Summers knew that the Imperials would immediately discover Oberon's presence the moment the nuke hit the first enemy frigate. If that wasn't enough, then they could track the Longbows back to their source. Whatever the method they used, they had already begun preparations to engage; the Star Destroyer and the remaining two frigates had begun turning to face Oberon. "Detonate the nuke."
The Shiva, which had been thrown into a slingshot orbit towards the Imperial fleet, detonated in the middle of their formation almost on top of the Star Destroyer. Their shields flared and winked out. Summers knew that the Venator-Class Star Destroyer could transfer almost all its power to its shields to make a nearly impregnable barrier, but he had bet—correctly—that the Imperials would decide to transfer all that power to weapons instead so as to, in their words, "blast the Colonial scum". That meant that the Venator had barely any shields when the nuke hit. It was now almost totally disabled as a result. The Acclamators were still operational, but their shields were down.
"Hit the Star Destroyer with the MAC and all remaining missiles!" Summers shouted.
"Aye sir!" WEP replied. "Shots fired, missiles away!" The ship shook with each of the MAC's three shots, and the rest of the Longbows flew from their silos.
Summers turned to the OPS station. "Push the reactor to one-fifty for two minutes. I need all the speed we can get."
OPS paused for barely half a second. "Aye sir." The Oberon leaped forward.
At the same time, the three MAC rounds reached their target. They punched through the Venator's large dorsal flight deck, and one hit the main reactor. The resulting explosion split the Star Destroyer in half, with the larger half—the pointed prow—spinning into one of the late vessel's remaining frigate escorts. The frigate couldn't endure the strain and exploded spectacularly. Here, the Longbow's superiority to its predecessor, the Archer missile, became apparent. Having recognized that their primary target had been destroyed, the Archers that hadn't struck the Star Destroyer searched for secondary targets—in this case, the last Acclamator II. The enemy frigate was ready; comp beams lanced into space, shooting down several missiles, while it launched a volley of proton torpedoes in response towards Oberon.
"Contact! Contact!" TAC shouted. "Enemy torpedoes incoming!"
"WEP, arm point defense cannons and power up the DEW guns."
"Aye sir! Point-defense and DEW guns online!" WEP replied.
"Target those torpedoes and fire at will."
"Firing, aye!"
The DEW guns rotated and fired deadly red laser beams through space. They didn't pause until all incoming torpedoes had been neutralized. The 50mm cannons didn't even have to fire. "Enemy torpedoes splashed," TAC reported. "DEW guns offline and recharging."
Summers got up; he had to see what was next. Oberon soared past the last frigate just as the remaining Longbows struck it. It listed to starboard towards Oberon, and for a split second Summers could have sworn he saw the dumbstruck faces of the enemy bridge crew. It was a picture-perfect moment. Shame I didn't bring a camera.
Back to business: "Arm the forward emergency thrusters. OPS, bring down reactor output to ninety percent." He ignored the chorus of 'Aye sir', waited as he counted off in his head, then barked: "Fire forward thrusters."
There was a bang, and the forward momentum of the Oberon was abruptly cut in half; Summers almost fell to the floor. He got up quickly. "Course correction, helm. Begin preparations for atmospheric entry. Plot a course towards Kachirho."
Whitcomb walked up to him, a wide smile on her face. "Sir, that was one for the history books. You went up against four Imperial ships and won."
"We went up against four Imperial ships," Summers corrected. "And I wouldn't celebrate just yet. We still have to extract NOBLE Team. Tell Sergeant Major Stacker to get his men ready."
Whitcomb nodded. "Aye, sir."
000
Barriss could barely lift her head now. The effort she put into contacting the two others had almost drained her to the point where she didn't think she could stay conscious. It had been even harder to dull the Shadow Guard's powers. He had been unable to actively resist her, being occupied by the other two. But at least she could rest easy; she had felt his passing from the force.
The ray shield vanished.
Summoning all her remaining strength, she lifted her head and opened her eyes. A large figure in dark armor stood before her. "You alright, ma'am?" it said.
Daniel didn't get an answer; the woman had fainted. He ran up to her, making sure his recorders got a good look at her face and ran a picture past recognition software. He raised an eyebrow at the result that came up on his HUD:
Barriss Offee. Jedi Knight. MIA, presumed KIA by GAR units of the 327th Star Corps on Felucia.
"Huh," he said. "Guess it isn't just Spartans who don't die. NOBLE Two, give me a sit rep."
"Boss, Two: The Imperials are about to make a second push. Don't think we can hold them off this time. Be advised, frigate Oberon is in-system. We've been ordered to pull out."
"Tell them we can't."
"I did, One. They're going to enter atmo and give us close air support… and they're going to knock down the Kachirho Tree."
"Can't imagine Rebel One's agreed to that."
"He wasn't happy about it, but he agrees that there's no other way, and it's a price he's willing to pay to get the Empire off his planet."
"ETA on Oberon's arrival?"
"Twenty minutes, maybe less."
"Be advised, we've recovered a Jedi prisoner. She needs immediate medical attention. Textbook SERENITY FALLS situation."
Jun repressed a sigh. "Copy."
"Keep me posted." As Jun signed off, Daniel contacted Rosenda. "You got that, Three?"
"Heard the whole thing, Boss," she replied. "Convenient, too. I had to kill all the bridge crew, and I'm locked out of the weapons station. Even the Master Key won't work on it. Makes you wish Alucard wasn't back in Sydney. I did make sure that her guns were inoperable."
Daniel missed the AI, too, but didn't say so. "I'll need your help with the Jedi. It looks like they dragged the poor woman through Hell itself. We'll RV in Hangar Bay Four."
"Got it, Boss."
000
Sergeant Major Peter "Pete" Stacker was a veteran ODST. He had a CSV longer than most career soldiers. He'd fought during the bloodiest battles of Insurrection, the Covenant War and the Clone Wars. His men liked to joke that Stacker had actually died a long time ago and he'd forgotten about it. For Stacker, it wasn't far from the truth; every time someone under his command died, a part of him died with them. Therefore he took excellent care of his troopers, making sure they were prepared for everything possible and then some. He stood up for them whenever he felt he had to, which was why he wasn't an officer—no big loss there, he felt.
Stacker and his team of ODSTs were an anomaly among the fleet's stealth group; the covert-ops boats were supposed to have a complement of Navy Commandos. But with personnel shortages becoming readily apparent, the gaps had to be filled. Since ODSTs were the ones who had their black-ops role usurped by the commandos, they were the logical choice to fill the gap. Stacker was comfortable with that. He'd been there and done that before ONI had introduced the Spartans and the Commandos.
The Oberon carried a complement of sixteen ODSTs, eight of whom had piled onto one of the three MD79-TCI Knight Hawk dropships, the Special Forces variant of the D-79-TCI Goshawk, itself a replacement of the venerable D-77H-TCI Pelican. The Knight Hawks were geared towards stealth, and as such had a radar-absorbent hull, harsh angles and flat surfaces to defeat enemy surveillance, as well as baffled thrusters to reduce noise, a significant problem in the extremely loud Pelican.
"Super-Two-Two, prepped to deploy," said Chief Warrant Officer Jane Winters, UNSC Navy. Usually, piloting a Knight Hawk was entrusted to no less than an O-2, at least a Navy Lieutenant or a Marine/Army Captain. Winters, however, was a prodigy. She had been training to fly on the Pelican—now used as trainer aircraft—when the Empire had invaded Harvest. One of the few Knight Hawk pilots had died during the attack, and she had volunteered to fly a Knight Hawk during the Battle of New Oslo, a Special Forces assault on Imperial Advanced Recon Commandos. Her piloting skills had impressed the Navy so much that she became a full-fledged Special Forces pilot afterwards.
Her co-pilot was Chief Warrant Officer (4) Daniel Schofield. Schofield and Winters had developed a strong bond that their commanding officers suspected was romantic. Their suspicions were, in fact, incorrect; they were wholly professional. Even though this didn't prevent the jibes from their fellow crewmen, they did not mind. Schofield was also the operator of the Knight Hawk's weapons, which included a recessed nose-mounted M365 Gatling gun and a rack of Anvil-IV anti-materiel missiles in an internal weapons bay. "Guns are good…" he checked another console. "Missiles are good. Safeties on, weapons tight."
Crew Chief Ben Hatmaker put his head through the hatch separating the passenger/cargo bay from the cockpit. "Bay's sealed tight, Ma'am, and our Helljumpers have their seatbelts on just like Mama and Papa always told 'em to."
Winters craned her head to look behind her. All the ODSTs were in their jump seats, restraints on and weapons stowed. SgtMaj. Stacker, readily identified by his red shoulder pauldron and hardened uplink module on his helmet, gave her a thumbs-up. "Good job, Ben. Strap yourself in."
"Aye, ma'am."
"Super-Two-Two, this is Oberon Flight Control. Opening bay doors now. Green light in thirty."
The planet of Kashyyyk stretched out below them, a vast green expanse broken only by ocean. Somewhere down there, indicated by an orange NAV marker on Winters's VISR gear, was the Kachirho Tree.
The green light came on. "Super-Two-Two, cleared for launch."
Winters threw a lever, releasing the magnetic clamps keeping the Knight Hawk in place. The Hawk dropped into free fall for a moment, drawn by the planet's gravity, until Winters engaged the thrusters. The fall became a controlled descent through the atmosphere. "We've safely entered atmo," she reported five minutes later.
"I'm seeing a lot of SAM radar," Schofield reported. "They're all looking at Oberon."
"She'll be fine," Winters said dismissively. "You saw those DEW guns in action. Plus, she's got some of the best shield tech ONI could scrape up."
Schofield was unconvinced. "So long as there's no goddamn fighters. You hear about those new birds the Imps have started fielding? The ones that look like eyeballs attached to solar panels?"
"Yeah, the Imps call 'em TIE fighters."
"A friend of mine, he flies an F/A-32 for the Navy. He was telling me that a month ago, his squadron got jumped by a whole swarm of those goddamn eyeballs. Took most of his buddies out. Lucky for him, they don't seem to have shields or missiles, else he would've been royally fucked."
"There aren't any on Kashyyyk, else we would've flown into a cloud of them by now," Winters said. She looked at her screens. "Coming up on Kachirho. ETA: ten minutes."
"I'm picking up a lot of Imp aircraft," Schofield warned. "Drive signatures are consistent with LAAT-type gunships." He frowned. "Incoming transmission. ID tag is NOBLE One."
"Put it through."
"This is NOBLE One," said a voice on the other end. "Standby for emergency code."
"Standing by, NOBLE One," Winters replied, ignoring Schofield's look.
"SERENITY FALLS, I repeat, SERENITY FALLS."
Winters knew that code very well. Since Harvest, she had heard it three times… because she had extracted wounded Jedi three times. It had also been used—with alarming frequency—during the Clone Wars. "Copy, NOBLE One. We're inbound."
"Extract NOBLE Two first, Super Two-Two. Then pick us up in Hangar Bay Four, starboard side of the transport."
"Copy." She switched channels. "NOBLE Two, this is Super-Two-Two. We're inbound."
"Understood," NOBLE Two replied. "Moving to primary exfil point."
000
Daniel fired one last burst at a fleeing ICO. The rounds caught the unfortunate man in the back and he fell face-down, sliding to a stop just as the last echoes of gunfire faded. "Clear," he called.
Rosenda appeared, holding her SMG in one hand and the barely-conscious Jedi in the other. She set her down between a grounded hover-tram and a damaged cage. "Her vitals don't look good, Boss. If we're gonna save her, we have to get her out-system and onboard the Hopeful," she said, referring to the UNSC's massive hospital ship.
"Nothing we can do until evac arrives," Daniel said. He walked over to each of the blast doors, sealing the hangar bay from the rest of the ship. "That should hold 'em off for a while."
Rosenda walked over to the Jedi. "Barriss Offee, you said? What do the files say about her?"
"Nothing completely extraordinary," Daniel shrugged. "Commanded a unit from the GAR's 327th Star Corps during the Clone Wars, earned a reputation as a healer. Combat skills were above average for a Jedi. Intel thought she was KIA on Felucia during Order 66. A walker opened fire on her. Obviously, she survived." He grimaced at the extensive burn scars. "Barely. Her body wasn't recovered, so the GAR thought she was vaporized. We did, too."
"She must've healed enough to escape," Rosenda said. "But if the Empire caught her again, why imprison her? Why not just kill her? And why couldn't they make the capture public? It would be a heavy blow to the Rebel Alliance to see that on the net."
"Think about it: The Empire publicly proclaimed her death before. Declaring it again would mean admitting they failed to kill her earlier; they'd never do something to tarnish their reputation." He frowned. "And I don't think that black-armored asshole downstairs was always like that."
Barriss stirred. "Where… who…?" She tried to push herself up, but Daniel pushed her back down, albeit gently.
"Please stay calm, ma'am," he said. "We're UNSC Special Forces. You're in friendly hands."
"Are we…" she looked around. "Well, I see we're still on the ship."
"Unfortunately, yes. But we have a dropship incoming. How do you feel?"
She smiled weakly. "Well enough to sit up." With Daniel's help, she propped herself up against the tram. "You are the legendary Spartans, yes?"
Daniel saw no reason not to tell her. "Yes ma'am."
"Thank you for saving me."
Rosenda brought her M250 up. "Don't thank us yet, ma'am." She turned to Daniel. "They're busting out the arc cutters, Boss."
"Damn," Daniel said. "I thought they'd take longer. How much you got?"
"Just the drum I've got loaded into this baby—two hundred SAW rounds—and two more clips for the M7. Got three more plasma grenades. Then the combat knife. That's pretty much it. You?"
"Two more mags, plus three for the pistol. Two grenades. Combat knife. Heh." He aimed at the far door, where sparks were flying from the edges. "This'll be fun." He switched to semi-auto, better to conserve the precious few rounds he had left.
The doors flew apart, revealing a whole group of stormtroopers instead of ICOs. They started firing as soon as they broke through. "Stormtroopers?" Rosenda said, even as she fired short bursts on their attackers. "Then the Imps must've broken through!"
"NOBLE Two, this is NOBLE One!" Daniel shouted over the COM. "What the hell is going on? Imp reinforcements are in the slave ship!"
"A group of stormtroopers bypassed our perimeter!" Jun replied. "They sabotaged some of our E-Webs and snuck a group onto the ship!"
"And I'm finding this out just now because...?"
"Because I just found out now!" The sharp crack of sniper rifle fire could be heard over the COM. "We won't be able to push them back this time, Boss!" Another pause. "I've got eyes on Super-Two-Two."
"Get on that dropship as soon as she gets close! That's an order!" Daniel shouted.
"Understood, Boss. Two out."
"SAW's out!" Rosenda said, switching to her SMG. She tossed a plasma grenade. The Covenant ordnance fused with the armor of a stormtrooper, who panicked and ran into a group of his fellows. The explosion killed six Imperials.
Daniel was firing rounds as fast as he could without missing. Three stormtroopers went down from consecutive headshots, while four others clutched at their necks, their screams turning into bloody gurgles. Some required more than one shot, however, and he ran out of ammo quickly. "I'm out, switching weapons." The M6C/SOCOM was accurate and deadly, and it was a good backup to have. But he didn't have much ammo for it.
"Super-Two-Two's inbound. Keep your heads down, NOBLE. We're coming in hot."
With that as its only warning, the Knight Hawk soared into the hangar bay. The nose-mounted gun blazed away, cutting down Imperials like chaff. The dropship came to a hover just a few feet off the deck, and a squad of ODSTs piled out. "I'm Sergeant Major Stacker, sir," said the lead. "Come on, sir. We've got the Jedi onboard. Let's move!"
The ODSTs continued putting fire on the Imperials and did not move from their positions until both Spartans were on board. Then they fell back in an orderly fashion. Once they were all on board CWO Schofield let loose a volley of Anvil-IV missiles. By the time the smoke cleared, Super-Two-Two was long gone.
When the Knight Hawk's bay was sealed, everything became abruptly silent. One ODST, a medic, was examining Barriss. "She's stable for now," he said, "but we should get her to a Fleet hospital, ASAP."
Jun walked up and shook Daniel's and Rosenda's hands. "Nice to see you two made it in one piece."
"Likewise," Daniel said. "But the mission was a failure."
"We saved a Jedi," Jun pointed out. "Not a bad way to end the day."
"Day's not over yet, sir," Stacker said.
Daniel could see the Oberon ahead, a large piece of shadow in the night sky. Then, the ship's prow flashed: a MAC round being fired. He turned to the rear viewport just in time to see the ferric-tungsten slug slam into the base of the Kachirho Tree. The ancient tree seemed like it shrugged off the hit, but then it slowly tilted, and finally with an almighty groan it fell, right on top of the slave ship. Explosions could be heard dully in the distance. "Damn," Rosenda said. "All that, and still we failed."
"I wouldn't say that, ma'am," Stacker said. "You're all still alive."
"Two hundred Wookiees dead, and we still have no friggin' idea where the goddamn Imps are taking them," Rosenda snarled. "It was a waste of good soldiers." She looked at the Jedi. "She'd better be worth it."
The Oberon encountered no further difficulties. Once Super-Two-Two had docked, the frigate had flown away from Kachirho at top speed, making sure to strafe the Imperial gunships as she passed. By the time the Empire had scrambled their fighters, the Oberon was already in vacuum, and it was long gone when the Imperial Navy finally sent a response fleet. That the response fleet, a large group of Venators, Acclamator IIs and three Imperator-Class Star Destroyers would have easily dealt with the Oberon was of little consolation to the infuriated Lord Vader.
The Oberon's first stop was the UNSC Hopeful, in orbit above Alderaan. Barriss Offee was checked into a secure ward, coincidentally in the same section of the vessel where, years before, first Jun and then Daniel and Rosenda had received the augmentations that were the final step in the SPARTAN-III Program. While the doctors discovered that the Jedi could, over time, heal many of her burn scars, many burns were too severe and scars remained. After a recovery period of almost four months, Barriss chose to remain aboard Hopeful and reprise the role of healer.
Oberon then travelled to Harvest to refit and resupply. There, RADM Miles Stanley waited to debrief NOBLE Team, and reunite them with NOBLE Actual Commander Julian Grey.
00000
