A/N: A lot less action, a lot more plot. Please review, they are very much appreciated.
Enjoy
Disclaimer: I own nothing, but all original content is mine.
Chapter 4: Alliances
Bridge of the UNSC Infinity, Thirty Minutes After Completion of Boarding Operation, Hoth Space
Hands clasped behind his back, Thomas Lasky stared out the forward viewscreen into the inky blackness of this unknown space
He sighed, reminiscing from years past. I wish the Chief was here, the Admiral thought. His quiet stoicism and confident demeanor would do wonders to calming the men in these uncertain times, just the knowledge that he was in the fleet would have changed the mindset for the better.
When Osman discovered the wormhole, the Master Chief, along with another squad of Spartan-IV's, were deployed to the other side of UNSC territory investigating a newly discovered Forerunner installation. By the time the fleet was assembled, the Chief still had half the distance to go, even with the new slipspace drives. The top brass had decided that the fleet had to move now, Chief or no Chief, and so they did.
Lasky looked to the left at the Star Destroyer they had captured in the operation that had just concluded.
Scores of engineers, humans and Huragok, hovered over the hull in EVA suits, analyzing weapons and materials, and repairing the breaches in the hull caused by Archer missile impacts in the previous battle.
Pelicans ferried men and supplies to and from the Infinity and the Accuser, and assortments of foreign weapons and vehicles have started to pile up in the Infinity's various landing bays.
There were a few vehicles that would have to stay on the Accuser though, like these gigantic four-legged walkers, almost twenty meters tall.
Lasky would meet with the scientists and tech specialists examining them later though, right now he had more important things to attend to.
Number one being where the hell they were.
Upon gaining control of the enemy bridge, BB was inserted into the mainframe, and proceeded to acquirer and categorize data to his core matrix's content.
Apparently, the Keyes battle-group had been transported to an entirely different galaxy.
BB had also said that the fleet of ships that they had so thoroughly dismantled was actually part of a galactic empire that spanned thousands of worlds.
That maybe could be bad, thought Lasky, however he felt justified for attacking as he was engaged first.
In addition to this, there were also thousands of alien species inhabiting this galaxy, including humans, and they were all connected by trade and a central government.
"Government" maybe wasn't the right word though.
According to records this "Galactic Empire" ruled its worlds with an iron fist, and its citizens had almost no rights.
And to top it all off, it was ruled by an almost despotic dictator who called himself the "Emperor"
But Lasky was going to find out himself though, and he had two likely candidates to do so: the Imperial officers that they had captured, and General Rieekan they had waiting outside of the fleet picket line.
Lasky unclasped his arms, straightened out his uniform, and proceeded down to the brig.
UNSC Infinity Brig, Forty Minutes After Capture Of Accuser, Hoth Space
Kendal Ozzel opened his eyes, and all he saw was a bright light.
The last thing he remembered was his bridge being boarded, and the bottom of an armoured boot.
His eyes finally came into focus, and saw that the light was coming from a single lamp hanging from the ceiling.
He was sitting in a chair, and there was a metal table in front of him.
Ozzel tried to move his hand, and found that his wrists were handcuffed to the arms of the chair, and it was bolted to the ground.
Oddly enough, his head didn't hurt anymore, and he thought he felt a bandage on his forehead.
There was a door on the other end of the room, and almost as soon as he looked at it, it opened.
A man walked in, armour clad, bulky gray rifle in his hands, but not one of the ones that stormed his bridge and killed his men.
He stopped on the opposite side of the room, and looked back towards the door, motioning to it.
Another man stepped in, and the soldier saluted, which the other man returned.
That's not much different from what we do,Ozzel thought.
He was wearing a light gray uniform with a golden star above four golden bars on both of his sleeves. There was also some sort of protective piece on his left shoulder, and a holster on his right hip, no doubt holding some kind of pistol. He was clean-shaven, with short brown air and eyes, and had a air of confidence.
He sat down in a chair across the table, and leaned forwards on his elbows towards Ozzel.
He looked at Ozzel for a moment, lips pursed, than leaned back in his chair, hands clasped in his lap.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Admiral Kendal Ozzel, Imperial Navy, service number 182-438-9880B." he replied.
The man opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it, brows furrowed, as if confused our alarmed by something.
After a few seconds, the man spoke, "I'm Thomas Lasky, captain of the ship your on, the UNSC Infinity, and I have a few questions to ask you."
UNSC? I've never heard of them before, although if this man says he is a captain, maybe we can be civilized. Ozzel thought. "If you don't mind, I have some questions as well." Ozzel said to Lasky.
Lasky nodded towards Ozzel, "You first." he said.
Ozzel cleared his throat. "First of all, what is this UNSC? What system are you from? I find it hard to believe that the Empire hasn't made contact with such a body, especially one as seemingly advanced as you."
Lasky got out of the chair and started to walk around the small room. "The UNSC is an acronym for the United Nations Space Command, the branch in charge of all the armed forces of the United Earth Government."
"Earth? I've never heard of a system with that name." Ozzel said, a bit confused.
"Yes, I was going to get to that part," said Lasky. He stopped pacing at the side of the table across from Ozzel, and placed his hands on it, leaning on them. "You see, we're not from around here. In fact, we're from none of the systems that our AI has been able to gleam from your datatables."
Ozzel bowed his head, suddenly deep in thought. Not from any of our systems? Could there be other systems we haven't cataloged yet? That's highly unlikely, considering the fact that this galaxy's been being explored for millennia. What if- could they be extra-galactical? But what are the odds of another race of humans evolving almost the same as us in a completely different galaxy?
As if reading his thoughts, Lasky said, "We seem to be from a completely different galaxy and time period."
Ozzel let that sink in. If so, he might just have provoked an inter-galactic war with an unknown power, who is at least or even more so technologically advanced that their own. Suddenly Ozzel felt very small.
Little did he know that Captain Lasky was having similar feelings.
Lasky continued, a little edge in his voice. "I'd also like to know, Admiral, why you found it necessary to so quickly destroy one of my vessels. It wasn't even five minutes since we first arrived near your fleet, and already you had blasted one of my ships to pieces!"
"We tried to communicate with you, I sent a very clear warning to stay out of Imperial affairs. We thought you were Rebel reinforcements" Ozzel weakly replied.
"Our comms were down... Admiral." said Lasky, the contempt showing in his voice. "And what is this 'Alliance to Restore the Republic? Is that what your affairs were about?
Ozzel frowned. Not only had he alienated this new group, but now this unknown power was in communication with the rebel scum as well. Blast. "Yes, these rebels are the Rebel Alliance, an insurrectionist group that's popped up over the last few years. We were in the process of invading their mane base of operations when your ships showed up, in fact I probably still have men on the surface right now. This was to be the final strike, the one that would end the Rebellion and their threat to galactic order!"
Now it was Lasky's turn to frown. "Order? You call the terrorizing of hundred of worlds order? The whole galaxy is under the iron fist of your Empire, and any attempt to change anything for the better is met with government violence!"
He continued on, saying "If you could even call what you have in place a government, the legislative bodies have no power, and the entire galaxy is ruled by a single man! That preposterous!"
Ozzel glared at Lasky, "Where are you getting this information?"
"A certain General of the Rebel Alliance seems to know a lot about your Empire, and that's just what he told me in our brief conversation over the comm." said Lasky. "In fact, I'm going to have a meeting with him in about..." he looked at his watch, an antiquated Rolex, mechanical hands still ticking, "ten minutes."
Lasky turned to the soldier standing in the corner. "Corporal, please escort Mr. Ozzel back to his cell please."
Turning to Ozzel, he said, "Maybe we can continue this conversation at a later date, providing you remain cooperative, of course."
Lasky then walked out of the room, and the guard unshackled Ozzel, and took him by the elbow back to his cell.
Lasky boarded one of the tram cars that ran along the ship, and turned towards the holographic display pedestal set along the side.
"Roland?"
"Yes Captain?" came the Infinity's resident AI as he materialzed on the pedestal.
"Direct General Rieekan and his escort to land in Hangar Bay Primary, I will be there shortly."
"Yes sir, right away." Roland replied.
"And is BB snooping around here?" Lasky asked.
BB appeared on the pedestal next to Roland, his plain cubic appearance contrasting greatly with Roland's 19th century aviators outfit.
"I'm ONI Captain, when am I not snooping?" said BB.
"Good point. BB, notify Osman and her gang to re-embark on the Port Stanley, I might have a mission for them soon. You go too BB."
"Of course Captain." came the response from BB as he winked out, Roland soon following suit.
The tram car came to a halt, and Lasky stepped out, and followed the signs to the hangar bay.
When Lasky arrived, he walked into one of the most expansive rooms aboard the Infinity.
Hangar Bay Primary was a colossal room, large enough to house and entire Paris-class Heavy Frigate, which on occasions, it had.
Although right now, the bay was relatively empty, the Broadsword, Sabre, Longsword, and Pelican squadrons it usually was home to were out on patrol or other assignments. The Port Stanley was docked on the far-side of the bay, supplied being ferried into it by men and automated machines.
In the middle of the other side of the bay were three people waiting for Lasky and the Alliance members.
Sara Palmer, commanding officer of all the Spartan-IV's throughout the fleet, stood tall and proud in her MJOLNIR armour, helmet clipped onto her belt, black body-suit reaching up to her chin.
Next to her was General Mason, commander of all UNSC Marine Corps detachments, and Colonel Tarkov, officer in charge of the ODST's.
Representing ONI was BB, who's dark black cube was floating in lazy circles around the hangar.
Also present was Majestic squad, a team of Spartan-IV's, serving as a guard.
Upon seeing Lasky, Palmer came to attention, gave a perfect salute, and yelled "Officer on deck!"
The other members present followed suit, and even BB fell in line, his avatar floating at around head-level.
Lasky returned the salute, "At ease."
BB floated over to Lasky. "Before the good General makes his arrival, there is something that I need to do."
Lasky saw Palmer start to smile a bit through BB's holographic form, and the captain asked, "BB, what is this about?"
If a floating cube with no easily discernible features could seem to straighten up, BB did so.
"Thomas Lasky, under the powers granted to me by Admiral Margaret Parongosky as per UNSC Code 19-28C, Section 4, Article 8, I am authorized to deliver promotions to certain personnel under emergency circumstances. As I'm sure you would agree, being deposited in a different galaxy makes the emergency chapter in my book, so without further adue," BB's box dipped a little in a sign of respect.
"Congratulations, Admiral."
The three officers present saluted again, and Palmer now had a full-blown grin on her face, Mason smiling as well. Even Tarkov had a corner of his mouth turned up, a rare show, Lasky had learned.
Lasky saluted back, and Palmer stepped forwards, the sleeve insignia of an Admiral, four silver stars, in her hands.
Lasky took it, and replaced the gold bars of Captain on his sleeves with the silver stars of an Admiral.
While most people upon receiving such a promotion would be glowing, Lasky thought he could feel a new weight settling on his shoulders.
There were no if, and's, or but's about it, Lasky was now the one man in charge of the whole battle-group and all of its assets. The lives of every single man, woman, and alien throughout the fleet were now in his hands.
Lasky new he would rise to the challenge though, he had to, he wouldn't let his people down.
The new Admiral was interrupted from his thoughts by an announcement from BB.
"Admiral, the Alliance vessels will arrive in ten seconds."
Lasky stepped in line with Palmer, Mason, and Tarkov, and they turned towards the selective plasma field separating the hangar from the hard vacuum of space, waiting.
Sure enough, after ten seconds, five ships passed through the barrier, and hovered above the deck for a moment before settling on landing struts.
The ship in the middle was larger than the other four, maybe twice the size of a Pelican. It resembled a rectangular prism, with the front face curving almost like a snowplow, viewports near the top. There were two short, stubby wings on either side of the ship on the back, with what looked like engines on top of them. Lasky could see no weapons, so the ship was most likely a transport.
The other four ships, Lasky instinctively knew were fighting vessels. They were a little shorter than a Sabre, and had a long, thin nose that made up almost ¾ the length of the ship. The back fourth contained the cockpit, wings and engines. There were four wings that branched off of the ship, two on each side, and they made sort of an X-shape. However, before they landed, the two wings came together, forming more of a single wing. In terms of armament, there were four thin pipes coming off the tips of each wing, and they tapered off after a few meters into a point, rimmed by a kind of focusing dish.
Maybe the same type of laser technology that was mounted on those larger ships, but downscaled? thought Lasky.
With a hiss, a ramp started to lower from the bottom of the larger transport. The angular cockpits of the X-shaped fighters also popped open.
From the transport came a man in his mid to late 50's, dressed in dark tan pants and tunic. His dark black hair and beard were mostly turned gray, and he looked weary, blue eyes sunken back into his head. Yet, he had an air of confidence around him, the kind that could only be acquired through experience.
He must be the General Rieekan, thought Lasky.
Out of the smaller ships came four pilots, all dressed in bright orange jumpsuits, black boots, with large spherical helmets, and what looked like a life-support system on their chest. They all took off their helmets and put them back in their cockpit, then formed up behind Rieekan.
The General stepped forward, as did Lasky, and they met halfway.
Rieekan extended his hand, and Lasky briefly hesitated, then shook it.
These humans are more like us than I thought, realized Lasky.
"General Carlist Rieekan of the Alliance to Restore the Republic." said Rieekan.
"Admiral Thomas Lasky of the United Nations Space Command. Good to finally meet you General."
"Likewise Admiral. Allow me to introduce you to part of Rogue Squadron." Rieekan gestured towards each one of his pilots. "Rogue-5, Tycho Celchu, Rogue-3, Wedge Antilles, Rogue-2, Zev Senesca, and Rogue-1, Luke Skywalker."
Lasky dipped his head in acknowledgment, and gestured towards his own men. "That's Colonel Tarkov, General Mason, and Commander Palmer. And that's Majestic squad over there."
He pointed to the group of Spartans, faces unreadable through their reflective Rieekan was intimidated by the supersoldiers, than he was doing a good job hiding it. The Alliance pilots however, were a different story, and they viewed the Spartan's with awe, and a little, fear, showing on their faces.
Lasky continued, "Now if you'll follow me General, then we can start to really talk."
They all took seats around the conference table, aside from Commander Palmer, who elected to stand.
Lasky got right down to business, "So tell me General, what is this 'Alliance to Restore the Republic?"
"Well, as our name suggests, we are an alliance of citizens that have split from the Galactic Empire, hoping to restore the galaxy to the Republic which came before it. We know the atrocities that the Empire has committed, and are determined to overthrow the corrupt government and install one that actually gives power to the people of the galaxy, instead of a few, and mostly evil, men. The Empire has tried to dismiss us as a mere annoyance, but we're much bigger than they give us credit for. We have a decent-sized fleet, and had a permanent base, the first in a while, before the Imperials showed up earlier. I have to thank you greatly, if it wasn't for your defeat of the Imp fleet, than we would have lost a lot more people in the evacuation. We've got good men and woman, we're just trying to fight for what we think is right."
Lasky could identify with the man, being outnumbered and outgunned, always on the run.
"What are some of the atrocities that you refer to, General?" asked Lasky.
Rieekan pulled a tablet out of his tunic, pressed the screen a few times, and slid it over the table to Lasky.
Lasky looked at the image, and asked Rieekan confused, "It's just an asteroid belt?"
Rieekan nodded slowly, and Lasky could see the grief in his eyes.
"It wasn't always an asteroid belt Admiral, not three years ago, that was a planet, teeming with life, home to millions of people." said Rieekan.
"What happened?" asked Lasky, although he had a sinking feeling he already knew the answer.
Anger showing in his voice, Rieekan softly said, "The Empire happened, Admiral. They destroyed the planet, with no warning or reason, other than to make a point that they could. There were no survivors, aside from natives that were off-planet at the time."
Jesus, it's like the goddamn Covenant all over again. "How would they be able to do that?" Lasky asked.
Rieekan gestured for the tablet again, and Lasky gave it to him.
The General pressed a few more things, and then gave it back. This time, the screen showed schematics and statistics for a spherical space station. According to the diameter measurement he saw, the thing was as large as a small moon. And while not an expert in explosives, Lasky could figure out that the power it's main weapon could put out would be more than significant to destroy a planet.
"We've had similar experiences of destruction on a planet-wide scale." said Mason, quietly.
Rieekan pointed to two of his pilots present, Wedge Antilles and Luke Skywalker if Lasky remembered correctly. "If it wasn't for the actions of these men, specifically this one," he pointed to Skywalker, "We would have been next."
"How so?" asked Palmer.
"Three years ago, the Death Star, that's what the station was called, had located our base and was planning to destroy the moon we were on. However, we had acquired intelligence that showed a key structural weakness, and using this information, Skywalker was able to get past the defenses and destroy the station."
Lasky's respect for the young blonde-haired man went up greatly. Anyone who could penetrate the defenses of such a well protected station, destroy it, and still get out alive must have been a remarkable pilot.
He knew of one of his pilots that Lasky thought would like to meet Skywalker, only if he could get her out from underneath her Sabre, of course.
Lasky looked around at all of those present, then turned his gaze towards General Rieekan. "Forgive me if I offend you General, but I think it's safe enough for me to say that your real reason for meeting with me was to try to gain my battle-groups help for your Alliance. I'm sure you can understand the hesitancy of my wanting to get involved in a galactic war, especially against such a powerful opponent, and with only a limited number of forces. Under any other circumstances, I would say that we would have no reason to intervene, especially considering that this isn't our fight. However, this Empire has shed the blood of my men, and that is something that I don't take lightly. Until we find a way back to our own time and place, it would be beneficial to at least have one friend in this new galaxy. I've discussed with my other commanders, and we propose a temporary truce between the UNSC and the Alliance to Restore the Republic."
Rieekan took a moment, then said, "I'll have to finalize the formalities with the Alliance heads, but as far as I'm concerned, I accept. And admiral, our formal name can be a mouthful to say, most of us just call it the Rebel Alliance instead."
Rieekan held out his hand, and Lasky shook it.
"I look forward to working with you Admiral."
Bridge of the UNSC Blazing Sun, Location Unknown
Captain Vasily Ivanov placed his thick hands on the cold metal of the bulkhead, and pushed himself up.
In a distinct and heavy Russian accent, Ivanov yelled "SITREP! What happened?"
Joe, the Sun's resident AI, materialized on the holographic pedestal next to the Captain's chair. "To put it simply sir, it seems that we ain't where we're supposed to be.", he said in a heavy southern drawl.
Joe was rather unique for an AI. His chosen avatar resembled one of a twentieth-century era American football player, right down to grass and mud stains on his plain white uniform. Unlike most AI's who tended to constantly flaunt their vast knowledge and expertise, Joe tended to be very down to earth and straightforward.
Ivanov has learned to appreciate that, and in the two years Joe's been part of the ship, Ivanov has come to trust the AI, and regarded him as a member of the crew, same as anyone else.
"Systems report." Ivanov said.
From the engineering console, Mika Hikowa, a twenty-two year old female second lieutenant fresh out of the academy, responded, "Main and secondary reactors green, and hull integrity is good, but the slipspace drive is offline, a team is checking it out now."
Ivanov looked over at the weapons station, towards his old friend First Lieutenant Tom Hanson. The two had been together for 15 years during Human-Covenant war, aboard Ivanov's first command, the Charon-class light frigate Interminable. As Ivanov's competence as a commander earned him higher posts, Hanson had been with him every step of the way. They were also the same age, a sprightly forty-three.
Considering himself an artist of sorts, Hanson prided himself as being incredibly accurate and efficient with ships weapons systems, almost as much so as an AI. He was deadly with a MAC cannon, being able to constantly hit targets at maximum range.
Hanson reported in, "MAC-1 is at 90 percent power, MAC-2 at 40 percent, and both are charging steadily. All Archer missile pods are operational, as are the helilical rail-guns. Both Sabre squadrons and the Longsword squadrons are ready to deploy."
Lieutenant Jacob Brown, the sensors officer, said "Sensors are back online, running a scan of the area now."
Thirty-five, Brown was quiet and kept to himself, and rarely talked outside of what was necessary. He had good reason though; Brown had lost his wife and three daughters when the Covenant glassed Eradinus-II. He had never been the same since then, and if one looked into his eyes, there was a deep grief, and even hatred. He was one of those who didn't take the alliance with the Sangheili well. Brown didn't let his personal feeling affect his performance though, so Ivanov saw no reason to keep him off the bridge crew. That didn't mean however, that he didn't worry about him.
Joe piped up, "Sir, I can't detect any of the other ships in the fleet, we're on our own. Also, we're in a system with a large gas giant and a B-1 class star. There's an earth-like moon farthest away from the gas giant 200,000 km to starboard. This system doesn't match with any of our records."
"Life readings on the moon?" Ivanov asked.
"Yep, a fair amount too."
Ivanov put a hand to his chin, his thick black eyebrows furrowed in thought.
So here we are, no idea of our location, cut off from the rest of the fleet, and to top it off our slipspace drives are disabled. Who knows how long it would take to make repairs to the FTL drive, we could be stuck here for a while. If so needed, that terrestrial moon could serve as a potential re-supply base for consumables. It's not human, at least any from our worlds, or else we would have picked up sensor reading, nor covenant, they would be more industrialized.
"Joe, put us on a course to orbit that moon, I want a survey done. Twenty-five percent burn, keep it easy on the engines. And get me a status report on the slipspace drives." said Ivanov.
The stars rotated as the Blazing Sun oriented herself towards the planet, and the deck gently shuddered under Ivanov's feet.
Hikowa put a hand to her ear, no doubt getting a report from her comlink, and slowly frowned. She turned towards Ivanov and said, "Captain, the techs are saying that the drive is completely offline, there was a critical malfunction in the cyclic particle accelerators, it's almost melted. There's no way to repair it, it would have to be replaced."
Ivanov openly frowned at that one. No slipspace drives meant no getting anywhere fast. They could be stuck in this system for a long time.
"The planet will be in visual range in 20 seconds Captain." said Brown.
"Good, bring it up on the holotable when it is." said Ivanov.
They waited, watching the small planet grow ever closer.
"We're in range, bringing it up on the screen." said Joe.
A holographic representation appeared on the holotable, numbers and statistics floating around on the side. Joe popped up on the side, and started talking.
"This moon is 4,900 km in diameter, primarily forests, with a few deserts, mountains, and lakes. The moon's about eight percent water, way less than earth."
There was a pause, and Joe continued, "Sir, I'm picking up a few large concentrations of life readings, separated by some large distances. In one I'm picking up almost a million separate readings. There's also a medium-sized lake next to a 40 km square open space of land. It slopes gently upwards on all but three sides, and the other is bordered by a mountain range. I thought it would make the ideal forward base."
Ivanov surveyed it further, than nodded. "Put us in a geosynchronous orbit over that spot, and prepare a firebase to be sent down. I want ODST's sent down on the first pelicans, no drop pods this time."
The bridge bustled to work as crew at their consoles hurried to send out orders.
Over the noise, Ivanov said, "And Joe?"
The AI popped up, a quizzical look underneath his helmet.
"Send Gunnery Sergeant Buck up here."
