Disclaimer: I don't own Halo Universe as well as the Star Wars Universe.
FROM THE IMAGINATIVE MIND OF PINOY GAMER
IN COLLABORATION WITH [ENTER TEXT HERE PRODUCTIONS]
PRESENTS
THE TERRAN VARIABLE
Summary: The plan was set, the Father knew that. Its uncaring Son, the Dark Side of the Force, has finally found a way to tip the balance in its favor – even though it took millenniums to make. Its Daughter, the positive Light Side of the Force, knew this and tried to counter it by creating a champion to defeat her brother's plan to rule. Father, however, knew it was not enough as it has seen the future – in fact, all of them did but there interpretations were different. The Son saw the future with him at its helm, the Daughter saw her champion finally removing the darkness that encroached into the lives of everyone, and Father…well, the Grey saw lives, bonds, and life in general suffer massively. It needed to act – after all, it was just as appropriate to ensure that the balance of power was kept among the three. Strong in the Force it was, Father found the perfect opportunity – yet knowing fully well the consequence it will bring to the galaxies beyond.
ACT 1 | Part 6: A Korean Helljumper in Coruscant (September 2560 | 33 BBY)
"That's the last of them!"
Private Seo-Jun Lee grunted at Engineer Etain Gauntest of Naboo happy proclamation as he dusted his hands. Both of them had just finished transferring all of the UNSC cargo, the entire wardrobe of Queen Amidala, and all of the food supply on board the destroyed Nubian vessel.
Etain lightly punched him in the arm. "Oh shut up! Not everyone here is as strong as you Helljumpers. You're probably going to say 'This is what do for breakfast.'"
Lee just shrugged, never really knowing how Etain could act around him in such a casual manner and becoming his friend. Their first interaction was when she randomly challenged him to a shooting contest back on the Spirit, trying to prove that their blasters were superior to their 'slugthrowers'. The look on her face was priceless when Lee destroyed the target practice while hers was just filled up with porched marks.
Just then, Sergeant Clive Lars, the head of 'Fireteam Explorer' (a nickname the private came up with), walked up the ramp, accompanied by a skeletal robot and a young boy Lee heard was Anakin. "All cargo in?" he asked, maglocking his MA5B to his back while his two companions strayed away from them.
"Already loaded, sir." Lee replied as he saluted. "We're just awaiting orders when to close the ramp."
Just then, the ship's speakers' blared to life. "All hands, prepare for take-off. I suggest you find some cozy place to sit down and strap in 'cause we're in for a bumpy ride."
Lars frowned. "Sounds like Abby. I'll head up towards the cockpit while you guys," he ordered, pointing towards both at Etain and Lee, "close the ramp and strap on. From what Abby told me earlier, we got company coming in fast."
Lars left, leaving the rest of them in the cargo bay. "I'll close the ramp then, since you probably still don't know how to read Aurebesh." Etain started as she went to a control panel before motioning to the boy and his robot. "You should get them settled in on the crew quarters."
Doing what he was asked to do, Lee convinced Anakin and his 'robot' (who introduced itself as C3PO, whatever that meant) to head for the second level since the boy's mother, Shmi, was staying while helping nurse the wounded RNSF personnel. "Mr. Soldier," Anakin asked, looking at him. "Are you from Earth as well?"
Although his face was covered by his helmet, Lee was startled by his question. Nobody was supposed to know about that little piece of info. Given that the Cole Protocol was still in effect, their fireteam had to use a cover story: they were just a small mercenary team who got caught in the blockade and the RNSF hired them for additional protection for the Queen.
"How did you find out about that?" Lee asked.
The robot, C3PO, answered. "Mr. Lars told them two days ago during lunch when he accidentally revealed his intergalactic origins to Mistress Shmi and Master Anakin."
Lee turned to the robot before looking at Anakin, wanting to ask if it was true. "It's true, Mr. Soldier, Mr. Lars told us two days ago. You can ask him if you want." Anakin innocently answered his unspoken question, making Lee just stare at him in surprise.
Lee raised his finger and was about to ask when the elevator dinged and its doors opened. "I…you'll find your mother down there. If the girl from downstairs asks where I am, tell her I went to the cockpit." Lee ordered as the three of them stepped out of it.
Anakin nodded and went about looking for his mother, the robot following him like a puppy. Turning to his right, Lee made his way to the cockpit, suddenly being aware of the voices shouting behind its metal doors. "For Jesus' sake, I can drive this ship!" he heard Abby shout angrily.
Since he didn't know how to open the door, Lee just knocked and felt stupid about it. Unexpected, the arguing pair in the cockpit continued fighting when the door slide open, revealing Ric Olié (the Nubian Starship captain) and Abby staring daggers at each other while Lars was standing in front of him with a smile on his face. "Did I miss anything?" Lee asked, making Lars chuckle.
"Only the fight of the century." Lars said, motioning to the two. "An AI vs a hu—Queen Amidala."
Looking behind him, Lee saw the Nubian Queen in one of her (in his own opinion) ridicules attires and Captain Panaka beside her, making the two give a snap salute to her arrival. "What is going on in here?" she asked, getting everyone's attention.
"Milady, this…this AI over—"
"I have a name, ya know!" Abby shouted indignantly.
"—thinks it can fly this ship!" Ric said, ignoring her outburst. "The nerve—"
"Let her fly Ric." Queen Amidala ordered nonchalantly, surprising everyone. Ric tried to argue but she stopped him. "After all, did you think that the Spartan and I flew this ship?"
Now that she said that, Lee thought it was possible. Even if Spartans can pilot most ships, he doubted that he can pilot this flying hammer – the Spartan would have first to decipher the Aurebesh before he can drive it. Plus, the ship was already flying when 92 jumped out of its ramp and made an attack at the robots.
"But—"
"As much as I would like to brag my piloting skill, I won't because we have other matters to attend." Amidala cut off, ending the argument. "Abby, how long until we breach the atmosphere?"
"A minutes tops, I'm still getting the handling of this ship." The AI replied, turning towards the viewing port. "Someone has to manually input Coruscant's coordinates, though. I still have yet to decipher your navcom's code. The moment we breach atmo, I'm punching it."
"Are you crazy!" Ric shouted but Abby silenced her with a raise of her hand.
"Hard but not impossible. I made the calculations pal." Abby replied cheekily, still looking at the view port of the cockpit, effectively shutting up Ric. "Attention all hands, this is Abby speaking. I strongly urge you to strap yourselves in. The moment we breach the atmosphere, we will jump for hyperspace immediately."
As she said those words, everyone save for Lee and Lars sat down and belted themselves to their seats. "You two aren't going to sit?" Panaka asked, looking at them from his chair.
Lars just shrugged. "We've rode through rougher stuff, Panaka. Trust me, this is gonna be a smooth ride for us." he explained just as Abby shouted "Breaching atmo in three…two…one!"
At that moment, the view port suddenly showed swirling dark blue tunnel which the ship flew right in. Abby then gave a sigh of relief before looking at everyone present. "What can I say, told ya I can do it!"
# # # # # # # # # #
Lee flopped on his bed, groaning. "God, my arms hurt."
Lars laughed as he sat on the bed next to his. "Yeah well, that's what you get for ripping an MG from its stand." The two of them, along with everyone, were relaxing at the ship's crew quarters. The slave's holding cell was then converted into a medical lab for Dr. Anders, who was preforming an autopsy on one of the robot they discovered.
"What's wrong with Mr. Soldier, Mr. Clive?" Anakin asked, as he and his mom were sitting on the bed on Lars' right.
"Mr. Soldier?" Lars asked Anakin incredulously before laughing again. "Nice one kiddo but his name's Private Seo-Jun Lee."
Anakin nodded. "Okay, Mr. Seo-Jun, what happened to you."
"Made a mistake of trying to rip a MG off of its stand." Lee mumbled. "And kid, call me Lee. Mr. makes me sound an old man."
"Nah, don't listen to him Anakin, keep calling him." Lars jokingly ordered when Lee noticed Dr. Anders walking towards them. "Hey doc, how goes Robocop's autopsy? He ain't a cyborg, is it?"
The doctor sat down on an empty bed to Lee's left, clearly exhausted. "Not even remotely. It's impressive that they manage to create robots to do their biddings. Our tech isn't even remotely close to create such things!"
"At least we have drones, right doc?" Lars said, grinning. Anakin, Lee noticed, was frowning.
"Dr. Anders, ma'am, isn't that your robot?" he asked, pointing at 92 who just recently entered the room.
Anders just chuckled while Lars just looked at Anakin incredulously. To top if off, C3PO walked towards 92 and said "Good day, fellow robot. I am C3PO, human cyborg relations. What brand might you be?"
With that, Lars started laughing loudly while Lee gave a smile. Predictably, 92 just stared at the robot before heading towards them. He took off his helmet, revealing a pale white face. "Dr. Anders, we have to talk." he said seriously, immediately killing the mood.
Anders sighed. "Abby told me, 92." she answered him. "We all have secrets and I don't want to talk about it. I'll be at the state room if you need me." With that, she stood up and left the room, leaving the rest silent by her revelation.
Jerome stared silently at her as she left the room when Lars asked "She got a problem, 92?"
Jerome nodded. "I think so," he replied before putting back his helmet and followed her out. All four of them just stared before Lee voiced out everyone's question.
"What the hell just happened?"
"Best we don't interfere," Lars ordered before turning to Anakin. "To answer your question: no, he is not a robot. He happens to wear a very bulky armor that makes him look like a robot."
"He acts like one though." Shmi observed, speaking for the first time. "Is he always like that?"
Lee shook his head. "Not always. Remember when Forge was still alive? There was a time those three Spartans would actually talk when Forge was around!"
"Yeah but Forge did most of the talking." Lars said. "Forge told me they were good listeners and only interrupted when asking questions."
"There's more of him?" Shmi asked, eyebrow raised.
Lars nodded. "130 and 42 right?" Lars asked Lee, who nodded. "Kind of hard to distinguish when their helmets are on. They look all the same."
"How many are they all in all?" Anakin asked curiously.
Lars seemed to think for a while. "More than 100, I guess. I'm mean, they have a 130 among them…though I'm not too sure." he admitted, smiling and scratching his head.
"Nobody is sure, Sarge." Lee said, still lying on his bed. "I remember hearing two spooks talk about how there were only 10 Spartan-IIs teams left operational when they helped my team take down a slavery ring."
Lars did a double take. "Say what? A slavery ring?" he asked, dumbfound. Lee nodded, unsure why the Sarge acted that way. "That's impossible, I thought slavery was already destroyed!"
"It is." Lee answered, still not getting why he was shocked by the revelation. "Some innie bastards thought, on the other hand, why not try an capture some people and sell them as sex slaves just to show how 'mighty' they are. Bad move for them cause they made it easier for CDF to hunt them down."
"That has got to be impossible! I thought everyone agreed that slavery was evil – even the innies!" Lars pointed out, making Lee realized that he was a true believer of the UNSC propaganda.
Lee chuckled, getting a surprised look from everyone. "Sarge, not all UNSC propaganda's real, you know." the Korean told his CO. "For example, slavery hasn't been totally eradicated from UNSC but rather really small pockets of it remain. Usually those pockets cater to the disgusting sides of humanity: pedophiles, prostitutes, the likes. Usually when most civies find out about them, they report them immediately to the CDF."
"Really?" Shmi asked, looking as if she didn't believe it.
Lee nodded. "Yeah, even innies who engage in such practices are instantly betrayed by their fellow rebels. My outfit once arrested a slavery ring via intel personally given to us by the top heads of an Innie group."
Lars whistled, clearly surprised about the story. "Damn…" was all he said, making Lee chuckle.
"Mr. Lee, why was slavery considered a crime in your place?" Anakin asked.
"Kid, back in our galaxy, we have these set of rules that define the rights of humanity." Lars said, answering for Lee. "One of them states that no involuntary servitude in any form shall exist except as punishment for a criminal duly convicted by the law."
"So prisoners are allowed to be enslaved?" a voice asked behind Lee. Turning around, he saw it was one of the Queen's Handmaidens who had raised the question. "Mind if I sit here?" she asked politely.
Nodding, Lee sat up and moved to the bed's edge, giving the handmaiden space to sit on. "Hey Padmé!" Lars greeted, waving at her. "And to answer your question, they're considered slaves only for the duration of their jail time. Once they're done with that, they're free to go back to society."
"Interesting…" was all Padmé could say. "But overall, slavery destroyed?"
Lee nodded. "If there's one thing everyone in our galaxy could agree on, it's that slavery had to go."
"Wow…" Anakin breathe out, eyes wide open. "I wish that could happen in our galaxy…"
Lars ruffled the kid's hair. "Don't worry kiddo! All it takes is for one man or woman – take your pick – to start the chain reaction for a dream to come true!" he encourage.
"Clive is right, you know." Shmi added, looking at her son in the eyes. "Your victory in the Boonta Eve showed that even the most inconspicuous thing can change everything."
Anakin's spirit seemed to brighten up because he then changed the subject by asking "Is it okay if I take a look the droid that attacked us? I think I can reprogram it or probably use it for spare parts."
The two ODST vets just stared at each other before Lars stood up. "Alright," the sarge said relucntantly, getting Anakin's hand. "Let's go ask Doc first before you start dabbling on robots."
Lee and the others watched the two leave before the Korean turned to Shmi. "You have a good son, ma'am." Lee said, praising the woman. "Lots of potential, that's for sure. If he was ever born in our galaxy, he would have garnered a ton of scholarships for the top universities. Hell, ONI would be interested in him."
"Thank you…Private Lee." Shmi replied softly, still staring at the door where the two exited. "What is ONI by the way?"
"Office of Naval Intelligence, UNSC's intelligence, research, and covert branch." the Korean revealed, elbows propped on his knees. "Imagine a company that only offers jobs for the brightest and smartest people around, with a salary that would be an envy of most people who make a meager million bucks a day – that's ONI."
"Wait, there are people who earn a million a day?" Padmé asked incredulously.
Lee just shrugged. "Yeah. Some people even earn it an hour or so." he replied before frowning. "Though they're mostly in the entertainment industry."
"Entertainment industry?" Shmi repeated, getting a nod from Lee.
"Yup. They produce films, TV shows, concerts, musicals, etc." Lee explained. "You guys don't have those?"
Shmi and Padmé shared a look. "Well…yes, but…they're mostly operas, musicals, and concerts." Padmé informed the Korean. "This film and TV show…we don't have them."
Lee nodded understandingly. "So you guys are more into the elite class of the entertainment industry."
"Elite class?" Shmi then asked.
"Yeah. You see, in our galaxy, only the elite and some of the middle class appreciate those kinds of stuff. Majority of use humans – Terrans, I mean – prefer film, TV shows, etc."
"Wow…" Padmé and Shmi breathe simultaneously. "That…that's unexpected." Padmé added, before the two of them slowly started asking questions regarding UNSC, culturally speaking. Lee tried to explain the best he could but since he was brought up in the middle class, most of his answers were mostly generalizations of what they wanted to know. Luckily, Lars came to his rescue later, helping him answer most of the questions being asked.
"Wow, you guys look primitive from the outside but once we got to understand it, it makes our society look primitive!" Padmé commented after finding about the UEG's healthcare system.
"We don't have that, do we?" Shmi asked the Nubian handmaiden, getting a shake from her.
"Naboo has one but it's not as deep and complex as the UEG." Padmé revealed, looking like she was trying to digest the information.
Lee and Lars shared a look as the two started comparing the two galaxies. "And here I was thinking these guys were more advance than we are." Lee whispered to Lars, who chuckled.
"They're advance alright, I mean they have laser guns!" Lars pointed out, giving credit to the inhabitants of this galaxy. "Problem is, they forgot to remember their roots."
"I agree." Dr. Anders said, walking up to them before looking at Shmi. "I must say, miss Skywalker, you have a very smart son. He could give Halsey and I a run for our money."
"Hey doc!" Lars greeted, raising his hand. "How goes the Robocop's autopsy?"
"Much faster now with Anakin helping me," Anders said gratefully. "My god, the kid works as if he was high on weed! Anyway, I just went out to check on things here."
Shmi frowned. "Is that a good thing?" she slowly asked once the doctor had left.
Lars just shrugged. "Depends on how you look at it," Lars began but before he could continue, Lee stood up and stretched his body.
"I have to go check on Etain, see if she needs any help." Lee said before turning to Padmé. "Wanna come?"
In reality, Lee needed to leave Lars with Shmi alone. He had been constantly seeing Lars steal quick glances at the young mother and it didn't take for a genius to know why – the sarge was infatuated with her. Now, if only Padmé agree to come with him.
"Sure…" Padmé slowly answered, looking at him in confusion before standing up and following him out of the room.
"Thanks for going with me. I needed to leave the sarge with his crush." Lee replied the moment the door hissed closed. "Have you been noticing how Lars would look at Shmi when she's not looking?"
Padmé was frowning before getting what he was trying to say. "Oh…so that's why you wanted me to go with you!" she guessed before laughing. "Shmi does that also to him."
The last piece of info surprised the Helljumper. "Really?" he asked, getting a nod from the Handmaiden. "Damn…god, things are going to become awkward between those two."
Padmé just laughed. "Obviously. I would pay to see how those two are going to confess to each other." She replied, smiling. "Anyway, I have to go. See you around, Private Lee."
# # # # # # # # # #
The elevator's doors opened and Lee stepped out, entering the cargo hold of the Mjonir. After asking around, he found out that Etain was still in it for some reason. Since he had nothing to do, Lee decided to pay her a visit.
"Hey Lee!" Etain greeted happily from a far, arranging something with the boxes. "What are you doing here?"
Lee just shrugged. "Came to pay you a visit." he replied nonchalantly. "Left Sarge with his crush and roaming around the ship's boring."
"A CR90 Corvette is not boring!" she replied indignantly. "It is by far the best ship when it comes to adaptability! And the speed…"
Lee just started at her as she continued ranting about the Mjonir. Looks like she took my statement quite literally, Lee thought before cutting "What I meant was figuratively, Etain."
Etain stopped midway through her rant to stare at him. "You…didn't mean that?" she asked. Lee just shook his head, the two falling into awkward silence. "Oh…um, okay."
"So, you doing anything?" Lee then asked, changing the subject immediately. From the looks of it, Etain had rearrange the boxes to become an impromptu shooting range – complete with targets hanging from the ceiling and a scoreboard.
"Well…I've always wanted to try shooting with a rifle." she confessed, rubbing her left arm. "I mean, I'm okay with blasters and all but…rifle shooting looks nice."
Lee just looked at her before looking at the shooting range. "Rifles are good for medium range fighting." he then told her, picking up one of the rifles scattered about. "But they aren't like pistols that you can just aim and fire."
"Um…what?" Etain asked, blinking owlishly at him.
"You said you wanted to learn how to shoot a rifle, right?" Lee said to her. "I'm going to teach you."
"You will?" she asked, getting a nod. Suddenly, Lee found himself engulfed in a hug from Etain. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
"Can't…breathe!" Lee mumbled, chocking in Etain's bear hug. Finally noticing him turning blue, Etain immediately let go and apologized repeatedly. "It's…it's alright! Next time, a quick hug will do."
Etain smiled sheepishly at him, scratching the back of her head. "Sorry, Lee."
"Anyway, before I let you shoot a rifle," Lee began as he picked up a blaster pistol. "Show me your skills with a pistol."
Etain picked up one and started shooting. Although she was good at it, Lee noted, her kind of shooting was comparable to leisure shooting. She did it slowly and took her time to aim, getting the required results at a really slow pace (three shots done in less than five minutes).
"While your skills are good," Lee complimented, getting a bright smile from Etain. "It won't do you any good in a real fight."
With that, Lee picked up the pistol and fire three time in quick succession, hitting all three hanging targets in less than a minute. "They may be bunched up," he explained, pointing at the three hanging robot heads (Etain likely scavenged from the earlier battle) that were right beside each other. "But in a real fight, no one is going to give you time to aim and fire."
Etain looked deflated so Lee added "But that doesn't mean you suck at shooting. Actually, you just need to improve your skills in shooting."
Etain gave him a skeptical look. "Really?"
Lee nodded. "Well then, let me show you how to shoot a pistol like a pro."
And so began Lee's lecture on the finesse of pistol shooting. Granted it wasn't like Anya's shooting (her markswoman skills were awesome), but his was good enough to teach Etain a trick or two about it. One hour later, the Nubian Engineer was shooting like any private straight out of boot camp.
"That was quick!" Lee said happily as Etain managed to shoot the targets within three minutes. "Told you we just had to improve them."
Etain smile brightly at him. "Thanks Lee…so does that mean I can now move to rifle training?" she asked innocently, tucking her hair behind her ear.
Lee just chuckled. "You don't have to do that, you know." he informed her, getting a laugh out of her. "What is this rifle anyway, Etain?"
Picking one up, Etain began lecturing him about the rifle. "This here is the CD-34 blaster rifle, more commonly known as the Pursuer Rifle because bounty hunters tend to use this for their hunts. At a length of 1.2 meters and weighing about 4.2 kilograms, this baby can fire up to 400 shots over a distance of 10 kilometers. From what I hear, it cost about…200 credits, making it cheap yet deadly weapon for anyone."
Lee whistled. Any rifle that could shoot a distance of 10 kilometers was good enough for him to use. "Hot damn…" was all he could say before he picked it up. Taking aim, he pulled the trigger, experiencing little recoil from the weapon itself. "Wow…it even has good recoil too!"
Looking back at her, Lee gave it to her and said "Here, try it out."
Etain slowly took it and (much to Lee's surprise) began holding it in a very awkward pose. The stock was above her shoulder, her face sticking closely to its side, and her hands acting like it the rifle was a pistol, making it look like she was holding a rocket launcher. "Let me guess," he wondered out loud, grinning at Etain. "You don't how to hold a rifle."
Etain glared at him before sighing. "Yes," she admitted, still glaring at him. "I don't know how to hold a rifle, happy?"
Lee just shook his head before walking up to her. "Here, let me show you." He gently said, grabbing her left hand. Guiding it to the proper position, he then took her right hand with his right and guided it to the middle part of the gun. "There you go!"
Etain tested out the new form and from the size of her smile, she actually found it more comfortable to hold the rifle that way. "Thank you!" she told him happily as she tried out different forms while holding the rifle, causing Lee to laugh.
Getting a glare, he apologized. "You look quite funny when you did your forms." he explained, trying to stifle his laughter. "I mean, who squats while holding a rifle?"
Still glaring at him, Etain swatted at him playfully (since her slap was quite light) before changing the subject. "Can you know teach me how to shot this, please?"
"Patience, young one." Lee replied in a sage-like manner, getting an eye roll from her as Lee picked up another rifle. "Now, the difference between rifles and pistols are quite different as you've noticed. Unlike pistols, rifles tend to have huge recoil and more firepower."
Demonstrating it, Lee fired in quick succession, completely destroying the target head. "Now, I have a feeling this rifle is still in a semi-auto mode." he guessed, seeing that it was one shot per pull. "Most rifles can do that, switching from an automatic burst mode to a semi-auto mode. How do you switch firing modes here, by the way?"
After Etain pointed out the switched (making Lee surprised that the rifle had a stun mode), Lee then took aim. "Here is what an auto mode does to a target." Unlike the earlier smooth recoil the rifle gave, the auto mode made Lee feel something was continuously punching his shoulder.
"So…50 shots, huh?" Lee muttered, taking note of the clip size. Turning to Etain, he saw her mumbling something. "Say something?"
"Its…its nothing." she said dismissively, smiling before motioning to the damaged head. "Nice shooting, by the way."
"Thanks, why don't you try it?" Lee told her, giving her the gun.
Etain blinked before staring at him in a scared manner. "Wait…shouldn't I go first with the semi?"
"Then switch it to semi." Lee ordered to her nonchalantly, sitting on one of the boxes and crossing his arms. "You have to know how to clean and maintain your rifle, Etain. Nobody's going to take care of it for you."
Nodding, Etain switched the rifle to semi before taking trying it out. Although she was doing it in a slow manner, Lee let her off the hook. After all, she was just a beginner to it so might as well take it slow. After a few shots, she stopped and dropped the rifle. "Ouch…" she muttered painfully, massaging her shoulder. "Why does my shoulder hurt?"
Lee just chuckled as he clapped her on the back. "Congrats, you're finally experienced recoil-induced shoulder pain!" he exclaimed jokingly, getting a confused look from Etain. "That's just a side effect, so don't worry. You'll get used to the pain later anyway."
Etain just let a groan. "Kriff!" she cursed. "How do you get used to this?"
"Through practice." he stated, grinning. "Now rest for a minute before you try it out again."
# # # # # # # # # #
"Welcome to Coruscant, my friends!" Abby happily exclaimed to everyone present in the CR90 cockpit upon exiting hyperspace. Lee, Dr. Anders, and the Skywalker Family stood behind the pilot seats manned by Ric Olie and his co-pilot, Sate Russan, as they saw the huge planet surrounded by interstellar traffic coming from all directions.
"Wow…" Anakin breathed out, fully amazed by the sheer size of it. "Look at all the space ships!"
Everyone around him laughed as Anakin's wide eyes looked about. Shmi just ruffled the hair of her son before saying "Even I'm shocked by its enormous size."
"Why can't I see a single body of water?" Anders then asked out loud, curiosity in her voice. "I know there are planets without water…but Coruscant seems too populated to have sprung from a desert planet."
"That's because nobody knows, doctor. The lights you see on the buildings were built upon levels upon levels of machineries." Ric revealed, still staring at the view port. "Have we made contact with Coruscant Traffic Control?"
"Yes captain!" a voice replied, coming from one of the terminals within the cockpit. "They understood our concerns and have allowed us passage. Chancellor Valorum has also requested we land on the Senate Landing Pad as he is coming with Senator Palpatine, Master Yoda and Master Windu."
"Looks like this is our cue to go, doc." Lee muttered to Anders as the Mjolnir descended unto the planet's atmosphere. "Sarge wants us at Cargo before we head out."
Anders nodded and followed Lee out of the cockpit. It took them about five minutes to reach the cargo hold and upon entering, Lee caught a Pursuer rifle Lars immediately threw at him. "We expecting company, sir?"
Lars shook his head as 92 maglocked a M41 to his back. "We're Corellian mercs guarding the Queen of Naboo right? Then let's play as mercs from Corelia guarding the Queen of Naboo." he replied as he tried out the Pursuer before maglocking it to his back.
Once everyone got their mercenary loadout ready, Lars jumped onto one of the UNSC crates and looked at them each in the eye. "Alright boys – and girl – let's review our background story, shall we? I'll start it off: We Helljumpers are a newly created guns-for-hire looking to create a name for ourselves."
Dr. Anders continued, after being pointed by the sergeant. "After doing our first contract as a guard for a merchant travelling from Tatooine to Naboo, we stayed at there to gather supplies, refuel our ship, and wait for a new contract."
Lee then spoke next. "However, as we were about to leave, the Trade Federation started a blockade and forcing us to remain in the planet until it lifted. When the RSNF found out we had more than enough combat experience than all of them combined, they hired us to protect the Queen just in case things went south." When everyone looked at him with surprised (Well...except for 92, given his helmet. Lee thought), he gave a shrugged. "What? A good cover story needs certain variation to make it believable. You kind of learn it when working with the police force."
"Alright, keep that variation. Doc, you stick with the 'Helljumpers then offered their services to the RSNF' line with 92. I'll make one on the spot then." Lee conceded, before turning to the Spartan. "92?"
"When the Queen was captured, we rescued her with the assistance of the Jedi. Fleeing from Naboo, we got hit in our hyperspace drive, forcing us to land on Tatooine. From there, the rest can be told by anyone on board."
Lars nodded just as the Queen entered wearing …well, she entered wearing red and black dress (with a plunging V-neck) under a black traveling cloak, combat-looking boots, and another of her ridiculous headdresses. "Sergeant Lars," she greeted, her usual stoic face on as Captain Panaka followed her.
"Milady, Captain Panaka," replied Lars, tilting his head as he tried to understand what the Queen was wearing. "No offense Queen Amidala, but don't you usually wear more flamboyant dresses?"
Amidala laughed while Panaka scowled at the comment. "The Queen…" the captain grumbled, lightly glaring at the Queen. "Believed that she should be more prepared should another attack happen. Thus, she decided to wear her battle dress along with her handmaidens."
Noticing the handmaidens, Lee noted it was slightly similar to the Queen, albeit without a V-neck and sporting a darker color scheme. "How is this a battle dress?" Lee asked as the ship shuddered, declaring they've reached the landing pad. Their dress was like any dress – skirt and top mixed and matched together. The only thing that looked remotely related to battle was the phaser-like weapons on their hips.
Queen Amidala just smirked at the Terrans just as the cargo bay slowly opened. "Looks can be deceiving, Private Lee." She said before following the Spartan walk down the ramp. Lars just shrugged before putting on his helmet, Lee copying him before the two flanked the Queen as she went down.
As the entourage walked down the ramp, Lee immediately took note of his surroundings. There were a few people on the pad, six he immediately tagged as guard (given their blue robes, helmet with a plume, and something like a spear). In front of them, two people ( in a frailly old man a reddish-maroon long robe and another old man in a blue and black colored robe) stood beside…well, a green goblin and Samuel Jackson-lookalike wearing robes similar to the Jedi. "Looks like the welcome party came armed…" he commented via the TEAMCOM.
"Keep your guard up, everyone." replied Lars as the everyone stopped in front of the welcome.
"It is a great gift to see you alive, Your Majesty. With the communications breakdown, we've become very concerned. I'm anxious to hear your report on the situation." the red robe man greeted them, bowing his head. "May I present Supreme Chancellor Valorum."
"Welcome, Your Highness." the blue robed one – Valorum – greeted. "It's an honor to finally meet you in person."
"Thank you, Supreme Chancellor, Senator Palpatine." Amidala politely replied, as everyone head to the waiting…well, Lee would have called it a hover car but it looks like a hover bus. "I hope the Senate…"
"…is ready to hear your plea, milady." Valorum replied, quickly understanding her what she was trying to imply. "I must relay to you how distressed everyone is over the current situation."
As the three politicians slipped into what Lee would called brass talk, Lars began talking over the TEAMCOM. "Lee, Anders, go with the Jedi. 92, you're with me. We're going with the Queen. Abby, talk with Ric and ask him where can we have the ship cleaned and restocked then do it."
"You're going to have to do a rain check on that," a British voice filtered in. "I hacked the planet's comms since we arrived and been monitoring them since then. I just got confirmation of two company-size mercenary groups have arrived with orders to hunt down and capture the Queen."
Lee could have sworn Lars just stopped for a millisecond before he sprang into action. "Vassic, get your men to the Queen's transport. Dormé, I need your fellow handmaidens to commandeer another transport and follow us." the veteran sergeant said in his best drill sergeant voice. "Lee, Doc, find that signal and meet 92 and I at the Queen's residence – we're going to need all the manpower we can get. LET"S MOVE IT PEOPLE!"
Just like that, the moment he started ordering people, the Nubian police officers (who were given an order to follow Lars' command) sprang into action. Lee noted that while they may not have military training, they were good enough. Erik Vassic, the 39 year old Palace Guard master sergeant, nodded in replied before ordering his squad to locate the transport. Handmaiden Dormé, on the other hand, immediately began scouring the hanger for another transport.
The Spartan had not been idle either. The moment he heard the intel, the hulking green super soldier immediately walked up to the surprised politicians and informed them of the situation. While the two old men looked surprised, Amidala sighed before putting on a determined face and asked the Spartan to lead the way.
Lee on the other hand, turned to the Jedi with them the moment Lars barked his orders and informed them of the same thing. "…I understand." Qui-Gon replied after taking in the news. "Obi-Wan, help them in their search. I'll bring Master Windu with me to help us out."
With that, Qui-Gon left the trio to their own devices. "Looks like you're our only hope then, Obi-Wan." Doc pointed out, snorting.
"And I will give you hope," the padawan replied before bowing his head slightly. "Master Yoda, what do you need of me?"
The green gremlin Lee noticed earlier had apparently joined them, his hands on his small walking cane. "Come to help you, I have." the gremlin replied, staring at them with…its 'I-am-old-and-wise-so-you-should-listen-to-me' look. "From different galaxy, you have come, hmm?"
Lee turned to Anders (who seemed surprised as he was) before replying "Come again?"
The gremlin just chuckled, replying "Much to learn, you have."
After a few introductions (and some blunders when trying to understand Yoda's speaking abilities), the four of them began their journey to the Jedi Temple. While travelling to the temple, Anders and Yoda entered into a philosophical debate about the merits of both the Dark and Light Side of the Force, as well as learning what the whole Force thing was. While two Jedi held their ground, Anders' seemed please that she managed to refute their claims on the basis of scientific analogy.
Upon arrival, Obi-Wan and Yoda led the two UNSC personnel to a communication hub within the Temple. As they passed the building, the two Terrans were surprised by the massive architecture and detail given to the Jedi temple. Along the way, they met with many Jedi masters, knights, and padawans who were about their daily business. The whole trip was silent until Anders suddenly stopped.
"Why the hell are there children here?" she asked in surprise, upon seeing a group of kids barely five wielding lightsabers in a small round room they had passed by. Lee was surprised as well – given all he had seen and heard, the Jedi seemed pretty much okay. There had to be a reason why there were children here.
"They are force-sensitive children that must be trained to control the force," Obi-Wan answered nonchalantly, although he did look confused with Anders' outburst. "Least they go Dark."
Anders, however, didn't let this down. "But they're still children!" she replied, as if it explained everything.
"Powerful things, the Force is." Yoda replied, looking on at the children, unaffected by the doctor's outburst. )Then again, Lee didn't know the facial expressions of Yoda's species.) "Dangerous the Force is, at the wrong hands. Prevent the Dark Side from coming, teach the younglings well."
"But…but, they're children." she whispered, just enough for Lee to hear.
Patting on her shoulder, Lee replied "Let them be, Doc. We're in a different galaxy with a different culture, kind of hard to adjust."
Sighing, Anders said "Just…just bring us to the place, please?"
As they continued onwards, Obi-Wan strayed to Lee. "What's her problem?" he had asked, once they were both out of earshot.
Lee just shrugged. "Beats me, Obi-Wan." he replied before his helmet comm blinked green. " Charlie Actual, how goes—"
"We're heading for the Jedi Temple asap." Lars voice announced immediately, Lee could hear soft sounds of sirens behind the sergeant's voice. "Queen's temporary residence just got bombed. Thankfully, no casualties. Inform the Jedi of the development. Charlie Actual out."
"That was brief." Lee said, getting a confused look from Obi-Wan. "Queen's lodgings just got bomb. Lars is heading here keep the Queen safe. Told me to inform you."
Obi-Wan nodded grimly. "The Dark Side is stirring. Very well, I'll inform the masters of this."
With that, Obi-Wan headed to another direction of the Temple (No doubt to inform the 'Jedi Council', thought Lee. Whoever they are.) while Lee jogged to their two other companions. "Queen's lodgings just got bomb, Lars' heading here to get the Queen into a secure position. Obi-Wan left to inform the other…Jedi Masters, right?"
"Communication hub, this room is." Yoda slowly nodded as they reached a sliding door. "Attack on the Queen, behind this, the Dark Side is. Discuss with the Council, I must. Farewell, travellers."
Leaving them to their own devices, Lee just gave Anders a shrugged before opening the door. Lee took note, upon entering, that the place was structured like those lecture halls from any academies – both military and civilian. The background, on the other hand, looked like a cathedral-like glass panel. From the looks of it, this placed had been used recent, given the…stylus Lee just picked up from one of the tables.
Running up to the console, Anders plugged in a data crystal that Abby was loaded into. "Abby, you in the system?" she asked before the AI clone popped up into the holotable.
"Hey guys!" Abby waved cheerfully before doing her magic – that is, whatever AIs do to get the system up and running. Immediately, a galaxy map appeared and Abby started pacing about. "So if my intel's correct…this here is where the Spirit is."
"You can tell?" Lee asked, taking his helmet off.
A red ball appeared at the position Abby was pointing too as she nodded. "Yup! Didn't think I wasn't taking note of our travel, did you? Anyway, we are…over here, Coruscant – the capital of the Universe!" Abby said proudly, before point at a planet near the center of the universe. "Now, time to scan all frequencies…and I have it!"
Anders got a confused look on her face. "Won't the signal be incompatible to their radio units or at least cause some problems?"
"There might be some power drains in certain parts since the computer has to analyze the signal first before it can play it." Abby said before smirking and snapping her fingers, making the two Terrans dropped their jaws from hearing a very familiar guitar rift. "Lucky for you, I'm not your average AI. On the plus side, the room actually has speakers!"
...Sweet home Alabama…where the skies are so blue…sweet home Alabama…Lord, I'm coming home to you!
# # # # # # # # # #
"So you're telling me," Clive began, as he leaned on the holotable with an incredulous look on his face. "That the signal we got back at the Spirit was actually a song?"
Lee snorted. "Sorta." the Korean replied, grinning. He was sitting on one of the tables while the Spartan sat beside him. "Some UNSC technician probably was playing off from their radio and didn't realize that it was reaching off as far as here."
All four UNSC personnel (along with the AI) were gathered inside the comms room of the Jedi Temple. The Queen's entourage was force to head to the Jedi Temple for refuge after a devastating attack ruined the whole building. Knowing that no one would even dare attack the headquarters of the Jedi Order, Qui-Gon ordered the whole entourage to head for the Temple. Right now, the Queen and her entourage were resting in the rooms offered by the Jedi while the Senator and Chancellor went back to their respective homes.
The moment Lars had heard Sweet Home Alabama was playing, he stared at Lee as if he just said he was in love with a Split lip before ordering Abby to play the signal. Unfortunately, they couldn't listen to the songs forever since it was causing some power drains in the temple.
"So what's the next plan?" Anders asked, who was leaning on the holotable. "If we wait for the Queen to finish the purpose of her visit, we can check the whole place out. I seriously want to check out the library here."
The two ODST chuckled at her remark. "Don't worry," assured the sergeant. "Lee, 92, and I'll accompany the Queen to the senate meeting the day after tomorrow. You can do anything you want tomorrow, doc…just try not to dissect people, will ya?"
Before Anders could retort, Abby appeared on the holotable. "Great news, guys! I've managed to reconfigure the comms and I just got us a direct link to the Spirit." the AI exclaimed happily. "Expect some interference but I think I we can talk to the Spirit. Be warned though, we might be forced to cut the transmission – I've calculated the power drain to be massive."
"Well, it's better than nothing." Anders said, shrugging. "Patch us through, Abby."
Abby did her magic and in a few moments, a shaky image of Serina's avatar appeared in front of them, looking surprised before seeing Abby and the rest of Fireteam Explorer. "I take you guys are in Coruscant, right?" she said after a few minutes of static. When Anders nodded, she grinned. "Good job then – though I'm reading massive power drains from the Spirit's reactor
"Dammit, I forgot about the power drain at your end." Abby muttered before Serina's image disappeared. "I'm cutting thevisual feeds since they're the biggest drawbacks. How about now?"
"Well, aside from the slightly above average power drain, everything seems pretty normal." Serina's voice sarcastically replied.
"Jesus…" Lars mumbled as face palmed. "Alright, break it off, you two. Serina, get the Captain patched through. We got some good and bad news for everyone. We'll talk about this latter." he ordered.
A few minutes of silence followed by a voice saying "Shame I can't see you boys. Everything all right in your end, Sergeant Lars?"
"Everything's alright sir, just some minor hiccups along the way. The original vessel the Nubians were using got destroyed in an ambush, thankfully Sierra-092 managed to get his hands on what UNSC would probably classify as a lightly armed prowler after rescuing the Queen from a kidnapping." Lars reported, hands clasped behind his back. "We've also picked up two former slaves, a mother and child. The child apparently has the same powers as the Jedi and will be trained in their arts. The mother, on the other hand, could be a potential asset to the UNSC in terms of technology, having served as a robot technician in this galaxy during the duration of her enslavement."
Or maybe you just want Shmi to be with you. Lee thought to himself.
"Say again? A child is being trained as a Jedi and the duo were slaves?" Cutter asked, sounding confused.
"Yes sir. Apparently, the government's control and execution of laws is a tad bit weak than our own enforcement. In the Outer Rim space, the Galactic Republic has little to no control over it, allowing lawless bands of slavers, pirates, and mercenaries to operate at their pleasure." Lars replied. "We even came upon a planet completely ruled by a mob boss. Hell, even the standard currency doesn't work in their parts – forcing us to resort to a gamble and a very dangerous race just to get the parts we needed."
"As for the child being taught as a Jedi, that's a bit more complicated." Andres followed up. "We're not sure about the details but we'll add more once we've solved the power issues."
Cutter gave an audible sigh. "Very well then, anything else?"
"We've managed to locate the signal sir." Lars reported, hoping to catch Captain Cutter off guard. "Abby's doing a trace but as far as we can tell, it was a radio signal playing on the FM band – specifically Sweet Home Alabama."
Silence followed his report before Cutter's voice asked "Say again, Sergeant Lars – the signal was a song?"
"Yes sir – even we were surprised when we heard it." Lars replied, grinning. "Problem is, there's a power drain that's preventing us from listening to it nonstop."
"Damn…I was hoping to give the boys some good news." Cutter groaned. "We've experience was an assault at Cyro Bay 45 – and it didn't end well."
Perking up, Lee asked "What happened?"
"A small Flood pod managed to get inside the ship and had been trying to open up a Cyro when a Marine Squad found it." Cutter replied as gasps were heard from his listeners. "The Marines chased it down and had to be very careful of not hitting the Cyro Pods while I had the rest of the ODSTs guarded the door. It was a very tense one hour chase before a private killed it but an engineer was infected and had to be put down."
"Captain, if I may," Anders addressed once the everyone digested the information. "The Jedi Temple we're staying has a massive library containing knowledge and history of each government, planet, and—"
"Go ahead Andres." Cutter answered, chuckling. "Just make sure we won't get caught stealing any classified files, understood? Cutter out."
Everyone stood still as soon as the transmission ended…well, except the Spartan, who went back inspecting his Pursuer Rifle. "Did…did the captain just ordered us to steal classified information?" Lee asked out loud, pure confusion on his face. "And not get caught?"
"No." the Spartan suddenly said, standing up and putting on his helmet. "He just doesn't want us snooping around."
Before anyone could reply, the sliding door opened and Panaka entered. "Sergeant Lars, everyone." he greeted. "The Queen would like to talk to you about how the guard detail would be during her trip to the senate the following day."
Lars looked at everyone before shrugging. "Eh, why not. Doc, feel free to check the Library. 92…do whatever you want. Lee, unfortunately, you're with me here."
# # # # # # # # # #
"All right, ladies and gentlemen, listen up." Lars announced as every single RNSF officer and guard listened to him with all their might. "In a few hours, your Queen will be heading into the Galactic Senate to ask for help against this 'Trade Federation' who have – and has – taken your planet."
All of them we're in front of the Mjolnir as the entire Nubian entourage prepared to escort the Queen to the Galactic Senate. After the Queen had given her entourage for some R&R, Lee headed to a small café own by Qui-Gon's friend with Padme, the Jedi Master, Lars, and the Skywalkers for some food. While there, Qui-Gon got word from Didi (café's owner and Jedi's informant) about an attempt to kill the Queen during her Senate appearance.
With that information, everyone was force to go back to the Temple and review the security detail in place. The two ODSTs, along with the Spartan, Qui-Gon, and Panaka, a much tougher security detail was created. Lee stood near a portable holotable (donated by the Jedi) as Abby produced a diagram of the operation while Lars went into what Lee would call 'battle mode'.
"At 1000 hours, the Mjolnir will land in front of the Galactic Senate, just a few meters from the entrance at the Avenue of Core Founders. Lee, 92 and I will be the first ones out to clear the Landing Zone if the need arises. Once the ship is firmly on the ground, Squads Alpha and Bravo – that will be your squads – will move out of the ship and secure the port and starboard. Given the area has little to no cover, all of you will be hiding behind the statues decorating it." he said, pointing to the areas highlighted by the map to his listeners. "Handmaidens, once we give the 'all clear', you are to exit the ship and proceed to the Senate quickly, 92 at your backs with the Jedi and us at front. The Queen MUST remain in the middle of your group as we walk into the chambers."
Pointing at building as green dots with small labels began moving, Lars continued. "The moment the Queen is inside the Senate, Phase Two begins. Ric, get the ship airborne once the Queen's inside and no, Abby's not your copilot during this – she's focusing all her processing power as our 'eyes and ears'. Alpha, you're tasked to ensure that the LZ remains clear during and after the landing. Bravo, head for the door and guard it – we need that entrance cleared so extraction can be easier. I don't care if the Senate guards are protecting it, you can guard with them but watch your backs – they could be the very enemy we might fight."
Crossing his arms, Lars stared at everyone. "If things go well, getting the Queen back to the ship would probably be much easier. The first ones in will be the Queen and her handmaiden, next is Bravo, then Alpha, and then us. Once we're in, get the us the hell out of their Ric." Lars said, crossing his arms. "if things go south…we'll just leg it from there. Got that?"
Getting some nods, Lars continued, assigning call signs. "Alright, Queen Amidala's call sign is 'Matriarch'; Handmaidens' are 'Commandos'; Alpha and Bravo, number yourselves from one to five; Ric, the ship's 'Thor' while Abby's 'Overwatch'; the Jedi will be both Magic-One and -Two, respectively; Lee's Charlie-One, I'll be Charlie-Actual, and 92 here's Red-One." Lars stated. "Any questions?"
"Sir, what'll be our equipment for this?" the one of the security officers asked, offering a salute. "Lance Corporal Cad Mulras, sir."
"Good question, Mulras. For most part, you guys will be using your standard blast armor. Not strong enough for a full fledge battle but good enough to use during a firefight. I take it everyone here knows how to use a rifle?" Getting nods, Lars smiled. "Good, cause we'll be using your standard S-5 pistols alongside the Pursuer rifles – as gifted by our generous Tatooinian slavers."
Getting a laugh from everyone, Lars ordered them to quiet down. "Alright everyone, gear up and get inside. We're moving out at exactly 0900."
As everyone dispersed to gear up and get ready, Lee grinned at Lars and clapped his back. "Nice speech, sir! If I didn't know your despise for politics, I'd have thought of that as a campaign speech."
Lars gave him a deadpan look. "Har, har, har. Really funny, Lee." he replied before grabbing his MA5 and maglocking it onto his back. "Come on, let's talk to the Queen."
The three of them slowly made their way to the to the Mjolnir. While the Jedi Temple Hanger was good enough for five to six Pelicans, the Mjolnir took up more than half the space need to fit all six – it was only thanks to Abby's expert maneuvering that they managed to fit the Corvette in it. Walking up the ramp, Lee saw a stressed Etain barking out orders to her fellow engineers. "Hey Lee, Sergeant Lars!" she greeted, waving at them.
Giving her a two finger salute, Lars asked "What's happening, a gun sale?"
Chuckling, Etain shook her head. "Nope, we're distributing the weapons and equipment here. You know, for the op."
"Anyway, comm check everyone!" Etain shouted as all the officers took their positions. "We need to stay in touch we everyone once we land!"
Suddenly, the ship shuddered and the ramp started to close as Abby spoke via the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for flying Mjolnir Airlines. Please remember to keep your rifle's safety on while on board the ship to prevent accidental death or destruction. Our estimated time of arrival at the Senate Building will be in five minutes. Thank you."
All the members of the security detail clutched their equipment and held on as the ship took off. Some had that scared look on their faces, others wore a false determined mask but were shaking like hell. Lee couldn't blame them – he had felt the same when he went into his first battle against Insurrectionists. Thankfully he had come out with a few injuries but that was a battle, these security officers were about to face just a plain firefight – and they're scare as hell.
"I won't lie to you," the Spartan suddenly spoke up, voice clear soft yet hearable over the sound of the vessel flying. "All of you might come back on board or not at all – but you officers have a mission, and your Queen is counting on you to do it."
With that, the mood Lee felt earlier faded as the RNSF officers looked and felt determined, gripping their rifles as if it was their lifeline "ETA: One mike, boys and girls. I'm landing on the avenue, just a few meters away from the entrance. Pretty place to have a long walk for a date." Abby announced joyful. "Aw, civies are running away from the ship..."
Turning his back on, 92 took out his M45 and pumped it. Lee and Lars mirrored his actions as the ramp opened up. "Safeties off, everyone!" Lee ordered via the comms. "Moving out!"
The three UNSC soldiers suddenly jumped out, Lee executing a roll before coming up on a crouch. Making a sweep on his corner, Lee noticed that people near the avenue were suddenly cowering and shaking. Can't blame them though. We landed in the middle of the fucking street! Lee thought before shouting over the comms "CLEAR!"
Getting similar replies, the Mjolnir descended, landing perfectly in the middle of it, a few meters away from the three. Alpha and Bravo, true to their word, came rushing out of the ramp and heading to their designated position, completely frightening everyone walking the avenue into different directions.
"Alpha squad, in positions."
"Bravo squad, in position."
"Affirmative. Matriarch, show time!" Abby announced via the comms. Seconds later, the Queen (in her 'battle dress') came gracefully down the ramp escorted by her circle of Handmaidens, the Jedi following closely behind them.
As the Queen (enclosed in her protective circle) reached them, Abby suddenly exclaimed "Bogies one mike out, Charlie Actual! "
Years of training and exposure meant Lee was already loading his grenade launcher, Lars barking orders over the comms, and the Spartan ordering their entourage back to the ship the moment all three of them hear 'bogies' on the comms. "Alpha, Bravo, weapons free! Charlie-One, with me! Red-One, get Matriarch to Thor now!" Lars barked out as the Jedi brought their laser swords out and the handmaidens ushering the Queen back to the Mjolnir. "Leg it Lee!"
"Already there!" Lee shouted back as slide near Alpha's position, moments before two weird-looking ship with foldable wings landed a few meters away from them. Out of the ships came some armored aliens being led by a fully armored man with a jetpack, causing the Nubians to gasp.
"A Mandalorian is leading the attack?" one of the officers cried out in fear as these people slowly encircled Mjolnir.
Not really caring for the officers outburst, Lee aimed his launcher and fired at a clumped up group, killing them. "Open fire, Alpha!" Lee shouted before lining his sights at another one and fired, not really killing but causing panic among the attackers. "Overwatch—"
"Elevator's going down, get the officers in. Red's moving in with some fireworks." Abby replied calmly as the CR90's extendable elevator came down with 92 holding an AIE and a M41 maglocked to his back. "Please kindly proceed to the elevator in an orderly fashion to enter the exit vehicle."
"Man down!" Lars shouted over the comms, having gone to help Bravo. "Get him on board, now! Lee, covering fire!"
Giving a burst of fire from the statue's base, Lee allowed members of Alpha squad to retreat with their wounded. These mercs seemed a bit surprised on how the battle was faring. Lee not caring, gave random bursts of fire to keep these mercenaries on their toes while the Nubians retreated.
92, Lee took note as he reloaded, was bring the fight to them. With the AIE as a battering ram, 92 rushed head on and slammed it against the attackers. Focusing on his fight, Lee peeked out of cover only to immediately jump out of the way as a rocket coming right at him. Just his luck too as only a mere seconds later, the rocket destroyed the statue's base, forcing it to fall down and nearly hit the Mjolnir, the ship taking off a second early to prevent some damage.
"LZ is too hot, clear the area now! Clear the area now, dammit!" Lee shouted as a mercenary landed near him, only to get killed by a short burst from the Korean's MA5. "We'll regroup later!"
The CR90 flew away just as it dodged an incoming missile. Damn, these guys are good… Lee thought as he ejected another clip. "Yo sarge, I'm heading for you!"
His helmet light winked green, signifying Lars understood. Tossing a frag, Lee ran immediately to Lars just as the Spartan reached him. "What's next?" he asked, taking cover near another statue.
"I'm highlighting possible extraction points for you guys," Abby suddenly said over the comms. "Thor's making a pass. Queen's orders, not mine."
"You heard the lady, get ready to move." Lars said, just as the CR90 flew overhead, firing its ventral cannons at the mercs. "NOW!"
Just like any other day in the field, the three UNSC soldiers ran to towards the waypoint while being chased by these mercs. "One klick out guys, leg it!" Lars shouted as 92 fired at their pursuers with the AIE, momentarily distracting them. "Tangos are bearing down on us, fast!"
Suddenly, a green armored merc landed in front of them, blaster pistols at hand. "Nobody—"
Without thinking, Lee tackled the merc before finding himself suddenly lifted into the air, crash landing away from his teammates behind a wedge. "Go, I'll hold him off!" Lee shouted as he took a boxing stance, weapons having fallen off during the crash. His attacker rushed at him, thinking he could overwhelm the ODST. Lee, having seen and experience many suicidal Grunts during the war, only took a millisecond to dodge and delivered a gut punch, making the merc stumble back.
Without a thought, Lee took on the offensive, unleashing a flurry of jabs, upper cuts, and hooks at his opponent. While not all of them landed, his attacker started to faze and stumble back before jumping away from him and pointed his wrist at him, fire suddenly sprouting out of them. Quickly reacting, Lee dove to his right to get away but was suddenly dragged back to his opponent.
Landing on the ground, the merc attempted stomp him but Lee managed to stop the foot and pushed it back, making the merc fall down on his back. Executing a kick up (Thank you Karate! Lee thought), the Korean was standing up already when his enemy rose. "I could do this all day, pal." the Korean grunted, readying his body for more.
The merc just glared at him before removing his helmet, revealing a light brown scarred face. "Not many people can survive a full two minutes with me in a fight, you know." the man said with a New Zealander accent.
"Ya full of shit, you know that!" a familiar voice shouted behind the ODST. Turning around, Lee found Lars and 92 bearing down on them, weapons at the ready. "All your friends are dead!"
The man chuckled. "They're not my friends...more like forced acquaintance. Regardless, you're good, I'll give you that. I've killed six Jedi with nothing but my hands and feet yet you held off longer than most have." he replied before spiting something on the ground. "That said, the Codex forces me to give up the chase – my life is more worthy than the bounty."
"What? That's just it?" Lars asked incredulously as Lee took of his helmet. "Hell, you could have the decency to tell us your name!"
"Jango Fett." the merc replied as he crossed his arms, surprising them. "And you guys?"
Lars turned to Lee, who shrugged. "Sergeant Clive Lars, Private Seo-Jun Lee, and his' 92." Lars replied as he pointed to each of them.
Fett nodded before looking at Lee. "It was nice meeting you, Seo-Jun." he replied before putting his helmet back. "I enjoyed our fight."
Fett left them, leaving the three UNSC soldiers to contemplate. "Well…never thought a merc had a moral code." Lars dryly remarked just as the Mjolnir came into view, landing near them. "Come on, it's 'bout time we left the planet. More merc are probably on the way here."
Lee didn't move for a minute, contemplating the whole thing that had just happened. Sighing, Lee putted his helmet back on and remarked "Yeah, let's."
Up Next:
ACT 1 | Part 7: To Boldly Go Where We Have Never Gone Before
Character Visualization:
Annabelle Thatcher (Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty) as Engineer Etain Gauntest
Terence Stamp as Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum
Ian McDiarmid as Senator Sheev Palpatine
Samuel L. Jackson as Master Mace Windu
Master Yoda (Episode 1) as Master Yoda
UPDATED 02/05/2017