Well, my friends, it seems I've updated this story once again. It's been a while since the last chapter and I hope most of you can enjoy it, even though it's been a few months. I updated the ending of this chapter since it utterly disagreed with it, so I hope you approve.
Otherwise, Enjoy!
The entire bridge was quiet as the Sangheili officers went about their business. A few intently watching the screen in the front of the room showing Coruscant, waiting for any sign of the CIS. The bounty hunters information was crucial in confirming the reason for federation vessels leaving their posts throughout the galaxy. Our drones first flagged the massive ship movements a few days ago and it only stopped early this morning. So it only means one thing.
The invasion of Coruscant will begin very soon.
"Are the sabers and cruisers ready lieutenant?" Zatan asked the Sangheili to his right as he observed the edges of the screen.
"Yes fleet master, all ships are fueled and loaded. Recon teams on the surface are in position as well" the lieutenant stated respectfully.
"What of the frigate's?" Zatan asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
"Five of them are still out of commission when they stumbled upon a radiation pocket last week, we have however restored the weapon systems on those ships completely.
"That'll have to do. What of the UEG's… special reinforcements?"
"The demon's?" the lieutenant said with some anger.
"They won't arrive for another month, the UNSC refused to send them earlier," he said with disdain, his hands clutching in anger.
Zatan sighed at his reaction, the wounds of war still open for many of his men. The only hope for this crew is that outside forces don't learn of our past conflicts. If they do, political and military threats will seize upon it to divide us, and the month-long journey across galaxies is a long time for us to be on our own.
"Is the ambassador and her security in position?" Zatan asked as he brought up a feed of the Senate building and the Jedi temple.
"Yes fleet master, they are ready to make contact upon your request," he said with a nod.
"Good. Now go and review our plans with the rest of the commander's, I have one final thing to do myself" Zatan said dismissively.
"Yes, fleet master," the lieutenant said with the bow of his head and an arm over his chest.
The lieutenant left his side and made his way out of the bridge. Zatan sighing once again as he thought of his earlier reaction to the demons.
It will take ages before the wounds are healed.
He glanced at the screen one last time before standing up from his chair. He grabbed his holopad from his armchair and made his way to the back of the bridge to his "private office" as humans call it. He passed several Sangheili before reaching the door, the door opening silently as he walked in. The room was empty except for the desk in the corner of the room and the silver outline of a circle in the middle of the room.
The door quickly closed and the lights dimmed to almost complete darkness
"I'm getting too old for this," he said with a slight groan as he made his way to the center of the circle.
A small holo-projected keypad appeared in front of him as he stepped into the circle, a simple zero to nine human number system its distinguishing mark. He typed in the code, 9379867421, and waited. A wall of holo-projected light quickly forming around the outside of the circle. The code was a set of coordinates for the slipspace communication relay, and they should receive it in a matter of seconds.
The wall of light around him flashed blue and white around for a few seconds before he was suddenly standing in an entirely new place.
He was now in a grand hall, the holoprojector leaving everything in a blue hue. The walls held grand designs and were made of a human material called marble. There was columns, art, and many other things were in the hall, but he didn't care for any of it, only the table in front of him. It was a rather long table with the UEG on one side and The Sword of Sanghelios on the other. A meeting like this was never common, and as he looked towards the other end of the table, he was surprised to see the arbiter himself sitting there.
Zatan quickly bowed his head in his presence and crossed his arms over his chest, his respect for him placed above all else.
"At ease Zatan, we are all anxious to hear your report," the Arbiter said respectfully.
"Yes, Arbiter," Zatan said respectfully back.
Zatan looked back up and the current feed of coruscant showed up to the left of him.
"The situation at the moment is calm. There are no new current issues of note and the Jedi have not contacted us since their last… request" he explained.
"However, the coming assault on their planet by the CIS is predicted to happen in a matter of days. Akio has sent you the details" he said as the footage the bounty hunter acquired played behind him.
A few humans and Sangheili looked down at their holo-pads and began examining the information.
"What is the current consensus of the Jedi?" A human male asked, Lord Hood of the UNSC if he guessed correctly.
"They are grateful for the information we provided them, but they do not trust us. We may have revealed and destroyed their worst enemy, but the way in which we did it disturbed them. The fragment inside the temple has also identified several who don't trust us at all" he said as several pictures of Jedi appeared behind him.
"That is a problem… what does its council think of us?" the Arbiter asked as he observed the pictures.
"Their grandmaster hasn't indicated anything, but the other standing members are wavering upon our decision to reveal ourselves or not" Zatan explained.
"And if we reveal ourselves?" he asked
"They are willing to help us in the Senate and with other Republic measures... along with us providing evidence to the Senate regarding the Chancellor" Zatan stated.
It was quiet for a few seconds after that, the Arbiter and Madam President both looking at one another.
"We are open to the possibility, but one-on-one talks with the Jedi are crucial to deciding upon the specifics," Hood said finally, the conversation on the topic ended.
"What about the Togruta, how does she fare regarding our plan?" the Arbiter asked.
"I haven't told her everything given that she won't be participating in repealing the CIS fleet. She's already on the edge due to what I've already told her," Zatan said with a sigh.
"How so?" Hood asked with intrigue.
"She shares the same view as some of the Jedi on Coruscant, shaken by our methods. But she is willing to play the part." Zatan stated confidently.
"Do you think she'll be ready it in time?" the Arbiter asked with concern as well
"Akio is training her, and the Jedi are also believed to be great peacekeepers. She'll be ready" Zatan stated confidently.
"Good. Proceed with the plan Zatan. Everyone in this room will be here for the next two weeks waiting for your results" the Arbiter said with a nod.
"Good luck," Lord Hood said with a smile.
"Yes Arbiter, Lord Hood," he said respectfully as he bowed his head and crossed his arm over his chest.
_Coruscant_
Master Yoda stood in front of the console holding the AI, his old eyes examining the chip as he has been for the past few days. The Jedi were awaiting their response, the UEG, as they call themselves. The mysterious group that destroyed their greatest enemy and saved the Republic and them from destruction.
So why did he feel so conflicted, so… untrusting.
Maybe it was because of order 66? Maybe because of how corrupt the Senate has become? Maybe it was because of how the Sith had taken control without them noticing. Or how the UEG destroyed the Sith and his horrifying plans for the Republic without them noticing as well.
How the Jedi failed
If a group like the UEG destroyed the sith and his vast network of corruption and power, then what good could they do for the Republic and its allies?
It's answers to those questions that he wishes he had.
"Master Yoda, the council has made their decision," said the deep voice of Mace Windu.
Yoda looked up as he heard Windu walk down the steps towards him, slowly turning around with his staff.
"In favor, they are" Yoda stated knowingly.
"Yes. But personally, I believe we're walking in blind" he said with worry.
Yoda looked up at him with understanding "Feel the same I do, Master Windu, but go forward we must." he stated.
"Then let's prepare our message Master Yoda, we have a lot of work to do," Windu said tiredly.
"That we do," Yoda said wisely with a nod.
Well, what do you think? Good? Bad? Unbearable? Well, whatever it is to you, leave a review for me so I can hopefully improve for you. Otherwise, there will be double the errors next time! HA HA HA!
Just to give you a heads up, be prepared for another long wait. I'm a terrible self-critic and I take it slow to think about my stories and build them up. So to all you hoping for another UNSC v. Star Wars space battle like all the other fics on this site, you'll have to wait. That doesn't mean I won't do it though.
So to all of you reading, I hope you have a wonderful day and a Happy New Year!
