Chapter 9

0230 hrs

UNSC Super Destroyer "Jacob Keyes"

Task Force Victor

Concord Dawn

Captain William Sherman sat lazily in the command chair. It had been several hours since the deployment of the SEAL teams, and besides the Naval soldiers' swift deaths, there had been no response.

"Status report," said the captain.

"No Mandalorian activity detected," replied the AI Ares.

"Confirmed," said the OPS officer. "Entire system's as quiet as the grave."

"Continue scans and report any disturbance." Sherman was worried, as was the man who stood next to him: Colonel James Hathaway.

"This doesn't feel right," muttered the Colonel. "Eyewitness accounts say that the Mandalorian people have a small but effective fleet. So far, there's nothing."

Sherman nodded in agreement. "I think it's best if we release some of our fighters to recon the system. Maybe they're cloaked somehow."

Hathaway nodded. "I agree. Signal the Thermopylae and tell them to release her fighters on a reconnaissance pattern."

A few minutes later, four squadrons of Lance fighters left the carrier Thermopylae. They dispersed like a shoal of disturbed fish.

Sherman knew the Mandalorians were probably trying to catch the Allied force by surprise. He wasn't that worried, however. Super Destroyers were unique ships in the UNSC Fleet. Like standard destroyers, they had no fighter launch bays. If destroyers were like heavily armored frigates, Super Destroyers were essentially cruisers with twice as much armor and heavy shielding. They could take quite a beating before being disabled. Then the enemy would have to deal with trying to penetrate six meters of honeycombed Titanium-A battle plating. Put short, Super Destroyers were the personification of the human race: extremely stubborn and unwilling to submit.

Suddenly, the COM officer said, "Receiving audio feed from Lance Squad Beta."

"Patch it through," said Hathaway.

The pilot's voice was urgent. "We've found eighty ships of varying configurations, sir. They're located behind the fifth planet of the system. Oh hell, I think they spotted us; enemy fighters incoming!"

"Get out of there!" yelled Sherman.

"Fall back! Fall back now!" shouted Hathaway.

The sound of blaster fire came over the COM. "There's dozens of the bastards. Their fighters are insanely overpowered. Trying to shake 'em. Lost Beta Six and Beta Three. Shit, I've lost five more. They've trapped us. Am taking heavy fire. One enemy casualty confirmed. I-"

The COM erupted into static. Another panicking voice came over the COM.

"Be advised, enemy fleet is approaching on your six. At least eighty or more ships." Then the pilot screamed, and there was only static.

"Energy surges detected," said the OPS officer. "They're consistent with ship-scale engine emissions."

Hathaway paused for a moment. "COM officer. Broadcast to all ships. Effective immediately: to all ships, all personnel; Tactical command of Task Force Victor has been handed over to Captain William Sherman of the UNSC Jacob Keyes. Hathaway out."

Sherman turned to the COM officer. "Lieutenant, alert Task Force Sierra and AlCom: we have engaged the enemy."

0356 hrs

UNSC "Mobile Bay"

Task Force Sierra

Mygeeto

The skies above Mygeeto were abuzz with activity. Covenant Engineers and workers in EVA suits were hard at work repairing the damaged vessels of the fleet. After receiving the message from Captain Sherman, it was clear to Captain Scott that he would have a better chance going in with a repaired and revitalized fleet rather than rush in with a damaged one.

Rather than go in with just UNSC ships as originally planned, Scott had decided to add all the Covenant ships as well. There was rumor that the Arbiter himself would lead another fleet, though it wasn't official yet.

Finally, the clouds of workers ceased their work and floated back to their ships, closely followed by squadrons of human and Covenant fighters. The task force was ready.

Captain Scott opened a channel to every ship. "To all craft and personnel: effective immediately; control of Mygeeto and the rest of this system has passed to the New Republic Captain Seto Kannaras. All other ships, prepare for the collective jump into Slipspace."

The fleet followed the Mobile Bay to the edge of the system, where the massive gravitational force caused by the collective jump would not effect the habitable planets.

Inside the Ticonderoga-class cruiser, there was one room set apart from the rest; a briefing room for the Spartans and the Sharquoi, the Covenant equivalent of the Spartans. This was where Master Chief Spartan John-117 and his team found themselves, seated with helmets off.

The Master Chief found himself in the second row with the rest of the surviving Spartan-IIs. Behind him were the Spartan-IVs and behind them were Elites in black armor that seemed to absorb the light. To John's surprise, a number of Marines walked in, including Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson.

Johnson saluted, then held out his hand to shake. "How're ya doin', Chief?"

The Master Chief shook the proffered hand. "If you don't mind my asking," began the Chief, "what are you doing here?"

The black man grinned, revealing a set of spotless white teeth. "Seems I'm the first in a line o' heroes, Chief."

Before John could ask what that meant, Captain William Scott and Lieutenant Robert Whitmore walked in, causing every man in the room to stand at attention. "Captain on deck!" he barked.

The two men returned the salutes. "At ease," said the Captain. He then nodded to Whitmore, who stepped forward.

"Hello to you all," he began. "My name is Lieutenant Robert Whitmore, and I am affiliated with Section Three of the Office of Naval Intelligence. Present here before me are all operational Spartans of every class we currently have; the One, Two and Four series."

Johnson was a Spartan-I? Having seen the way the man fought, and his unbelievable luck, John realized he should have known this. His thoughts were interrupted when the lieutenant resumed speaking.

"Also present here are members of the Sharquoi, the most elite of the Covenant warriors. We have gathered you all here, the best fighters in the UNSC and the Covenant, for the difficult mission ahead of you. You will be pitted against perhaps the best warriors in this side of the galaxy: the Mandalorian super-commandos. They are a warrior race who have defied almost every enemy that has fought them, never ever submitting to any force. They have even held their own against the Jedi, for a time.

"I am not telling you this to discourage you, but to let you know what you are up against. The Spartans have never failed and neither has the Sharquoi. Where other forces failed against the Mandalorians, you will succeed. Allied Command, the people of Earth and the subjects of the Covenant all have faith in you and the fact that you will get the job done.

"The enemy has the advantage of being on the home field. They know the terrain, they can choose the battlefield. But you have an advantage of your own: you've never lost.

"Your mission is to force the Mandalorian forces to defeat. You will be dropped via HEV pods onto the surface of Concord Dawn. Armor support will follow afterwards. Since there are only a hundred of you, you will be backed up by the 101st Drop Jet Platoon and the 105th Helljumpers. General Luke Skywalker will follow you with a team of thirty Jedi Knights and their apprentices. This will be a very important battle, so it is of extreme importance that you win."

John had no doubts about that. He always won.

"Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, you have been promoted to First Lieutenant. You will have tactical command of the ground operation."

"Yes sir," replied Lieutenant 117. "Thank you sir."

"Senior Chief Petty Officer Frederic-104, you have hereby been promoted to the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer. You will be the deputy chief of the ground operation."

"Yes sir," said Fred.

"You're dismissed. Good luck."

As soon as they left the room, John started planning.

Landing would be easy. When the HEVs landed, they would secure a landing area so that the Pelican dropships could land their heavy equipment. A team of his people would bring the air support.

He could use team tactics in open warfare. The twenty five Marines, the twenty five Sharquoi, the eight Spartan IIs and the forty two Spartan IVs would operate in mixed units. Fred and Kelly would be at his side, as well as Armand-90 and Tom-88, Senior Chief and Petty Officer of the S-IVs. Dividing into groups of five, there would be five Marines, five Sharquoi Elites, eight Spartan-IVs and one Spartan II. Each would have its own task. Blue Team would be lead by John himself. His makeshift command staff would be spread with the other groups.

Blue Team would be on foot, outfitted with normal combat weapons but with extra ammo. They would also have most of the explosives, and be on anti-vehicle duty.

Red Team would pilot the vehicles. A Marine would occupy the tank while the other Marines sat on the treads. Three of the Spartans would occupy a Gauss Hog and three of the Elites would occupy a Specter. The other two Elites and Spartans would pilot Ghosts. It would be led by Fred.

All of Green Team would be on sniper duty. They would be backed up by Black Team, who would protect the snipers. It would be led by Tom and Armand, respectively.

All of Gold Team would pilot some aerial vehicle. The Elites and Spartans would pilot Banshees and the Marines would pilot Falcon Attack Gunships provided by the Marine Air Wing. Kelly would lead the air attack.

Every team would be heavily armed with personal weapons. For this mission, they had ditched the M6C Magnum for the M6D variant. The BR55s would have a M45 grenade launcher attached, and the others would take MA5Cs. Both Jackhammer variants, the M41 SSR and the M19 SSM would be used. The former would be used against vehicles and the latter against clusters of troops and fixed positions. Shotguns would be part of the armament, too.

His force of special warriors, named "The Argonauts" would lead the effort, followed by the ODSTs.

He pulled maps of Concord Dawn from the ONI database. The main Mandalorian settlement was located on a hill. Judging by the photograph, one could see for miles from the hill top. However, John wasn't about to fall into the trap that Boba Fett had devised. He would try to trap the Argonauts by pinning them in between the hill and the main Mandalorian force. John would counter by having Gold Team assault the hill, taking out any snipers and any other element. Black Team would secure the hill for Green Team. Black Team would hold the hill while Green team sniped. Blue Team would lead the initial attack, taking out as many enemy vehicles as possible in the first two rocket volleys. Then Red Team would charge in, throwing the enemy into confusion. Black and Green Teams would proceed to their objectives while Blue Team pinned the rest of the Mandalorians inside the fort on the hill. Then the 105th ODST Division and the 205th Marine Division would engage. When the bulk of the Mandalorians had been dealt with, Blue and Black Teams would force their way inside the fort and try to capture Boba Fett or his officers. If they resisted, they were to be killed.

His plan ready, John issued his orders. There was work to be done, and he intended to use every minute to get it done.

0500 hrs

UNSC Super Destroyer "Jacob Keyes"

Task Force Victor

Engaging Mandalorian Fleet

Concord Dawn

The battle had raged for two hours and a half, and neither side had gained an advantage. Although the Mandalorians had numerical superiority-eighty ships against fifty-Task Force Victor's ship drivers had better experience and training. The UNSC had lost eight ships and the Mandalorians had lost ten. The enemy fighters were difficult to counter. All of them were custom made and, as the dead leader of Beta squadron had pointed out, they were insanely overpowered. Five Lance squadrons and two Longsword squadrons were wiped out, with only twenty confirmed enemy casualties. The 50 mm MLA cannons took over anti-fighter business, contributing another twenty five enemy deaths. The good news was that there was so few of them.

Right now, however, Captain William Sherman's mind was somewhere else. "Are the pulse lasers powered up?"

"Yes sir."

"Fire at contact Gamma."

"Yes sir. Firing pulse lasers."

Three scintillating beams impacted on the closest Mandalorian ship, which appeared to be a heavily modified prison ship. The shields rippled and faded.

"Fire MAC 1."

"Firing MAC One, aye."

A single Plasma-MAC round left the Jacob Keyes, traveling so fast the Mandalorians couldn't track it. It tore a burning hole through the enemy craft. Thanks to the plasma, the fires intensified. The enemy ship listed to starboard, and then exploded.

Eleven down, sixty-nine to go.

"Sir!" cried a crewman, "Incoming concussion missile volley! Impact in five seconds!"

"Fire portside pulse laser and bring those MLAs to bear as well."

AI Ares executed the orders. Concussion missiles were melted and torn to pieces, but the vast majority made it through.

"Shields failing," said Ares. "Brace for impact."

The Keyes' shields flickered and faded. Fifty missiles slammed into her hull, rocking the ship and nearly flipping her.

"Fire emergency thrusters," barked Sherman. He waited as the ship regained her position. "Status report."

"Minimal damage to outer hull. Shields regenerating at a rate of ten percent per second. We've stabilized. No casualties reported."

"Boost power to the shields and make it twenty percent per second. Wait, strike that order. Bring us to bear on that contact. Are the other two MACs ready to fire?"

"Yes sir."

"Fire when ready, Ares."

"Aye sir. Firing MAC Two and Three."

Two thunder bolts of smoldering metal and plasma streaked through space, impacting directly with a large freighter-type vessel. The rounds obliterated it completely.

Twelve Mandalorian ships destroyed. But the Keyes' success was drawing attention to it.

"Sir," said the OPS officer, "Seven enemy ships on approach."

"Ares," barked Sherman, "Are those plasma turrets recharged yet?"

"Aye sir."

"Fire everything you got."

Three hair thin lasers flashed away from the port side, then another three from the starboard side flashed as Keyes turned ninety degrees to port.

The pulse lasers punched through the enemy ships' shields, disabling four and destroying two. The remaining ship was rocked to the side as it was hit by multiple MAC rounds; other UNSC ships had come to the Keyes' aid. Just like that, the number of enemy ships destroyed rose to nineteen. But the Mandalorians had destroyed four ships of their own. That meant that the enemy still had sixty one ships, while Task Force Victor only had thirty-six left.

Eventually, the Mandalorians' superior numbers would whittle down the task force to nothing. Sherman hoped that the message to Mygeeto had gotten through; time was running out.

0501 hrs

Mandalorian Battleship (Modified cargo type) "Canderous Ordo"

Mandalorian Fleet

Engaging Task Force Victor

Concord Dawn

Boba Fett wished he could be out there, flying Slave-II, to feel the thrill of space combat. But he was Mandalore now, the leader of his people. He had a responsibility to remain alive.

So far, the Outsiders had put up a good fight. A very good fight indeed. Nineteen of his ships were destroyed or disabled, while he had only fourteen kills. He couldn't think of any way to counter their main weapon, a solid projectile that moved a hundred miles per second. The shear mass of the round was too large for shields to withstand. One particular ship, a large heavily armored type that appeared to be the flagship, had eight kills to its name.

However, his fleet was larger, and his fighters better. It wouldn't be long now, he thought, watching a UNSC frigate disintegrate from multiple hits. Soon, the enemy fleet would be destroyed, and their technology sold to the Empire. For a high price of course. Fett wanted to integrate the Spartans' shielding technology to his own armor. Afterwards, he'd continue raiding and conquering.

"Mandalore!" cried the helmsman. 'Mandalore' was a title of the leader of the Mandalorian people, and Fett had taken up the mantle.

"What is it?"

"Seventy-five enemy ships have just entered the system. Fifty are heading towards the planet. The others are heading right for us."

"Put the 'others' on screen."

Fifty UNSC ships sped on a direct course for Concord Dawn. However, twenty-five Covenant ships, cruisers and destroyers, were heading right for his fleet. Their turrets glowed as they prepared to fire.

"Divert all power to the shields. Now!"

Twenty five bright red plasma torpedoes burned across space, homing in on the nearest ship, the Pride of Mandalore. The ship's shields flared and burned out. Durasteel bent, melted and warped as the rest of the torpedoes burned and burrowed their way into the superstructure. Seconds later, the vessel exploded.

Five Plasma torpedoes had gone off course-intentionally, it seemed-and impacted directly on the Ordo's shields. Three burned away as the shields died out.

"Fire the emergency thrusters."

The two trailing plasma torpedoes should have gone past them. Instead, they arced sharply and impacted amidships.

Fett's soldiers acted fast, venting the atmosphere from the affected sections and jettisoning other sections were the plasma still burned. The ship regained its former position.

Fett got to his feet. He hadn't expected a plasma torpedo to do that much damage. He had assumed there would be an explosive force, like most torpedoes in the galaxy. He certainly hadn't expected it to burn its way into a ship and feed the fires with the ship's oxygen supply.

The closest Covenant ship opened fire. Blue beams of energy speared the blackness of space, impacting on ships' shields, punching through and puncturing their armor. Plumes of white frozen atmosphere jetted into space and fighters turned into balls of superheated gas. Then Task Force Victor opened fire, too. MAC rounds and pulse lasers made short work of five Mandalorian ships.

The tide of the battle had changed drastically within two minutes.

Fett realized he couldn't win with the odds present before him.

"Order the fleet to retreat, but tell the commander of the Death's Head to board the enemy flagship. Make sure they never forget us."

"Mandalore! A new group of signals! An Imperial fleet. They say they're here to help us."

Fett rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Maybe the situation could be salvaged after all.

0509 hrs

UNSC Super Destroyer "Jacob Keyes"

Task Force Victor

Concord Dawn

"We've got uninvited guests, sir," said AI Ares.

"Show me," said Captain Sherman, grabbing a bulkhead to keep from falling.

"A Mandalorian fighter has landed in Shuttle Bay Two. He's killed all the guards and he's making his way here."

"Activate the emergency bridge barriers." The sealed bulkhead doors slammed into place over the first set of pressure doors.

"Sir, I have more bad news."

Sherman stumbled again as a blast rocked the ship. "Spit it out."

"An Imperial fleet. Fifty Victory-II-Class, one hundred Imperial-Class, one hundred Acclamator-II-Class, and seventy Tector-Class Star Destroyers, three hundred Victory-Class Star Frigates, and several hundred boarding craft, plus innumerable fighter and bomber squadrons. Five hundred and twenty ships. They have us outnumbered now."

Sherman paled. "Contact the Preston Cole and tell them we need reinforcements now!!"

"No can do, sir. We're being jammed. Ship to ship communications only."

Sherman cursed loudly. "Alert the Hampton Roads. Tell them to release their stealth craft. I want AlCom to be alerted. No excuses!"

0516 hrs

ONI Raven-Class Stealth Ship "Perimeter"

Concord Dawn

Lieutenant Anthony Adams gritted his teeth as he sent the stealth craft/fighter into a spin. The two missiles trailing him detonated as they collided with each other. Adams triggered the ship's 80 mm cannons, riddling a TIE Interceptor and tearing the flimsy craft apart. He flew through the wreckage, intent on leaving the battle, jumping into Slipspace and alerting the main Covenant fleet. Hood would also be with them, as would the Arbiter.

Adams glanced to his right and saw a Mandalorian ship accelerate towards the Jacob Keyes. Archer missiles and pulse lasers made short work of the ship, but Adams noticed a small fighter leaving the doomed vessel. He realized they were going to board the Keyes. He couldn't alert the flagship and risk getting noticed, nor could he engage the fighter and run the risk of getting destroyed. So he did the only thing he could.

He fled.

The space around the stealth fighter seemed to ripple, boil and tear apart as the Perimeter entered Slipspace.

0520 hrs

UNSC Cruiser "Mobile Bay"

Task Force Sierra

Concord Dawn

"Sir," said the bridge officer, "the Argonauts are prepped for launch."

Captain William Scott said, "Initiate the landing sequence, crewman."

Several pods rocketed from the belly of the cruiser, each containing a member of the elite team chosen by AlCom to win Concord Dawn. Scott watched them until they hit the atmosphere, and then turned his attention to the massive Imperial fleet.

Truth be told, he was absolutely frightened. The enemy fleet was as large as the entire OPERATION: MARS fleet. The only ones who could save them now were the Covenant.

But, as everyone who had trained at OCS knew, numbers didn't always effect the outcome of battle.

"COM officer, patch me through to the General Lee."

"Aye. Channel open, sir."

"Commander, do you have a full load of nuclear mines?"

"Yes, Captain. Seven Ganesh-class mines hot and ready to go."

"Position them between our fleet and the Imperials."

"Yes, sir."

A mine-laying ship escorted by two frigates left to do its work.

Scott put every other ship in his task force on the COM. "Focus your attacks on the Mandalorian fleet. Force them to surrender before we engage the Empire. Flanking pattern Delta."

"Sir, incoming message from the Imperial fleet commander."

"On screen, Lieutenant."

The face that Scott was seeing didn't even remotely resemble that of a human. It was skull-like, with bright yellow eyes. Whatever it was, it seemed to wear a grey cloak. It began to speak in a raspy, artificial voice.

"Greetings, foreign scum! I, General Grievous, will receive your surrender!"

0600 hrs

UNSC Super Star Destroyer/Mobile Command Base "Preston Cole"

Outer Rim Territories

Kamino

Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood sat at the head of the briefing room table. Seated before him were members of AlCom. He checked the list to make sure all were present.

Allied Powers High Command

Ranking Staff Personnel

Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood, UNSC

Fleet Admiral Adam DeWitt, UNSC

Admiral Bernard Montgomery, UNSC, Office of Naval Intelligence

Admiral Stanley Whitcomb, UNSC

General Vladimir Zyteslav, UNSC

General Edward Kits, UNSC

General Frank Cutler, UNSC

Grand Admiral Ackbar, New Republic

General Han Solo, New Republic

General Lando Calrissian, New Republic

General Jan Dodonna, New Republic

Commander Luke Skywalker, New Republic

Arbiter Orna 'Fulsamee, New Covenant

Fleet Master Muki 'Satumee, New Covenant

Fleet Master Seda 'Ortolee, New Covenant

Fleet Master Hans 'Gerratee, New Covenant

Field Master Qera 'Putamee, New Covenant

Field Master Tern 'Fahalee, New Covenant

Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee, New Covenant

It seemed that everyone was here, except Skywalker and 'Satumee; they were partaking in the Concord Dawn Campaign.

"What are we here for, Admiral?" asked Han Solo.

Hood touched a button on the table near his seat, and a planetary system appeared. "We are here to attack and take the Imperial capital of Coruscant."

The room erupted into chaos as everyone asked questions at the same time. Hood sighed and raised his hands. They fell silent, except for Solo.

"You can't be serious," he said. "You're talking about an attack on Imperial Center! The most heavily defended planet in the galaxy! I'm all for a good fight, but this is suicide!"

"I agree," said Calrissian. "The Imperial Home Fleet is about five hundred ships. The entire planet is one big city, where hundreds of Imperial troops can hide."

"And that's not counting the two million stormtroopers on active duty all over the damn planet," added Solo.

The Arbiter clicked his mandibles. "Numbers do not mean anything, unless they are overwhelming. An attack by our fleet would decimate the enemy, as we are better trained than they are."

"Our losses would be heavy, too," said Admiral Whitcomb. "We wouldn't have enough strength to continue on to other Imperial strongholds, like Kuat."

General Cutler shook his head slowly. "There aren't enough troops to take the planet, in any case."

Field Master Qera 'Putamee growled. "If we cannot have the planet, no one can. I say we destroy the enemy fleet and bombard the planet with plasma."

"No," said Hood firmly. "Glassing Coruscant should be considered a last-ditch effort. I'm not willing to destroy the planet if there are innocent civilians that might be killed."

"Besides," said Admiral Montgomery, "we have to defeat the enemy fleet before we land our troops."

"No, really?" asked Solo in his best sarcastic voice.

Montgomery shot a glare at the former smuggler before continuing. "Section 3 has told me that work on the Indra super-nuclear missile is over, and the weapon is ready for use. The blast will wipe out at least half of the enemy fleet, damage another quarter, and possibly disable the planetary shields. The remaining ships can be dealt with easily, and we won't take heavy losses."

Hood sighed. "As much as I hate killing hundreds of people, whether soldier or civilian, this new missile presents the easiest option. And perhaps the destruction of their fleet might persuade their ground forces to surrender."

"Although I share the same sentiments," said Admiral Ackbar, "I agree that there is no other alternative which presents such little danger to our forces and guarantees victory at least in space."

Hood nodded. "Any objections?"

No one spoke.

"Then it's settled. We use the Indra."

Suddenly, an Ensign appeared in the doorway. He appeared nervous facing so many members of the brass. "Sir? We may have a big problem."

A/N: Please tell me you love it. I'm sorry I didn't add Spartans vs. Mandalorians. It'll appear in the next chapter, I promise.