Hallway
Coreillan Planetary Defense Headquarters
Coreilla
Donald, Brian, and Laura were running for their lives. They ducked around another corner and hosed the previous section of hallway with bullets, peppering droids and sending four tumbling to the ground. The three super soldiers then sprinted to the conference room where the ambassador was. Donald clicked on the squad's frequency. "Jack, Laura, get to the motorcade and hold them off. Brian, with me, we're getting the ambassador, there's no way in hell he's getting out of their on his own." Three green lights flashed in his HUD and Laura broke off from the group, heading towards the front door. Donald and Brian slid around a corner and were met with a hail of laser fire. Both men leapt back as Jack darted past them, the rolling destroyer droids folding into ball mode and rolling after him. Donald and Brian each grabbed one of the disk shaped bots, Donald prying his open with his enhanced strength. Metal shrieked and servos fried as he shoved his SMG into the gap he made and emptied his magazine into the now unprotected battery pack. The droid folded up on its self and clattered to the deck. Donald turned and saw Brian slamming his droid repeatedly into floor, denting the metal with resounding clangs. Donald grabbed the other side and the two physically wrenched the droid in half.
"Looks like he's not half the 'bot he used to be!" Brian quipped as the pair resumed their sprint.
"That was bad, even for you."
"Look, life or death situations don't give you the best material; I take what I can get."
"Mouth shut weapon up." Brian nodded and the pair stacked up on the door. Donald held up three fingers, counted down, pumped his arm up and down, and delivered a vicious kick. The door buckled and collapsed inward and the two Spartans charged through the door. Five Super Battle Droids greeted them, gun arms extended.
"Where the hell are they?!" Brian asked as he brought an armored fist
Command and Control Bunker
Coreillan Planetary Defense Headquarters
Nambur eased back in his chair, a Coreillan Ale in his hands. It was his third, and he brought the glass to his lips, he was aware that the lips were not his own.
"Excellent work Nambur, you shall be paid handsomely, your records are now cleaned." The cloaked man in front of him said as he dropped a sack of credits in Nambur's head. The figure of the UNSC Ambassador, Durgen was his name, grinned as he tossed the sack lightly in his hand.
"It was a pleasure, well, I'd best be on my way." The Clawdite stood and gave a mock salute.
"Yes, but there is a slight problem. You see, you are free to go Nambur, but the dear ambassador is not."
"What are you saying?" Nambur asked, an edge in his voice. The man merely shrugged.
"You see, for the illusion to be complete the ambassador has to be have been either rescued or killed. So…"
"You want me to go be saved by the UEG savages?" Nambur asked, frowning.
"We'll double your pay." The man said simply, leaning back in his chair.
"Done, I'll contact you when I'm clear."
"We'll be waiting." Nambur nodded, pocketed the sack, drained his ale, and headed for the door. The man looked behind him at a shadowed doorway. "You know what to do." Cad Bane nodded, tipped his hat, and went to his position.
Motorcade
Coreillan Planetary Defense Headquarters
"Get down!" a driver yelled and a flurry laser blasts impacted the side of the Warthog. Laura peeked around the burned bumper as the vehicle rocked on its shocks. Another fusillade of red streaks forced her back, her shields flaring. Two marines opened fire from behind the limousine, shell casing flying from their SAWs. Droids toppled and shattered as the bullets punched through their thin armor with ease.
"David, where the fuck are you, we're gonna be overrun!" Laura asked as she put a bullet through a Coreillan commander with the DMR she grabbed from the Warthog. Her M7 wasn't getting the job done.
"We found the Ambassador; we're coming out the back, cover us!"
"This Charlie-23, we're inbound, get set to pull out."
"Copy 23, better make it fast! Laura, Jack, hose them now!" Laura and Jack sprung out from behind the Warthog, peppering the droid's positions with bullets. The marines followed suit, droids fell left and right while their organic officers dove for cover. Brian and David sprinted to the limo, the Ambassador slung across Brian's shoulder. David and Brian leapt over the armored limo and propped the Ambassador against the armored door. "What's the situation?"
"We got multiple tangos attacking from the main entrance with additional units attacking from the sides!" Laura reported as she slammed a fresh magazine into her rifle and racked the bolt.
"Charlie-23 to Headhunter, we are detecting multiple AA emplacements around the base, we are unable to land there, get the Ambassador and your men out via ground transport, we will pick you up in a lot 10 blocks north of the main gate."
"Understood Charlie-23. Marines, get in the limo ready to roll, Spartans, get offensive, we gotta cover the exit." The marines nodded and slid through the passenger door, one sitting in the driver's seat. He thumbed the ignition and the armored vehicle roared to life. David flung open the rear door, shoved the Ambassador in, slammed the door, and thumped heavily on the trunk. "Move it!" The limo rocketed forward, charging towards the main gate. "Engage!" David and Brian charged forward, firing full automatic. Jack and Laura followed, vaulting the Warthog and charging up the stairs. Lasers pinged off her shields as she put her armored fist through the chest of one droid and flung it into a Coreillan officer. The sound of snapping bones sounded and the man flew back into a crumpled heap. Jack grabbed the arm of a Super Battle Droid and wrenched it to the left. The arm came free and Jack then pounded the stunned droid with its detached appendage. Its casing dented and the droid flailed its remaining arm until Laura put two rounds into it' small head. David yanked his combat knife from its sheath on his shoulder and rammed it through an organic officer's skull. His forehead caved in and grey matter seeped from the wound. The Spartans were now in the droid's midst and Jack grabbed one of the B1s by the neck and removed its head, using the headless body as a shield while he put four rounds into four more robotic skulls with his sidearm. Laura turned and saw the limo racing towards the gate. Suddenly, a rocket flew from a small shed and slammed into the vehicle. It tumbled onto its side and slid into the wall. A second rocket flew and the limousine disappeared in fireball, bits of flaming metal souring in all directions.
"FUCKING HELL!" Brian cursed as he ducked behind the armored front door of the headquarters to let his shields recharge, readying a rifle he had pried from a battle droid's metal fingers.
"Squad, fall back to the Warthog!" David ordered the stunned Spartans as he clicked on his radio. "Charlie-23, the Ambassador is down, a rocket destroyed the limo, stand by!"
"We copy Headhunter." David clicked off his mike and the Spartans raced to the burning limousine.
"Jack, Laura, take out the fucker in the shack!" Laura nodded and the two blinked their lights before charging through the doorway of the small structure. Their helmet lights found nothing.
"Empty sir." Jack reported, running to the flaming vehicle. The four stared as the flames and smoke reached skyward.
"No way could anyone have survived that." Laura analyzed, looking forlornly at the funeral pyre that was once a protective shell. A red laser bolt caught everyone's attention and they all dived to the ground. Laura raised her rifle and put a bullet through the bolt's originator's chest. The droid toppled to the ground but more were charging behind it, rifles blazing. Red bolts pinged off her shields and the armor's alarm sounded.
"Fall back through the gate, get to Charlie-23!" David ordered backpedaling and firing at the same time. The other three followed suit before turning and sprinting out the gate. "Charlie-23, the ambassador is KIA, we're coming to you, standby for rapid exfil!"
"Say again Headhunter?"
"The Ambassador is dead; we're coming to you with droids up our ass, get set to bug out!"
"Understood Headhunter, shit!"
"Not your fault 23, we're halfway there."
"Copy that, fucking Seps."
UNSC High Command
Reach
Milky Way Galaxy
Four Days Later
"I repeat, they have laid siege to the embassy, we need re-enforcements immediately. We're running low on food and ammunition and have multiple civilian personnel that need extraction!" High Admiral Schreiberg flicked a switch and the message stopped. He turned to the assembled admirals and clasped his hands behind his back.
"That was the last message out of our Coreillan Embassy before the Confederacy jammed all our communications. Word has just come down from Switzerland; the Confederacy has declared war on us due to the failure of Operation Virus. They have begun to lay siege to our embassies but we were able to remove all staff before they were completely encircled with what little ships we have in the Andromeda Galaxy. All except for Coreilla. Our first military operation against the Confederacy is to punch a hole through the Confederate blockade, rescue all embassy personnel, and bring them back to UEG space. I assembled you all here because I want all of your fleets ready to mobilize. Fifth Fleet will be relieved of its home guard duties and will join the Seventh, First, and Third Fleets in the establishment of a Forward Operating Base on Courscant. Admiral Fernson, I want you form a taskforce to punch through that blockade. Use whatever forces you see fit and send the rest to Naboo. The Queen has most graciously offered her orbit as a staging area for any assaults in the region. We are getting in contact with the Grand Army of the Republic to see where we best fit in their conflict and where we will be establishing bases. The Twelfth Fleet, which is being pulled out of mothball, will join the Second in the defense of the UEG border. Files have been sent to you with all the information we have on CIS naval strengths and last known fleet positions, as well as a glossary of all known naval vessels and their specifications. Give these out to your captains for reference. Finally, as of now the Cole Protocol has been reinstated, you all know what to do. Questions?" Fernson raised a hand.
"What resources do I have?"
"Fifth Fleet, whatever you need, like I said. This first fight has GOT to be a win or else the mood back home will turn sour really fast. ONI has a Prowler in orbit and will keep you updated.
"Understood sir. Consider it done." He saluted and his hologram flashed off.
"The rest of you, as of now we have very little for you to do. Just focus on readying your fleets for action, as soon as we have a response from the Republic we will tell you where to go. Dismissed gentlemen."