Vanguard

Chapter 11

"Launch"

[Open fields of Saleucami]

Longarm and Ahsoka were traveling under the shroud of darkness as they drew near to the landed Consular-class cruiser to investigate its crew and purpose, the SPARTAN himself was perched up on top of a large boulder sticking out of the ground about seven hundred meters away from the ship with Ahsoka staying on the ground.

She asks "You see anything?"

Longarm was scanning the area through the scope of his rifle when he reports "Eh I don't see much, they've got a small camp set up with crates, couple of speeder bikes, and even a scout walker. I'm betting fifty credits on smugglers or pirates."

Suddenly he spots several figures coming out of the ship's main off ramp prompting him to states "Oh hey wait a second . . ." he adjusts his scope to zoom in further and reports "Alright I see a couple of B1 battle droids with blue markings, and a . . . short blue person with black hair, judging from this angle its gotta be female."

Ahsoka rolls her eyes muttering "No matter what galaxy they're from men always the same."

Longarm asks "My helmet's audio receptors picked up something, what was that about men being the same?"

"Nothing . . ."

The SPARTAN stood up from his crouched position and jumped down where he lands next to Ahsoka and said "I only saw four so far, let's get a closer look."

The two traveled further ahead until they reached a small hillside not too far from the ship itself now, by this point Longarm's motion tracker was picking up several signatures as he and Ahsoka got down onto the ground and crawled up the hill until they reached the top to see the activity happening down below in front of them.

The two brought their rifles up and looked into their scopes, Ahsoka was quick to identify one of the droids "Magna guards . . . what're they doing here?"

"Those things that were with Grievous? Well things just got more interesting."

She looked further through the scope and quickly found the blue skinned female Longarm noticed before and said "Found that girl you mentioned, that's a chiss and from the looks of it she's running the show. But . . ."

The SPARTAN turns his head to her asking "But?"

"There's something else here, I felt it before . . ."

"Where? Back on Dantooine?"

"Yeah . . . it's not Ventress but . . ."

Longarm looks back through his scope and quickly found the chiss woman to also realize that she was looking straight back at him with her dark piercing red eyes that were fixed on him and him alone, "I think we just got spotted . . ."

A male voice then spoke from behind them "Oh you have no idea . . ."

The SPARTAN and togruta quickly turned around to see a Muun, a species recognized by their near featureless faces and tall skinny body frame, and two magna guard droids armed with heavy blaster rifles, the only one to make a comment after that was Longarm saying ". . . fuck."

The Muun ordered "Set down your rifles and stand up, do it slowly and we won't have problems."

Longarm replies "Alright . . ." and starts to slowly stand up along with Ahsoka until he was towering over the six foot Muun who seemed to have taken a step back after seeing the SPARTAN's dominating height where he then said "But I'm afraid we already have a problem."

He suddenly lunges at the closest droid quickly disarming it following up with a quick punch that smashed into the droid's central red glowing circle in the chest and violently ripped out the internal components resulting in the droid's deactivation. Meanwhile Ahsoka drew her dual green lightsabers and effortlessly cuts the second droid down to size when it attempted to get a clear shot on Longarm.

The Muun quickly makes a move for his curved lightsaber hilt but soon finds himself at the receiving end of a blaster rifle being held by the SPARTAN who said with a grin "Pleasure to meet ya' . . ."

Suddenly out of nowhere a purple blade swung down and cuts Longarm's weapon in half and when he turned to face the new threat he sees the Chiss woman holster her dual edged lightsaber in exchange for an electro-staff much like his own even though he had left it aboard Ahsoka's ship, the Chiss spoke with a smooth and calm but somewhat threatening tone "Pleasure's all mine . . ."

The Muun proceeds to take his lightsaber erecting a yellow blade facing Ahsoka and her two sabers while Longarm drew his combat knife in a reverse grip ready to face the Chiss that was now twirling the staff through her fingers giving it a loud hum as the tips swung through the air.

At any moment these four were about to gut each other until a new voice roared out "ENOUGH!"

The four took the brief moment to look over by the ship to find the same Cerean from Dantooine, Cain, who then ordered "Padawans stow your weapons at once! This is not how we treat our guests!"

The Muun argued "But Master! They were going to—"

But Cain interrupts him "Agos, they were merely observing us. Surely if they wanted us dead then our dear friend Longarm would've done it from afar long ago."

The Chiss followed her orders as requested and holstered her electro-staff prompting the SPARTAN to lower his blade, the Muun however was reluctant to stand down but does so anyways putting away his lightsaber as well as Ahsoka. The two apprentices then walked over and stood before their master with bowed heads, Cain in turn places his hands on their shoulders and whispered in their ears. To Longarm and Ahsoka, the apprentices then left making their way back into the ship before Cain starts calmly walking over to the two guests.

Cain looks down at Ahsoka and states "Young Ahsoka Tano my it has been a while. The last time I saw you, you were a young child under the watchful eye of Master Yoda."

The two shook hands before Cain looks over to Longarm and said "I had hoped our encounter on Dantooine could've gone more peacefully, but I suppose I learned my lesson for taking you head on."

The SPARTAN-ll was hesitant to say anything but realizing that Cain was actually trying to be calm he replied "You're quick on your feet I'll give you that. But might I ask what you were doing with Ventress when we arrived?"

"I was going to capture her and bring her standing before a proper trial and punish her for her actions."

"You know you could've just killed her right? Save us both the trouble."

"Unlike you I'm not a murderer, if I allowed such savagery then I would not have intervened to stop my padawans from fighting you."

"Well if it helps any, I wiped out most of her droid army inside the facility."

Cain dismisses that comment as Ahsoka asks "What're you doing here on Saleucami?"

Cain answered "I came here after following him hoping to find some questions behind his . . . 'unique nature'."

The SPARTAN soon became uneasy when he asks in a more serious tone "What do you mean?"

"I can sense the absence of the force inside you and yet I can feel your anger and frustration, less powerful than before, but nonetheless I'm intrigued. My only theory to this is that you're not from around here so to speak."

Longarm and Ahsoka glanced at one another wondering if they should tell a man they just met or not, eventually it was Tano who stepped up and said "You're right Cain . . . he's not from this galaxy . . ."

Cain didn't seem surprised by this at all but instead seemed to be at ease stating "Well I cannot say I knew but I certainly had my thoughts. How long have you been here Longarm?"

"Couple of years before the Clone Wars . . ."

"I see. And have you tried to return to your own home?"

"We have a friend on the ship currently working on that. We should be able to launch by tomorrow."

"Ah yes that vessel of yours, it is a warship yes?"

"Halberd-class Destroyer, one of the toughest ships within the UNSC."

"The UNSC? Well if returning home is your overall goal then I wish you the best of luck. But if you have other plans here then I suggest you tread lightly."

Longarm takes a step towards the Cerean and looks down at him asking with an imposing tone "Is that a threat?"

Cain remains calm "No, only a warning. I'm sure you are aware of the two warring factions and the might they possess, but the darkness grows stronger day by day and we all must ready ourselves for the coming storm."

"What're you saying?" Tano asks with concern.

"I don't know young one but something is coming and I fear for the worst of it. But now I have a question to ask of you, what are you doing with this, outsider?"

She hesitated "I . . . honestly I don't know. There's something about him I must know . . ."

"Like what?" Longarm asks.

"I don't know . . . maybe when the time comes I'll know."

Cain comments "I see . . . well I suppose I wish you luck to that as well. But I will be sure to inform Skywalker of this, so that he'll know that you are safe."

"Thank you . . ."

The SPARTAN placed his right hand on Cain's shoulder saying "You know what, I'm starting to like you. You're the kind of person a lot of people would want to be, one not willing to resort to violence but will do so if necessary."

"Well I have my reasons, and I admire your respect. Unfortunately based on my personal beliefs I cannot say the same for you and your kind, but I can only hope you are fighting for a right purpose."

Longarm took his arm off of the Cerean replying "We are, don't worry."

Ahsoka then notices the two apprentices were coming back out, they stopped two meters behind Cain with the Chiss female calmly stating "Master."

Cain didn't take his eyes off of the SPARTAN in front of him when he asks "Yes Eva?"

"Preparations have been made for our departure . . . Agos will have the droids dismantle the camp and return to the ship."

"Thank you Eva . . . please, come meet our guests."

The two stepped forth and took their places by their master's side where they calmly introduced themselves starting with the Muun "I am Agos Pathisk, I take charge of all ground assets as well as financial.

Then the Chiss "And I am Eva Rha, I'm in charge of this beautiful vessel you see before you, the Viper Infinite. And might I say I'm quite impressed by the architecture of your ship, I assume it is heavily armored?"

Longarm answered "Titanium-A battle plating, two meters thick."

"Shielding?"

"None"

Ahsoka asks in surprise "None?"

Eva was surprised as well "Really? That is certainly unusual but I suppose you have your reasons."

Longarm nods before asking "And your ship looks as if it can hold its own as well."

Eva grinned "Glad you think so, this is a Consular-class cruiser with a Charger c70 retrofit, this ship is armed with five twin laser turrets capable of fending off fighters and small attack vessels and has a large engine output making it able to escape from larger warships."

"Nice . . ." the SPARTAN comments as he looks at the hundred and thirty eight meter long vessel.

Ahsoka asked with a scowl "That's Republic standard issue, how did you get that?"

Eva answered "Truth be told I rather not talk about it, let's just leave it at it was a gift."

"Somehow I don't see it that way" Tano said now distrusting the Chiss.

Longarm steps in "Hey it's been seventeen years since I saw my last cat fight and somebody died with a tomahawk to their forehead and I prefer not to see another one anytime soon, especially with lightsabers."

Cain adds "I agree, now is not the time to bicker. Eva please return to the ship and prepare for departure."

"Yes Master" Eva says before walking away without another word.

He then turns to the Muun "Agos make sure our assets are secured."

"Yes Master" Agos replied giving a bow and started walking away.

With the two apprentices leaving to tend to their duties, Cain turns his attention back to Ahsoka and Longarm stating "We will be returning to Coruscant soon and say hello to a few old friends, I understand if you don't wish to accompany us on the trip."

The SPARTAN shook his head lightly "Maybe another time, right now we got our own business to tend to."

"I see, well in that case this is farewell for now. Here take this, in case you wish to speak to me in the future" he hands Ahsoka a small data packet containing the channel codes for his personal comlink.

"Thank you. We should be going as well, Percy will start to worry and I don't want to know what'll happen if he gets worried" Ahsoka said as Longarm turns around making his way back up the hill where their two rifles still laid on the ground next to the two destroyed magna guards.

"I wish you the best of luck Ahsoka Tano, but be weary of those you come to trust."

"I understand Komari . . ."

Cain stopped for a second before giving a caring grin and walk away back to the ship, Ahsoka looked down at the packet in her hand before carefully storing it for later use and make her way back up to the SPARTAN who waited for her on the hill with both rifles slung around his shoulders. When she caught up to him the two started making their way back to the Vanguard which sat nearly four kilometers away and the walk would take nearly an hour to make.

A little over an hour passed before the two made their way back to the Vanguard where Percival welcomed them back by opening the air lock allowing them in, the AI reports "Good news SPARTAN, all systems are green across the board, we're ready for launch on your word."

Longarm asked "Really? That's good to hear Percival. Prep for final launch sequence, I'll head up to the bridge."

But Ahsoka stops them "Wait what about the other ships outside?"

Percival adds "Oh yes, they could in handy later on. We still do have the ventral hangar bay large enough to store the fighter and we can use the docking tubes to attach the larger ship."

The SPARTAN then states "Alright Ahsoka will take the Gozanti and I'll take the fighter, once the Vanguard reaches orbit we'll both dock and we'll go from there."

Tano replies "Sounds good" and walked back out through the air lock making her way back to the small cruiser.

Longarm sets the two rifles down on the floor against the wall and follows the young togruta out the airlock and starts making his way to the Porax-38 Starfighter. Once inside he seals the cockpit and brought the fighter's systems online before slowly taking control and lifting up off the ground in sync with Ahsoka's Gozanti-class cruiser.

The SPARTAN's helmet soon received brief static before Percival states on an open channel "All nearby craft be advised, recommend putting distance from the Vanguard during launch phase."

He replies "Acknowledged" but Ahsoka's voice came through garbled "Wh- -as th-t?"

He had forgotten about the communication channels being set on a whole new set of coordinates, he quickly contacts Tano through the fighter's comms and says "Keep your distance from the Vanguard."

"Alright" she replies clearly through the comms.

Percival states "I'll do what I can about that communication problem, standby engaging ventral and auxiliary thruster engines on my mark."

The two smaller craft immediately began putting distance between themselves and the destroyer as the ship's fusion drives powered by the main deuterium fusion reactor begin to spool up, it was only seconds later did the AI say "Mark!"

The six ventral thruster engines roared to life and begin putting power out throwing dirt in every direction as the seven thousand and nine hundred metric ton vessel slowly began lifting itself up off the ground. Longarm was maintaining close proximity flying in circles around the destroyer making sure everything was going smoothly as it slowly rose into the air with its engines putting out as much thrust as possible.

He then heard Ahsoka report "Guys, three contacts just came out of hyperspace all at once."

Percival adds "I confirm those contacts, one larger than the Vanguard."

Longarm asks Tano "What do you have Ahsoka?"

"Judging from the signatures I take it there's two corvettes accompanying a separatist frigate."

"Separatist? You sure?"

"I'm sure . . ."

"Percival, are the Vanguard's weapon systems and countermeasures operational?"

"Yes but I need the power to get the ship into orbit, I can spare some minimum power and get two Archer pods primed."

"Alright do it, Ahsoka and I will provide cover support."

"Acknowledged, engaging primary engines now."

The Vanguard's four primary engines ignited and created enough thrust to start pushing the destroyer forward as Percival gently tilted the bow upwards and guide the ship towards orbit, the Vanguard eventually placed enough power behind her to start gaining speed while Longarm and Ahsoka assumed close formation and flew side by side with the destroyer as they make their way to orbit.

Ahsoka reports "The fleet is holding position and deploying fighters, we're going to have to face the music now."

A familiar voice spoke to all three vessels "It's Ventress . . . she has come for all of you."

Longarm checks the channel and asks "Cain Komari?"

"Indeed, we will provide support on one condition."

Ahsoka replies "Name it."

"I want her alive."

The SPARTAN complied "Done, we need you to provide cover support to the Vanguard until Percival can engage the ship-to-ship weapons. Percival, go easy on that frigate you hear me?"

"A solid MAC round should cripple that vessel, I'm leaving those corvettes and fighters to you all."

Longarm looked behind him through the glass dome of his ship and saw the Consular-class cruiser, Viper Infinite, coming in on approach flying through clouds until it came up assuming position alongside the destroyer with Eva reporting "Weapons are primed and shields are active, ready to assist."

"Acknowledged Viper, we're entering the upper atmosphere. Diverting power from ventral thrusters to the main engines and priming Archer Missile pods and defense turrets" Percival states as he prepares the Vanguard for its first battle in several years.

Ahsoka reports "The fleet is arming weapons, this could get ugly."

Longarm finally states "Alright everyone here we go."

I would like to thank Laurent Chartier for developing the characters, Eva Rha and Agos Pathisk, and the ship Viper Infinite. As of now he has created a Skyrim-Fallout crossover story that could use the helpful constructive criticism to help aid him in creating a great story, the story is called "The Elder Scrolls: Capital Wasteland" if you're interested. As always leave your comments and thoughts. Thank you.