Chapter 11: The Bombing of Telos
November 1st, 3235, 1111 hours
UNSC Phoenix (DDG-626)
Tatoo System
Space was especially calm these last few days. Tatooine continued its miserable circling of its stars with its three moons in tow. The UNSC Phoenix was still the unwelcome guest in this system. Czerka Corporation gave up the hunt for them yesterday believing that that they had jumped out of system but in fact they had remained in this backwater end of the Outer Rim to formulate their next move to find the remaining computer interfaces which held the map pieces they needed. Right now the crew was running through the daily flight checks.
Lieutenant Gerard Briggs ran through the checklist. "Sir, Fusion reactors are reporting all green. Core temperature stabilizing at 5000 Kelvins. There is a slight .0521K deviation but it should be corrected by Engineering soon." Perry nodded leaning back in his command chair. "Understood Lieutenant Briggs. Lieutenant Hayes, how are the MAC guns?" The Mobian officer. Lieutenant Emily Hayes' ears twitched as she heard her name called. "MAC gun capacitors running green sir. We can run them to 95 percent in case of a combat emergency." "Why the 5 percent difference, Lieutenant?" The Captain asked. "I think the battle of Dxun shorted some of them out. I didn't track the capacitors since then. Forgive me, sir." "Don't worry about it Hayes. Good work." Emily purred in gratitude and continued with her work straight-faced. "Kevin, what have you got for me today, son?" Callows smiled and delivered his report. "Radar radius is monitoring the surrounding region for 600,000 kilometers. The only things I've detected were freighters and none of them were heading towards the moon. I think we're still safe from Czerka. I have a manifest of those ships if you'd like, sir." Perry waved his hand dismissively. Callows was trying to impress him. For what? Ensign Callows was always ambitious in the Academy and was overshadowed by the amount of silver bars and brass oak leaves on the bridge. Was he looking for a promotion or was it just pure cockiness? Alan Perry didn't like either of those things.
Suddenly, a flashing light appeared on the NAV panel. Calvin Briggs snapped at attention and slammed the button before Gerard could. "Maybe next time, bro." Calvin smirked. A readout flashed on the display in front of the Briggs twins including an urgent report from Engineering. "Uh sir, you may want to contact Major Faustus immediately. There's been a bit of trouble in the Engine room." Perry sighed. More good news. He tapped in the code to initiate a face-to-face with Tech Major Eli Faustus, the man in charge of Engineering.
Faustus was staring off screen cursing at someone. "I don't care what the fuck Kowalski said! I want you to seal those goddamned pipes!" the man sighed and looked at the camera. "Captain Perry sir." He said saluting. Perry returned the salute. "At ease, Major. What seems to be the trouble?" "Everything's the trouble sir. You aren't gonna believe this. Look at my beautiful ship!" The camera snapped to another view of the Phoenix's Engine Room. Small fires had started all around the area. Men and women, Human and Mobian were running in charred coveralls with fire extinguishers. Sprays of Carbon dioxide streaked from the extinguishers to smother the flames to little effect. The camera changed again and showed a panel that burst throwing wires and pipes out. Combinations of coolant, hot gas and live wires filled the immediate area threatening to deliver a triple threat strike to anyone who dared get close.
The camera snapped back to Faustus who took his hat off and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Yeah, we're going to hell here." "How did this happen, Major?" Faustus started to flare up. Evidently the Human had not gotten a lot of sleep. "Hell if I know Captain. All I do know is that we heard a big boom and fires started to break out. I have two men and three Mobians in medlab right now getting burn treatment!" Bianca snapped up on the holotank. "Captain perhaps the damage to the drive systems may have been caused by the battle above Dxun. A Phoenix-Class destroyer wasn't designed to take on a small battle fleet." Perry turned to the AI. "If that's true, Bianca, why didn't it give until now?" "I am not sure, Captain but the damage has been done and we need repairs."
The Navy Captain turned back to the Tech Major. "Damage report, Major Faustus." Eli checked his personal datapad that was linked to the ship's computers. "We have two fusion pylons damages, one of them severely done so, we have numerous panels and pipes that need to be replaced, an entire section of bulkhead is buckling from pressure loss, and the temperature control unit has been fluctuating. And to add to that, the shield system has currently shorted out and we need reloads on our three remaining autocannon turrets."
Perry rubbed his eyes. The list was long. Without those fusion pylons now, they wouldn't be able to push the engines past 50 percent. It was a staggering blow to the proud Phoenix. "Bianca, can you find us a good place for repairs? I think Tatooine and Onderon are out of the picture. Bianca placed her hand to her forehead and thought about it for a second. "There are multiple places where we can repair our ship but I've located a substantially large Republic fleet located above the planet Telos. Located in the Tingel arm of the galaxy. We can still utilize our jump engines but we'll still be reduced to half-speed." She calculated for a second. "Estimated Time to arrival is 48 hours. We are in a good position to make the jump." "Engage, Bianca." "Aye Captain, engaging jump drive."
The Phoenix blasted away from the trio of moons so that the gravitational forces wouldn't present a problem to the UNSC destroyer. Once in the safe zone of the Lagrange point, the Human vessel activated her hyperdrive. The Phoenix sped forwards at incredible speeds, vanishing in the distance as a small white star, identical to all the others.
Once safe in Hyperspace, Captain Perry took a moment to take a look over the ship. It seemed that his bird was holding well against the strain of Hyperspace, despite the damage to the aft section of the ship. He promised a protesting Major Faustus that there would be no danger in making one more jump like this. He shut off the channel rubbing his temple. "I swear that man drives me crazy." Ensign Callows also sympathized for his Commanding Officer. "Yeah, I know sir. People tend to get on your nerves after being away from Earth like this." Perry thought of his wife, the one he left behind.
Sally Acorn cracked her eyes open. She felt liquid, so she was still probably in the kolto tank. Yes, a quick check on her nose yielded the result that the breath mask was still connected. She breathed in deep taking in the pure oxygen and ran her hands through her hair as it flowed in the fluid. She looked at the clock on the wall and squinted slightly through the fluid. It read 1130. Nice little nap. She looked around the room trying to see Chris who had promised to see her here. At last she spotted him hunched in a chair with his face not visible to her. The Princess tapped on the glass and the Captain was instantly alert. Apparently he was close to sleeping as well. Regardless, he blinked the drowsiness out of his eyes. He smiled widely.
"Hey Sleeping Beauty! Good morning!" he said with a slight drawl in his voice. Sally knew what that was; the drawl was the result of a nice long alcohol consumption period. Had Chris been drinking over her safe recovery? Wow, this guy was a bigger deal than she though. "Hey, Captain! How long have you been there?" Chris looked at the clock. "Oh, ever since ah, 9-ish?" Sally placed both hands on the tank wall. "Where are we?" "We are in Hyperspace right now. According to the little pan-pan notice, we need some repairs badly. We're heading to a planet called Telos. According to Bianca's analysis, this place is a nice little slice of the galaxy: perfectly balanced urban and rural areas, decent population…all in all, nice place to raise a family." "I see. What was the pan-pan about?"
Pan-pan meant an issue that wasn't immediately dangerous to the rest of the crew, such as when there was engine failure or a man went adrift. "There were a few fires in Engineering. We lost half of our engine capability and a few systems are out of whack all over the ship, including climate control. It's burning out here." Sally was suddenly glad that she was in the kolto tank and not out in the hot room. "Well, I hope that they can fix that over at Telos." "You and me both, Princess." The Captain changed the subject. "How are your ribs? The Lieutenant Commander said you've been coming along well." The Human could tell that she was smiling because her cheeks rose. "Awesome. You couldn't even tell I was thrown into a wall by a Krayt Dragon." Chris laughed.
The orderly came back into the room. She had also taken the hint about the heat and wore white tank-top and grey Medical pants standard issue for medics. Chris immediately noticed that the A-shirt was a bit too small for her but he didn't say anything. She was panting and was using her tail as a fan. She was suddenly professional when she walked up to Chris. "Captain, Sergeant Acorn is ready to come out of the tube. You can stay; it'll only take a second." Chris nodded and leaned up against the wall twirling his dog tags around. The seemingly small oval shaped pieces of metal were actually infused with data crystal, so when one scanned the tags, the wearer's entire dossier was available to read. He stared at the tags and read them as he had many times before
VENNETTILLI
C.J., O+
A1B1JCZA1Y61
UNSC
NO PREFERENCE
The kolto began to drain from the tank. Sally's bare feet touched the ground and she sunk to her knees while the liquid went down the circular drain. The orderly said, "OK, Sally, you can take the mask off now." The princess fumbled with the buckle but she removed the mask. Sally inhaled the air deeply. She sighed in satisfaction allowing the cocktail of air, recycled and non, mixed in with the odor of kolto and the sterility of a medical facility to enter her lungs. She got to her feet shakily and watched as the tank slid upwards. "How are you feeling, Your Highness?" The orderly asked with a smile. "Better." Sally said flexing her arms, legs and taking deep breaths. "I feel like I can bench-press 300 pounds!" She turned to Chris. "Thanks for bringing me in, Captain. I think I'd be in a little more trouble if you hadn't rushed me getting here." "Uh Sally, can we put the hug on hold?" Sally was actually taken aback. "Why?" "Well, you're all wet." Sally scoffed. "Be a man, Chris. Clothes dry." She wrapped her arms around him and pulled his body close to hers, relishing his discomfort in getting him all wet. The groan was audible but soon he was hugging her back. Sally felt the human's tenderness even though he had killed numerous organics and robots with his bare hands.
They released each other after a minute or so and stepped back. Sally giggled slightly as she saw that she had wet Chris' entire front. The Captain stared at his wet clothes. "Oh great." He said seriously. "Now the guys are gonna think I had a major accident." Both the orderly and Sally laughed. The medical officer tossed them both towels. Sally began rubbing her fur dry.
"We're in Hyperspace, Chris." She said hooking her thumb out the window. "Bring me up to speed. I was playing a pickle in a jar for the past 48 hours." Chris laughed at her joke. "We've jumped away from Tatooine. We're heading to a planet called Telos. The Phoenix has taken a bit of a beating over the battle of Dxun and we need a bit of repair." Sally cocked an eyebrow and one ear twitched. "It's been ten days since that little 'event'. Why did the ship decide it wanted to break down now?" Chris shrugged. "Hey, what do I know? I'm just a Marine. All I can say is that our engines are down to half power and we have no more shields to speak of." Sally cursed and wiped her thighs and rear down.
"We have a bit of good news though; Perry and Bianca have confirmed that a Republic fleet is stationed there. Whoever was after us won't dare to attack this planet." The princess stared at him for a second while toweling her legs. "What about Admiral Karath? Is he there too?" Chris shrugged. "Inasmuch as I can tell, there was no mention of him." Sally chuckled. "Great, that means his little pervert friend Carth isn't with him." Chris cracked a smile. "Can you hurry it up a little?" Sally once again looked at him but with a chiding glare. "Chris, Mobians have fur. It takes much longer to towel ourselves down than you humans do. So respectively, sir, sit down, shut up, wait, and enjoy the show."
It took the Mobian five extra minutes to dry herself down to a point where she was comfortable and another two to get full dressed. Sally clicked her belt buckle shut and slipped a T-shirt over her head. "OK, lets go." She said smoothing her hair as best she could. She was released from the medlab by the Lieutenant Commander who wished them a good day and they were in the mess hall for a bit of lunch.
Miles showed up during their meal and greeted Sally with a hug. The princess shoveled down her food at lightning speed only pausing to take a drink of a can of lemon/lime soda. "Captain, I was wondering about this Emerald of ours." Tails said leaning forward. "What if it doesn't take us back to Earth? What if it just takes us back even further into existence? We could go back as far as the Big Bang! It sounds pretty but I don't really want to experience it first-hand."
Chris said, "Relax, Tails. Listen, you have the jump coordinates for October 16th correct?" The fox nodded. "Yeah, we always date and log our jumps. Why?" "Jesus, I thought you were a genius. When we find this Blood Emerald, we simply find the planet we jumped to, search for any Chaos Emerald handshakes, and then we jump back!" Sally froze. "Whoa. How did you know that?" Chris winked. "It pays to stay awake at the seminars, toots." He raised his drink in toast. "Thank you, 5-Hour Energy Shot."
All the way across the galaxy, an approaching Republic fleet was heading to Telos. The war was over. The Republic had been victorious at Malachor V with a tremendous victory, but at a tremendous cost. Malachor V was swarming with Mandalorian Soldiers and even Mandalore himself. The Republic fought long and hard on her surface and in the skies above the planet. For a long time fighters zipped across space setting the very sky on fire, basilisk war droids and their riders ripped durasteel plating apart and pounced on unwary Republic soldiers. When all seemed to be lost, when the Republic seemed to be doomed, the Jedi General, Revan travelled aboard Mandalore's flagship, and in a one-on-one fight, Mandalore was slain at the hands of the Jedi.
But victory turned sour as the final death blow was dealt. Mere minutes after Mandalore was defeated, a device known as the Mass Shadow Generator was activated. Using intricate computations, the illusion of gravitational mass was made and physically ripped the planet apart. Thousands of Mandalorians and Republic soldiers died that day and according to the Jedi who were present for the battle described the feeling as physically crippling, a wound in the Force or something like that.
Carth Onasi was aboard one of the Republic ships bound for him home planet, Telos. Carth was present at the Battle of Malachor V as helmsman for the Courageous. He felt proud of himself after helping bring the Mandalorian threat to an end and save the Republic. He was only anxious to see his wife, Morgana, again and his son, Dustil. Carth did wear an expression of anger after what happened with Admiral Karath shortly after the Battle. The Republic soldier could hear it plainly in his head.
He was aboard the ship, there was much celebration following the victory, even through the activation of the Mass Shadow Generator. Admiral Karath walked up to Karth unexpectedly. "Carth, I'm glad to see you." Lieutenant Onasi smiled. "Thank you, sir. What can I do for you, Admiral?" Karath had a smile on. "Carth, would you come with me for a moment?" Onasi shrugged. "OK, sure. Whatever you say, sir."
They walked for a little while and once they were in a deserted hallway, Saul exhaled long and hard and turned towards his Lieutenant. "Lieutenant Onasi, can you answer for me this: How long have you been under my command?" Carth smiled. "Many long, happy years, sir." "Yes, and as your commanding officer, can you trust me?" What kind of question is that? "Yes, of course I trust you Admiral. I'd be dead several times over if I didn't." "Good. That was the answer I expected…" he turned for a moment and thought about his choice of his next words."
"Carth, the republic is like a fine animal. It lives, it hunts, and it thrives. Like the mighty Kath hound it gets into many fights, such as this one. In such fights, the Kath hound often gets wounded, and the blood starts to flow." What the hell was he talking about? "But this time, the kath hound has lost a bit too much blood." "Admiral, what are you…" "The Republic was on the losing side, Carth. We need to set our priorities in order. We need to set this matter straight and find a more powerful force for us." "Sir, if you're asking me to just give up on the Republic, then you can forget it. I made my oath and I tend to keep it." Saul Karath's smile faded away quickly.
"Carth, I urge you to reconsider. We are on the brink of being nearly invincible. We just need to reach out, and take hold of it. Come with me, Carth. I have hundreds who wish to support our cause, even the famed Jedi Revan. You can really go somewhere with us." Carth had had enough of this. "Sir, I respectfully decline your offer. Nothing, I repeat, nothing would make me leave the Republic behind. Not even you, sir. You may have taught me everything I know, but this was something I learned myself."
There was silence between the tow, which was only punctured by the rumbling of the starship's engines. The snarl that Admiral Karath gave could cut the hardest of battle plating. "You're a lost cause, Onasi. I had such high expectations for you! I thought you could have made the right choice when it came, but you were weak! You had to stand with the Republic. Mark my words; you will regret this mistake you just made every day for the rest of your short life!" with that, Admiral Saul Karath turned on his heel and walked down the hallway out of sight. Carth didn't see him again.
Now here he was on the road back to his home planet, Telos. He didn't think about Karath's threats but towards the faces of his wife and child. The long tunnel of Hyperspace extended farther still. It wouldn't be long now…
The next day over a green planet, the Phoenix reappeared. The ship was still in one piece despite her creaking hull. Ahead of the ship was the planet Telos, a hive of activity. All around them ships of every type were exiting hyperspace. Perry stood in front of the window. "It feels good to see a planet that isn't willing to kill us." Several of the bridge crew laughed. Lieutenant Hayes actually gave a short mew at the end. Captain Perry turned around and leaned back on the brass railing. He scrutinized his crew of assorted Humans and Mobians of both genders. "When we land on this planet, you have permission to be anywhere on its surface until repairs are complete. If anything arises, I will have Bianca contact you through your datapads. We leave ten hours after repair crews wrap it up. Enjoy your R & R, people."
"Attention incoming vessel, this is Telos Security Force Lieutenant Dol Grenn. We request your ship's name and ID signature immediately." Perry cleared his throat and answered in his business voice. "This is Captain Alan Perry of the UNSC Phoenix Hull Registration FFG-626, our ID signatures are being uploaded to you as we speak." As he said this, Ensign Callows gave him the thumbs-up." "Roger that, Phoenix, your ID signatures check out with our database records. It appears that you're on a mission for the Chancellor. He's the one that signed your flight waver form." Lieutenant Grenn said. "Really? That was very kind of him." "Uh…just as a formality we request that as soon as you land we get to take a look at your vessel. Just to make sure that you are who you say you are. These are tough times." "Not at all, Lieutenant. As a matter of fact, I suggest that you do take a look at my ship. I have no idea what might be wrong with it." "So you need repairs, Captain? Very well, you have permission to touch down at Vhalis-Vorkut Spaceport at pad 8. Our orbital repair stations are a little full." "Thank you for the information, Lieutenant. Perry out."
The Phoenix cruised into the atmosphere of Telos IV. The air around the destroyer turned bright orange with friction and broke many sound barriers. Soon, they were in the open, gliding down to a large city which was bustling with civilians going about their daily work. The spaceport was clearly in sight on the outskirts of the city and was marked with flashing red strobe lights. The destroyer adjusted yaw and slowly started descending towards the pad marked by the number 8. The jets slowly pushed the ship down with the aid of gravity and the landing gear deployed. The ship hit the permacrete and bounded with the suspension. The ship shut down its systems and a ramp extended from both sides.
Navy and Marines exited the ship in Warthogs. The jeeps went down the ramps and across the spaceport tarmac. Several surprised technical engineers dragged tubes and munitions towards the ship. They had absolutely no idea on what to do with this sort of thing.
The Captain drove one troop carrier jeep out of the ship. He eased up on the brakes so he wouldn't rear end the Hog in front of them. Sally bounced in her seat. "Is it just me, or do I feel heavier on this planet? I'm not gaining weight am I?!" she said with her voice straining on the last sentence. Tails laughed and leaned between the Human and the Sergeant. "No, Sally! I took an astrological scan of the planet before we set down. This planet has a diameter of 42,550 kilometers! That's more than three times the diameter of Earth!" Bunnie and Rouge laughed in the back of the Hog. "Than there must be some hunky guys on this rock!" Bunnie said smiling cheerfully. Sally opened NICOLE up. "NICOLE, are there any good places to unwind in this city?" "Scanning. Sal, there are a total of twenty cantinas, two hundred restaurants and…one brothel…" At this, several of the male Marines in the back sat straight up.
"Captain, might I ask why we have to wear these uniforms again?" Kaiden asked. "Explanation: You are wearing UNSC uniforms to present to the citizens that you are not Mandalorians." "But we are-" Chris snapped, "The name of the game is deception, Kaiden. We don't want them to know or else the entire Republic fleet here is going to turn their guns on us!" The Mandalorian and his comrades nodded in agreement. "Yes, sir."
The Warthog pulled up to a cantina where another jeep was. "The Jaded Laigrek" NCIOLE translated. "Seems fairly popular in this part of town." The Captain nodded. "Ladies and gentlemen, until this little outing is done, we are not soldiers! We are people having the night of our lives!" The Marines cheered and stepped out of the Hog.
The Captain knocked back another drink. He was an experienced drinker. During the Rainforest Wars in '32 he had drained two bottles of white vodka out of the Officers' wine cellar. He was ordered to send an artillery shell three kilometers northeast and when he fired the shot, he sent the shell twenty-two kilometers to the left of his intended strike zone. The shell in question did manage to destroy a rebel motor pool there but he still got a month of KP duty.
The other Marines were also having some fun. Johnson, Ryan and Marines from another company sang drinking songs. Tails was currently engaging in a board game called dejarik with a native Telosian, and from the looks of things, he (Tails) was winning, by a longshot.
Sally was also having a drink. At 19 years old, she was barely above the drinking age. She made the most of her time and sipped exotic alien beverages. She turned to the Captain and said, "After about a few glasses they don't taste so bad, huh?" Chris smiled at her comment. It was true that he was on the verge of being hammered. That was OK; he wanted to go all the way. It had been too long since he had a drink. The droid bartended rolled over to him. "What will you be having now, Captain? Another Andolan Ale?" Chris shrugged. "I don't know, Uh…how about we have something different. Ah…that Tarisian Ale those guys are having over there. Can we have some?" The droid then said, "Captain, may I say that that is extremely powerful liquor. Even the most experienced alcoholic drinkers have difficulty staying on their feet after a single round." "Hey, I'm paying for this stuff. Gimme two glasses for me and the lady." "Of course, sir." The bartender chirped. Seconds later he returned with two glasses filled with amber liquid. "Boy, aren't you a gentleman!" Sally said picking up the glass. "Sally, you blood/alcohol level is 0.09 percent! I advise you to stop drinking now!" Sally chortled loudly so that other drinkers looked round at her. "Shut up, you nagging nagger!" The princess said as she downed the drink in one gulp. Chris also drained the glass.
The effect was instantaneous. At once the world became blurry. Chris fumbled and nearly fell from his seat. He knocked over some empty bottles of local beer. "I know this wouldn't be the time to say 'I told you so but'…" HK-24 held out his arms to steady the two Marines. "Suggestion: Might I suggest that the Master and Mistress lie down for a little while? I have no experience in alcohol intoxication but I can tell that you need a nap in." Chris blinked several times. "Spaceport's 10 klicks away, I'm not driving that far!" "Agreement: No you're not, especially with the 0.10 blood/alcohol rating you have." Sally said, "We can just get a room!"
The bartender came forward and droned, "We actually have a room available. It's for two if you're interested-" "We'll take it!" Chris said, the Tarisian ale forming the words. "Advice: Follow me, Master and Mistress. We will have you settled in no time at all."
As HK-24 guided the intoxicated pair into the turbolift, all the Marines from both companies stared at them. "Way to go, Captain!" Ryan said while taking another sip of Corellian Ale. "How does he do it?" Johnson said shaking his head with a cigar in his mouth. "Chris is an animal man." Tails said from the dejarik board with his next victim. A pile of credit coins increased steadily with each game he won. "He had a cat and apparently he got along well with it. He's a big softie when it comes to the furry creatures of the universe." Johnson raised an eyebrow. "This is Captain Christopher Vennettilli, badass at large?" Tails laughed. "One in the same, Sarge. One in the same." "Did you hear that, Marines? The Captain likes fluffy bunnies!" The soldiers roared with laughter while Bunnie finished her drink and stood up. "I'm going for a walk." She walked away angry with her metal hand clenched. "No, come back Bunnie!" A Marine said. "We didn't mean it!" "Oh come on!" "Grow a sense of humor, sweetheart!"
Ryan noticed a glimmering on the table. "Oops. Sally forgot NICOLE here." He picked up the computer and returned to his seat. "Thank you, Corporal. It's nice to see somebody has a shred of decency here! I'm also glad you aren't wasted." "Heh, are you kidding? I'm 86ed halfway to hell!" "Really, you don't show it!" "Long story, my friend, long story."
Bunnie went up the turbolift where the room that the Captain and Sally were currently occupying. She needed to get away from those…those…pigs! That's what they were, pigs in uniform. She walked down the hall and to her surprise HK-24 was standing outside the door. "HK-24, where's Sally and Chris, shugah?" "Answer: Why, right through this door, Bunnie Rabbot." "OK, I need to talk to Sally-girl." "Cautionary: Mistress, I don't think that would be a good idea." "Why not?" "I'd rather keep that to myself." Bunnie fumed. "You won't try to stop me though will ya, shugah?" "Answer: Not at all." She pushed past him and opened the door. It slid down and she stared right into the room. In the low light, she saw the two or some sort of combination of the two. Their bodies were intertwined and they both had their arms around each other, moving gently on the bed. Sally gave moans of satisfaction here and there while the Captain kissed her neck tenderly. "Oh my stars." Bunnie said as her ears drooped and her eyes got wide. "Oh my STARS!" Sally noticed her friend and stopped her movement. "Bunnie…!" she said shocked and embarrassed. It was too much for the rabbit to bear. With a final "Oh my stars." She fainted with a dull thunk. HK-24 edged her unconscious body over to one side of the hallway and said, "Advisory: Stay Calm, there is nothing to observe here."
Sally and Chris shrugged and lay back in the bed while HK-24 sealed the door to keep privacy. They both kissed passionately and wrapped their arms around each other again. "Hey Cap, I know this may just be the alcohol talking here but…I love you." Chris stroked her hair. "No, it's not the booze. I love you too, Sally." They cuddled together in their tight embrace and fell asleep there, too tired to continue their actions.
"How many is that, Tails?" Ryan said leaning up against the bar. "450 credits, Ryan! Wow! I'm getting good at this stuff. Maybe I should go pro!" Johnson laughed. "With a noggin that size I bet you could." He tapped Tails' head with his knuckles and the boy laughed. Suddenly, a group of Republic soldiers burst through the door roaring and raising their fists in victory. Several patrons also crowed along raising their glasses. "War's over! We won! Mandalore bought it at Malachor V!" the leader said triumphantly. He walked over to the bar table and said, "What do you charge war heroes here?" The droid said, "For heroes of the Mandalorian War? What the hell, these are on the house, everyone!" The cantina was in an uproar as patrons filled their glasses to the brim and downing them quickly. The UNSC Marines also didn't hesitate to sneak in a few more glasses of hooch. Everyone except Kaiden.
"Hey, what's the matter, boy?" Johnson said. Kaiden was stone-faced as well as the other two Mandalorians. "Mandalore's dead. We failed in the fight. We should have been there to partake in the battle, but we weren't. We've failed Mandalore." Rouge patted Kaiden's shoulder. "Listen here, sweetie. If you went with them you would have all been dead." Kaiden shrugged the bat's hand off him. "Better dead with honor than alive with none." Rouge sighed sadly and tilted her hands toward Johnson and Ryan in the 'I don't know' gesture. Kaiden leaned grumpily on the bar and said to the droid, "A shot of the strongest stuff you got. Keep them coming."
It was morning before they knew it. Chris opened his eyes first and looked around. The golden sun poked through the blinds of the window. He exhaled and stretched his arms and legs. He tilted his head and saw the princess lying up against him. She was still sleeping and was dreaming. He could feel her heartbeat against his side. It was this that jogged his memory. We didn't DO IT last night? Did we? Chris and Sally had slept in the same bed before, but they had never done anything! A quick glance under the covers confirmed his suspicions. It was a whole new ball game now. Alcohol-induced intoxication had led to drunken sex! Yeah, the euphoric recall was setting in now. He took one look at her face though and all was forgotten. She was quite beautiful when she was sleeping. Of all the people in the universe, why did she pick me? He thought in his head.
A slight change of position made her wake up. She looked up at his face and smiled slightly, her eyes not quite surrendering their glazed look yet. "Hey." She said. "Hey." The Human said back. "So, we did it last night, huh?" Chris scoffed. "I guess we did." She nudged against him with her cheek. "It was amazing." She kissed him firmly on the cheek. "Thank you." "Will you two shut up? I can't believe I'm hearing this from y'all." Said a muffled voice. Sally recoiled and brought the sheets up to her chin. Bunnie Rabbot was lying on a sofa with a pillow over her head. Apparently HK-24 moved her into the room. "I had to listen to whatever the hell you were doing all. Night. Long." Chris couldn't resist. "Sorry, Bunnie. We'll be sure to include you next time. She rolled her eyes under her pillow. "I think I'll pass, shugah." Suddenly, an explosion sounded. The two jumped out of the bed immediately. "Holy shit!" Bunnie said in response to the explosion and the two getting out of bed. "Put something on, please!" Chris said, "Oh yeah, pants." "Damn right, pants! Sally smooth your fur, things are showing." They all got dressed. Chris retrieved his Desert Eagle from his nightstand, inserted a magazine and cocked the gun. "Let's roll!" he shouted.
The three exited the room and entered the hall. HK-24 was still standing guard. "Greeting: Good morning, Masters. Did you enjoy your night?" "Yeah, she was heavenly." Sally beamed. "Thank you!" "Focus, people!" Bunnie reminded. Miles ran from his room, naked from the waist up. "I heard explosions!" he said while putting on a T-shirt. Several more sounded. "Yeah, I think its some sort of bombardment!"
It was a bombardment. Outside the cantina, several red bolts of energy were streaking from the sky. Buildings exploded and vehicles were flipped into the air. All around the Marines were the terrible sound of people dying. Men, women and children, all their lives were ending. They entered the troop Warthog and Chris started the engine. The Marines all piled in before they accelerated away just before a large laser blasted their position. The two UNSC Warthogs carrying Marines dodged laser fire from the ships above. Other buildings and people took the hits for them. They needed to get to the spaceport. No sooner than the thought formed in their heads, Bianca came on the COM. "Alert! All personnel of the UNSC Destroyer Phoenix, an orbital bombardment of unknown forces has begun engaging Telos IV. All personnel are advised to return to the Phoenix as soon as possible!" Before they could make a turn, the Captain saw a figure that looked familiar. It was Lieutenant Carth Onasi! He turned the Hog in his direction "Uh, Spaceport is the other way, Chief." NICOLE said.
Chris exited the jeep and ran towards Carth. He was looking through the buildings shouting a name. "MORGANA!" he called over and over again. The Marines came up to him. "Lieutenant Onasi!" Chris called. "Captain Vennettilli?!" the Republic soldier said disbelievingly. "What are you doing here?" the Captain asked. "What the hell does it look like I'm doing?! I'm trying to find my damned wife! MORGANA!" He shouted again. A Republic soldier climbed from the rubble. "Lieutenant! We found her!" "How is she?" Carth demanded. The soldier shook his head. "Not good, sir." "Oh, Chaos take me!"
Carth ran over rubble and dying citizens. Nothing mattered to him as much as his wife did right now. There she was: lying on the ground with soldiers standing over her. "Morgana!" Carth called out to her. "C…Carth?" She asked blinking the soot out of her eyes and straining to hear over the constant bombardment. "I'm here, baby. I'm here." "Carth…I can't feel my legs." "Just hold on, sweetie. The medics are coming!" "I...Carth…Dustil's missing." "What?! Dustil's gone?!" his eyes grew wide with fear. "I…I couldn't find him. I don't know where he is." She coughed. "I can't hold on, Carth." Onasi was crying. "No, no! Don't leave me, Morgana!" "I'm sorry, Carth…" Her hand fell from his grasp and Morgana Onasi died. The Marines stood as they saw the man break down in anguish. Carth Onasi screamed out to the heavens as he held his wife's body. Chris removed his hat and placed it over his heart, the symbolic sign for respect. Not even the laser bombardment could interrupt this somber scene.
"Is my son dead?" He asked a solder when he had calmed down. "We're not sure, sir. None of the patrols have found Dustil's body or anything we can identify of him." He was silent for a moment. "It's not fair." He said wiping his tears. "IT'S NOT FAIR!" He was suddenly all flair. He whipped his blaster out and pointed it at the Marines. "It's all because of you! He did this because he wants your Emerald! You're the cause of all this!" "Who, Carth?" Sally said innocently. "Saul Karath! The backstabber is bombing Telos, my home into rubble all because he wants your rock! It's because of your rock that my wife is dead and my only son has gone missing!" "Carth, we didn't mean-" Chris started to say. "Just leave! Go! I've lost too much already! Get off of Telos and pray to whatever gods you have that he doesn't catch you!" Chris stared angrily at Onasi. "Let's go guys. If he wants to throw angry words at us, let him have his moment. We're leaving, Marines!" "Sir, yes sir!" they called out and drove away, leaving Carth to cradle his dead wife in his arms, gently rocking her body back and forth.
"Tails, what's wrong?" Sally said. "She didn't need to die." Prower said wiping a flow of tears. "She didn't have to get killed. We're the cause of it." Sally started to cry too. "Now don't believe anything Carth said. We're not the cause of all this. We're not." She embraced the young fox and stroked his hair in a calming manner. Chris simply gripped the steering wheel tighter. He was angry. This morning had been so happy for him. He and Sally had spent their first intimate night together and then this. He did feel for Carth though. He had said the exact same thing when his parents died. It's not fair! He had said when the officer said that his parents were on the list of terrorist attack victims.
The Phoenix was still in her berth in the spaceport. She looked repaired enough to be spaceworthy. The Warthogs were already being loaded onto the ship. A few laser blasts destroyed a few hangers about a kilometer distant. Once the jeeps were aboard the ship, she rose into the air immediately and fired her engines. The crew was forced to see the surface of Telos burn in the laser fire.
"There won't be much left after that." Lieutenant Hayes said somberly. "The entire ecosystem will be ruined. It'll take years for it to recover." "We can't do anything about it now." Perry said. "Prepare to jump out of system. We need to get the rest of this map decoded."
Nearby aboard one of the cruisers laying waste to Telos' surface, newly appointed Admiral of the Sith Navy Saul Karath watched the destruction of the planet Telos. Yes it was mainly a revenge act because Carth had refused to join him but mainly it was to get his hands on the Emerald. Now he knew the UNSC weren't stupid enough to remain on this planet so they would try to escape. Any time now.
"Admiral, we have contact with a ship leaving the surface. Shall I call up the image?" A helmsman reported. "Yes, show me a hologram." A holographic view of the Phoenix came into view. It was exactly as Karath remembered it. "That's the one. That's the ship. Get me it. Preferably uncompromised if at all possible." "Yes, Admiral, setting course to overtake the Phoenix." Saul Karath couldn't help but let a self satisfied grin slip through. "We'll have that Emerald in our hands soon enough, my lord." From behind him, the cold, metallic voice of his master called out. "Your actions today have pleased me, Admiral Karath. I look forward to meeting our new friends. Pray that they do hold the information we seek." "I am certain that once we have the Emerald, we can boost the Star Forge's yield a hundredfold!" "Very well. Bring them to me, Admiral. You are dismissed." Karath bowed his head. "As you desire, my lord Malak.
