Chapter 14
Retaliation
Author's Note: Well, the last chapter got good feedback, that's always good news. By the way some of you are probably wondering what Shepard's back-story is, well she's a ?/War Hero /?...Yeah I ain't telling. I have a feeling some of you are wondering how the RSN will react to their ally being deliberately attacked. To that I have one thing to say MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Trust me, you'll understand by the end of the chapter.
"Arbiter, is this information accurate?" Isonia asked, speaking into the RSN Battle-Net.
She was sitting on the bridge on her new ship, the super carrier Righteous Justice, speaking to Thel 'Vadam through her COM unit.
"It is Fleetmistress," Thel said calmly, "three days ago, the UNSC was attacked by the Batarian Hegemony and thousands of soldiers perished. That is why I ordered your fleet to take this course of actions."
"I understand," Isonia said "Are we to take any prisoners?"
"Only the commander of all forces on the planet," Thel replied. "It appears that he was the one who paid the criminals that attacked Sanctuary. He will be tried and most likely publicly executed. Kill all of the others with whatever method you deem fit."
"Does the RSN Council know about this?" Isonia asked "If they disapprove of this, as unlikely as that may be, they may strip you of your honor."
Thel 'Vadam held the position of Arbiter which, in the RSN, was the commander in chief of all military forces. His word was final, if he gave an order to any RSN soldier or any other member of the military; they were compelled to obey him. Only the RSN Council, comprised of representatives from all RSN species, could override his orders or punish him for abusing his powers.
"I appreciate your concern Fleetmistress but you need not worry, the Council personally requested that I give this order," Thel said. "Now Fleetmistress, show the Batarians what happens when they attack our ally.
"Understood," Isonia said as the connection was severed. "Very well," she said, glancing towards the helmsmen, "How long until we arrive at Iteni II?"
"Seven minutes Fleetmistress," one of the Helmsmen replied. "What are our orders for when we arrive?"
"An excellent question, one the entire fleet should hear the answer to," Isonia answered as she put her hand to her COM unit. "This is Fleetmistress Isonia 'Cirate, we have been given orders from the Arbiter himself to attack the Batarian military planet Iteni II and capture the planet's commander. First we shall obliterate all Batarian warships in orbit of the planet; afterwards we will determine the location of the commander of the planet's forces and deploy Spec Op teams and Rangers to capture him. Afterwards we will retrieve him and cleanse the planet and ensure that the planet is never defiled by these dishonorable whelps again. May Staliu guide us all."
Isonia lowered her hand, her mandibles gritted. "As soon as we drop out of slipspace target the forward most warships and obliterate them. Target the middlemost warships, divide the hostile forces and sow confusion among them. Afterwards the rest of the fleet will descend upon them and wipe them from existence."
"Yes Fleetmistress," the Helmsmen said.
Iteni II was one of the Batarian Hegemony's smaller military colonies with a population of 2 million. It was a moderately developed colony that was a major producer of Hegemony firearms, body armor and held significant strategic value. It was deep within Hegemony territory and was not considered to be a likely target; as a result its defensive fleet was rather small, numbering around thirty ships.
As of today, it was also a target for the Republic of Sovereign Nations. The RSN was furious about the raid on the Sanctuary, and the Arbiter had deemed that the planet was to be attacked in retaliation for the Batarian's attack on the UNSC.
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The thirty Hegemony warships assigned to Iteni II were in orbit of the planet in standard formation, guarding the planet. They were ready to defend the planet from whatever threat that could possibly present itself. At least, that's what they thought.
Slipspace ruptures tore open in front of the Batarian forces, and a RSN fleet of 60 ships exited, the Righteous Justice at the head of the fleet. A barrage of plasma torpedoes flew from the Righteous Justice, slamming into the forward most Batarian ships, destroying seven of them, dividing the fleet firmly down the middle. The rest of the RSN fired on the surviving ships with plasma torpedoes and pulse lasers.
The Batarians were simply outnumbered and outgunned, they never stood a chance, the barrage of plasma and focused light completely obliterated the Batarian fleet, their kinetic barriers nearly useless against the RSN's weaponry. Due to the unique nature of RSN plasma torpedoes, the kinetic barriers only blunted part of the torpedo, partially protecting the ship from the concentrated plasma, but the hulls of the ships were still heavily damaged by the heat and radiation of the plasma. This proved to be the undoing of the Hegemony fleet, as the strain to the hull that the barrage of torpedoes caused proved to be too much.
Had the Batarians had time to return fire, they may have caused significant damage to the RSN fleet, but the RSN had attacked and obliterated them before they had even had a chance to return fire. This had been the intention of the RSN, to arrive with a force that outmatched the Batarians so heavily and that would strike so fast and hard that the Hegemony didn't even stand a ghost of a chance of winning, and it had succeeded.
The RSN fleet moved towards Iteni II, establishing orbit high above the planet's surface. There was a pause as the RSN ships hacked into the Hegemony's communications and traced them to discover the location of the planet's main Head Quarters, and, as an indirect result, the location of the planet's top commander. After a few minutes of silence, several OIP's were deployed from bottom the Righteous Justice. They were bound for the surface of the planet, heading towards the location of the enemy HQ.
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Iasa 'Cirate, a Sangheili Spec Op sniper and daughter of Isonia 'Cirate, grit her mandibles as her OIP pod slammed into the ground of Iteni II. Iasa gripped her beam rifle as the door to the pod slid opened and sunlight flooded into the cramped interior of the pod. Iasa stepped out of the pod and saw more OIP's landing nearby, Rangers and more Spec Op Minors stepping out.
"All ground forces," a Sangheili Spec Op Officer said over the Battle-Net, "All Rangers move in on the Hegemony base, harass and strafe the sentries. While the guards are dealing with the Rangers, all Spec Op forces take up offensive positions, cloak and wait for my signal to attack. You have your orders, move out."
Iasa glanced down the scope of her rifle and saw the main Hegemony base in the distance. Flipping a panel on her wrist open, and pressed a series of buttons, causing her active camouflage to activate. Holding her rifle tightly, Iasa began to sprint towards the base, stopping at a small hill, dropping to a prone position as she reached it.
The Batarian base was a decent sized building, with a handful of soldiers patrolling a series of catwalks. Several other buildings were nearby, acting as extensions to the main base.
Iasa lined up a shot with a soldier standing on the upper catwalks who was firing his assault rifle at a Ranger who was using his anti-gravity pack to glide over the base with a dozen other Rangers, all of them spraying plasma at the Hegemony soldiers.
"Hold position," the Spec Op Officer said, "hold position."
Iasa snarled impatiently as she continued to watch the Rangers assault the base. Through the corner of the scope, Iasa spotted the shimmering outlines of several Spec Op Minors creeping towards the base, a couple were actually scaling the side of the building, climbing onto the catwalks, but still waiting to attack.
"STRIKE!" the Spec Op Officer roared over the Battle-Net.
Iasa's finger slammed down on the trigger to her rifle, and a jet of silvery plasma flew from the rifle and pierced the head of the sentry that she had targeted. She quickly jerked her rifle to the right, firing another shot that pierced the lung of another Batarian, causing the wounded soldier to be blown off of the catwalk, hitting the ground with a muffled crunch.
While Iasa was sniping the Hegemony soldiers, the Spec Op Minors decloaked, swinging freshly activated energy swords at the Batarian soldiers, their screams piercing the sky as their limbs were severed from their bodies and concentrated staves of energy were thrust through their chests.
The Batarians were now thoroughly confused, with the Rangers striking them from above and the Spec Op Minors striking at them from all sides. Iasa smiled slightly as she lined up another shot and pierced another Batarian's skull. The sentries were quickly falling under the strain of the RSN's assault; most of them were already dead or had retreated into the base. Iasa lined up a fourth shot and fired three shots into a Batarian's chest. He fell to the floor of the catwalk and did not rise again.
"All of the outer sentries have been eliminated," the Officer said over the Battle-Net, "all forces regroup in front of the base. Phantoms will deploy soldiers that will attack and search the other bases for the commander, as it is not clear in which one he resides in. We will search the base for the commander; kill all that stand in your way."
Iasa got to her feet and made her way to where the rest of the RSN soldiers were gathering numbering at around three dozen. Iasa couldn't help but feel slightly puzzled as she came to a halt in front of the entrance to the Batarian HQ, which was little more that a thick metal barrier.
"Why do we hesitate?" she asked a Ranger who was standing nearby, clutching a plasma repeater.
"I am not certain," the Ranger replied "There is strangeness surrounding the entrance, we cannot override the controls."
Indeed one of the Rangers was working at an opened panel next to the door, furiously cutting and crossing wires.
"It is of no use," the Ranger by the door said as he stood up "the controls were sabotaged, most likely to deny us entrance."
The Spec Op Officer clicked his mandibles as he approached the door, activating his energy sword. "Very well," he said, "Then we will force our way in. The Officer thrust his energy sword into the door and began to cut through it.
"Something feels wrong," the Ranger that stood by Iasa said.
"What do you mean?" Iasa asked, looking at the Ranger, whose worried face was partially visible through his visor.
"This is the most fortified and hardened fortress on this planet," the Ranger explained. "It seems... unnatural that we are forcing an entry so easily."
"You logic is sound," Iasa admitted. "But what could-"
Iasa words were cut short as, without warning, a blinding explosion from the other side of the barrier tore through the entrance and set every last Sangheili flying. Iasa hit the ground with a thud, her rifle flying out of her hand and her ears ringing from the sheer force of the explosion. Numbly, Iasa pushed herself to her feet, grabbing her rifle as she did so, although she was still disoriented.
"What happened?" she shouted, her voice faint and distant even though she was shouting at the top of her lungs.
"They must have set charges to the other side!" the Ranger replied, getting to his feet as well, his plasma repeater in his hands. "How many have passed on?"
Iasa and the Ranger glanced at the devastation that lay before them. Many Sangheili were bleeding badly, many were already dead and several were breathing their last breaths, while only a handful were getting back up. Two thirds of the force had clearly been eliminated.
There was a loud bang from the entrance, and the Sangheili whipped their heads around to see a squad of Hegemony soldiers firing from the entrance. One unfortunate Ranger whose shields had collapsed in the explosion was riddled with bullets, as were two Spec Op Minors.
Slapping her rifle onto her back, Iasa charged forward, activating a pair of energy swords as she ran. Descending upon the Batarians she swung both of her energy swords, causing one Batarian's arm and another's head to go flying. For good measure, Iasa delivered a powerful kick to the chest of the one armed Batarian, causing his ribs to shatter.
The remaining three Batarians aimed their weapons at Iasa, but before they could open fire, a barrage of plasma struck the forward most one from above, causing him to collapse in agony. The remaining two Batarians looked up to see the Ranger twenty feet above them, free falling towards them while firing his plasma repeater. Desperately, the two Batarians raised their rifles and fired at him, actually hitting him and causing his shields to collapse, but as they did so, the Ranger landed and swung his repeater at the nearest Batarian. There was a loud crack as the Batarian's neck was broken and he fell to the ground with his head at an odd angle.
The remaining Batarian fumbled with his rifle, as he tried to line up a shot with the Ranger in a panicked manner. With lighting fast reflexes, the Ranger took a plasma grenade from his hip, activated it and threw it at the Batarian, which stuck... to its face. The Batarian barely had any time to cry out before the grenade detonated, causing the Batarian's head to explode, resulting in bits of gray matter to land everywhere within a ten foot radius.
"That was... interesting," the Ranger remarked, looking at the dead Batarian. "I intended for it to stick to his chest."
"It matters little in the end," Iasa said as she deactivated her energy swords. "You demonstrated great fighting skills, what is your name?"
"Demas 'Mortam," the Ranger replied, "yours?"
"Iasa 'Cirate," Iasa replied, letting out a sigh as she looked around at the dead. "We are at a fraction at our former strength."
"It matters very little," Demas said "We must press on."
"True," Iasa said, as she scanned the horizon, seeing that Phantoms were landing and deploying RSN Lances to invade the other Batarian bases. "Still, it will be difficult."
"Perhaps there is a way to capture the enemy commander without drawing anymore hostile attention," one of the surviving Rangers suggested, as he staggered to the side of the base and slid into a sitting position, nursing a gash in his side.
"What do you suggest?" Iasa said, looking at the wounded Ranger.
"Half of the survivors are badly wounded; they will perish if they do not receive first aid. I suggest that most of the uninjured stay behind to tend to the wounded while a handful of us infiltrate the base," the Ranger elaborated. "Most likely a smaller team would be more difficult to pinpoint and would not attract as much attention as a larger team." The Ranger glanced from Demas to Iasa and back again. "Perhaps it would be for the best if just you two were to proceed."
Demas and Iasa glanced at each other. "What are you specialties?" Iasa asked, "I am a skilled sniper and swordswoman."
"I specialize at mid to close range quarter combat," Demas replied. "I am also skilled with a sword in addition to my repeater. If you use your blades while I use my repeater within the confines of the base, we should be able to handle any foe that opposes us."
"Very well," Iasa said as she activated her energy swords.
"Lead the way," Demas said. Iasa nodded as she calmly walked through the burning frame that had once been an entrance, Demas walking along beside her.
Author's Note: I have a feeling that some of you are going to complain that the battle between the Batarians and the RSN fleets was short and one sided. Let me tell you something right now, THAT WAS THE IDEA. The RSN outnumbered them, outgunned them, had more advanced technology, had the element of surprise, I'm sorry but that's how I believe that it would work. I know for a fact that I'm not going to make everyone happy while I'm writing this story, there's always going to be someone who gripes over some screw-up that I made (MACs are more powerful than that, railguns don't have recoil, you would die if you breathed in eezo, kinetic barriers do X, oh God SHUT UP! It gets really freaking annoying sometimes when people gripe over minor things like that.) Still, I try to make these chapters as enjoyable as possible, but there's just some people who will be a major pain in the ass, insulting this story every chapter not saying anything positive about it while saying that they're "interested" what a load. I'm not saying any names *Cough*Dusel*Cough* but all I ask is this, if you are going to review one of my stories, be fair about it, and do your best not to come off as an internet troll. Well I hope that you enjoyed it, as always, tell me what you think, BUT NO FREAKING FLAMING.