Huh, only two reviews last chapter. Guess I shouldn't be surprised and all, it's happened to me before. But I did get a lot of favorites and follows, so that's a good thing, I guess. Anyway, I went back and changed a few things to my last chapter, again. This is my first time doing a Halo fanfiction, so cut me some slack people.
Before I start, I want to say that I finished Call of Duty Vanguard and I have to say it's not like Call of Duty WW2, in terms of a campaign and its zombies' mode. Still, it's a good game for those who like World War 2 games.
Alright, onto the reviews.
Shadow Walker of fire: Like I just said, this is the first time I've done a Halo story, so please cut me some slack. I know about the whole 'Spartan's being selected from the best of the best' rumor or whatever it is along with the whole Spartan generations and stuff. It's been a while since I've played the games, so my knowledge is a little rusty.
Jctherebel: Thanks, but I think I could have done better with my last chapter.
Alright, onto the chapter. Disclaimers are the same as always.
Please enjoy.
Chapter 4: The Boy and The Spartans
September 8th, 2552, 1000 hours, UNSC Time
Naboo orbit
Saak'ak conference room
Both the Neimodian's and Darth Sidious watched the recording of Noble Six singlehandedly wipe out several dozen droids with little effort. The recording they recovered from one of the droid's memory banks were able to confirm their fears that the bodyguard that came with the Jedi was a threat far more deadly than anything they had ever seen before.
"This Mandalorian's Beskar seems to be equipped with a powerful shield of some type. Acquiring it and installing it into our droids would make our army unstoppable." Gunray said as the thought of the profits of battle droids equipped with shielding came to his mind.
"Did you not see what this Mandalorian is capable of? Any attempt to confiscate that armor and it's technology would be meet with death! We would have to hire Mandalorian bounty hunters to hunt down one of their own!" Rune Haako countered, fearful of the cost it would take to fund such an undertaking.
"This no Mandalorian. Beskar is strong alone, but this armored warrior's armor appears to have been damaged by a lightsaber or another powerful weapon. Their armor is useless, but the wearer on the other hand is another story. An army of highly trained warriors would kill even the strongest of Jedi and crush rebellions before they even begin." Sidious said with intrigue. "We will focus on this later. For now, Viceroy, gather all high-ranking officials and destroy them, slowly and quietly. And Queen Amidala, has she signed the treaty?"
"She had disappeared, my lord." Gunray said with dread. "One Naboo cruiser got past our blockade."
"I want that treaty signed." Sidious snarled.
"But my lord. It's impossible to locate their ship, it's out of our range." Gunray cringed.
"Not for a Sith." Sidious began as a second figure appeared behind him, dressed in a black cloak but their yellow eyes were visible to both Gunray and Haako. "This is my apprentice, Darth Maul. He will find your lost ship." Sidious assured the Viceroy and his aide before vanishing, leaving both Neimodian's fearful of future failures.
Hyperspace, 1036 hours
As the J-Type cruiser continued its journey through hyperspace, Captain Panaka once again voiced his protests against Qui-Gon's plan to land on Tatooine to make the repairs to the ship, still concerned about the idea of landing on a Hutt controlled planet, but the Queen trusted Qui-Gon's judgment and moved onto the next issue; Noble Six.
"While we are thankful for your efforts in helping our escape from the Trade Federation, we still don't know much about you, Lieutenant." The Queen said to the Spartan, who's helmet was held in her hands.
"It's like I told the Captain, I'm a Spartan soldier of the UNSC and just to let you all know, I'm not the kind of soldier who would kidnap or kill a ruler of a planet." Revy began. "But let me ask you all something, do you all know what war is truly like?"
"We are a peaceful people! We've never fought in a war before and will never fight in a war for as long as time continues!" Panaka snapped.
"Then you really don't know what war is really like." Revy retorted with a clenched fist. "Men and women of the armed forces die in the line of duty. Families are butchered and destroyed by the fire of war and many people see things that will scare them for life."
"You have fought in many battles, haven't you?" Qui-Gon surmised.
"I have. But it all started on Jericho VII, the planet I was born on. You wouldn't know it, because its beyond your galaxy." She began. "I had parents and an older brother, the life of a normal child. But that all changed when they arrived."
"They? Whosa you a talking about?" Jar-Jar questioned.
"The Covenant." Revy answered with Venom in her voice. "If you were to ever meet a genocidal race of aliens, then you'd be dead. The Covenant have only one goal, the complete annihilation of my species. They're a theoretic cultural hegemony who worship gods they call Forerunners who they claimed demanded our extinction. Every man, women and child."
The handmaidens and several of the guards gasped at the goals of the Covenant while Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon shared a concerned look towards each other. "They killed millions of my people in a take-no-prisoners war with their superior firepower and FTL capabilities. They glassed world after world, sparing not those still on the surface. My parents and brother were among the ones they killed. They vaporized my parents and my brother's body was eaten after his death. It's a sight that will haunt me until the day I am killed. I would have joined them had I not been saved by UNSC forces just before the planet was glassed. I wanted revenge against the Covenant, so I joined up when I was old enough." She continued.
"How long have you been a soldier?" one of the handmaidens, Padme if Six recalled asked, standing beside the dirty droid called R2-D2.
"I honestly have lost count as to how many years it's been since I joined up but compared to the regulars trained when they joined the armed forces, my training was a lot more difficult. But it was worth it so I could get even with the bastards that killed my family. I completed and have killed who knows how many Covenant soldiers." Revy answered. "Three months ago, the Covenant found Reach, one of our fortress worlds and a vital shipbuilding planet. We fought for weeks, but like all the other planets, Reach fell despite our best efforts and my fireteam is KIA, with the exception of me."
"Was there no peaceful end to the conflict? Surely the loses both your people and the Covenant have endured would cause the leaders on one side to end the conflict without further loss of life." Obi-Wan questioned.
"Not likely. The Covenant want nothing more than to wipe humanity of the face of the galaxy. Have you any of you ever seen what happens when a world is glassed? I have and it's not something you can forget. The people still down on the surface, hoping for someone to come and save them, only to be vaporized by superheated plasma. While we have inferior technology compared to the Covenant, we've proven time and time again that we will keep fighting to protect our loved ones." Revy answered, clenching her fists at the memory of her brother.
"Then how did you arrive in our galaxy?" Panaka questioned, ready to draw his blaster at a moment's notice.
"Still got trust issues, don't you?" Revy observed. "First off, if you draw that weapon, you'll be dead before you hit the ground. Second, I don't know how I arrived in this galaxy. After Reach fell, I fought off hordes of Covenant soldiers and sustained damage to my armor before I just tried to survive in the event that the Covenant was searching for me. I survived for several days before I was challenged by a Zealot-class Elite to a duel before we were hit by plasma mortars and somehow ended up on Coruscant of all places. Either I was fighting that split-jawed bastard on some kind of ancient ruins that humanity has found on many of our planets or something in the plasma rounds sent us to another galaxy. Either way, I'm just helping the Jedi until I can find my people and get back home."
Those present in the Queen's chambers looked to Noble Six in complete awe and shock after hearing that their armored guest was a human from another galaxy and was fighting a war of survival against a genocidal species. There was a long silence as Revy took her leave from chambers and headed back to the cargo bay and began to take apart her battle rifle and check it for any defects. She was alone for a few minutes before Qui-Gon walked towards her. "It's likely that we will encounter this Covenant you spoke of Lieutenant. I suggest that you tell us everything you about this Covenant, in the event that they do arrive in our galaxy, so we can at least prepare ourselves for a possible conflict." The elder Jedi said.
"Master, are you certain that they will arrive?" Obi-Wan questioned.
"It's not a matter of certainty, Obi-Wan, it's a possibility. If the Covenant's enemy is humanity, then that means they will also view all near human species such Mirilans and worlds with a high concentration of humans?" Qui-Gon asked his young Padawan.
Obi-Wan could see that his master was correct, but he still had his doubts about the Covenant arriving into their galaxy. "Look, Obi-Wan. The Covenant will show no mercy to anyone who stands up against them. The Elites will fight with honor, but the species that killed my family are more aggressive than anything you've ever seen." Revy replied without even taking her eyes off her battle rifle.
Tatooine
Outskirts of Mos Espa
1100 hours
Their hyperdrive finally shut down as the sleek-silver ship landed on the outskirts of a nearby settlement. During that time, Obi-Wan had started to work on the hyperdrive while Qui-Gon had put on a ragged looking poncho to conceal his identity as a Jedi. "The Hyperdrive generator is gone, Master. We'll need a new one." Obi-Wan reported to his master.
"That will complicate things." Qui-Gon answered. "Be weary, I sense a disturbance in the force." He told his Padawan, who felt the same thing and also instructed his padawan to ensure that the ship doesn't send any transmissions.
Qui-Gon made his way to the landing ramp where he found Revy waiting for him. Unlike him, she didn't wear a poncho to conceal her armor, but she took her assault rifle, handguns, knife and battle rifle with her, leaving the rest of her arsenal behind. "I may not know a whole lot about this planet, but if I'm going to find anything related to the UNSC or Covenant, you're going to need my help." She told the Jedi Master.
"I hope you don't plan on starting a war." Qui-Gon said.
"Trust me, I'm not going to start a fight. If I need to fight, I'll use this." She assured, pointing to her combat knife. That was good enough for Qui-Gon, who along with Jar-Jar and R2 started to make their way towards the settlement, but not before taking one Padme with them, despite Qui-Gon's protests.
They trekked through the desert for a half-hour before they reached the settlement of Mos Espa. Adobe buildings with domed roof's made of sandstone littered the city while various alien species unfamiliar to the Spartan walked past them or flew by in speeders. "Moisture farms for the most part, some indigenous tribes and scavengers. Spaceports like this are safe havens for those who do not wish to be found." Qui-Gon said.
"… like us." Padme finished as they walked through the town.
"Place looks like it's something out of the American old west." Revy stated, noticing a few glances from several onlookers who thought she was an advanced droid of some kind. She kept herself on alert, ignoring Jar-Jar who stepped in something.
As they made their way through the town, Qui-Gon lead them to a small plaza. "We'll try one of the smaller dealers." Qui-Gon told the group and led them to a junk shop with a large heap of junk parts behind it. Once inside, they met the owner, a pudgy blue skinned and winged alien with a trunk like nose.
'Good day to you. What do you want?' the creature asked in a language unfamiliar to the Spartan.
"I need parts for a J-Type 327 Nubian." Qui-Gon said to the creature, who understood the language the creature was speaking.
"Ah yes. Nubian. We have lots of them." The creature spoke, eager for a sale before he shouted for someone to come and watch the shop. It came as a shock to the Spartan when coming from the junkyard was a boy with blond hair, blue eyes and dressed in raggedy looking clothing. The creature barked at the boy, before leading Qui-Gon to the back where he kept all of his wares, not before Qui-Gon told Jar-Jar not to touch anything.
As Qui-Gon and R2 left the shop, the boy spoke to Padme. "Are you an angel?"
"What?" Padme reacted in surprise.
"An angel. I head the deep space pilots talk about them. They are the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They live on the moons of Iego I think. I'm a pilot you know and someday I'm going to fly away from here." The boy answered.
"You're a funny a little boy. How long have you been here?" Padme asked.
"Since I was very little, three, I think. My mom and I were bought by Gardulla, but she lost us betting on the Podraces, so we're now owned by Watto and he's a far better master than Gardulla." The boy answered.
"You're a slave?" Padme asked.
"I'm a person and my name is Anakin." Anakin said defiantly.
"I'm sorry. I don't fully understand. This is a strange world to me." Padme apologized.
Anakin then turned to Revy. "That armor of yours appears to be damaged, miss. Your helmet looks pretty beat up too." He spoke.
"What makes you think I'm not a droid?" Revy asked.
"Droids don't have armor as strong as yours, do they? I've seen armor like this before and built a device to take it off someone so I can repair it. Plus, your weapons aren't like anything a droid would carry. I take it you aren't from Mandalore, are you?" Anakin answered.
Revy chuckled and removed her helmet, showing her face to Anakin. "You're one smart kid, aren't you, Anakin? If you could actually build something to repair my armor, I'd be sure to ask you to help repair it, but it's more complex than you know." She said to the young boy.
"I can fix anything." Anakin said proudly, just as Jar-Jar pressed a button on a small little droid that startled the Gungan and knocked over many items in the store, even landing a hit on Jar-Jar's groin before he finally shut the droid down, after Anakin told him how.
Revy smiled at the kid, something in the back of her mind was making her compare Anakin to her older brother, though without the whole slave part. She handed her helmet to Anakin and watched as the kid fixed her helmets UV light in now time flat, surprising her. "Kids got a real gift." She said to herself.
Just then Qui-Gon returned, looking very displeased with the current situation. Padme, Jar-Jar and R2 followed him out of the shop and Revy was about to do the same thing when she heard Watto say something under his breath. "Another set of armor I couldn't get my hands on. Just selling one of those would earn me a lot of credits."
'Another set of armor? Could there be another Spartan on this planet?' she thought before she caught up with Qui-Gon and the others. Qui-Gon had finished explaining the current situation to Obi-Wan and things hadn't changed for the better, so they had to find another solution. "You know, the longer we wait for a solution to present itself, the more people die at the hands of those green skinned bastards." She told the Jedi Master.
"Noah gain. Noah gain. Da beings hereabouts cawazy. Wesa be robbed and crunched." Jar-Jar said to the Jedi master, grabbing his arm.
"Not likely, we have nothing of value. That's the problem. Many people would be attracted at the sight of Noble Six's armor and weapons, but that's also the problem. No one would dare to rob someone so well armed." Qui-Gon told the Gungan.
Revy didn't say anything about Qui-Gon's comment and just followed after the group, only to stop short when Jar-Jar had once again gotten himself into trouble, being strangled by a spider-like creature whose meal he had disrupted. The Spartan was about to draw her knife and threaten the creature when Anakin arrived. "Chess ko, Sebulba… Coo wolpa tooney rana." The kid said in the same language that Watto spoke in.
"Tooney rana nu pratta dunko, shag." The creature replied.
"Oh, da Hutt… cha porko ootman geesa… me teesa rodda co pana pee choppa chawa." Anakin said back to the creature.
"Neek me chowa, wermo, mo killee ma klounkee! Una noto shag, me wompity du pom pom." The creature snarled before walking away.
"Eh, chee bana do mullee ra." Anakin muttered bitterly before turning to Qui-Gon. "Your buddy here was about to be turned into orange goo. He picked a fight with a Dug, a particularly dangerous Dug named Sebullba." Anakin explained.
"Mesa hate crunchen. Dat's da last ting mesa wanten." Jar-Jar said in his defense.
"Nevertheless, the boy is right… you were heading for trouble." Qui-Gon said. "Thanks, my young friend."
Padme smiled at Anakin before following the others, leaving behind a very annoyed Sebullba while Jar-Jar insisted he didn't do anything.
The group continued looking for someone else in the settlement who could sell them the parts they needed to repair their hyperdrive, but no one else had the parts they needed, and it was starting to become more and more evident that they would have to find someway to get the parts from Watto.
As they gathered some fruit from a women named Jira, the old women felt her bones ache and warned Anakin that a storm was coming and that he needed to get home quickly. The moment he asked the group about where their shelter was and hearing that it was on the outskirts of the settlement, he offered to take them to his home.
By the time they made it, the storm had already started raging hard and they could barely see more than two feet ahead of them. Qui-Gon and Six ducked down as they walked into the home while Anakin called for his mom. "Mom, Mom I'm home." The boy called out.
Coming out from one the rooms, was a women of forty years entered the work area and spotted her son and the guests. "These are my friends' mom." Anakin said to his mother who was surprised at the group, until Anakin explained about the sandstorm. Anakin meanwhile led Padme to his room and showed her the droid he was building.
Said droid was incomplete and introduced themselves as C3PO, a protocol droid similar to the one on the Federation ship. R2 took a liking to the new droid who he teased about being naked. Revy, who had followed the three into Anakin's room was again reminded about her brother, but she soon caught sight of something that took her completely by surprise. A helmet with a reddish bronze vizor that was all to familiar to her.
"Oh, that's the helmet of our other guest. He passed out in town a few weeks ago and we gave him shelter. He's been making runs for Watto and has been helping around the house. I've even helped repaired his armor and helmet." Anakin explained.
Six was about to ask him a question when he heard a familiar accent coming from outside of Anakin's room. "Sorry I'm late, ma'am. Sandstorm came out of nowhere and I almost lost my way. Seems we have a few extra mouths to feed. I take it Anakin brought some guests."
"I know that voice." Revy said and soon came face to face with a teammate she thought was dead. "Jorge?"
"Six?" Jorge asked in complete surprise as well. "You son of a bitch!" the large Spartan exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here? What happened to Reach?" Jorge asked.
"I could ask the same thing about you. Last time I saw you, you stayed behind to detonate a slip space bomb manually aboard a corvette and now here you are. How'd you end up on this planet?" Six asked.
"When that bomb detonated, I thought that was the end of my life. Somehow, the bomb triggered some kind of anomaly that sent me to this sandbox of a planet. The Covenant ships, I heard that they burned up when they ran right into one this planets suns, so we don't have to worry about those monsters." Jorge began. "I gathered my armor and made my way to this place and almost passed out from lack of water, had it not been for Anakin and his mother. They took me in and I in turn decided to help them out. I've been making money so I can buy their freedom from that blue winged bastard." He added.
"Well, it looks like I can return these to you then." Revy chuckled, handing Jorge his dog tags. "Reach fell and Noble Team's gone. Kat, Carter and Emile are dead. Don't know about Jun, but I hope he managed to get off planet with Doctor Halsey before they glassed the planet." She added.
"So, that's it then? Reach and our team are gone. Somehow, I already knew the answer, but I had to make sure." Jorge said sadly.
As the storm raged on outside, the group sat down for a meal. "All slaves have a transmitter implanted in their bodies somewhere." Shmi, Anakin's mother said to Padme who asked about why she and her son were slaves.
"I've been working on a scanner to try and located mine. But I haven't had any luck." Anakin spoke up.
"Any attempt to escape…" Shmi began to which Anakin finished by saying that the implant would explode and kill the slave.
"I still can't believe there's slavery in the galaxy. The republic's anti-slavery laws…" Padme began before Jorge cut her off.
"I don't think you've noticed this, little lady. But the republic's laws don't exist in the ass end of the galaxy. People like Shmi and her son have to survive as best they can. That and those who own slaves aren't willing to let go of their 'property', especially if they are as talented and gifted as Anakin." The Spartan spoke with disgust.
Jar-Jar used his tongue to grab a piece of food from the table, which he apologized for before Anakin broke the silence. "Has anyone here ever seen a Podrace?" he asked.
"They have Podracing on Malastare. Very fast, very dangerous." Qui-Gon answered.
"I'm the only human who can do it." Anakin boosted, getting a sharp look from his mother. "Mom, I'm not bragging, it's true. Watto said say's he's never heard of a human that could do it, so did that Mandalorian who passed through." He defended.
"You must have Jedi reflex's if you race pods." Qui-Gon said, using said reflexes to catch Jar-Jar's tongue which the Gungan was using to grab another piece of food. "Don't do that again." He told the Gungan before letting go of the tongue.
Anakin laughed at the sight before he asked Qui-Gon a question. "You're a Jedi Knight, aren't you?" Anakin asked Qui-Gon.
Padme and Jar-Jar looked to Qui-Gon who was quite curious about how Anakin picked up on that and the boy answered that he spotted Qui-Gon's Lightsaber, a weapon that only Jedi carry. Qui-Gon countered with saying he possibly killed a Jedi and took the lightsaber, but Anakin countered with saying that he didn't believe that anyone could kill a Jedi.
"I had a dream I was a Jedi. I came back here and freed all the slaves. Have you come to free us?" Anakin asked the Jedi master.
"No, I'm afraid not." Qui-Gon answered, but Anakin was certain that it was the reason that Qui-Gon and the others were on Tatooine. After he thought for a moment, he decided to tell the boy the truth. "I can see there's no fooling you, Annie. We're on our way to Coruscant, the central systems of the Republic, on a very important mission."
"How did you wind up in the outer rim?" Anakin asked.
"Our ship was damaged, and we're stranded until we can repair it." Padme answered.
"I can help, I can fix anything." Anakin said with excitement.
"He's not wrong about that sir. He fixed up my armor really good. He's got a gift." Jorge said to the Jedi Master.
"I believe he can. But first we must acquire the parts we need." Qui-Gon replied. Padme was quick to question on whether the Junk Dealers had some kind of weakness. Shmi was quick to answer that it was their gambling on Podraces. "Podracing. Greed… can be a powerful ally, if used correctly." Qui-Gon said thoughtfully.
"I built a racer, it's the fastest ever. There's a big race tomorrow, on Boonta Eve. You could enter my pod." Anakin offered, but his mother was dead set against the idea of her son competing in one of those races and stated that every time he raced, she thought he would die. But Anakin countered that Watto didn't know about the Pod he built and that if Qui-Gon could make Watto think it was his, then he could get him to pilot for Qui-Gon.
Anakin argued that he loved racing and the prize money would help their guests pay for the parts they needed to repair the ship, but Shmi was still against it, as was Qui-Gon who asked if there was someone in the settlement who was friendly to the Republic, to which Shmi said there wasn't anyone. "Mom you say that's the biggest problem in the universe is that no one helps each other." Anakin insisted. Shmi sighed, knowing that her son was right and while it pained her to agree, she knew it had to be done.
After they had finished their meal, Anakin led Revy to the garage where she took a seat and allowed the kid to repair her armor's damage. "You're really something else, aren't you kid." She said to the boy. "Not many people would be able to fix a Mark V without knowing the ins and outs."
"It's not that difficult, Jorge's armor wasn't as badly damaged as you think it was, so it was easy to repair. It should hold until you can find your people so they can repair it properly." Anakin answered, grabbing a welding torch and a few strips of Titanium before starting to work on repairing the damaged MJLONIR.
And I'll stop there.
Before anyone says that Anakin can't repair Spartan Armor, you people seem to forget that he built his own droid and racer at the age of 9. So, he's able to at the very least repair the damage, not the internal systems.
Second, JORGE IS BACK! Bet you are all wondering why I brought him in? Well, I have plans for the Spartan with a Machine Gun down the road. Plus, I took a few ques from other stories where Jorge survived the explosion, one of which hasn't been updated in four years.
Third, Six didn't tell them everything about the Spartan program, some things are best left unmentioned for the time being.
Now onto the reviews from later.
Devildogg237: I'm well aware that the FMJ is the basic ammo of the MA5 series and that Spartan's protect their name. But Sierra is what the Spartan II's are called as. Spartan III's, I'm not so sure, but Jorge shared his name with that girl whose father was slain, remember?
The Guest Reviewer: Thanks, I'll try to keep up the good work.
Alright, now I'll be returning to Remnant Unleashed for a bit. So, until I come back to this story, please read and review.