The Day...
The air within the capital of the Republic of San Magnolia grew heavy, a pressing weight on the shoulders of all inside the capital. For many, they didn't know why the sudden change of atmosphere had happened, or why the gloom had suddenly arrived. The sky grew a dreary grey as storm clouds seemingly gathered over the country and the people of the Republic were wary, all well aware that an announcement was made today in regards to the President herself addressing the nation at large in regards to something important.
Lena had marched into the Military HQ of San Magnolia ready for what was about to come, though she, too, felt a pit in her stomach as she marched into her post. She noticed the tenseness with which the officer cadre that was not privy to what was set to happen within but an hour from now regarded her. The officers that were known sympathizers of the current regime had not even been approached for the coup. It was these men that could pose a problem, as each wore a pistol strapped to their thigh holsters. They'd have to move fast to deal with and disarm them.
That wouldn't be a problem, honestly, so Lena told herself as she waved to some of the more youthful members of the Military. So few of the current staff knew how to utilize firearms, it was almost sad. Lena had gotten a crash course and she, herself carried a stripped-down M6G Magnum in her jacket, firmly concealed thanks to them removing the awkward trigger/hand guard and the optical cam-scope from the top, thus allowing her to utilize the pistol's ironsights without interference or need to wear a HUD glasses set to interface with the smart scope.
Only thirty-five percent of the youth staff would, per projections, oppose the coup itself in any manner, while over forty-five percent of the older staff would remain loyal to the Regime and oppose it themselves. Some of the more ardent supporters of the current Regime, extremists one could say, had been dealt with by ONI in the past few days prior to Operation:LIBERATOR itself. Lena had known a few of them and would miss them little. The others were still possible threats for the simple fact of the handguns with which they were armed, but the armory was far away and the man commanding it was a friend of general Karlstahl's and a fellow member of the Coup.
Lena then noticed her. Samantha, looking prim and proper in her uniform and with the pins of a captain freshly pinned and shined on her collar, joined her. As the two girls began to walk toward the Research and Development section, Lena stated in a friendly demeanor, "Looking good, Captain Moulin," proudly, to which Sam gave a thumbs up, a proud look on her face. Samantha and Mathieu had played the most important role in the UNSC's operations without her and Annette even knowing.
They'd mapped both the Palace Blancneige and the Eighty-Five districts as a whole for the UNSC. Of course, other agents had done the same, but they'd mostly done it across the country's outer districts. Sam and Matt had treaded the entire place on weekends for the past month and combined, checked and re-checked the maps they'd drawn up through the use of both travel and old 'tourist' maps from back before the war. That must've taken the two siblings a while, but it gave the UNSC areas they could easily deploy troops into to prevent any sort of anti-Eighty-Six uprisings and anti-UNSC riots from spreading too wide.
She approached the R&D section with Sam, the two having exchanged some short words that didn't have any link to what Lena was thinking of currently. Inside the R&D section, they saw Annette and matt, both of them typing away at their keyboards. Annette had concealed her stripped-down Magnum in her labcoat and it did weigh down the left side, where she'd slid it, but she'd counterbalanced it with her wallet. Lena'd have to ask how in God's name that thing was so heavy, but later.
Matt, meanwhile, continued sending encrypted messages through a backdoor built by him and Annette in the first half of the month, after she'd gotten through her phase of... Well, Lena wasn't sure what to call it. Depression? Manic episode? Really, not sure. Annette, though, turned, gave a nod and turned back to work, unshakably focused on the target at hand. She was working on giving the UNSC access to the country-wide broadcast systems and television so that Admiral Nakano would get to as many people as possible when she was introduced by the President.
Aside from them, the UNSC personnel outside the Gran Mur, the fortification Wall that separated the Eighty-Sixth Sector and the War from the Republic's citizenry itself, prepared to break through and destroy the mines placed outside if the need arose for them to intervene in possible riots or revolts, too. Or just in case the UNSC wanted to give a show of force.
Lena had tracked several communiques through the Para-RAID, thanks to the Admiral giving her permission. Several more units had been deployed across the surviving countries as well. New units from the Spirit of Fire, new tanks and transports, new assault guns, new everything, pretty much. The UNSC was running on a tight deadline and was aware of the risks ahead, so they wanted to be prepared. Troops were also being deployed already, to the outskirts. Forward scouts and Marine fireteams, meant to secure a beachhead.
Lena grew as tense as everyone else in the room. Matt had barely acknowledged the two new arrivals, focused on confirming the data he was parsing through and then sending updated reports every twenty minutes to the Admiral, to ensure that the plan's intricate details remained the same. Lena pulled out a tablet and thumbed the activation key to look over the data once more and ensure she knew her place in the plan.
The UNSC's plan was a three-phase one. The first Phase was the seizing of the governmental and military institutions of the Republic of San Magnolia through use of overwhelming numbers. That'd easily be successful, seeing as many of the ministers had gotten crash courses on handling M6 Magnums and the President herself was a soldier, not to mention the fact that general Karlstahl was part of her staff for the day at her behest. Lena and the others, meanwhile, would have to seize Palace Blancneige.
Again, would not be a problem. The place was more of a day-camp. Few of the officers hostile to them knew how to use guns due to the lack of training the Army had given them. She smiled, then thumbed to the next part. The second phase would be the preparations for the broadcast. Taking over the national television and radio-transmit stations to ensure nobody would interrupt the broadcast. That was on the SPARTAN-IIIs and ONI agents and troops.
They'd get a signal through one of their Para-RAIDs, telling them when to start Phases One and Two. Phase One's execution code phrase was 'Crossbow' and the reply after mission accomplished was 'Bolt'. Second phase had the code phrase to confirm the full takeover of the data transmission centers as 'Read-Only'. The President's address would begin before it, however. Before even Phase One.
She switched to Phase Three, which would intermittently happen with Phase Two. The President's address would be cut off on her word, namely 'Switchboard', and would go to Admiral Nakano, who had gone aboard the Spirit of Fire with Captain Cutter. The ship's contingent of Marines would deploy to help in case something went sour, but the UNSC wanted this to be a bloodless, smooth coup with a transfer of power that... Well, in truth, wouldn't be so traumatizing to the people, seeing as the President and some of the government remained the same.
There were a series of contingency plans in place, as well. Such as those in case of sporadic shootouts and actual riots, but Lena had run through them in her head as they came into the R&D section. Sam looked over her own pistol silently, in the corner. She'd gotten a SOCOM model, meaning a silenced pistol that would be used in case any one disagreeable officer found them out.
She arranged the jacket of her uniform, then checked her watch. The show would start at ten o'clock, with the President's address. It was nine-hundred-fifteen hours right now. Forty-five minutes before showtime... Lena stared out through one of the windows in the office, staring up at the sky and silently praying to herself that they'd make it through this with no dead whatsoever. She knew she was being optimistic, but she could hope, at least.
They were about to make the biggest change San Magnolia had faced since its transformation into a Republic three-and-a-half hundred years ago. She closed her eyes, breathed in, then out, then turned to face the team. Sam looked as ready as she ever could be, already ringing up several of their assets within the Palace Blancneige to prepare for the op.
She wondered for a moment how the people outside the Wall and within the other sectors would respond to this coup. The Eighty-Six would have the time of their lives, being welcomed back to a home that genuinely wants them to survive this time around, instead of just sending them out to their deaths. Some may be positively pissed-off at the Republic, of course, and would do some brash things, but that was to be expected. They'd be kept away from civvies until their anger subsided.
The girl then checked her pistol for a moment, pulled the mag out to make sure it was fully loaded(it was) then slid it back into place with a satisfying click. She holstered the gun in her jacket again, then readied up as time passed and the clacking of keyboards continued. She checked her watch again. Ten minutes had passed. They had a lot to deal with, but everything seemed to be shaping up. Still, nobody spoke, even as Annette finished her part of the work and gave Lena a nod. She seemed as tense as the good Major.
Breathing in, then out to calm herself down, Annette spoke her first words for today, wrapping her own Para-RAID device around her neck, "Sam, Lena. I'd suggest you girls go to your assigned points. I and Matt will take ours..." And she shut off her computer, switching to a UNSC tablet with the code saved on it while Matt took his laptop with him. Lena nodded.
She looked to Sam and the others, then said, "We'll see each-other when all is said and done... Take care of yourselves."
"You too, Major," Sam nodded. Lena and Annette smiled to one-another and the other two, then all four of them marched out of the place, shutting off the lights. While Sam would take the command post and hallway leading to the Handler com rooms, Annette would take the rest of R&D with her team, Matt would take the Mess Hall and officer quarters with his and Lena would take the Main Hall with hers.
Each of them went to their specific spots, each meeting a group of officers that had Para-RAID devices around their necks and concealed handguns. Lena's heart rattled like an Assault Rifle as she entered the opulent Main Hall of the Palace and saw a Colonel that was friends with general Karlstahl and a few more of the senior staff loyal to him. He nodded to her, his scarred face serious. He had an assault rifle hidden behind him, while the others carried pistols in thigh holsters.
She stopped in the middle of the place, leaning against the pillar that had the television on it. The same one where the drunkards were. They were already catcalling her, but she ignored them for the moment, looking around at the rest of the dispersed three and four-person teams, each ready to draw their handguns the moment the proclamation from the President began.
Lena's thoughts wandered as she impatiently tapped her foot. Beads of sweat ran down her cheeks. She checked her watch and saw it was nine-hundred-fifty-five hours. Five more minutes before the kickoff and she was already twitching with anticipation. Some of the officers and troopers that weren't part of the coup had noticed this, each in a twitchy state themselves, hands hovering above their weapons.
Her own three soldiers had joined her, one of which was a bespectacled young man with slicked-back, short silver hair. Dustin Jaeger was his name. He was a fresh recruit, a Second Lieutenant brought into the ranks from Officer School the moment the more problematic and unpredictable military staff started disappearing from view. He nodded to the Major, then he and his two other fellow workmates, a long-haired girl and a boy with unkempt hair, saluted.
Lena nodded. All of them stopped as the tune of the Republic anthem played from the television. Lena looked up at the screen hanging above their heads to see the usual news alert of the Republic. Two flags flanked an image of the Presidential Palace, with words written in the ribbon below in old French, as Mathieu had called the language spoken by the Republic in days past.
The image then switched to that from inside the Palace. The President herself appeared with applied make-up and a smile on her face. Huh, one would think premier Yvonne would be announcing the President's start of the speech, but if Lena had to guess... She listened in as the President began, "Good morning, my fellow countrymen and good morning, beloved Republic... It has certainly been a while since I myself have addressed you all from the confines of the Palace."
Beside her was general Karlstahl and a pair of other Military members. The President continued proudly, "I figured it was time we did have a little heart-to-heart. Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot put this on any less horrific a note, but we've been having issues in this Republic since the dawn of this damnable War against the Giadian Empire's autonomous Legion. Hell, since before it..." And she sighed, then pushed strands of her hair out of her eyes, "The Republic has been dealing with corruption and damage from within, not just with threats from without."
She leaned back, "Our Politicians, those you supposedly elected, have been pushing a lie. I know some of you are too young to remember, but this war started almost a decade ago. Before that, during the relatively tense peace we found ourselves in, we've lived lives with a group of the people we call the Colorata. They went missing about... Half a year to a year into the War. I should know, I was an officer in the Army when, if you'll pardon me for using expletives, shit hit the fan hard enough to crack the blades and our army broke apart under the stress of the enemy's relentless assault."
Breathing in, then out and slightly nervous herself after so long being just the President, Jeanne narrowed her lips, "Well, I'm very sorry to say that my predecessor is at fault for this..." and several gasps echoed across the room. Looks of disbelief filled the eyes of the officers that would be against them. Outside, the people watching the proclamation looked, confused, to one-another. The President continued, "We didn't treat the Colorata much better during the pre-war period, with separating them in that category through the name 'Colorata', but I'm sure many of you have at least heard of the Peacetime Preservation Act, to title it as briefly as possible."
"The Republic has failed its Colorata citizens... Any of you who have had friends that were Colorata know what I'm talking about. Aside from persecution, the Republic of San Magnolia, in a stunning show of absolute evil, has sent these people beyond the safe walls of the Eighty-Five Sectors, to the whispered place known as the Unofficial Eighty-Sixth Sector... Ladies and gentlemen, the kind of nightmarish things that were and are being done to the Colorata, to our fellow citizens out there, are nothing short of the biggest breach of human rights ever to take place on this planet... And the biggest shame to ever stain the honor of San Magnolia."
"She ain't," Voiced one of the drunkards, wide awake now, "She isn't about to..."
Lena smiled.
"General, please... Play the footage..."
As images that Lena had already seen and some she hadn't rolled on screen, the audible gasps of a few dozen officers, both from their side and not, echoed. The images of the experiments taking place, of the camps' squalor and of the remaining Eighty-Six, the children. Beside them, footage from the Forward Operating Bases showed the sight of the troops that filmed the Squadrons of the Eighty-Six...
"Crossbow, Crossbow, Crossbow," Played in Lena's ears. She nodded to everyone, then drew her side-arm first. Several dozen guns cocking echoed across the room as she approached one of the Staff that opposed them, while half her team took care of the Drunkards. The surprised officers didn't even get to draw their guns as the girl relieved them of the weapons. The Colonel on their side advanced from the right, all of them huddling every single hostile into the middle of the room.
Lena ordered, "On the floor..." Her voice hard, though uncertainty was in it.
"You can't order me around, major. What even is the meaning of this!?" Demanded the highest-ranking on the lot with venom in his voice. He looked to the Colonel, then asked, "The fuck is wrong with you, Michel?"
"I'm helping make things right," The man replied, "Now, you heard the major... On the fucking floor. All of you."
"This is treason... You know what you're fucking doing is treason, right?! We elected to-" The complaining man got a rifle butt to the stomach for his troubles, causing him to drop to his knees.
Lena and the others disposed of the firearms, piling them in a corner of the room and tying the hands of their comrades with zip-ties provided by Lena's unit. She listened in for the calls, then heard Mathieu, "Mess Hall, Bolt." then Sam, "Com Center and Handler Rooms, Bolt..." and, finally, Annette, her voice shaky compared to the other two, "R&D, Bolt!"
Lena spoke over the com, "OVERLORD, BOLT, BOLT, BOLT. I repeat, BOLT, BOLT, BOLT," her own voice showing a slight tremble. She then turned to the screens as the last images of the camps and of the human trafficking ring that the UNSC had busted disappeared from the screen and the President and her escorting force, now larger by a margin of two, reappeared with a grim look on her face.
"This is what our Republic was reduced to. Out of cowardice and fear, we sent many fellow citizens to their deaths in what would be ghettoes and camps. While the elders and parents fought, the young were left behind to die or be used in experimentation... Or worse... The Republic has broken any sort of trust these young men and women, who have only known the Eighty-Sixth Sector and the horrors within it. We called them 'Processors' for our own autonomous army and never called their casualties as 'human casualties'... My dear people, what has happened to the Colorata by our own hand is an unforgivable offense..."
... From within the Eighty-Sixth Sector, Shin and the others listened to the proclamation through loudspeakers installed in their bases. Captain Nouzen looked up at the poles through which the words emanated. He had packed his Juggernaut full of supplies for dusk, when they'd depart while the UNSC forces were busy securing the base itself. Theo looked up, a grin on his face, then said "They're actually fucking doing it..."
"Doesn't change anything," Kurena voiced, arms crossed to her chest, "We gotta do what we gotta do."
"Never said it did change anything, Kurena," Theo nodded, "It's just... I can't fuckin' believe the White Pigs are about to get their shit pushed in for what they did to us... And through the hands of several of their own people..."
"Well," Daiya smiled, too, as he checked the kit of his Cyclops Mech and nodded approvingly. He'd be hauling some of the ammo for the team, while Fido carried the rest. He spoke, looking to Anju, "Too bad we won't be here to see it, then, but... Maybe... If we survive, we could swing by for a visit, provided we do get to leave and the UNSC doesn't just block us."
"We'll see..." Shin remarked, trying to silence them so he could hear what was being said.
The President continued, "To the Colorata, whom I know are listening in as well... I cannot begin to ever consider a way to..." She breathed, then spoke, her voice honest, heavy, filled with regret, "What we've done to you and your families, to entire generations of our fellow citizens, is horrible. We know we as a country cannot repay the debt we owe in a thousand generations, but... Let us try, please. We're here to make things right..."
She looked to a worried Karlstahl, then stated in a murmur, "We're all here to repent for our sins, after all..." and then she gazed upon the cameras once more and stated, "Ladies and gentlemen, fellow citizens of the Republic, be you Colorata or Alba... I am here to tell you openly that, through what has to be the biggest campaign of intelligence gathering to date and with the help of some allies in the shadows, we are going to make up for the mistakes of the past... And bring about a future in which the Republic is a country that respects its own set tenets and beliefs:Freedom, equality, brotherhood, justice and nobility, instead of oppression, discrimination, intolerance, atrocity and vulgarity!"
She slammed her hand onto her desk, "Ladies and gentlemen, what say you of the government that betrayed your friends and sent them to the slaughter!?" and she let another roll of footage, namely what the UNSC had gathered on the politicians. Corruption, bribery, their lavish parties and crimes going unpunished, the images of the trafficking ring run by the dead Minister of Education...
... Lena heard the cries of the people outside, cries of scorn and damnation. She walked to one of the large windows, to see the people gathered in the streets. Some wept after what was shown to them. Others bore anger in their hearts, raising high their fists and crying aloud in condemnation of what they must've now seen as a murderous regime. The President smiled as she heard the cries, loud enough to echo even through the television, "So it is, then! Condemnation for the error of their ways, as it should be! I knew the spirit of San Magnolia still lived within you! The spirit that built this nation through her martyrdom for all of our ancestors!"
She smiled broadly, while Karlstahl stood to his feet and guided several people into the building. She noted, "Ladies and gentlemen, as I have to admit... I have not done this alone. Supporters of my beliefs lay even within the Government itself. The ministers that stood by my side have just entered the room," and the camera panned up to reveal the general staff of multiple important ministries that had been voted into power early in the days of the Republic's War. Beside them were unknown figures, clad in white uniforms and carrying equipment not familiar to the people."
"The military, as can be seen, led by General Karlstahl and one major Vladilena Milizé, currently occupying the Military Headquarters of the Palace Blancneige" She motioned to General Karlstahl and his men and women that were in the room and the man snapped a crisp salute, his features inscrutable, then to the camera, at Lena, "And the personnel of an Armed Force I never thought would come here..."
She motioned to the white-clad men and women, then stated, "My citizens, meet those who have made this change possible through their hard work and cooperation with our staff. These are the men and women of the United Nations Space Command," and all of them snapped crisp salutes as the woman continued, "They stand by the people stuck in the Eighty-Sixth sector as our new Bulwark against the Legion's terror. Marine and Army units have been cooperating with the Processor Squadrons of the Eighty-Sixth sector for months now, proving themselves in battle countless times and even rescuing some of the Colorata. Theirs is the footage you saw played from the camps and fields."
Lena looked outside. The populace seemed awed at first, but the President spoke, "We're not done yet. While these men and women are the staff, there is the leader of the UNSC currently above our world. She would also like to say a few words after we hit the Switchboard..."
Lena heard the word being given. Her Para-RAID caught the signals of the Marine RAIDER unit kicking down the doors of the broadcasting company alongside the SPARTAN-IIIs. Within moments, the all-clear had been given by the commander of the Strike Team and Lena saw the footage change. A blue outline and a REC sign appeared on the top left, followed by images of the Admiral herself. Lena had yet to see the woman live, but she caught sight of her now. A kind-looking old woman with a gaze of steel. Behind her, a utilitarian, armored bridge with a tall, old man standing behind her.
The woman greeted them with a raised hand, her image and voice broadcast across every TV and radio in the world, "Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of the Republic of San Magnolia and of the wider world, greetings to you. I am Admiral Eiko Nakano of the UNSC Battle Group Serene, a fleet of over a dozen UNSC vessels currently settled above your home world..." and the audible gasps of the people around echoed, "Yes, indeed, up above..." She turned the camera toward the planet, to the sight of the several dozen vessels around her and the flying escort fighters. Lena was dumbstruck by the beauty before her, but she still listened as the woman turned her cam back to her, "I am here as the only representative of the UNSC to find your system by random chance."
"I and my people have since become representatives of the UNSC's and United Earth Government's interests in this region... Admittedly, it wasn't by choice at first," She smirked, "Circumstances alien to us and outside our control had swayed us from our travels and led us here, to your world, where our first encounter with the locals was through the Legion's unwelcome advances... We lost a few good people... But we came back and met the Eighty-Six, or the Colorata. We've since been helping them in battle."
"As we joined the Colorata in their battle for survival, we've learned more and more of the Republic itself and of the wider world, making contact with three other nations so far. And we've also learned of your war, which we decided to get involved with for one simple reason beyond us being stuck here. We saw ourselves in you..." The Admiral offered. Lena remembered... Annette had told her of the Covenant. Of the UNSC's own war for survival.
The Admiral spoke grimly, "We're a species that, no matter where it finds itself, it seems, we're always being pushed to extinction, our backs against the wall... Ladies and gentlemen, before we go any further, I'd like to reveal to the wider world, not just to San Magnolia, why the UNSC has joined ranks with your forces and why we are so eager to assist you... Serina. Roll the footage."
Various images flashed on-screen, taken from the battles of the Human-Covenant War. The burning of Harvest, the fights for Miridem, Algolis, the Campaigns of the Inner Colonies... Reach... All of it played back in stunningly painful detail for the world to see. In the Federal Republic, Frederica had done the mistake of turning on the TV to watch the wider broadcast with Ernst.
She wept as she saw the destruction wrought by the Covenant's weapons against the underequipped humanity, while the man could do little but stare...
In the Eighty-Sixth Sector, the Processors of each Squadron watched with genuine horror as the images they'd seen before repeated a thousand times over on the screens of their computers...
And in the Republic's capital, people collapsed, while Lena, Annette and most other officers loyal to the coup(even those not loyal) stared at the images before them with faces filled with fear. The Admiral turned off the footage, which also had a 'backing track' of screams, radio calls, demands for reinforcements and the whirrs of plasma weaponry raining down hell upon mankind, then started again, "We've fought a bloody war up until now... It is why we decided to help."
She then smiled broadly, "However, we all had goals to drive us forward... And men and women we could call heroes. I'd like to bring attention to one of our greatest right now, so that you, ladies and gentlemen, may know what inspired humanity to fight this war of attrition without remorse or care and why we came to your aid. Serina. Audio File Oh-Thirteen and video footage from Battle Group India and the UNSC Prowler Wink of an Eye."
Two side-by-side images appeared, one of them divided between several dozen UNSC vessels, while the other showed the Battle Group to its fullest extent. Covenant vessels appeared and a voice echoed over com as the images of the battle, from the flanks and the division of forces by the Admiral of the fleet to the ambushes and counter-attacks against and from the Covenant, enemy vessels falling to the numbers and tactics of the UNSC fleet as MAC guns flashed, missiles lanced and coilgun tracers flared past the screen.
A commanding man's voice boomed over the com, an image of his stern, chiseled face appearing on the right-most part of the screen with his name written beneath it.
VICE ADMIRAL PRESTON JEREMIAH COLE, UNSC BATTLE GROUP INDIA
"Listen to me, Covenant!" His voice was defiant, hard and filled with anger "I am Vice Admiral Preston J. Cole, commanding the human flagship Everest. You claim to be the holy and glorious inheritors of the Universe? I spit on your so-called Holiness! You dare judge us unfit? After I have personally sent more than three hundred of your vainglorious ships to hell? After kicking your collective butts off Harvest - not once - but twice? From where I sit, we are the worthy inheritors. You think otherwise, you can come and try to prove me wrong."
Lena's heart welled, while the officers around them, those loyal to the coup, cheered raucously, some even saluting the defiance of the man. Outside, the people of the Republic burst into cheers as the last of the footage played, each of them now growing wide smiles and raising their fists in cheer, or clapping. Pride of being human welling in their chests, the UNSC and the peoples of the countries of the world united in a Battle Cry that rippled all across the world.
Ernst himself smiled as he saw the images, with Frederica now entranced while she had wept moments earlier about the events unfolding in the footage. He looked back, to see Colonel Rovinești and her husband sitting in the bac, grinning ear-to-ear. Captain Pierce snapped a crisp salute at the words of the man as they still rang throughout the place, with the outside of the house being filled with the roaring cheers of a renewed, prideful people belonging to the Federal Republic of Giad.
Within the Federal Republic of Giad's FOB 03, Grethe and her fellow soldiers gave the Admiral proud salutes, with Grethe murmuring to herself, "I'm memorizing that if I ever go up against the Legion like he did against their foes..." before looking to her fellow comrades and the UNSC personnel inside the meeting room, including a UNSC Captain that'd been brought in alongside the Army.
... Meanwhile, in the Eighty-Sixth sector itself, within Spearhead's FOB, Shin couldn't help himself, smiling at the defiance with which the man of the UNSC had spoken to their own genocidal foe. Kurena actually gave a cheer which was joined by the UNSC military members present, each of them raising their fists high in defiance and in victory against their old foe.
The President and Karlstahl both regarded the footage with muted awe and the man that had achieved this significant victory with the reverence he deserved.
The last images playing were the launches of a multitude of Nuclear Warheads into the core of the gas giant around which the battle was fought. A hundred flashes exploded, causing the Gas Giant to go Nova, enveloping the rest of the enemy's fleet while the last of the UNSC vessels jumped out-of-system. However, a faint blue light winked in the midst of the detonation, fact which caught Lena's eye. The Admiral explained, "Admiral Preston Jeremiah Cole, commander of UNSC Battle Group India, hero of Harvest and the best damn admiral in the UNSC Navy bar none, destroyed the entire Covenant fleet of over three hundred vessels by causing the Gas Giant Viperidae to go Nova, effectively turning it into a small sun."
"The man is the War Hero that still drives the UNSC forward to this day. The battle of Psi Serpentis in Twenty-Five Forty-Three has been the greatest victory mankind has achieved against the Covenant and we firmly believe it shook the conviction of the enemy force. This victory would come to be known as Cole's Last Stand. While the man himself was presumably KIA in the engagement, he had given humanity hope. And with that hope, we fight to this day. It is the hope we want to give to you, now, as well, by being here as reinforcements against your own foe. President, I believe it's your turn."
The President's image reappeared while the Admiral's minimized, sat in a corner on the top left. She nodded, smiling, then said, "Thank you, Admiral Nakano. Ladies and gentlemen, The UNSC has vowed to assist not only the Republic, but her fellow surviving nations as well. What they need from the Republic, however, is for us to change our ways and welcome the Eighty-Six as one should. As War Heroes."
The people outside chanted something. Lena looked to her fellows and nodded, then walked out of the main door, to see the people raising high their fists and calling out, "U N S C! U N S C!" all the while listening to the two women making the proclamation. She could do little but smile at the sight, crossing her arms to her chest. She looked at the crowd, then watched UNSC aircraft flying in overhead. Pelicans, she recalled, the UNSC's mainstay drop ship and air transport for infantry and equipment.
She snapped a crisp salute to the birds as they flew by, then turned to face the President as she drew close to the finale, "... For a fair Republic, however, I and Admiral Nakano have an announcement to make. The Colorata and the current members of the Military who've assisted in this take-over and the take-over of the HQ are all Veterans by definition. The Republic itself should pride in its equality. The Eighty-Six have served for almost a decade as unwilling soldiers to the Republic... They will be welcomed as Citizens should they so wish."
"Which brings us to the issue at hand, ladies and gentlemen," The Admiral joined in, smiling, "While we're sure that not many of you will agree to what is about to be stated, the Republic needs to reform into something new... A force to be reckoned with and one that can proudly call its Military a Military... But we know how the Alba were in terms of military preparation."
"This is why, with a heavy, but proud heart, I must state the following..." The President continued, pulling out a communique and starting to read it, "According to code number thirteen, paragraph twelve in the Constitution of the Republic, the elected President can, with the help of the Parliament or alone, through Emergency Powers granted in strange times, such as the one we find ourselves in, enact and activate laws as necessary to ensure the survival of the country, its residents and its ideals. To this end, I have enacted something shortly called the Law of Veteran Vote."
"To explain in layman's terms what this means," She said to the seemingly confused population, "Any person with a minimum of two years' service in the military is actively considered a working citizen of the Republic. Those who have not undergone the military term, which will have been large sections of the population and the majority of the Nobility, will have their right to vote revoked until either they sign up with the Military, thus allowing us to rebuild our military strength with the aid of the UNSC. The Colorata have served us unwillingly for about eight years... It is time we paid them back for their service and defended the borders by their side, or alone as the situation requires it..."
... Shin and everyone else had stopped pretty much dead at the women's words.
"They just..." Raiden murmured. He looked to a confused Shin and got a nod. The reactions of the crew were mixed, but the UNSC seemed proud of what their comrades were doing. In fact, several of the ones in the know about their own Long Range Recon Mission turned to them, hoping to see a change in Shin's demeanor, but found little hope upon seeing him still turn, determined, to their Juggernauts.
Back within the confines of the Republic, Lena and the other staff officers that had gone outside to gauge the reaction of the population had expected outright riots at first and were ready to call in the UNSC to help calm things. The President continued her speech, "At last... We get to the meat of the problem. If you do not wish to serve, we cannot force you, but we all know what's at stake if we let only the Colorata fight this war alone. Not only will they have died for naught, the Republic and all within it will burn with them..."
The Admiral butted in as there was no reaction at first from the people, all of whom were processing, "Your country will have the full backing and training support of the UNSC Armed Forces above your world..." then she grinned and looked to the captain in the back, stating, "In fact... Captain Cutter, bring us in above the capital. Make the entry gentle..."
"Aye, aye, Admiral," The man saluted, then looked back and barked, "Helm! Bring us in, half-speed and keep it that way!"
"Half-Speed, Aye!" The disembodied voice of the helmsman replied from far back. The woman stood to her feet and shut the video transmission off for a moment, to which the President, her Staff and the people currently outside all wondered what she meant. Exiting onto the 'front porch' of the Presidential Palace, so to speak, the woman saw the gathered crowds in the streets, all looking up.
The entire Republic gazed up at the sky as the roar of a sonic boom rippled throughout the atmosphere. A small dot appeared in the clear azure dome as the midday-sun descended. The dot grew in size as it approached, drawing close enough that shapes could be distinguished. Following that, the roar of fusion engines filled the air, a rumble that shook glass and the very core of the Republic.
Finally, the dot fully resolved into a massive armored vessel, its reverse thrusters powering to the maximum for it to brake. Gusts of wind flowed through the streets of San Magnolia as the heavily-armed military support vessel slowly settled into place. The President, General Karlstahl, Lena, her friends and even the general population let out a series of expletives and gasps, though none fled at the sight of the warship as it finally settled overhead. Covered in black armor plate, lined with guns and drop-ships and missile pods, now hovered over the Republic's capital, blotting out the sun for several blocks around the Palace due to her size.
Lena stared up at the vessel, mouth agape. That was a UNSC ship in its full glory. If Lena had had any doubt in her subconscious beforehand about the veracity of the UNSC's orbital presence, it was quickly dashed by the sight of one of the ships that provided the troops, munitions and vehicles with which the UNSC fought their battles now hovering above her home city.
"Holy shit..." Annette murmured as she joined Lena outside, "Look at the size of her... And she's not even one of their biggest..."
"She's one of, if not the only bigger type of vessel that can make it into Atmo," Matt said as he, too approached with Samantha from behind the two girls. He smiled, then said, "Ladies... Meet the UNSC Spirit of Fire. One of the former prides of Admiral Cole's task force and a legendary vessel among legendary vessels for her services to humanity during the Harvest Campaign."
A single craft emerged from the belly of the vessel. A UNSC Pelican swung in for landing at the Presidential Palace, powering its engines and touching down behind the President, General and their Government. From within the aircraft belonging to the Spirit of Fire, Admiral Nakano appeared, her peaked cap under her arm as she approached. Behind her was the Captain of the warship, James G. Cutter.
The two stopped in front of the President and Nakano smiled, saluting, "Madam President."
Jeanne snapped a crisp salute, as did Karlstahl, then she said, "Admiral... Welcome to the Republic."
"My pleasure to be here, Prez," She nodded, then looked to the populace of the Republic. She arranged the microphone that transmitted her words across the Republic and the other countries' airwaves, then spoke, "Greetings from above! Apologies for the Landing, but I figured I'd bring a... Motivational Device!" She laughed, then motioned to the vessel of the UNSC Fleet, "This, ladies and gentlemen, is the UNSC Spirit of Fire. She's one of three such support vessels we have in the fleet... And they ain't even the biggest girls in our fleet."
She saw Lena pushing through the crowd, then smiled, "Of course, we can't bring the big girls in. They're pretty big and may do a bit more damage than a gust of wind or two, but they're up there. Anyway, that's not why I'm here... Ladies and gentlemen, I've been working with the Republic's best officers and the best of the Colorata for the past few months as well. They've died in droves against the foe and you were lied to about them for almost a decade... What they need now is for the world to show them that they didn't fight for nothing, despite what the old government we're throwing to the curb would've wanted."
Stopping to help Lena onto the stage, the Admiral then stated, "Humanity needs to stick together, not kill each-other like a bunch of apes vying for territory when there's bigger threats to face. In your case, it's the Legion. In ours, it's the Covenant... Except in our case, we fought for every inch of soil on every world no matter what race or culture we were from. You owe it to yourselves and to them to learn how to fight..."
"So lemme ask you ladies and gents this!" The Admiral called proudly, her stern gaze then swept over the gathered people of the Republic. She asked, "Are you willing to free yourselves and your friends from the shackles imposed upon you by the Legion and by your Government? Are you willing to fight to return the world to how it was before the Legion came about? And if yes..."
The Admiral gazed to the President. She stepped up, then asked, "Are you ready to become true Citizens of the Republic, as our Veterans are!?" and she paused for a moment, watching the people finish processing everything. She smiled, then said, "If yes, step forth... So we know who our first recruits are, because who else should defend their homeland if not Citizens?"
Tensely, the military members and the Admiral watched for a minute as the crowd's murmurs grew loud. One looked to another, requesting the counsel of their friends and families in regards to what to do. Time slowed around them as the officers awaited the responses with bated breaths... Then, finally... A young man stepped forward, then saluted and cried out aloud, "Nobody BUT US!"
A slow wave of cheers erupted through the youthful population as they took their steps forth, raising high their fists and saluting the officer cadre. The President and Lena both gasped, the latter's heart filling with pure joy at the sight of her people's will to fight returned. She looked to the general, who seemed just as shocked as her at the sight, then he gazed at her. The two's smiles grew as they saluted one another, then gave the same respect to the Admiral and President.
The two women in power turned, saluted back their officers, then turned to the people and replied to their salutes. The President nodded, "Alright! Soldiers of San Magnolia, WELCOME TO YOUR NEW REPUBLIC! WE MARCH TO WAR FOR OUR LOVED ONES, FOR THE ONES WE AND OUR COMRADES HAVE LOST AND AGAINST THE ENCROACHING DARKNESS OF THE LEGION! STAND TALL! FOR THE NEW REPUBLIC!"
"FOR THE NEW REPUBLIC, NOBODY BUT US!" chorused the crowd with patriotic fervor.
The Admiral approached Vladilena, then placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Major."
"The pleasure's all mine, Admiral..." Lena smiled back, then looked around, "I can't believe this..."
"That your people would be so open to fight for what they should've fought for from the start?" Snorted the Admiral, "When one's eyes are fully opened to the horrors of the world around them, they have two choices, to swim or sink in the face of such degeneracy. You're lucky your people, as weak as they may've seemed on the surface, chose to swim instead of sinking to despair."
The Major nodded, "Aye, ma'am..."
"Well," She clapped Lena on the shoulder, then turned to the President and General Karlstahl, stating, "We'd better get to work. This is gonna be a lot of people to vet through for the training. I'll start deploying Army and Marine Corps instructors to train your troops and I'll probably also have to visit the Federal Republic, United Kingdom and Alliance of Wald personally, just so that the other countries don't feel discriminated..." and she let out a fake sigh of exasperation, "By God, politics suck."
"Heh, don't I know it... We'll hold the fort 'till you swing back around for a visit," The President noted.
"Indeed. Major..." Karlstahl looked to Lena. She raised a brow, to which he said, "I'm going to need your help and the help of your friends and officer cadre to deal with... All of the incoming requests to join. In the meantime, the President's gonna deal with the industrial side, namely negotiation with the UNSC to provide the tools and factories necessary to build firearms, vehicles and ammo to supply our forces."
"A busy few days ahead, then," Lena smiled, "Don't worry, sir," She saluted, "We'll get it done."
"At'er, girl," Jeanne smirked, "Let's get to work..."
Some hours later, Spearhead FOB
Shin and the others had seen the warship fly in. They'd felt the blast of air as it broke the sonic barrier upon entering and saw her stop just above the Capital. She was small, compared to what the Republic must've seen. Still, they were hearing noises over the Para-RAID. UNSC troops talking about deployment of training crews, preparations and boot camps being set up for the influx of new recruits.
Shin looked inside the hangar, at their repaired Juggernauts. He still had a dozen of his team-mates because the UNSC had swung by just in time to save them from their harrowing deaths. They'd given them time to replenish themselves, to heal up. And they'd spooked the Legion something good, considering he felt no other targets preparing to engage them. Still...
He had crossed into the Republic's control area. The enemy Shepherd and his co-commander, the ODST Shepherd. Word was that the UNSC was preparing its own expeditionary force to counter them, but that it wouldn't be ready for a few more days. He watched some of the Marines partying, raising their glasses for a successful coup where nobody had died.
'As the great Warrior Poet, Ice Cube, once said, "If the day doesn't require an AK, it's a good one"...'
Shin remembered that Generation Kill quote, seeing as Mary had pretty much forced them to watch it. Sure, she must've wanted to just watch it with Theo, but decided to invite everyone else for the sake of inviting them. As for the quote, it was eerily fitting for the current situation the UNSC found itself in. They had a country to rebuild from the ground up, pretty much, a country to fix.
He sighed. He didn't envy the major, the President, the Admiral or anyone else involved in the post-coup efforts. He looked back as he saw Kurena and Theo loading up Fido's trailers with supplies, including extra ammunition for everything from their Juggernauts' 57mm Smoothbore cannons to their 9mm pistols, as well as stacks of food and supplies. Myna and Lecca both helped with the kit, loading up spare parts for the machines with the help of some of Lev's mechanics, while Haruto and some of their other friends packed medical supplies the UNSC had given to them.
"Still not a chance of us talking you folks out of it, is there?" He heard a woman ask. Turning to the right, he saw Mary, her arms crossed to her chest. She was clad only in her BDU and lacking the armor, but she still had her Magnum pistol in her thigh holster. Shin sighed, seeing the look in her eyes, then shook his head. She snorted, then said, "Should've known... Theo did mention how important this is to you."
"I told them they had the option to stay... All of them have made friends among your ranks," He noted, "I didn't."
"Hah," The woman snorted, "If that's what you think, cap, I'm sorry to burst your bubble. You made several friends among the rank and file of the UNSC and even within the officer cadre."
"Hm?" Shin raised a brow. He hadn't. Just acquaintances.
"Major Volkov, the Admiral, a few Captains and Lieutenants... All of'em spoke highly of you. Several were disappointed when you refused their offer for a drink or two, ones that, to quote the old ODST officer, 'don't have to be reported'," She smirked, "So don't underestimate yourself, sir. You've got a few friends beside your own squadron... I just wish you guys would let us help."
"It's something I'm determined to do alone..."
"Taking down your brother by your own sword," The girl sighed, "I get it, cap... Don't like it, but I get it. I'll leave you kids to make your prep, but I've got two things to tell you..." And she turned to leave. Shin raised a brow and she stated, "First of all, we can't keep quiet for long. Command's gonna figure Spearhead went out... We can only delay for so long after you've left, but expect a pursuit force to form up and try and help you..." and, upon Shin nodding, she added, "As for the second thing.." and she smiled weakly, "Don't die on us, no matter what..."
"We can't promise anything..." He noted.
"All I'm asking is that you try, cap... I like Theo," She smiled, "Fuck, I like all of you as friends, but Theo's... Something different."
"I understand," Shin nodded, "We'll... Try..."
"Even if you can't make it home... Well, you've got another country a few hundred kilometers east, so just go there... Do something to survive for your sakes and ours," She stated, then turned and snapped a crisp salute, "That's all I had to say, sir..." and she quickly departed. Shin could easily tell she bit back tears when she spoke of them. And of Theo...
"Yo, Shin," Raiden said from beside him. Shin turned to the boy and found an M6 Magnum shoved in his face. Raiden smiled, then said, "According to the ODSTs we have on-station, this is a gift from Major Volkov. He wanted you to have an extra gun in case, to quote the boys who quoted the major, 'that peashooter in your leg holster doesn't do the job anymore'. We've been packing UNSC kit, so the ammo should be plentiful..."
"Provided we don't lose Fido's trailers..." Shin murmured, gently grabbing onto the new fifty-cal pistol. The chromed steel of the weapon and the textured grip felt eerily familiar, yet so odd to hold at the same time. It was almost like the gun called to him. He was also handed the thigh holster for it, which he tied around his left thigh. Holstering the pistol, he looked around and stated firmly, "You can all still back out..."
"Nope," The man remarked with a grin, "We told you, Shin. We've stuck together this long, we're going through with the Long Range Recon Mission even if we don't have to. You feel like it needs to be done, we're behind you. Stop trying to change it."
Shin nodded, then looked ahead as their own squadron of Gremlin EMP vehicles was deployed. Raiden crossed his arms and asked, "What do you think the Major's gonna say when we go off on our own?"
Shin actually didn't want to think of it. He'd promised they'd meet, but right now... They were slated to be the third squadron brought back into the Republic at his behest, just so that they had the time to leave. He sighed, then said, "Speaking of the devil..." as he powered on the com. He nodded to everyone else and they all joined up, synching their Para-RAIDs.
"Hello, everyone!" Lena sounded much more jovial, "I presume the word's spread, but I'm gonna tell you right now anyway! We won... No bloodshed."
"Damn," Theo remarked, grinning, "Color us impressed... And no offense, major, I kinda wanted to hear someone got popped."
"Heh... I understand, but thankfully, it wasn't necessary," Lena stated, "So, within a few hours, you will be brought home! How does it feel?"
A few of them exchanged looks with one-another. Anju and Daiya frowned, while Lecca, Haruto and Myna sighed. Shin replied for all of them, "It feels good, major," a lie, but a necessary one to not make her worry. He looked around and said, "What's the situation within the border? Did the Admiral and President touch any hearts with that speech of theirs about helping us defend the nation we're all citizens of?"
"Quite a few, in fact..." Lena audibly sighed, "I and the others have been parsing through hundreds of files for the past hour... And we're not even a tenth of the way through the applications. The first hour alone saw five hundred thousand of the Republic's Alba signing up for the service and the UNSC's been bringing down active military to train them. Makeshift camps are being set up, defenses are being built inside the capital, heck, we got a SPARTAN presence in the HQ."
Shin eyed the SPARTAN-IIs, while Raiden whistled, "That many people willing to jump and defend the motherland all of a sudden?"
"We were surprised to see the support from the population, too, honestly. There are still disgruntled voices that make up, on last account, around forty percent of the population. Ten percent are undecided on if they should support the UNSC's presence and the last fifty are generally open to the idea of cooperation with the Admiral's folks and with other nations," The girl explained as the sound of tapping on a keyboard echoed in the background. "Ah... Apologies, I have to go. I and the others need to finish at least half the current stack of files to be able to rest in the evening. We'll hopefully see you guys and girls for some tea and sweets."
"Yeah. Hopefully..." Shin murmured, "Take care of yourselves in there, Major."
"You, too, captain. See you all soon," She replied and the line went dead. Shin's shoulders sagged, while Kurena actually looked a tad upset at the situation. She usually wasn't one to get sad over the major having leave so quickly, but it must've been the fact that they were about to ride on into their deaths that triggered some form of emotional response from the girl.
Another hour had passed and the world's lights dimmed as the Eighty-Six's Spearhead Squadron prepared for their last venture. Lev had taken Shin aside before all of them had taken their showers and prepared to leave. As the sun beat down from the west and what would have been the last summer shower as September's midpoint marked the switch to Fall ended, the dozen members of Spearhead Squadron saw their new vehicles lined up neatly, including Daiya's new vehicle.
Painted white, like the newly-polished Juggernauts, the HRUNTING Mark II(G) variant of the Cyclops carried its usual high-caliber arm-mounted cannon, but also hauled grenade launchers on the top and ECM smoke dispersal grenades with four charges per each tube, for a total of twenty grenades in the tubes placed on the hips of the speedy anti-armor and anti-vehicle unit.
"Well, looks like this is it..." Murmured Daiya, crossing his arms to his chest as he saw the Black Dog emblem painted onto the shoulder of the machine.
"It is," Lecca replied, grinning, "Can't believe we survived so fucking far... Only to have to go at it now."
"We'll make it out," Haruto smirked, "Hey, we got through worse with the first few battles we've had against the Legion, didn't we?"
"We're facing two Shepherds this time," Shin remarked as he approached Undertaker, his Juggernaut.
"Oh ,hey, look! Everything's all shiny and clean!" Kurena remarked with a smile. As the team enjoyed the sight of their machines, Shin stood back, looking at them. There was still a dozen of them against his brother's entire force of Legion Machines, not to mention the sub-commander Shepherd that was once an ODST officer. The fight ahead was going to be rough, but...
Well, he had them behind him. Not to mention his teammates. Looking inside as his teammates talked about candy, the young man also saw the box containing all of the armor fragments onto which he'd carved the names of the deceased from his squadron. He looked back, to Lev and to the other mechanics. Then, after telling his team about the man, they mounted up, waving goodbye to the UNSC Staff present and departing, much to the surprise of SPARTAN Team RED and the others.
Before a force could be mustered to either help or apprehend and return them home, they were already gone over the horizon...
Back within the capital.
Lena stretched and yawned, her every joint crackling as stress was released. She'd stood, hunched over a desk with an electronic pen in hand, writing out and signing reports for the UNSC in regards to the ranks that would join the New Republic Armed Forces for the better part of the last few hours. Indeed, work had been hard and arduous and, again, they'd not even scratched the surface.
So much of the youth and even a lot of the middle-aged population seemed eager to fix what the Old Republic's mistakes had been. While the President had written in and adopted several new Laws and amendments to the Constitution, also rescinding the Peacetime Preservation Act, Lena had pretty much vetted several recruits for the officer corps, while Lena, Matt, Samantha and new guy Dustin had parsed through the entire portfolio of Soldiers to bring only the best they could find.
Of course, what they selected would be cross-examined by the UNSC and they'd elect whomever they saw fit to rebuild the Army. Out of ten million remaining Alba, so far, one million had actively signed their souls away to the military-industrial complex that would be fighting the Legion tooth and nail alongside the Eighty-Six, while command-and-control would be handed to a combination of UNSC-trained officers and staff from the other nations themselves.
She also knew she'd have to run through basic again and would do so gladly. She wanted to learn how to properly operate firearms and a basic training regiment with times and everything pre-determined would mean she knew what she was doing if she were to ever enter infantry combat training. She wanted to actually have a rifle she could carry around and the UNSC stuff looked very interesting.
She leaned back against her seat, then whined, to which Annette said, "We're almost done with this shift, Lena. Then, we can go talk to them..."
Lena nodded, then looked around at the team. Each of them seemed more tired than you'd expect out of what was supposed to be simple paperwork. Matt himself had fallen asleep twice already, with Sam following close behind him and about to drop, face-first, onto her desk for her second time. Lena blinked, yawned again, then looked to Annette and said, "Can't you and Matt program some sort of thing to sort through the digital copies quicker? Send the good ones to command while the bad ones get rejected...?"
Annette paused at her desk, pushed herself away from it on her rolling chair, then looked to her friend with a deadpan stare. Lena paused, a bead of sweat running down her cheeks as she looked square into Annette's eyes. For a moment, Lena wanted to ask what had taken over her friend, but the girl looked over to Matt and asked, "You think we could...? Y'know, save ourselves the trouble..."
The man gave a thumbs up, then said, "The process itself should be simple to code... It's just a sorting system app based on criteria that can be typed in and changed as we see fit... I can start on it later tonight and finish tomorrow if you girls want me to." and the four people present, which included Dustin, voiced their agreement rather loudly toward the tech-whiz.
He nodded, then said, "Alright... I'll get to it. You folks do a couple more forms and we'll start the digitization and codewriting for the app later tonight..." And he, too, yawned. The group burst into chuckles, then joined the man in the yawning, with Dustin grinning the brightest. The kid was a newcomer, but he'd adapted well to this little formation of hackers, spooks and a major.
Lena was pretty sure she'd just gathered her own staff, meaning her friends. She was still gonna drive'em up the wall 'till they took combat and officer training schools with her with the help of the UNSC. Arranging her uniform, the young woman sighed, parsing through the last five reports as slowly as she allowed herself to(which still meant relatively fast) before setting the tablet she'd been using aside.
She stretched, stood up and started walking around a bit. Her legs had gone numb over the past few hours of sitting on her ass and doing nothing but writing reports, so she figured she may as well work to get her blood flowing. She sighed, then looked around at the others just as Matt's typing intensified, the keyboard rattling as an automatic weapon would when its trigger was held down.
She gazed upon the man and Annette as the girl stood to her feet and went to aid him in his typing. The two began chatting, while Dustin seemed to engage in chatter with Sam, who greeted him warmly. Lena didn't know what their story was, seeing as Dustin was fresh out of the original officer school and would be going through the new one as soon as the UNSC established it, yet she didn't dare intervene.
They were her friends, after all, as much as Spearhead was. Speaking of, she checked her digital wristwatch. She said to them, "I'm probably going to have to go greet the UNSC aircraft bringing Spearhead in. Sam, an hour after that, you gotta go meet your own squadron and after that we should all hit up a restaurant or something for dinner... We'll make plans on the phones, though."
"Right," Sam nodded, then saluted, "Be seeing ya, ma'am."
"Stay safe, major," Dustin nodded.
"Later, Lena," Annette waved.
"Take care with the guys and gals. Bring'em over first chance you get," Matt voiced, typing away. Lena departed with a smile on her face at her team's words. She marched down the halls as the last of the hostile officers were being taken away by the UNSC's freshly-deployed Marine infantry. Descending down the steps, through the gates and out onto the boulevard as the roar of parties reverberated across the lively Main Street, Lena turned to the main park in the city, intending to march all the way there, where UNSC forces were setting up landing zones so that the Eighty-Six may be brought over.
She marched over, watching as Pelicans came in for landings and dropped off Naval, Marine and Army personnel, including the drill instructors that'd be bringing the entire group of New Republic Armed Forces up to standard. She also watched as Eighty-Six... Colorata... Were being unloaded from the transports. Among them was the commander of one of the other Eastern Front squadrons. Brísingamen's own Shiden Iida.
She looked over to see Lena as she approached and the buff, hardy woman's cheeks grew a hint redder. Lena approached them, saluted Shiden, then said, "Welcome to the Republic, officially. Your new Handler should be swinging by to say hello some time soon, as well, but she's busy with her brother and some friends of ours in doing paperwork... You wouldn't believe the amount of people signing up for Military duty."
The woman snorted, "So you Wh-..." She cut herself off, then sighed and said, "Alba finally decided to stop staying in ivory towers and come out swingin'."
"UNSC's made it possible, so yeah," Lena nodded, "I'm Major Vladilena Milizé, Handler for Spearhead. One of the Squadrons that was supposed to go on the Long Range Recon Op. I think we just barely rescued them from that one with the coup," And she smiled. Shiden chuckled, then looked to see Miko approaching. The girl gave a salute and a smile to Lena which the girl proudly returned.
"Shiden Iida, Brísingamen's TL. And don't worry, Shin's a tough son of a bitch," Shiden chuckled, "Though I'm sure he'll be glad to see home again, for what home was to him."
"You know Captain Nouzen?" She raised a brow.
"Same camp, me'n'him. We met and there's tales of the great Undertaker everywhere you ask. If they're Eighty-Sixers like me, Miko, Shana and the rest of our squad, they all know tales of the headless skeleton with a shovel that would put you out of your misery if there was no option left, just so that the Legion wouldn't yoink yer head and corrupt your mind to the point you became a Shepherd," The girl replied calmly, though she smiled.
"Good to know Captain Nouzen kept to his usual even before I met him," The girl quipped, then she looked toward a new Pelican that was arriving. She smiled, then said, "That must be them! It's been nice to finally meet you face-to-face, captain Iida, but I have to go!" to which Shiden gave her a nod. The girl ran toward the aircraft, her heart racing as she became aware she was about to meet those she'd led and protected for the past few months.
The smile she wore, however, soon disappeared as she saw a pair of officers on board the aircraft. One of the men descended from the transport, then stopped in front of Lena and asked, "Are you Major Milizé? Spearhead's Handler?" and, upon receiving a nod, said, "Ma'am, we have an issue... Spearhead's gone AWOL. They're undertaking the Long-Range Recon Operation as we speak... Staff on-base told us as much."
"What...?" Lena's breath caught in her throat. They... They promised...
"We're mounting SAR as we speak, but we don't know where they went. We need your Radar system to track them and direct the rescue birds," The man replied. Lena firmly nodded, then turned one-eighty degrees and showed them to follow. They bolted toward the HQ as she powered on her Para-RAID device and called for Annette and the others, telling them what had just transpired. It didn't take long for them to boot up the systems...
... Lena remembered and grit her teeth, annoyed that she forgot.
Shin's brother...